Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-10
2004-12-28
Ilan, Ruth (Department: 3616)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S740000, C280S741000, C280S742000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06834885
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The present invention relates to an inflator that generates a gas for inflating an air bag of a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to an inflator having an advantage in that the gas can be ejected and supplied linearly in the axial direction of a bottle.
Inflators are gas generators that generate a gas for inflating air bags of vehicles. Inflators can be broadly divided into two groups: an inflator that ejects a high pressure gas contained in a container and supply it to an air bag (hybrid type and stored gas type), and an inflator that burns a gas generating agent (propellant) and generates a gas by utilizing a chemical reaction (combustion type).
An example of a stored gas type inflator is shown in FIG.
6
.
FIG. 6
is a sectional view schematically showing an inflator disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-250525 as an example of a conventional stored gas type inflator.
With reference to the figure, an inflator
100
contains a bottle
101
that is filled with a high pressure gas. One end (the right end in the figure)
102
of the bottle
101
is closed and the other end (the left end in the figure)
103
of the bottle
101
is open. A sleeve
109
is connected to the open end
103
of the bottle
101
via an annular ring
106
. An inner end of the ring
106
, which forms an inside hole
106
a
, protrudes from the interior surface of the bottle
101
and the sleeve
109
.
A burst disk
107
is attached to the ring
106
at the left side (the side facing the sleeve
109
) thereof by welding, etc. The burst disk
107
is constructed of a steel plate having a thickness of approximately 0.3 mm. The burst disk
107
receives the filling pressure of the gas contained in the bottle
101
and swells toward the sleeve
109
. In a normal state in which the inflator
100
is not activated, the bottle
101
is sealed by the burst disk
107
.
A plurality of gas outlets
104
, through which the high pressure gas is expelled when the inflator
100
is activated, is formed in the exterior surface of the sleeve
109
. A housing
110
is attached to the sleeve
109
at the end (the left end in the figure) thereof. The housing
110
includes an initiator fixing member
110
a
, which is fit in the sleeve
109
at the end thereof, and a cylindrical portion
110
b
that protrudes from the initiator fixing member
110
a
. An initiator
112
is fixed inside the initiator fixing member
110
a
of the housing
110
. A tip portion (at the right end)
112
a
of the initiator
112
is inserted beyond the initiator fixing member
110
a
into the cylindrical portion
110
b
. A terminal (at the left end)
112
b
of the initiator
112
is connected to a control unit via electric wires (not shown).
A piston
115
with a sharply pointed tip
115
a
is disposed inside the cylindrical portion
110
b
of the housing
110
. A hole
115
b
is formed in the piston
115
at the rear end thereof, and the tip portion
112
a
of the initiator
112
is disposed in the hole
115
b
. A tip
110
c
of the cylindrical portion
110
b
of the housing
110
is separated from the burst disk
107
by a predetermined distance as shown in the figure.
An air bag (not shown) is attached to the inflator
100
in such a manner that the air bag is communicated via the gas outlets
104
. In a normal situation, the gas contained in the bottle
101
is sealed by the burst disk (sealing plate)
107
. When a vehicle collides, a sensor (not shown) is activated and the initiator
112
generates an air blast, so that the piston
115
is pushed to the right in the figure. The tip
115
a
of the piston
115
breaks the burst disk
107
at the midsection thereof, so that the entire body of the burst disk
107
is ruptured and opened widely. Then, the high pressure gas contained in the bottle
101
flows into the sleeve
109
. The gas is ejected through the gas outlets
104
formed in the exterior surface of the sleeve
109
and supplied to the air bag.
In the above-described conventional inflator
100
, the initiator
112
, the piston
115
, and the burst disk
107
are arranged such that the centers thereof are linearly arranged, and the piston
115
which is pushed by the air blast generated by the initiator
112
moves straight ahead and breaks the burst disk
107
. However, in the above-described construction, the direction in which the gas flows into the sleeve
109
through the open end
103
of the bottle
101
(the horizontal direction in the figure) is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the gas is ejected through the gas outlets
104
of the sleeve
109
into the air bag (the vertical direction in the figure). Accordingly, there is a problem in that the gas can not flow linearly and smoothly, and an additional component is necessary for changing the flowing direction of the gas.
In order to solve this problem, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-58394, a gas generator in which a gas can be ejected in the axial direction of a bottle from the closed end (the end opposite to the end closer to an initiator) toward the other is disclosed. However, in the gas generator of the above-described publication, there is a problem in that the size and the manufacturing cost thereof are increased since an additional large housing which contains the entire apparatus including the bottle is necessary.
In view of the above-described situation, an object of the present invention is to provide an inflator wherein a gas can be ejected and supplied linearly in the axial direction of a bottle without increasing the size and the manufacturing cost thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the problems described above, according to one aspect of the present invention, an inflator comprises a bottle with an opening and filled with a high pressure gas; a sealing plate which seals the opening of the bottle; an initiator which generates an air blast for providing driving force to break the sealing plate; a piston which is accelerated by the air blast generated by the initiator, and breaks the sealing plate; and a curved passage which guides the air blast generated by the initiator to the piston.
According to the present invention, the air blast generated by the initiator moves non-linearly through the curved passage, and then pushes and accelerates the piston. Then, the accelerated piston breaks the sealing plate, and the high pressure gas contained in the bottle is ejected. Since it is not necessary to dispose the initiator in the axial direction of the bottle, design flexibility can be increased. For example, the high pressure gas can be ejected and supplied linearly in the axial direction of the bottle.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an inflator comprises a bottle with an opening and filled with a high pressure gas; a sealing plate which seals the opening of the bottle; an initiator which generates an air blast for providing a driving force to break the sealing plate; and a piston which is accelerated by the air blast generated by the initiator and breaks the sealing plate. The bottle is a cylindrical shape, and the initiator is disposed in front of the opening of the bottle. A cylindrical diffuser provided with a gas outlet is connected to the bottle in the extending direction thereof. In addition, the initiator is attached to the circumferential surface of the diffuser and the gas outlet is formed in the diffuser at the end opposite to the end closer to the bottle.
According to the present invention, the initiator is disposed in front of the opening of the bottle and is attached to the circumferential surface of the diffuser. Thus, the initiator is not disposed in the direction in which the high pressure gas is ejected. Accordingly, the high pressure gas can be ejected and supplied linearly in the axial direction of the bottle. The high pressure gas which comes out from inside the bottle flows linearly through the diffuser and is ejected through the gas outlet formed in the diffuser at the end opposite to t
Mizuno Hideki
Yano Kanji
Ilan Ruth
Kanesaka Manabu
Takata Corporation
To Toan C
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