CA2064693A1 - Air bag in an air bag unit - Google Patents
Air bag in an air bag unitInfo
- Publication number
- CA2064693A1 CA2064693A1 CA 2064693 CA2064693A CA2064693A1 CA 2064693 A1 CA2064693 A1 CA 2064693A1 CA 2064693 CA2064693 CA 2064693 CA 2064693 A CA2064693 A CA 2064693A CA 2064693 A1 CA2064693 A1 CA 2064693A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- air bag
- exhaust holes
- opening
- wefts
- warps
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Landscapes
- Air Bags (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
In an air bag of an air bag unit (1), which comprises an opening (9) where an inflator (2) to be operated in an emergency is penetrating, and exhaust holes (8) to release the pressure in the air bag (3) furnished around said opening (9), said exhaust holes (8) are located at the points where warps (11) and wefts (10) of woven cloth of the air bag (3) are crossing diagonally the straight line, which connects the centers of said exhaust holes (8) with the center of said opening (9). As the result, the stress occur-ring around the exhaust holes (8) is supported by both the warps (11) and the wefts (10) of woven cloth of the air bag (3). Accordingly, the rupture is very unlikely to occur around the exhaust holes (8) of the air bag compared with a conventional type air bag where the stress is supported only either by the warps or by the wefts. Thus, the rupture at the exhaust holes (8) of the air bag (3) can be perfectly prevented, and the reliability of the air bag (3) can be extensively improved.
In an air bag of an air bag unit (1), which comprises an opening (9) where an inflator (2) to be operated in an emergency is penetrating, and exhaust holes (8) to release the pressure in the air bag (3) furnished around said opening (9), said exhaust holes (8) are located at the points where warps (11) and wefts (10) of woven cloth of the air bag (3) are crossing diagonally the straight line, which connects the centers of said exhaust holes (8) with the center of said opening (9). As the result, the stress occur-ring around the exhaust holes (8) is supported by both the warps (11) and the wefts (10) of woven cloth of the air bag (3). Accordingly, the rupture is very unlikely to occur around the exhaust holes (8) of the air bag compared with a conventional type air bag where the stress is supported only either by the warps or by the wefts. Thus, the rupture at the exhaust holes (8) of the air bag (3) can be perfectly prevented, and the reliability of the air bag (3) can be extensively improved.
Description
2~469~
SPECIFICATION
Air bag in an air bag unit FI ELD OF THE INVENTI ON
The present invention relates to an air bag in an air bag unit for protecting an occupant in a vehicle by inflating with high pressure when the vehicle is collided, and in particular to an air bag, which is provided with exhaust holes to slowly discharge the gas in order to alleviate the shock which occurs when the occupant is collided against the air bag.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
The air bag unit installed on the fixed portion of car body in front of seat in a vehicle plays an impor-tant role in the protection of the occupant from injury caused by the collision against car body as it is instantaneously inflated by the pressure of combustion gas released from an inflator, which is fixed on steer-ing wheel or on dashboard.
As shown in Fig. 3, such air bag unit 1 comprises an inflator, which is exploded by collision signal from a collision detecting sensor and explodes gas generat-ing agent when the deceleration of the vehicle exceeds 2 ~
a certain level, and an air bag 3 with its base fixed on the inflator 2 and inflated by the gas coming out of the inflator 2. This air bag unit l can be mounted, for example, on the fixed portion of car body such as central portion of the steering wheel 13 with the air bag 3 folded up and placed in a pad.
When the vehicle is collided, gas generating agent in the inflator 2 is exploded and the air bag 3 is instantaneously inflated and expanded by the generated gas as shown in Fig. 2.
As the result, the air bag 3 receives the occupant, who is pushed forward by inertia and protects the occupant from the injury caused by the collision against car body.
A conventional type air bag 3 comprises an opening 9, through which the inflator penetrates, and exhaust holes 8' (shown by two-dot chain lines Fig. l (A)) to release the pressure in the air bag and to alleviate the shock when the occupant is collided against the inflated air bag. The dimension of these exhaust holes 8' is adequately determined in order to absorb the shock most effectively, which occurs when the occupant is collided against the air bag 3.
