EP1276645A4 - Element pour coussin de securite gonflable - Google Patents

Element pour coussin de securite gonflable

Info

Publication number
EP1276645A4
EP1276645A4 EP01916555A EP01916555A EP1276645A4 EP 1276645 A4 EP1276645 A4 EP 1276645A4 EP 01916555 A EP01916555 A EP 01916555A EP 01916555 A EP01916555 A EP 01916555A EP 1276645 A4 EP1276645 A4 EP 1276645A4
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
cover
airbag
region
regions
portions
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP01916555A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1276645A1 (fr
Inventor
Rick A Adkisson
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
AmSafe Inc
Original Assignee
AmSafe Inc
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by AmSafe Inc filed Critical AmSafe Inc
Publication of EP1276645A1 publication Critical patent/EP1276645A1/fr
Publication of EP1276645A4 publication Critical patent/EP1276645A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/20—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components
    • B60R21/215—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components characterised by the covers for the inflatable member
    • B60R21/2165—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components characterised by the covers for the inflatable member characterised by a tear line for defining a deployment opening

Definitions

  • the present invention is generally directed to the field of automatic airbag deployment systems. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an airbag housing having a cover which tears open when the airbag fills with pressurized gas during deployment.
  • Airbag deployment systems are generally known in the field and have been widely used in the automobile industry. The majority of these deployment mechanisms employ a cover which separates from a top of a housing that encloses an airbag prior to deployment. More recently, airbags have been suggested for use in aircraft where they will be deployed directly from seatbelts in front of passengers.
  • an airbag that is preferably deployed over and or around a top surface of a seatbelt has a tamper-resistant cover.
  • the tamper-resistant cover includes one or more regions in a surface of the tamper-resistant cover that is less tear- resistant than the material which is used throughout the remaining portions of the cover. This tearable portion or portions readily rips upon deployment of the airbag when pressurized gas rapidly fills the underlying airbag thereby allowing rapid deployment of the airbag as desired.
  • the remaining portions of the cover material do not tear as readily as the tearable regions.
  • a connection between two flap members may form the weakened portion of the cover to allow deployment of an airbag from beneath the cover.
  • the cover does not interfere with the deployment of the airbag and also provides a tamper-resistant aesthetically pleasing cover.
  • a further feature and advantage of the tamper-resistant cover of the present invention is that the selective location of the weakened region or regions on the cover desirably may be used to assist in altering the way in which the airbag deploys during a crash or other impact.
  • a tearable portion of the cover may be centrally located on a top surface of the tamper-resistant cover.
  • tearable portion When tearable portion is located in the central region of the top surface, with out any other such tearable regions on the cover, the bag will initially expand and deploy through the central region of the cover.
  • the airbag deployment will occur intially through these two regions .and then expand out therefrom until the cover is opened substantially along its entire length.
  • This feature of the present invention may be used to control deployment of the bag in a predetermined sequence. This may be important if it is desirable to control the application of pressure from the bag on the occupant or internal surfaces of the passenger compartment. Specifically, this feature may be used to control movement of an occupant's body or prevent contact between certain surfaces within the passenger compartment and the passenger. For example, for a passenger located adjacent the right side wall of an airplane, it may be desirable to have the airbag deploy such that the right side of the bag deploys initially and the remaining bag expands out from the expanded right side in order to cushion the passsenger from impact with the side wall. In order to achieve this affect, the bag cover has a tearable portion located on the right side. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the weakened region may be placed in a wide variety of locations depending upon the desired effect.
  • the tearable regions on the bag cover may be formed in a variety of different ways. All that is necessary is that the tearable region provide less resistance to tearing than the remaining portions of the cover assembly.
  • the tearable regions may be formed by providing mechanical wear to the desired region on the cover.
  • the tearable region or regions may be formed by creating an ultra-sonic tear seam or through the use of a tear tab or tear strip formed into the cover. It is preferred that the tearable region be formed of an ultra-sonic tear seam formed in a cover comprised of a polymer material. This is preferred because the material will not shread the bag fabric during deployment and will not significantly limit deployment of the bag or cause injury to the occupant. Furthermore, the selection of this material provides a tamper-resistant cover that is also aesthetically pleasing.
  • the flaps when cover flaps are joined over the top of an airbag and belt structure, the flaps may be joined together with ultrasonic welding or mechanical stitching of tearable elements that either break apart or detach from the flap cover material. The detachment or separation of these elements provides for rapid deployment of an air bag.
  • T-shaped elements are sewn or welded across a seam between two cover flaps. These T-shaped structures break apart during deployment and allow the flap members to separate.
  • the use of T-shaped connection elements is exemplary only and other connection elements may be used as well.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a first preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 2 illustrates a side view of the embodiment of the present invention set forth in Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 3 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention wherein two sides of a cover are secured to a restraining belt
  • Figure 4 illustrates a further alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein a unitary member surrounds an airbag and seatbelt assembly
  • Figure 5 illustrates a side view of the airbag cover illustrated in Figure 4.
