Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Patent
1992-01-28
1994-08-23
Tyson, Karin L.
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
280741, B60R 2126
Patent
active
053401506
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an inflator for an air bag protecting a passenger upon an occurrence of an accident, such as collision of an automotive vehicle with an obstacle.
BACKGROUND ART
An air bag able to be rapidly expanded upon the occurrence of a collision of an automotive vehicle or the like to thus protect a passenger, is known. Conventionally, the rapid expansion of the air bag is caused by a high-speed discharge of a gas generated by burning a solid state gas generating material. As a typical solid state gas generating material, a material containing metallic azide generating a non-toxic nitrogen gas is used. The metallic azide produces a residual decomposition product and a large amount of reaction heat during the generation of the gas.
To properly activate the air bag upon a collision of the vehicle with an obstacle, it is necessary to produce an amount of approximately 30 to 100l of gas at a driver's seat and an amount of approximately 150 to 200l of gas for a passenger's seat, in a very short time, and accordingly, the inner pressure in an inflator should be at a high level, to thereby obtain a high speed burning of the gas generating material. This, however, requires that the thickness of a wall of a pressure vessel of the inflator be sufficient to withstand such a high pressure, and thus increases the weight of the inflator.
Various types and constructions of inflators have been disclosed in the prior art.
For example, an inflator 20 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,342, and shown in FIG. 1, comprises a pressure vessel 20 formed by welding an upper mirror plate 21 and a lower mirror plate 22, respectively having cylindrical portions 33 extending from the peripheral edges thereof, at the ends of these cylindrical portions 33. A cylindrical partitioning wall 23 is extended downward along an axis of the pressure vessel 20 from the upper mirror plate 21 in an inside of the pressure vessel 20, and at a position corresponding to the partitioning wall 23, a cylindrical partitioning wall 24 is extended upward from the lower mirror plate 22. The tip ends of the partitioning walls 23 and 24 are welded together to thereby define a gas generating chamber 26. The high pressure gas is generated within the gas generating chamber 26, and thus the partitioning walls 23 and 24 and the upper and lower mirror plates 21 and 22 have a wall thickness sufficient to withstand such a high pressure. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of gas flow paths 27 are formed in the inflator through to the partitioning wall 24, and a plurality of through openings 32 are formed through the circumferential wall 33 of the pressure vessel 20, to thereby introduce the gas generated in the gas generating chamber 26 into an air bag body associated with the inflator.
A filter 28 formed by stacking a plurality of metallic nets is disposed inside of the partitioning walls 23 and 24 and extends between the upper and lower mirror plates 21 and 22. Also, a filter 29 similarly formed by stacking a plurality of metallic nets and extending between a deflector plate 35 projecting from the inner periphery of the lower mirror plate 22 and the upper mirror plate 21, is disposed outside of the partitioning walls 23 and 24. The filters 28 and 29, collect the residual decomposition product and cool the high temperature gas, upon a generation of the gas. In the drawings, reference numeral 30 denotes an ignition device and 34 denotes an ignition material, both disposed within a space defined by an upper central fixing portion 38 integrally formed with the upper mirror plate 21 and formed with a plurality of through holes 40 and a lower central fixing portion 37 integrally formed with the lower mirror plate 22. The upper and lower central fixing portions 38 and 37 are welded together at the joint therebetween. Reference numeral 31 denotes a gas generating material.
An air bag to be installed in a vehicle must be made as compact and light weight as possible, and accordingly, the air bag body and the inflator must be made as co
REFERENCES:
patent: 3985076 (1976-10-01), Schneiter et al.
patent: 3986456 (1976-10-01), Doin et al.
patent: 4578247 (1986-03-01), Bolieau
patent: 4590041 (1986-05-01), Hill
patent: 5000479 (1991-03-01), Werner et al.
patent: 5062367 (1991-11-01), Hayashi et al.
patent: 5106119 (1992-04-01), Swann et al.
Harada Tadamasa
Nakashima Noriaki
Sakamoto Midori
Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Tyson Karin L.
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