Solid material comminution or disintegration – Processes – With classifying or separating of material
Patent
1997-09-12
2000-01-11
Husar, John M.
Solid material comminution or disintegration
Processes
With classifying or separating of material
241 2413, 241 27, 241DIG38, B02C 1900, B02C 2308
Patent
active
060126590
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for discriminating between used and unused gas generators for air bags, which protect passengers from shock, more specifically to a method for discriminating used and unused gas generators from among gas generators for air bags separated from used cars in a car scrapping process.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
An air bag unit(s) is installed in a vehicle for a purpose of protecting passengers from an impact caused by a collision. This air bag unit comprises an air bag to be expanded by gas at the time of a collision to form a cushion between a passenger and a steering wheel or seat, and a gas generator to feed gas into this air bag.
The gas generator comprises a housing made of metallic material, a gas generating agent disposed in this housing Ignition means is actuated by the impact, and this causes the gas generating agent to burn to generate high temperature and high pressure gas.
A member for forming the housing of the gas generator is made of, form example, aluminum or stainless steel. The gas generating agent includes, for example, NaN.sub.3 (sodium azide), CuO (copper monoxide) and the like as a principal component. In addition to the above, parts such as a filter comprising a stainless metal mesh, stainless wool, and ceramic, etc., and a coolant are contained in the gas generator.
In a car scrapping process, gas generators are separated from used cars, and the separated gas generators are charged into a melting furnace to recover the metal materials of the gas generators.
In order to do so, used and unused gas generators are generally discriminated from among gas generators separated from used cars to throw the used gas generators into a melting furnace.
In order to take out a gas generator from an air bag unit installed in a used car, it has been carried out by manual operation according to the following procedures: detaching an air bag unit from a steering wheel; disassembling the detached air bag apparatus in the order of an air bag cover, an air bag, a gas generator, and a steering wheel adaptor; and, then, recovering the gas generator.
In the case of used air bag units, they can readily be distinguished since the air bags are unfolded and deployed out of the air bag covers, but when the gas generators are separated alone from scrapped cars, it is difficult to know if the gas generators are unused or used.
In the preceding conventional method for recovering a gas generator by manual operation, there are problems that the recovering efficiency is very low and the recovering cost becomes high as well because of the facts that first of all, a used car, in which an air bag unit(s) is installed, has to be found out among used cars, those having and not having air bag unit(s), and that labor and time are required as described above in order to recover the gas generator from the used car found.
In the case of used air bag units, combustion of the gas generating agents is accompanied with adhesion of the combustion residue thereof onto the filter. In addition, burning is caused on the housing of the gas generator by combustion heat, and it is considered to make distinction based on this.
However, when used cars are treated by a crushing means to separate gas generators, fine crushed pieces are adhered to the filters and the housings, and this provides the risk that the combustion residues on the filters and the burning on the housing are covered with the crushed pieces to make the distinction impossible.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for easily discriminating used and unused gas generators from among gas generators for air bags separated from used cars in a car scrapping process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method for discriminating between used and unused gas generators according to the present invention is a method for discriminating used and unused gas generators from among gas generators for air bags separated from used cars in a car scrapping process, and this method comprises the steps
REFERENCES:
patent: 4504019 (1985-03-01), Newell et al.
patent: 5294244 (1994-03-01), Allerton, III et al.
patent: 5431350 (1995-07-01), Purser
patent: 5752716 (1998-05-01), Fukawatase et al.
patent: 5849062 (1998-12-01), Fukabori et al.
Fujimoto Osamu
Fukabori Mitsuhiko
Kondo Yutaka
Miyaji Masahiro
Nakazato Yusaburo
Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd.
Husar John M.
Toyota Jidosha Kabushikikaisha
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