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
  • B60R21/217—Inflation fluid source retainers, e.g. reaction canisters; Connection of bags, covers, diffusers or inflation fluid sources therewith or together
  • B60R21/2171—Inflation fluid source retainers, e.g. reaction canisters; Connection of bags, covers, diffusers or inflation fluid sources therewith or together specially adapted for elongated cylindrical or bottle-like inflators with a symmetry axis perpendicular to the main direction of bag deployment, e.g. extruded reaction canisters
• • 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
  • B60R21/217—Inflation fluid source retainers, e.g. reaction canisters; Connection of bags, covers, diffusers or inflation fluid sources therewith or together
  • B60R2021/2173—Inflation fluid source retainers, e.g. reaction canisters; Connection of bags, covers, diffusers or inflation fluid sources therewith or together the module or part thereof being movably mounted on the vehicle
  • B60R2021/2175—Inflation fluid source retainers, e.g. reaction canisters; Connection of bags, covers, diffusers or inflation fluid sources therewith or together the module or part thereof being movably mounted on the vehicle using energy absorbing means
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T24/00—Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
  • Y10T24/44—Clasp, clip, support-clamp, or required component thereof
  • Y10T24/44248—Encircling gripping member including semirigid band and means for adjusting girth
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T403/00—Joints and connections
  • Y10T403/40—Radially spaced members joined by independent coupling
  • Y10T403/405—Flexible intermediate member