  • Figure 6 illustrates a tear seam in accordance with the present invention
  • Figure 7 illustrates connection elements for connecting separate cover flap members.
  • an exemplary airbag cover of the present invention is shown generally in Figure 1 at 10.
  • an outer airbag cover 12 encloses both a belt type restraining device 14 as well as a folded airbag 16 prior to deployment of the airbag.
  • the outer perimeter of the airbag cover is stitched down to the belt restraining device 14.
  • the cover may completely surround the restraining belt and bag assembly.
  • the cover 12 includes a preferably located central portion 18 where the strength of the material for the outer cover bag has been reduced through, for example, ultrasonic stitching or through chemical treatment, mechanical wear or laser treatment.
  • This weakened portion or region may alternatively be comprised of a connection between separate portions of the cover material that is not as strong as the connection between other portions of the cover material.
  • the weakened portion of the airbag cover provides for the rapid deployment of the airbag through the cover.
  • the selective placement of the weakened portion may also be used in controlling the selective deployment of the airbag.
  • FIG. 2 is a side view illustration of the airbag cover mechanism of the present invention.
  • the cover 12 completely surrounds the seatbelt 14 as well as an internally located folded airbag 16.
  • the weakened portion or region of the airbag cover having decreased strength 18 is located on the top surface preferably in the center.
  • the actual location of the cover region 18 having decreased strength may be selected in order to alter initial bag deployment. For example, it is preferred that this region be centrally located to allow for more uniform deployment of the bag in front of a passenger. However, other selections for the location of the cover region having decreased strength may be used as well.
  • the fabric cover may be sewn to the restraining belt or the cover member may surround both the airbag 16 and the restraining belt 14.
  • a single piece of cover material may be sewn directly to the restraining belt 14 where mechanical wear or etching or some other technique for decreasing the strength of the airbag cover has been employed for weakening a selected area.
  • FIG 3 illustrates a further alternate embodiment of the invention where the cover material 12 is attached to the underside portions of the belt restraining device 14.
  • the weak portion 18 of the airbag cover 12 is also preferably centrally located in this embodiment.
  • the airbag material may be comprised of a polymer material whose weakened portion 18 has been formed by mechanical wear, laser treatment, chemical etching or ultrasonic stitching.
  • the weakened area 18 will tear first and the bag will deploy and expand initially outward from the weakened region 18.
  • the cover 12 is a unitary member which slides over the bag/belt assembly. The ends of this cover material 12 may be stitched to the safety belt 14 in order to limit access to the airbag material thereby making the unit tamper resistant.
  • the weakened portion 18 of this embodiment may also be formed as noted above. It is preferred that this unitary member be formed as a plastic extrusion made from a polymer material. In a further preferred embodiment, the weakened area may be comprised of an integrally molded tear seam wherein a portion of the polymer cover material is less thick than other regions of the cover thereby providing a weakened area that tears initially during deployment of an airbag.
  • Figure 5 is a side view that illustrates this embodiment of the airbag cover 12, wherein the cover has a preferably internally located region 23 that is thinner than the remain portions of the cover 12.
  • FIG 6 illustrates a further alternate embodiment of the present invention which is comprised of a tear seam that may be attached between two portions of the cover material to provide ready separation of the cover regions.
  • the tear seam 25 is preferably comprised of a polymer material having a preferably located central portion 27 that is thinner th.an the remaining regions.
  • the sides of the tear strip 26, 28 may be secured to cover material via any conventional manner such as, for example, via mechanical stitching, or ultrasonic welding and the like.
  • the tear strip allows two airbag cover portions to readily separate during deployment of the airbag.
  • FIG 7 illustrates yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein T-shaped connection elements 33 are secured between two flaps 36, 38 of cover material.
  • the T-shaped connection elements 33 have a central portion 40 that is physically smaller than the remaining regions in order to provide a weakened region that will break during deployment of an airbag.
  • the T-shaped members 33 are attached to the adjacent flap members 36, 38 of the cover material via either mechanical stitching or ultrasonic welding or the like.
  • the T-shaped members 33 are preferably secured beneath the top surface of the overlapping flaps, however, those skilled in the art will recognize that they may be formed on the top surface as well.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Air Bags (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne une enveloppe inviolable (12) destinée à un coussin gonflable de sécurité (16), comprenant une ou plusieurs régions (8) situées à la surface de l'enveloppe inviolable qui sont moins résistantes à la déchirure que les matières utilisées dans les autres parties de l'enveloppe. Cette ou ces régions pouvant être déchirées (8) se déchirent facilement lors du déploiement du coussin de sécurité gonflable lorsque un gaz sous pression remplit rapidement le coussin de sécurité gonflable sous-jacent, ce qui permet le déploiement rapide du coussin de sécurité gonflable. Des emplacements sélectifs de la ou les régions pouvant être déchirées sur l'enveloppe peuvent être utilisés à souhait pour modifier la façon dont le coussin de sécurité gonflable se déploie durant un écrasement ou tout autre impact. Les régions pouvant être déchirées sur l'enveloppe peuvent être formées par application d'une usure mécanique sur les régions désirées de l'enveloppe. Dans un autre mode de réalisation, la ou les régions pouvant être déchirées peuvent être formées par création d'une ligne de déchirure par ultrasons ou par utilisation d'une languette d'arrachage (33) ou d'une bande de déchirure (25) formée dans l'enveloppe.
EP01916555A 2000-03-14 2001-03-12 Element pour coussin de securite gonflable Withdrawn EP1276645A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US524369 1995-09-06
US52436900A 2000-03-14 2000-03-14
PCT/US2001/007732 WO2001068413A1 (fr) 2000-03-14 2001-03-12 Element pour coussin de securite gonflable

