Motor vehicles – With means for promoting safety of vehicle – its occupant or...
Patent
1991-07-16
1993-09-21
Focarino, Margaret A.
Motor vehicles
With means for promoting safety of vehicle, its occupant or...
180274, 280735, 454 75, F01N 116, B60R 2132
Patent
active
052460835
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD
The invention relates generally to an improved collision protection device for motor vehicles of the type employing inflatable air bags. More particularly, the invention relates to an inflatable air bag collision protection device wherein a fan is provided to remove from the passenger compartment the combustion gases and fine particulates associated with the pyrotechnic propellant charge which is used to inflate the air bag. Both the fan and the triggering mechanism for the pyrotechnic propellant charge are linked to a collision sensor and are simultaneously activated upon detection of a collision by the sensor to signal the fan to begin removing the noxious smoke and combustion gases associated with the detonation of the pyrotechnic propellant charge.
BACKGROUND
Collision protection devices for use in motor vehicles of the type having an inflatable air bag which are triggered by a collision detection sensor are well known from the prior art. These air bag devices typically use a collision detection sensor unit which consists of one or more acceleration sensors which measure the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle in order to send a triggering signal to the inflatable air bag mechanism when an accident of the appropriate severity is taking place. This triggering signal is either used directly to activate one or more pyrotechnic propellant charges to inflate the air bag or it is relayed to a switch which, in turn, ignites the propellant charge. Upon ignition, the pyrotechnic propellant charge fills the air bag within several milliseconds, thus forming an effective protective air cushion for the passenger to protect the driver from impacting his or her body and head against the steering wheel and/or dash board area of the motor vehicle.
During a front end collision, the passengers bodies are moving forward with great momentum and thus the possibility of a sudden body recoil (whiplash) is very great. Therefore, in order to catch the forward moving bodies in a soft and recoil-free manner, it is desirable to provide the air bag with one or more blow-out elements which release the propellant gas in a controlled manner as the passenger strikes the air bag so that is cushions the impact by deflating. These known blow-out elements are typically nothing more than openings in the air bags and, as a consequence, a considerable portion of the propellant gas is permitted to escape from the air bag and come into direct contact with the driver and passengers (if any) in the confines of the vehicle passenger compartment.
The combustion of these propellant gases also produces a lot of smoke (gases and particulates) which are unpleasant to smell and irritate the eyes, nose, and throats of the passengers within the vehicle. The overall air volume of the combustion gases contained in the air bag, as well as, the amount of gas that flows out of the air bag, is very large considering that the average driver side air bag has an air capacity of around 80 liters. And, if separate air bags are provided for the front and rear passengers, there may be as much as an additional 80-250 liters of combustion gases present in the passenger compartment after an accident. In addition to the unpleasant smell and the irritation of the passengers' eyes, throat and nose, breathing the combustion gases for a long period of time poses a health risk. For these reasons, it is desirable to greatly reduce the amount of combustion gases and particulates to which the passengers are exposed and must breathe. Another concern is to reduce passenger/driver anxiety and/or panic, since the smoke and smell of the scorched gaskets associated with detonated propellant charge are symptoms which can be mistaken for a vehicle fire.
These problems have become well known through the evolution pyrotechnic propellant-activated air bags, and there have been many attempts to improve the delivery system of inflatable air bags to overcome the disadvantage of unpleasant smell, poor visibility and irritation to the eyes, nose and throat associated with the e
REFERENCES:
patent: 3694003 (1972-09-01), Radke
patent: 3847411 (1974-11-01), Herrmann
Dulin Jacques M.
Graf Hans-Peter
Audi AG
Dickson Paul
Dulin Jacques M.
Feix Thomas C.
Focarino Margaret A.
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