Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-18
2001-10-02
Swann, J. J. (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S728200, C280S752000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296277
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an integral passenger restraint system and, more particularly, to an integral passenger restraint system which integrates a knee bolster system into a passenger airbag system.
2. Discussion
Conventional vehicles are fitted with passenger airbag systems and knee bolster systems. As shown in
FIG. 4
, the passenger airbag system
201
generally includes a canister-like housing
200
with two end plates
202
. The canister-like housing
200
and end plates
202
encapsulate an air bag (not shown) and are located under the dashboard
204
of the vehicle. The air bag is designed to be deployed upon impact of the vehicle with another object, such as a tree. The knee bolster system
205
comprises two metal plates
206
positioned parallel to one another and also located under the dashboard
204
of the vehicle. The plates
206
are angled such that the edge of each plate
208
faces the knees
214
of a vehicle passenger
220
. The plates
206
are supported by the dashboard
204
and the cross car beam
212
. The reinforcement plate
210
serves to connect the plates
206
and provide an impact area for the knees
214
. The metal plates
206
of the knee bolster system
205
are positioned at opposite sides of the passenger airbag system
201
and parallel to end plates
202
.
When the vehicle undergoes a crash condition, the vehicle passenger is accelerated towards the dashboard region of the vehicle. In response to the crash, an airbag (not shown) contained in the passenger airbag system
201
is inflated. The inflated airbag then intercepts the accelerating torso region of the vehicle passenger
220
. This interception acts to decelerate the torso region. Likewise, the knee bolster system
205
intercepts the vehicle passenger's knees at the reinforcement plate
210
. In response to the impact of this interception, the two parallel plates
206
crush, thereby absorbing the acceleration of the vehicle passenger's knees
214
.
However, the present system has some drawbacks. With increased competition, auto manufacturers are forced to decrease manufacturing cost and increase available room in the passenger compartments of manufactured vehicles. The current knee bolster and passenger air bag systems require a large number of components. The large number of these components increases the overall manufacturing cost of the vehicle. Also, the incorporation of the passenger airbag system and knee bolster system in the dashboard region of the vehicle consumes a large amount of available space. This is space could be used for other features such as extra passenger leg room. Furthermore, because the plates
206
are supported by and attached to the cross car beam
212
, the cross car beam many times is required to be a purchased-in-assembly part. This means that the IP panel must be purchased with the cross car beam and the knee bolster system intact. The present invention was developed in light of these drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes these drawbacks by providing an integral passenger restraint system which has the passenger airbag system and knee bolster system integrated into one unit. The passenger airbag system of the present invention has an outer surface which is capped at opposite ends by a pair of end plates. Each end plate has a support zone and at least one crush zone. The support zone serves to cover the outer surface and encapsulate the air bag. The crush zone acts as the impact absorbing medium to absorb the impact from a vehicle passenger's knees during a vehicle crash. The knee bolster system can be tuned to absorb a specific amount of force by incorporating a predetermined number of holes and beads in each crush zone of each end plate. Preferably, each crush zone is tuned in such a way that the crush force on the crush zones, generated by the vehicle passenger's knees, does not exceed 2250 pounds. In another aspect of the present invention, a pair of struts are mounted to the end plates to provide structural integrity of the integral passenger restraint system after airbag deployment and before impact of the vehicle passenger's knees.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3924707 (1975-12-01), Renner et al.
patent: 4709943 (1987-12-01), Yoshimura et al.
patent: 4893834 (1990-01-01), Honda et al.
patent: 5405163 (1995-04-01), Amamori et al.
patent: 5413379 (1995-05-01), Koma
patent: 5489116 (1996-02-01), Boag
patent: 5518270 (1996-05-01), Hanada et al.
patent: 5533747 (1996-07-01), Rose
patent: 5718453 (1998-02-01), Kassel et al.
patent: 5931520 (1999-08-01), Seksaria et al.
patent: 5934733 (1999-08-01), Manwaring
patent: 5951045 (1999-09-01), Almefelt et al.
patent: 5-229392 (1993-09-01), None
Bittinger D. Scott
Dominique Alexander L.
Larson Michael J.
Bottorff Christopher
Calcaterra Mark P.
Chrysler Corporation
Swann J. J.
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