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1276645A1 EP1276645A1 (fr) 2003-01-22
EP1276645A4 true EP1276645A4 (fr) 2005-02-16

Family

ID=24088909

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP01916555A Withdrawn EP1276645A4 (fr) 2000-03-14 2001-03-12 Element pour coussin de securite gonflable

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1276645A4 (fr)
WO (1) WO2001068413A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2372483B (en) * 2001-02-26 2004-07-28 Autoliv Dev Improvements in or relating to a cover for an air-bag
US9511866B2 (en) 2012-03-19 2016-12-06 Amsafe, Inc. Structure mounted airbag assemblies and associated systems and methods
US8523220B1 (en) 2012-03-19 2013-09-03 Amsafe, Inc. Structure mounted airbag assemblies and associated systems and methods
JP6175012B2 (ja) * 2014-02-24 2017-08-02 株式会社東海理化電機製作所 シートベルト装置の製造方法
US9352839B2 (en) 2014-10-02 2016-05-31 Amsafe, Inc. Active positioning airbag assembly and associated systems and methods
US9944245B2 (en) 2015-03-28 2018-04-17 Amsafe, Inc. Extending pass-through airbag occupant restraint systems, and associated systems and methods
EP3283336B1 (fr) 2015-04-11 2019-11-20 AmSafe, Inc. Système d'évacuation de coussin de sécurité gonflable actif
US10604259B2 (en) 2016-01-20 2020-03-31 Amsafe, Inc. Occupant restraint systems having extending restraints, and associated systems and methods

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5062663A (en) * 1989-09-25 1991-11-05 Takata Corporation Module cover of air bag system
US5299827A (en) * 1992-01-31 1994-04-05 Takata Corporation Air bag system with a joining structure between a casing and a door
FR2703011A1 (fr) * 1993-03-24 1994-09-30 Ecia Equip Composants Ind Auto Procédé de fabrication d'une structure de support d'un garnissage d'un module à sac gonflable, notamment pour véhicule automobile et structure de support obtenue.
EP0639481A1 (fr) * 1993-08-18 1995-02-22 Tip Engineering Group, Inc. Méthode et traitement pour réaliser une ouverture de déploiement de sac gonflable dans une garniture reconverte de cuir
WO1999042336A1 (fr) * 1998-02-19 1999-08-26 Textron Automotive Company Inc. Trappe integree pour coussin gonflable de securite et son procede de fabrication

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5375875A (en) * 1993-10-05 1994-12-27 Tip Engineering Group, Inc. Two stage cutter arrangement for forming an air bag deployment opening
JPH03279055A (ja) * 1990-03-28 1991-12-10 Mazda Motor Corp 自動車のエアバッグ装置
US5863065A (en) * 1992-09-04 1999-01-26 Double Eagle Ltd, Inc. Portable passenger air bag
US5492360A (en) * 1994-04-11 1996-02-20 Davidson Textron Inc. Tether tear strap and trim panel having same
DE19546585A1 (de) * 1995-12-13 1997-06-19 Trw Repa Gmbh Gassack-Abdeckung für ein Fahrzeuginsassen-Rückhaltesystem sowie Verfahren zu deren Herstellung
US5984350A (en) * 1997-09-22 1999-11-16 Am-Safe, Inc. Vehicle safety system
US6135489A (en) * 1998-10-07 2000-10-24 Trw Vehicle Safety Systems Inc. Tear seam for air bag module cover

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5062663A (en) * 1989-09-25 1991-11-05 Takata Corporation Module cover of air bag system
US5299827A (en) * 1992-01-31 1994-04-05 Takata Corporation Air bag system with a joining structure between a casing and a door
FR2703011A1 (fr) * 1993-03-24 1994-09-30 Ecia Equip Composants Ind Auto Procédé de fabrication d'une structure de support d'un garnissage d'un module à sac gonflable, notamment pour véhicule automobile et structure de support obtenue.
EP0639481A1 (fr) * 1993-08-18 1995-02-22 Tip Engineering Group, Inc. Méthode et traitement pour réaliser une ouverture de déploiement de sac gonflable dans une garniture reconverte de cuir
WO1999042336A1 (fr) * 1998-02-19 1999-08-26 Textron Automotive Company Inc. Trappe integree pour coussin gonflable de securite et son procede de fabrication

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See also references of WO0168413A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1276645A1 (fr) 2003-01-22
WO2001068413A1 (fr) 2001-09-20
WO2001068413A8 (fr) 2002-02-07
WO2001068413A9 (fr) 2003-03-06

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