When the air bag 3 is inflated, high tensile force A occurs on the base cloth of the air bag 3 in radial 2Q~93 -direction from the opening 9 of the air bag 3 by high pressure gas blown out of the inflator 2. By this tensile force A, stress is concentrated around said exhaust holes 8', and there is the possibility that the air bag 3 may be ruptured 12 from the exhaust holes 8' as shown in Fig. 1 (C). The rupture 12 also occurs by the shock when the occupant is collided against the air bag. When such rupture 12 occurs, a large quantity of gas is released through the ruptured hole 12, and the function of the air bag to alleviate the shock is not fulfilled.
To solve the above problem, study is now made on the exhaust holes 8' of the air bag 3. As shown in Figs. 1 (A) and (C),'the exhaust holes 8' are furnishe'' at the positions where warps 11 or wefts 10 of the air bag 3 run in parallel to the straight line B which connects the center of the opening 9 of the air bag with the centers of the exhaust holes 8'. As the result, the above tensile force A is intensively applied either on warps 11 or on wefts 10 as shown by the arrow A in Fig. 1 (A). Therefore, warps 11 or wefts 10 are broken off as stress is intensively applied as shown in Fig. 1 (C), and the rupture occurs around the exhaust holes 8.
To solve the above problems, the object of the 2~6~3 present inventlon is to offer an air bag, which can prevent the rupture of the air bag from the portion of exhaust holes when the air bag is inflated or the occupant is collided against the air bag.
DISCLOSURB OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above problems, the air bag according to the present invention is characterized in that the exhaust holes are provided at the positions where warps and wefts of the woven cloth of the air bag run diago-nally to the straight line, which connects the centers of said exhaust holes with the center of said opening.
In an air bag according to the present invention with such arrangement, when the air bag is inflated by the gas blown out from the inflator or when the occupar is collided against the air bag b~ inertia, the stress generated around the exhaust holes is supported by both warps and wefts of the woven cloth of the air bag. As the result, compared with the convention case where the stress is supported only by either warps or wefts, rupture occurs less frequently around the exhaust holes of the air bag. Therefore, the rupture around the exhaust holes of the air bag can be prevented, and this extensively increases the reliability of the air bag.
2 ~ 3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 (A) is a cross-sectional view of an air bag when it is inflated and expanded;
Fig. 1 (B) is an enlarged view of an exhaust hole of the air bag according to the present invention;
Fig. 1 (C) is an enlarged view of an exhaust hole of a conventional type air bag;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an air bag of an air bag unit commonly in use when it is inflated and expanded; and Fig. 3 is a schematical cross-sectional view show-ing an example of an air bag unit when it is mounted on steering wheel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in Fig. 2, air bag unit 1 normally com-prises an inflator 2 and an air bag 3. The inflator 2 is formed in thin cylindrical shape where gas generat-ing agent is sealed in. On its lateral side, a plurality of gas blowing holes 4, 4, ...... are provided in peripheral direction with adequate spacings.
On outer periphery of the inflator 2, a flange 5 is furnished outside the gas blowing holes 4, and this flange 5 is mounted on an air bag holder 6. The base of the air bag 3 is fixed on the holder 6 so that the 2~6~9~
gas blowing holes 4, 4, ..... are enclosed by the air bag 3, As shown in Fig. 1 (A), the air bag 3 is made of flexible and airtight material, which is a woven cloth made up from warps 11 and wefts 10 and coated with rubber or synthetic resin, and its center is provided with an opening 9, through which the inflator 2 is penetrating. Reinforcement cloths 7 are overlapped around this opening 9 and are integrally bonded or sewn together for reinforcement.
On the periphery of the mount of the air bag 3, a pair of exhaust holes 8 and 8 are furnished at sym-metrical points from the center of the opening 9. As it is evident from Figs. 1 (A) and (B), the exhaust holes 8 and 8 are located at the sites where the warps 11 and the wefts 10 of the woven cloth of the air bag 3 cross diagonally the straight line B, which connects the center of the opening 9 with the centers of the exhaust holes 8.
In an air bag 3 with the above arrangement, the inflator 2 is penetrating through the opening as in the conventional case as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, and it is airtightly mounted on the inflator 2 by bolts and nuts with the portion around the opening and the reinforcement sloths 7 squeezed by ring-like hardware 6' and the holder 6.
Next, description is given on the operation of this embodiment.
