Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-30
2002-06-11
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S728100, C280S728300, C280S730200, C280S733000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06402188
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to air bags used as occupant protection in motor vehicles and more specifically relates to a retaining device for the paneling elements covering and associated with an airbag arrangement.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is generally known to place airbags in motor vehicles behind a covering that can swing open. The covering may be made in the form of paneling elements which separate completely from an inside paneling which covers the airbag arrangement when the air bag is unfolded. A retaining strap attached to the paneling element limits the movement of the paneling element so that it may not be hurled into the passenger cabin in an uncontrolled manner as it separates.
In order to achieve optimum passenger protection in case of an accident, lateral or side airbags are also known and can be installed on the interior paneling above the side windows on the inside at the edges near the roof. In this case the typical interior paneling is designed so that when the lateral or side airbag is released the paneling bends and opens in order to provide an exit opening for this lateral airbag. The paneling elements as well as the folded airbags that are stared behind them can be attached to the lateral columns of the frame of a motor vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,034 discloses a retaining device for a paneling element of the interior paneling of a motor vehicle that covers an airbag arrangement, whereby the paneling element comes loose from the retaining device as the airbag unfurls and thus enables the airbag to unfold freely in case of an accident. The retaining device is provided with a holding element in the form of an elastic clamp that is detachably attached to the frame of the motor vehicle and with a holding element connected to the elastic clamp that holds the paneling element in a detachable manner.
In practice in this design, the paneling element is provided with a projection at the free end of which a groove-shaped channel is provided. The thicker free end of a ridge-like holding element that fits into the channel is seated in an approximately interlocking manner in the channel. The whole assembly can be snapped in a detachable manner into a bracket on the vehicle via this elastic clamp. In case of an airbag activation, the inflating airbag exerts pressure and thereby a lifting force upon the paneling element whereby the paneling element is pulled off the thicker end of the holding element as the channel sides are being spread wider. During this pulling-off event the holding element remains firmly connected to the elastic clamp, since in this design corresponding flexible tongues engage the walls of an opening on the holding element. The elastic clamp can be compressed to replace the holding element together with the elastic clamp.
It is a disadvantage with this design that a danger exists that the paneling element may be projected in an uncontrolled manner into the passenger cabin as it becomes detached. In addition, a connection that is relatively difficult to open is created by clamping the thicker end in the channel so that it can slip off only under strong pressure; and, as a result, the inflation process may possibly be hindered and delayed in an undesirable manner with such a design so that the reliability of the retaining device can, in turn, be impaired.
German Patent 43 15 853 A1 discloses a design in which a paneling element can be installed only when a locking element holding a retaining strap has been properly installed. For this purpose a sensor is provided on the paneling element that is prevented from being pushed in as long as the locking element is not snapped into the spreading body. In this design the retaining strap is made in one piece with the locking element and its manufacture is expensive.
Another design with a retaining strap is disclosed in European patent 0 415 362 A2 in which a paneling element covering an airbag exit opening is divided in two in its center, and is attached to the vehicle structure via shear elements. When the airbag unfurls in case of an accident the shear elements between the paneling element and the vehicle structure are shorn off, so that the halves of the individual paneling element can be swivelled away from the air bag exit opening, and retaining straps prevent uncontrolled hurling of the paneling element halves. The retaining straps are expensive in that they are attached, in this design, via screw connections to an airbag chamber housing on the one hand and to one of the two paneling element halves of the paneling element on the other hand.
European Patent Publication No. 0 873 916 A1 furthermore discloses a retaining device in which an elastic clamp is snapped into a frame element, whereby the paneling element is secured in this case by means of a retaining strap. One end of the retaining strap passes through an opening on one leg of the elastic clamp and then continues in a loop. To form the loop the free end of the retaining strap must be secured in an expensive welded or riveted connection to the retaining strap.
Accordingly, It is an object of this invention to create an alternative retaining device for a paneling element of the interior paneling of a motor vehicle which covers an airbag arrangement that is highly reliable and is also readily and inexpensively constructed and is easy to assemble and disassemble, and averts the danger to passengers created by the detaching paneling element during airbag activation is averted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing object is attained through the invention described and claimed herein.
In one aspect of the invention, a retaining strap limiting the movement of the paneling element is provided; and, the strap is attached, on the one hand, on the paneling element and, on the other hand, is provided with a hole through which an elastic or resilient clamp extends and is attached in a detachable manner to the frame of the motor vehicle. As a result, the retaining strap is secured by the holding element on the elastic clamp.
A design of the above type advantageously ensures that no parts of the retaining device can be projected in an uncontrolled manner into the passenger cabin in case of an accident since they are held back by the retaining strap. A design of this type makes it possible to achieve an especially simple attachment of the retaining strap to the elastic clamp, since it need merely be slipped into the orifice or hole on the strap. In its assembled state the retaining strap is secured in a quite simple and secure manner against being lifted off by the holding element that is already connected to the elastic clamp. Thereby the retaining strap as well as the other components can be connected very easily to each other by snap or similar connections and can be again disconnected from each other in a non-destructive manner without the need to establish and/or disconnect connections such as expensive screw connections or even non-detachable connections such as rivet and/or welded connections and/or integral connections. The paneling element can thus be assembled as well as disassembled quickly and easily when required, together with the retaining device attached to it.
A design of this type also allows most advantageously for an integration of parts and functions in that the holding element has a triple function by holding the paneling element on the vehicle frame on the one hand, securing the holding band on the other hand and also making it possible to attach the elastic clamp. The elastic band advantageously also has a multiple function by holding the retaining strap in place on the one hand and to hold the retaining device in place on the vehicle frame on the other hand.
The holding element attached by means of the elastic clamp is furthermore attached to the paneling element in such manner that the connection between holding element and paneling element is released when the airbag is activated. The release of the connection between the holding element and the paneling element can advantageously be effecte
Johnson Brian L.
McNair Law Firm, P.A.
Sliteris Joselynn Y.
Volkswagen
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