Definitions

• the invention relates to an arrangement for fixing the gas generator of an airbag unit, in particular for fixing the gas generator in the generator chamber and for sealing the generator chamber from the environment. It relates to an airbag unit of typical design with an airbag housing, on which an airbag is attached, and a generator chamber connected to the airbag housing, which receives the gas generator for releasing a gas filling the airbag in the event of an impact.
• Airbag units with the structure basically described above belong to the prior art. With regard to the large number of such safety devices to be found in some modern vehicles, these have very different shapes and different designs in detail. With the increasing number of airbag units installed in a vehicle, these represent an increasingly significant cost factor. In view of the manufacturing costs, efforts are therefore made to keep the structure of the airbag systems simple, in particular to reduce the number of their components, and so on finally, to reduce the cost of assembling them when assembling them less. Such simplification measures are also in the
• the Gas generator in the generator housing In view of the often very limited installation space in the vehicle.
• One point of focus is the attachment of the Gas generator in the generator housing.
• the gas generator in the housing must be securely fixed in position and, in terms of comfort, care must be taken to ensure that vibrations and twists that arise during the movement of the vehicle do not lead to rattling or squeaking noises caused by parts rubbing against each other.
• the generator housing must be reliably sealed in order to prevent the gas flowing out of the generator in the event of an impact to inflate the airbag from escaping from the airbag unit into the environment in an uncontrolled manner. These requirements must be met taking into account the tolerances that occur in practice with regard to the dimensional accuracy of the components.
• EP 0 722 861 B1 describes a special adapter for fixing the gas generator in the generator housing, which serves to meet the requirements mentioned.
• the adapter is pushed onto the free axial end of the gas generator and attached to it by a frictional connection. For this are at the
• the object of the invention is to provide a solution by means of which the
• Gas generator can be securely fixed in the generator chamber and both radial and axial tolerances, in particular of the gas generator, can be compensated for. At the same time, a reliable seal of the generator housing against the environment is to be achieved.
• Airbag unit refers to an airbag unit of the generic type, which essentially consists of an airbag housing with the inflatable airbag defined therein, one connected to the airbag housing Generator chamber, which consists of a gas generator coupled to an ignition unit and a diffuser.
• the gas generator received by the generator chamber is mounted with a axial end in a fixed bearing.
• the fixed bearing the design of which is not the subject of the present invention, can be realized, for example, by the inner contour of the generator chamber, which is preferably made of a plastic, and which is adapted to the outer contour of the gas generator.
• the invention serves to fix the gas generator at its free axial end opposite this fixed bearing.
• a plate-like, spring-elastic fastening element is pressed into this area between the outer circumference of the gas generator and the inner circumference of the generator chamber, which projects axially beyond the gas generator.
• the fastening element is arched in a section between the outer wall of the gas generator and the inner wall of the generator chamber in the axial direction into the generator chamber.
• the fastening element is under prestress, so that its outer circumference is non-positively supported on the inner wall of the generator chamber and thus claws against the inner wall.
• the fastening element at least partially encompasses the bottom of the gas generator formed at this end and, in the event of an impact, seals the generator chamber with respect to the environment with regard to the gas flowing out of the gas generator.
• Pressing the plate-shaped fastening element can both radial manufacturing tolerances of the gas generator or the gas generator casing and / or the generator chamber as well as axial tolerances of the gas generator be compensated for, since the fastening element is virtually automatically pushed open so far that it comes into contact with the outside of the generator in a positive fit and claws against the inside of the generator chamber. Any axial tolerances are easily compensated for via the press-in depth of the fastening element. Of special
• the fastening element bulges into the interior of the generator chamber in a radial section between the outer wall of the generator and the inner wall of the chamber, so that the gas generator is fixed in the generator chamber with a predetermined preload.
• the fastening element which is almost circular in terms of its outer contour, has an inner eye around its center in an inner region. This enables the gas generator to partially protrude through the fastening element in the area of the inner eye.
• the bottom of the gas generator has a stepped contour in the axial direction, so that although it projects through the inner eye of the fastening element in a radially inner region, its bottom is nevertheless partially surrounded by the fastening element.
• the gas generator in the area of the Fastener formed inner eye can be connected to the ignition unit via a plug.
• the fastening element is a stamped part made of sheet steel. This is also the
• a plug-in tab to be connected to the ground strap is provided, for example.
• the fastening element can also be formed from a composite material and to manufacture it, for example, from a steel sheet which is extrusion-coated with a plastic around the inner eye of the fastening element and on its inner contour.
• the sealing behavior in the area of the generator base can be improved if necessary, since the generator base presses into the plastic surrounding the inner eye when the fastening element is pressed.
• the fastening element can also be snapped onto the gas generator with its inner eye. As a result, it can already be preassembled on the gas generator and, when the airbag unit is assembled, introduced together with it into the generator chamber and pressed between the gas generator and the generator chamber.
• the fastening element has micro-profiling on its outer circumference.
• Pressing the fastener advantageously favors clawing on the inner wall of the generator chamber.
• Micro corners or teeth are distributed on the outer circumference of the fastening element.
• FIG. 1 The schematic representation of a basic embodiment of the invention.
• Fig. 2 A further development of the embodiment according to Fig. 1.
• FIG. 1 shows the invention in accordance with a basic design in a schematic representation. The figure only relates to the section of an airbag unit, which is otherwise not further illustrated. It shows a part of the generator chamber 2 with the gas generator 1 arranged therein, which is also only partially shown. The other components of the airbag unit which are known in their design are not shown in the drawing.
• the diffuser likewise not shown in this respect, which ensures that the airbag inflates as evenly as possible for a distribution of the gas flow, can be implemented either on the generator 1 itself or / and by appropriate profiling of the inner wall of the generator housing 2.
• the gas generator 1 is designed as an approximately cylindrical part that is essentially rotationally symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis or the axial direction x. At its one axial end, not shown in the figure, the gas generator 1 is mounted in a fixed bearing. On the other hand, in accordance with the basic idea of the invention, it is fixed in the generator chamber 2 at the opposite free axial end by means of the plate-like, spring-elastic fastening element 3.
• the Fastening element 3 which has an inner eye 5 with respect to the radial direction r in its inner region, is inserted between the outer wall 10 of the gas generator 1 and the inner wall 20 of the generator chamber 2 in the course of the introduction or after the introduction of the gas generator 1 into the generator chamber 2 pressed.
• the fastening element 3 comes to rest in the area of its inner eye 5 on a section of the generator base 6, partially encompassing it. At the same time, the plate-like part bulges in a section 4 between the generator outer wall 10 and the chamber inner wall 20 into the interior of the generator chamber 2, so that in the installed state it has a concave curvature in relation to the x direction. As a result, the gas generator 1 is fixed in the generator housing under pretension. The fastening element 3 is clawed on its outer circumference on the inner wall 20 of the generator housing 1.
• the gas generator 1 can advantageously be connected to an ignition unit, likewise not shown in the figure, by means of a plug (not shown here).
• the inner eye 5 of the fastening element 3 gives the possibility of this, as shown in FIG Example, the gas generator 1 is partially penetrated in the area of a gradation 7 of the generator outer contour.
• the preload achieved by the curvature 4 of the fastening element 3 has an equally advantageous effect on the secure fixation of the gas generator 1 and the sealing of the generator chamber 2 against the escape of gas in the event of the gas generator 1 being ignited. It can be observed that the fastening element 3 in the region of this curvature, in the event of an increase in the internal pressure in the generator chamber 2 due to the escape of gas from the gas generator 1, largely without changing its position, contrary to the x-direction indicated by the arrow , but with a change in its shape, is pressed outwards and, due to the change in shape mentioned, becomes even stronger and the generator chamber 2 claws reliably against its inner wall 20 in a sealing manner.
• FIG. 2 shows a somewhat modified embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention compared to FIG. 1.
• the fastening element 3 is provided with a micro-profiling on its outer circumference. This is indicated by the enlarged section viewed against the x direction.
• micro corners 8 are arranged distributed on the circumference of the fastening element 3. This structuring favors the clawing of the fastening element 3, which is otherwise identical in terms of the clamping and sealing effect, on the inner wall 20 of the generator housing 2.
• the fastening element 3 is designed, for example, as a stamped part made of sheet steel. This provides the possibility, as in the example shown in FIG. 2, of placing the gas generator 1 on the ground potential of the vehicle via a ground strap 9 connected to other metallic parts of the vehicle.
• fastening element 3 from a composite material with an inner eye 5 encased by plastic, in particular this form of construction advantageously making it possible to preassemble the fastening element 3 by snapping or clipping on the gas generator 1.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Air Bags (AREA)
• Feeding, Discharge, Calcimining, Fusing, And Gas-Generation Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34894917

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (6)

Family Cites Families (17)

• 2004
  • 2004-02-27 DE DE102004010144A patent/DE102004010144B4/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2005
  • 2005-02-25 JP JP2007500045A patent/JP4582663B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-02-25 US US10/598,368 patent/US7641219B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-02-25 BR BRPI0508069-0A patent/BRPI0508069A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-02-25 EP EP05715037A patent/EP1718504A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-02-25 WO PCT/DE2005/000336 patent/WO2005082683A1/de active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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