When the vehicle is collided against an obstacle and the decele ation exceeds a certain level, collision signal is issued by a collision detecting sensor (not shown), and the gas generating agent in the inflator 2 is exploded by this signal. As the result, gas is generated, and the generated gas is blown out of the blowing holes 4 as shown by the arrow "a" in Fig. 2.
The gas thus blown out inflates and expands instantaneously the air bag 3, which safely receives the occupant of the vehicle, who is pushed forward by inertia. In this case, gas is released from the exhaust holes 8 on the air bag 3 at adequate speed, and this alleviates the shock, which occurs when the occupant is collided against the air bag 3.
When the air bag 3 is rapidly inflated, or when the occupant is collided against the air bag, stress concentration occurs around the exhaust holes 8 by the tensile force A, which is generated in radial direction from the center of the opening 9 of the air bag 3.
However, on the woven cloth around the exhaust holes 8, both warps 11 and the wefts 10 are crossing diago-nally relative to the direction, in which tensile 2~6~3 force A works, and the tensile force A is perfectly supported by both warps 11 and the wefts 10. Accord-ingly, even when such tensile force A occurs, it is possible to perfectly prevent the rupture 12, which is very likely to occur around the exhaust holes 8.
Table 1 shows the results of the tensile test.
In Table 1, Type 1 sample has the exhaust holes 8' at such points, where either warps or wefts of woven cloth of the air bag are in parallel to the straight line, which connects the center of the opening 9 of the air bag with the centers of the exhaust holes 8' as shown in Figs. 1 (A) and (C). Type 2 sample is an example of the air bag according to the present invention, in which exhaust holes are furnished at the points, where both warps and wefts of woven cloth of the air bag cross the straight line, which connects the center of the opening 9 of the air bag with the centers of the exhaust holes 8', at approximately 45 degrees. In this case, the diameter is 32 mm in both of the exhaust holes. The figures in Table 1 represent tensile load at the moment when slit occurs on the exhaust holes.
As it is evident from Table 1, Type 2 has the tensile strength by abot 1.4 times higher than that of Type 1. In this way, the strength of the air bag according to the present invention is extensively 2~64~93 improved compared with the conventional type air bag.
In case the portion around the exhaust holes 8 of the air bag 3 is reinforced by reinforcement cloths as necessary, the exhaust holes 8 can be more effectively reinforced if the exhaust holes 8 are provided on the reinforcement cloths at the same points as in the present invention.
Table 1 Results of tensile strength test for woven cloth of air bag with exhaust hole .
Sample No. Type 1 (N) Type 2 (N) . 1 1,441 2,098 2 1,5882,196 3 1,5192,127 Average ~ 1,516 2,140 APPLICABILITY IN THE INDUSTRY
The air bag in the air bag unit of the present invention can be used in a vehicle and applied for the protection of the occupant by absorbing the shock, which occurs when the vehicle is collided.
SPECIFICATION
Air bag in an air bag unit FI ELD OF THE INVENTI ON
The present invention relates to an air bag in an air bag unit for protecting an occupant in a vehicle by inflating with high pressure when the vehicle is collided, and in particular to an air bag, which is provided with exhaust holes to slowly discharge the gas in order to alleviate the shock which occurs when the occupant is collided against the air bag.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
The air bag unit installed on the fixed portion of car body in front of seat in a vehicle plays an impor-tant role in the protection of the occupant from injury caused by the collision against car body as it is instantaneously inflated by the pressure of combustion gas released from an inflator, which is fixed on steer-ing wheel or on dashboard.
As shown in Fig. 3, such air bag unit 1 comprises an inflator, which is exploded by collision signal from a collision detecting sensor and explodes gas generat-ing agent when the deceleration of the vehicle exceeds 2 ~
a certain level, and an air bag 3 with its base fixed on the inflator 2 and inflated by the gas coming out of the inflator 2. This air bag unit l can be mounted, for example, on the fixed portion of car body such as central portion of the steering wheel 13 with the air bag 3 folded up and placed in a pad.
When the vehicle is collided, gas generating agent in the inflator 2 is exploded and the air bag 3 is instantaneously inflated and expanded by the generated gas as shown in Fig. 2.
As the result, the air bag 3 receives the occupant, who is pushed forward by inertia and protects the occupant from the injury caused by the collision against car body.
A conventional type air bag 3 comprises an opening 9, through which the inflator penetrates, and exhaust holes 8' (shown by two-dot chain lines Fig. l (A)) to release the pressure in the air bag and to alleviate the shock when the occupant is collided against the inflated air bag. The dimension of these exhaust holes 8' is adequately determined in order to absorb the shock most effectively, which occurs when the occupant is collided against the air bag 3.
When the air bag 3 is inflated, high tensile force A occurs on the base cloth of the air bag 3 in radial 2Q~93 -direction from the opening 9 of the air bag 3 by high pressure gas blown out of the inflator 2. By this tensile force A, stress is concentrated around said exhaust holes 8', and there is the possibility that the air bag 3 may be ruptured 12 from the exhaust holes 8' as shown in Fig. 1 (C). The rupture 12 also occurs by the shock when the occupant is collided against the air bag. When such rupture 12 occurs, a large quantity of gas is released through the ruptured hole 12, and the function of the air bag to alleviate the shock is not fulfilled.
To solve the above problem, study is now made on the exhaust holes 8' of the air bag 3. As shown in Figs. 1 (A) and (C),'the exhaust holes 8' are furnishe'' at the positions where warps 11 or wefts 10 of the air bag 3 run in parallel to the straight line B which connects the center of the opening 9 of the air bag with the centers of the exhaust holes 8'. As the result, the above tensile force A is intensively applied either on warps 11 or on wefts 10 as shown by the arrow A in Fig. 1 (A). Therefore, warps 11 or wefts 10 are broken off as stress is intensively applied as shown in Fig. 1 (C), and the rupture occurs around the exhaust holes 8.
To solve the above problems, the object of the 2~6~3 present inventlon is to offer an air bag, which can prevent the rupture of the air bag from the portion of exhaust holes when the air bag is inflated or the occupant is collided against the air bag.
DISCLOSURB OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above problems, the air bag according to the present invention is characterized in that the exhaust holes are provided at the positions where warps and wefts of the woven cloth of the air bag run diago-nally to the straight line, which connects the centers of said exhaust holes with the center of said opening.
In an air bag according to the present invention with such arrangement, when the air bag is inflated by the gas blown out from the inflator or when the occupar is collided against the air bag b~ inertia, the stress generated around the exhaust holes is supported by both warps and wefts of the woven cloth of the air bag. As the result, compared with the convention case where the stress is supported only by either warps or wefts, rupture occurs less frequently around the exhaust holes of the air bag. Therefore, the rupture around the exhaust holes of the air bag can be prevented, and this extensively increases the reliability of the air bag.
2 ~ 3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 (A) is a cross-sectional view of an air bag when it is inflated and expanded;
Fig. 1 (B) is an enlarged view of an exhaust hole of the air bag according to the present invention;
Fig. 1 (C) is an enlarged view of an exhaust hole of a conventional type air bag;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an air bag of an air bag unit commonly in use when it is inflated and expanded; and Fig. 3 is a schematical cross-sectional view show-ing an example of an air bag unit when it is mounted on steering wheel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in Fig. 2, air bag unit 1 normally com-prises an inflator 2 and an air bag 3. The inflator 2 is formed in thin cylindrical shape where gas generat-ing agent is sealed in. On its lateral side, a plurality of gas blowing holes 4, 4, ...... are provided in peripheral direction with adequate spacings.
On outer periphery of the inflator 2, a flange 5 is furnished outside the gas blowing holes 4, and this flange 5 is mounted on an air bag holder 6. The base of the air bag 3 is fixed on the holder 6 so that the 2~6~9~
gas blowing holes 4, 4, ..... are enclosed by the air bag 3, As shown in Fig. 1 (A), the air bag 3 is made of flexible and airtight material, which is a woven cloth made up from warps 11 and wefts 10 and coated with rubber or synthetic resin, and its center is provided with an opening 9, through which the inflator 2 is penetrating. Reinforcement cloths 7 are overlapped around this opening 9 and are integrally bonded or sewn together for reinforcement.
On the periphery of the mount of the air bag 3, a pair of exhaust holes 8 and 8 are furnished at sym-metrical points from the center of the opening 9. As it is evident from Figs. 1 (A) and (B), the exhaust holes 8 and 8 are located at the sites where the warps 11 and the wefts 10 of the woven cloth of the air bag 3 cross diagonally the straight line B, which connects the center of the opening 9 with the centers of the exhaust holes 8.
In an air bag 3 with the above arrangement, the inflator 2 is penetrating through the opening as in the conventional case as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, and it is airtightly mounted on the inflator 2 by bolts and nuts with the portion around the opening and the reinforcement sloths 7 squeezed by ring-like hardware 6' and the holder 6.
Next, description is given on the operation of this embodiment.
When the vehicle is collided against an obstacle and the decele ation exceeds a certain level, collision signal is issued by a collision detecting sensor (not shown), and the gas generating agent in the inflator 2 is exploded by this signal. As the result, gas is generated, and the generated gas is blown out of the blowing holes 4 as shown by the arrow "a" in Fig. 2.
The gas thus blown out inflates and expands instantaneously the air bag 3, which safely receives the occupant of the vehicle, who is pushed forward by inertia. In this case, gas is released from the exhaust holes 8 on the air bag 3 at adequate speed, and this alleviates the shock, which occurs when the occupant is collided against the air bag 3.
When the air bag 3 is rapidly inflated, or when the occupant is collided against the air bag, stress concentration occurs around the exhaust holes 8 by the tensile force A, which is generated in radial direction from the center of the opening 9 of the air bag 3.
However, on the woven cloth around the exhaust holes 8, both warps 11 and the wefts 10 are crossing diago-nally relative to the direction, in which tensile 2~6~3 force A works, and the tensile force A is perfectly supported by both warps 11 and the wefts 10. Accord-ingly, even when such tensile force A occurs, it is possible to perfectly prevent the rupture 12, which is very likely to occur around the exhaust holes 8.
Table 1 shows the results of the tensile test.
In Table 1, Type 1 sample has the exhaust holes 8' at such points, where either warps or wefts of woven cloth of the air bag are in parallel to the straight line, which connects the center of the opening 9 of the air bag with the centers of the exhaust holes 8' as shown in Figs. 1 (A) and (C). Type 2 sample is an example of the air bag according to the present invention, in which exhaust holes are furnished at the points, where both warps and wefts of woven cloth of the air bag cross the straight line, which connects the center of the opening 9 of the air bag with the centers of the exhaust holes 8', at approximately 45 degrees. In this case, the diameter is 32 mm in both of the exhaust holes. The figures in Table 1 represent tensile load at the moment when slit occurs on the exhaust holes.
As it is evident from Table 1, Type 2 has the tensile strength by abot 1.4 times higher than that of Type 1. In this way, the strength of the air bag according to the present invention is extensively 2~64~93 improved compared with the conventional type air bag.
In case the portion around the exhaust holes 8 of the air bag 3 is reinforced by reinforcement cloths as necessary, the exhaust holes 8 can be more effectively reinforced if the exhaust holes 8 are provided on the reinforcement cloths at the same points as in the present invention.
Table 1 Results of tensile strength test for woven cloth of air bag with exhaust hole .
Sample No. Type 1 (N) Type 2 (N) . 1 1,441 2,098 2 1,5882,196 3 1,5192,127 Average ~ 1,516 2,140 APPLICABILITY IN THE INDUSTRY
The air bag in the air bag unit of the present invention can be used in a vehicle and applied for the protection of the occupant by absorbing the shock, which occurs when the vehicle is collided.
Claims
1. An air bag in an air bag unit, comprising an opening, where an inflator to be operated in an emergency is penetrating, and exhaust holes to release the pressure within the air bag around said opening, characterized in that said exhaust holes are provided at such positions where both warps and wefts of woven cloth of the air bag diagonally cross the straight line, which connects the centers of the exhaust holes with the center of said opening.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2064693 CA2064693A1 (en) | 1990-05-30 | 1990-05-30 | Air bag in an air bag unit |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2064693 CA2064693A1 (en) | 1990-05-30 | 1990-05-30 | Air bag in an air bag unit |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2064693A1 true CA2064693A1 (en) | 1991-12-01 |
Family
ID=4149558
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2064693 Abandoned CA2064693A1 (en) | 1990-05-30 | 1990-05-30 | Air bag in an air bag unit |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2064693A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20240092306A1 (en) * | 2020-11-25 | 2024-03-21 | Zf Automotive Germany Gmbh | Airbag fabric |
-
1990
- 1990-05-30 CA CA 2064693 patent/CA2064693A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20240092306A1 (en) * | 2020-11-25 | 2024-03-21 | Zf Automotive Germany Gmbh | Airbag fabric |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |