KR20180039488A - Driver seat airbag apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a driver seat airbag apparatus of a vehicle. The airbag apparatus includes front and rear panels, a gas distribution panel, and a tether member. The rear panel faces a driver in expansion and the front panel is opposed to the rear panel. The gas distribution panel is connected to the front panel through a sewing line to radially inject gas. The tether member is disposed to cross with the sewing line so as to be rotated at a predetermined angle with a gas distribution path of the gas distribution panel. On both ends following a direction perpendicular to the radial direction of the airbag of the tether member are formed with a reinforcement portion for reinforcing both sides of the sewing line out of the tether member. By using the present invention, in case of expansion of the airbag, a connection portion of the sewing line of the front panel is prevented from being damaged, and the tether member is prevented from being cut.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a driver's seat airbag device,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a driver's seat airbag device for a driver who protects a driver by deploying between a steering wheel and a driver in a sudden deceleration of an automobile due to a collision.

In general, a vehicle airbag device is a safety device for protecting an occupant by injecting gas into an airbag in response to a signal from an impact sensor in the event of an automobile collision, thereby rapidly inflating the airbag.

The driver's seat airbag is mounted concentrically on the steering wheel so that the airbag is inflated rapidly in response to rapid deceleration of the vehicle.

The conventional initial driver's seat airbag is inflated to an approximate ball shape at the time of inflation so that the lower portion of the airbag can not sufficiently cover the lower portion of the steering wheel so that the driver's chest collides against the steering wheel.

To this end, a configuration has been proposed in which a tether member is additionally provided inside the airbag to cover the central inflation thickness of the airbag to sufficiently cover the lower portion of the steering wheel.

The steering wheel is mounted diagonally such that the distance between the driver's head and the top of the steering wheel is greater than the distance between the driver's chest and the steering wheel.

Therefore, studies on an air bag deployment shape restraining device capable of appropriately responding to such a structure and protecting the head and body (chest, abdomen, etc.) of the driver with appropriate inflation pressure have been continuously carried out.

Conventional driver's seat airbags employ a gas distributor that blocks gas from the inflator from being fed directly to the center of the rear panel facing the driver and distributes the gas radially toward the periphery of the airbag.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-11084 U.S. Patent No. 6,626,459

It is an object of the present invention to provide a driver's seat airbag device which improves the joining structure of a gas distribution panel that distributes the gas radially supplied into the airbag and a tether member that adjusts the inflation thickness of the airbag.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rear panel for a driver when inflated; A front panel facing the rear panel and connected to the inflator; A radial gas distribution panel interposed between the rear panel and the front panel and connected to the front panel to radially distribute gas from the inflator; And a tether member having one end connected to the front panel and the other end directly or indirectly connected to the rear panel, wherein the gas distribution panel is connected to the front panel by a sewing line, Wherein a gas discharge path of the gas distribution panel is defined and the tether member is arranged to intersect with the sewing line by being rotated at a predetermined angle in the radial direction with respect to the gas discharge path of the gas distribution panel, And a reinforcing portion connected to the gas distribution panel and reinforcing the sewing line at a portion of the tether member adjacent to the sewing line.

Wherein the tether member includes a front panel contact portion disposed adjacent to a center portion of the front panel and a tension portion extending to both sides of the front panel contact portion, The reinforcing portion can be protruded.

A portion of the tension portion including the reinforcing portion may have a superimposed portion overlapping at least two layers.

Wherein the overlapped portion of the tether member overlapped by the folded portion is folded by the sewing line along with the gas distribution panel to the front panel Can be connected.

A tether support member may be connected to the rear panel, and the tether support member may have a tether connection portion connected to a portion adjacent to a fold line of the folded portion of the tether member.

Wherein the tether member includes a vertical tether member disposed along a vertical direction of the airbag, and a horizontal tether member disposed along a lateral direction of the airbag, wherein an upper length of the vertical tether member is longer than a lower length of the tether member .

The sewing line may be formed in an arc shape.

According to another aspect of the invention, a rear panel facing the driver at inflation: a front panel facing the rear panel and connected to the inflator; And a radial gas distribution panel interposed between the rear panel and the front panel and connected to the front panel to radially distribute the gas from the inflator, wherein the gas distribution panel is connected to the front panel by a sewing line And a reinforcing panel is provided between the front panel and the gas distribution panel at a portion where the sewing line is formed so that the front panel or the gas distribution panel having the sewing line, Is prevented from being damaged.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the joining structure of the gas distribution panel and the tether member, thereby reducing the rupture of the connecting portion between the gas distribution panel and the front panel due to the airbag inflating force upon inflation of the air bag, .

1 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a driver's seat airbag apparatus of the present invention.
2 is a front view of the driver seat airbag in the non-inflated state of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.
4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a vertical tether member of a driver's seat airbag according to the present invention.
5 is a plan view showing the configuration of the horizontal tether member of the driver's seat airbag according to the present invention.
6 is a plan view showing a configuration of a tethering member of a driver's seat airbag according to the present invention.
7 is a plan view showing a configuration of another vertical tether member of the present invention.
8 is a front view showing the construction of a driver's seat airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of Fig.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, It is provided to let you know.

In the following, reference symbol U denotes the upward direction of the automobile, reference symbol L denotes the downward direction of the automobile, reference symbol F denotes the front direction of the automobile, and reference symbol R denotes the rear direction of the automobile. Reference numeral I denotes an inner direction, and reference symbol O denotes an outer direction of the automobile. The inner and outer directions I and O are hereinafter referred to as the width direction of the automobile.

1 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a driver's seat airbag apparatus of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, the driver's seat airbag apparatus 1 is mounted in the steering wheel 3 on the driver's seat side of the automobile. The driver's seat airbag apparatus 1 includes an airbag 10 mounted in a folded state in a housing 5 in a steering wheel 3 and an airbag 10 connected to the airbag 10 so that the airbag 10 is supported by the steering wheel 3 and the driver O And an inflator 7 for supplying a gas to expand between the gas-liquid separator and the gas-liquid separator.

The airbag 10 includes a front panel 13 facing the rear panel 11 and a rear panel 11 facing the driver O side when inflated and the front panel 13 facing the rear panel 11 and the front panel 13 A gas distribution panel 20, a tether member 30, and a tether support member 50 are provided.

The gas distribution panel 20 is connected to the front panel 13 to radially distribute the gas generated from the inflator 7 along the radial direction of the airbag 10. The gas distribution panel 20 guides the gas from the inflator 7 to be supplied radially toward the periphery of the airbag 10 while preventing gas from being fed directly to the central portion of the rear panel 11. [ Therefore, the central portion of the airbag 10 is rapidly expanded, preventing the driver 0 from being injured by the inflated airbag 10. On the other hand, as the gas distribution panel 20 feeds the gas generated from the inflator 7 radially through the plurality of gas discharge paths 21, the entire area of the airbag 10 is inflated almost simultaneously, Can be shortened.

The tether member (30) is arranged to be rotated by a predetermined angle in the circumferential direction of the gas distribution panel (20) and the airbag (10). The tether member 30 may include a front panel contacting portion 31 disposed adjacent to the center C of the airbag 10 and tension portions 32 and 33 extending to both sides of the front panel contacting portion 31 . The front panel contact portion 31 of the tether member 30 and the central portion of the gas distribution panel 20 can be connected to the front panel 13 through the same sewing line S3.

The front panel contact portion 31 contacts the central portion of the rear panel 11 and functions to shield the high temperature and high pressure gas from the inflator 7 from being directly injected into the central portion of the rear panel 11. [ The front panel contact portion 31 may be formed as a substantially circular plate and disposed concentrically with the airbag 10.

The tether member 30 does not necessarily require the front panel contact portion 31. [ That is, the tether member 30 may have a simple strip-shaped member whose one end is connected to one side of the front panel 13.

The tether support member 50 includes a rear panel contact portion 51 that contacts the center of the rear panel 11 of the airbag 10 and a tether member connection portion 52 that is connected to the tension portions 32 and 33 of the tether member 30 , 53).

The inflated thickness between the front and rear panels 11 and 13 is limited by the tether member 30 and the tether support member 50 connected to each other when the airbag 10 is inflated so that the airbag 10, Thereby preventing injury.

The upper tension portion 32 of the tether member 30 is formed to be longer than the length of the lower tension portion 33 so that the upper expansion thickness T1 of the airbag 10 at the time of inflation of the airbag 10 Can be made larger than the expansion thickness (T2). With this configuration, it is possible to quickly restrain the head H of the driver in the event of a vehicle collision to reduce the brain injury value, and to prevent the lower portion of the driver, e.g., the abdomen, from being pressed.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the driver seat airbag in the non-inflated state of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in Fig.

2 and 3, the driver's seat airbag 10 includes a rear panel 11 composed of a circular woven fabric, a front panel 13 having the same diameter as the rear panel 11, and front and rear panels 11 and 13 are sewn through the sewing line S1 to have an envelope shape. The sewing line S1 is formed along the edges of the front and rear panels 11 and 13 and has a circular shape.

At the center of the front panel 13, an inflator opening 13a and a vent hole 13b are formed.

Between the front panel 13 and the rear panel 11, a gas distribution panel 20, a tether member 30 and a tether support member 50 are provided.

The gas distribution panel 20 includes a blocking portion 22 positioned at a central portion between the front and rear panels 13 and 11 to prevent directing the gas from the inflator 7 to the central portion of the rear panel 11, And a plurality of gas discharge passages 21 extending radially from the blocking portion 22 to supply gas around the airbag 10.

The section between the gas discharge path 21 of the gas distribution panel 20 and the gas discharge path 21 is connected to the front panel 13 through the sewing line S3. The sewing line S3 connects the gas distribution panel 20 to the front panel 13 and defines the gas discharge path 21 as well.

The sewing line S3 is formed in a substantially arcuate shape so as to eliminate the local concentration of the gas and smoothly discharge the gas through the gas discharge path 21. [

The gas distribution panel 20 may include at least two gas discharge passages 21. The gas distribution panel 20 may have various shapes, such as a +, -, or " * " shape.

The tether member 30 may be disposed at a predetermined angle in the circumferential direction of the airbag 10 from the gas discharge path 21 of the gas distribution panel 20. [ That is, the tether member 30 may be disposed so as to be positioned between the gas discharge paths 21 of the gas separation panel 20.

The tether member 30 includes a vertical tether member 30V disposed in the upper and lower directions U and L of the airbag 10 and a horizontal tether member 30H disposed substantially perpendicular to the vertical tether member 30V can do.

The vertical tether member 30V includes a front panel contact portion 31 that contacts the periphery of the inflator opening 13a of the front panel 13 and tension portions 32 and 33 that extend on both sides from the front panel contact portion 31 .

The vertical tether member 30V and the horizontal tether member 30H are connected to the front panel 13 together with the gas distribution panel 20 by a sewing line S3. The vertical tether member 30V and the horizontal tether member 30H are formed of a band-shaped member having a constant width, and are arranged to substantially intersect the sewing line S3.

Reinforced portions 37 protrude from both side ends of the vertical tether member 30V along the longitudinal direction of the adjacent vertical tether members 30V adjacent to the intersections of the tension members 32 and 33 and the sewing line S3.

Both ends of the tension portions 32 and 33 of the vertical tether member 30V have folded portions 34 and 35 which are folded toward the front panel contact portion 31 of the vertical tether member 30V about the folding line F1 . The folded portions 34 and 35 of the vertical tether member 30V are disposed between the front panel 13 and the vertical tether member 30V of the airbag 10 and then are passed through the gas distribution panel 20 And is connected to the front panel 13 together.

With this configuration, the portion of the vertical tether member 30V that is connected to the gas distribution panel 20 forms a substantially double layer. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the front panel 13 from being broken and to prevent the vertical tether member 30V from being cut by the inflating force of the airbag 10 by reinforcing the portion where the sewing line S3 is formed at the time of inflating the airbag 10 can do. The reinforcing portion 37 covers both sides of the sewing line S3 formed out of the vertical tether member 30V so that the front panel 13 and the portion to which the gas distribution panel 20 is connected by the inflating force of the airbag 10 It is possible to prevent rupture.

The horizontal tether member 30H is different from the vertical tether member 30 in the length of the tension members 32 and 33 but is substantially the same as that of the vertical tether member 30 and therefore the same reference numerals are used for the same portions and the duplicated description is omitted .

The rear panel 11 is provided with a tether support member 50. The tether support member 50 projects radially from the rear panel contact portion 51 and the rear panel contact portion 51 which are connected to the inner surface of the center portion of the rear panel 11 through the sewing line S5, And tether connection portions 52 and 53 connected to the portions 32 and 33, respectively.

The tether connection portions 52 and 53 are connected to the folding line F1 of the tension members 32 and 33 of the tether member 30 via the sewing line S6.

The tether member 30 and the tether supporting member 50 are stretched between the front panel 13 and the rear panel 11 upon inflation of the airbag 10 to restrict the inflation thickness of the airbag 10, 10 to prevent the driver O from being injured.

Heat shielding members 41 and 43 are additionally provided on the inside and outside of the front panel 13 and inside the tether member 30 so that the central portions of the front panel 13 and the tether member 30 are generated from the inflator 7 It is possible to prevent direct exposure to the high-pressure and high-temperature gas.

4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a vertical tether member of the present invention.

1 to 4, the vertical tether member 30V includes a front panel contacting portion 31 having a through hole 31a communicating with the inflator opening 13a of the front panel 13, a front panel contacting portion 31 And tensioning portions 32 and 33 extending to both sides of the frame. The through hole 31a of the vertical tether member 30V is disposed concentrically with the center C of the airbag 10.

The front panel contact portion 31 is configured to be substantially circular and configured to cover the central region of the front panel 13 about the inflator 7. [ The front panel contact portion 31 includes a plurality of fastening holes 31b formed around the through holes 31a so that the front panel 13 is attached to the mounting portion of the inflator 7 via the fastening member 8 And are connected in an interposed state.

A reinforcing portion 37 is protruded at both side ends of the tension portions 32, 33 along the vertical direction. The reinforcing portion 37 is configured to protrude in a substantially right-angled triangular shape to suitably cover both sides of the arc-shaped sewing line S3. This configuration can reduce unnecessary material consumption.

The tension portions 32 and 33 have connecting portions 32a and 33a connected to the tether connecting portions 52 and 53 of the tether supporting member 50 and have bent portions extending from the connecting portions 32a and 33a in the longitudinal direction thereof 34, 35).

The folding lines F1 and F2 are folded toward the front panel contact portion 31 along the direction of the arrow A. [ As a result, the tension portions 32 and 33 can be made of a double layer to increase the tensile strength.

The length L1 from the center C of the vertical tether member 30V to the connecting portion 32a of the tension member 32 is greater than the length C from the center C of the vertical tether member 30V to the connecting portion 33a of the tension member 33 (L2). With this configuration, when the airbag 10 is inflated, the upper inflated thickness T1 of the airbag 10 can be constrained to be larger than the lower inflated thickness T2 (see Fig. 1).

5 is a plan view showing the configuration of the horizontal tether member of the driver's seat airbag according to the present invention.

5, the horizontal tether member 30H has a symmetrical shape in which the distances L3 and L4 from the center C to the connecting portions 32a and 33a of the tension units 32 and 33 are the same. Except this configuration, the remaining configuration is substantially the same as that of the vertical tether member 30V.

6 is a plan view showing a configuration of a tether supporting member of the present invention.

1 to 6, the tether supporting member 50 includes a rear panel contact portion 51 connected to the inner surface of the center portion of the rear panel 11 via a sewing line S6, 52, 53, 54, 55 extending in the longitudinal direction. The tether connecting portion 52 is connected to the connecting portions 32a and 33a of the tether member 30 so that when the airbag 10 is inflated the tensioning portions 32 and 33 of the tether member 30 contact the front and rear panels 13, 11).

7 is a plan view showing a configuration of another vertical tether member of the present invention.

2 and 7, at the end of the folded portion 34 of the tether member 130, an additional reinforcing portion 137 corresponding to the reinforcing portion 37 may be formed. The additional reinforcing portion 137 is disposed in a state where the reinforcing portion 37 is rotated 180 degrees. When the folded portion 34 is folded around the folding line F1 with this structure, the additional reinforcing portion 137 can be overlapped with the reinforcing portion 37 while being shaped.

With this configuration, it is possible to reinforce the whole sewing line S3 with a double layer to prevent the front panel 13 and / or the gas distribution panel 20 from being damaged when the airbag 10 is inflated.

The folded portions 34 and 35 extending to the tension portions 32 and 33 are integrally formed as described above for the overlapping structure of the tether member 130. [ In other words, a separate superimposing material can be provided and superimposed on the tension parts 32 and 33. In this case, the abandoned portion of the airbag fabric can be utilized.

Next, the operation principle of the driver's seat airbag apparatus constructed as described above will be described.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, when a gas is generated from the inflator 7 at the time of a vehicle collision, the generated gas is injected toward the blocking portion 21 of the gas distribution panel 20. The blocking portion 21 blocks directing the gas from the inflator 7 to the central portion of the rear panel 11. Therefore, the center portion of the rear panel 11 of the airbag 10 is prevented from suddenly protruding toward the driver 0, so that the driver O can be prevented from being injured by the inflated airbag 10.

The gas that is directly injected into the central portion of the rear panel 11 by the blocking portion 21 of the gas distribution panel 20 is blocked by the plurality of gas discharge paths 21 provided radially from the blocking portion 21 And is sprayed toward the edge of the airbag 10. Therefore, the airbag 10 is evenly expanded in the front section at a high speed to cover the steering wheel 3 quickly. Therefore, the driver O hits the steering wheel 3 to prevent injury.

The tether member 30 interposed between the front panel 13 and the rear panel 11 of the airbag 10 is stretched while the airbag 10 is inflated as described above. That is, while the airbag 10 is inflated by the gas from the inflator 7, the tether member 30 is also deployed together and stretched. The tether member 30 is limited to a predetermined length to limit the inflation thickness of the airbag 30. [

For example, the length of the upper tension portion 32 of the vertical tether member 30V is longer than the length of the lower tension portion 33 so that when the airbag 10 is inflated, the upper expansion thickness T1 of the airbag 10 ) Larger than the lower expansion thickness (T2). With this configuration, the steering wheel 3 is arranged to be inclined so that the head portion H of the driver O, which is relatively far away from the steering wheel 3, is quickly received and the head portion H of the driver O rotates prevent. Therefore, the brain injury value of the driver can be reduced. The lower portion of the airbag 10 can be inflated to a small inflation thickness T2 and the lower portion of the body of the driver O can be prevented from being pressed by the lower portion of the inflated airbag 10. [

At the time of inflation of the airbag 10, the gas from the inflator 7 is rapidly supplied into the interior of the airbag 10, so that the airbag 10 expands rapidly. The portion where the sewing line S3 connecting the gas distribution panel 20 to the front panel 13 is formed during the rapid expansion of the airbag 10 is relatively weak by the high gas pressure.

According to the present invention, the tensioning parts (32, 33) of the tether member (30) include folded parts (34, 35) folded toward the front panel (13). With this configuration, the tether member 30 forms a double layer. The two-layer portion of the tether member 30 is connected to the front panel 13 together with the gas distribution panel 20 via the sewing line S3. In addition, reinforcing portions 37 protrude from both sides of the tension portions 32 and 32 to cover both sides of the sewing line S3 that deviates from the width of the tether member 30.

Therefore, the front panel 13 on which the sewing line S3 is formed and / or portions of the gas distribution panel 20 are reinforced to prevent the front panel 13 and / or the gas distribution panel 20 from being damaged upon inflation of the airbag can do.

Further, the tether member 30 can be prevented from being severed by the inflating force of the airbag 10 by the tether member 30 having the overlapping structure.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing the construction of a driver's seat airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG.

The gas distribution panel 20 is not limited to being coupled to the front panel 13 with the tether member 30 as described above. That is, the gas distribution panel 20 can be coupled to the front panel 13 directly through the sewing line S3. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as those of the above-described configuration, and overlapping descriptions will be omitted, and only the joints with the gas distribution panel 20 and the front panel 13 will be mainly described.

The gas pressure of the airbag 10 at the time of inflation of the airbag 10 is concentrated at the portion where the sewing line S3 is connected so that the front panel 13 in which the sewing line S3 is formed and / . For this purpose, the reinforcement panel 60 is interposed between the front panel 13 and the gas distribution panel 20 to perform a reinforcement function by sewing it to the sewing line S3. The reinforcing panel 60 is made of a material piece capable of covering the sewing line S3. As shown in FIG. 8, when the sewing line S3 has a substantially arcuate shape, the reinforcing panel 60 may have a trapezoidal shape such as a trapezoidal shape corresponding thereto. The reinforcing panel 60 is not limited to a specific shape and may have various shapes that can appropriately cover the sewing line S3.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings and the preferred embodiments described above, the present invention is not limited thereto but is limited by the following claims. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the following claims.

1: driver's seat airbag device 10: airbag
11: rear panel 13: front panel
20: gas distribution panel 30: tether member
32, 33: tension parts 32a, 33a:
34, 35: folded portion 37: reinforced portion
S3: sewing line 50: tether support member

Claims (8)

Rear panel facing the driver at inflation '
A front panel facing the rear panel and connected to the inflator; And
A radial gas distribution panel interposed between the rear panel and the front panel and connected to the front panel to radially distribute gas from the inflator; And
And a tether member having one end connected to the front panel and the other end directly or indirectly connected to the rear panel,
Wherein the gas distribution panel is connected to the front panel by a sewing line and the gas discharge path of the gas distribution panel is defined by the sewing line,
Wherein the tether member is arranged to intersect the sewing line at a predetermined angle radial to the gas discharge path of the gas distribution panel and is connected to the gas distribution panel by the sewing line on the front panel,
Wherein a reinforcing portion for reinforcing the sewing line is provided at a portion of the tether member adjacent to the sewing line. 2. The front panel according to claim 1, wherein the tether member includes a front panel contact portion disposed adjacent to a central portion of the front panel and a tension portion extending to both sides of the front panel contact portion,
Wherein the reinforcing portion is protruded from portions of both side ends of the tension portion that intersect with the sewing line along the longitudinal direction of the tension portion. 3. The driver's seat airbag apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a region of the tension portion including the reinforcing portion has an overlapping portion overlapping at least two layers. 4. The stapler according to claim 3, wherein both ends of the tension portion along the longitudinal direction include a folded portion folded toward the front panel contact portion, and the overlapped portion of the tether member overlapped by the folded portion is folded by the sewing line, And the front panel is connected to the front panel. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a tether support member is connected to the rear panel,
And the tether support member has a tether connection portion connected to a portion adjacent to a folding line of the folded portion of the tether member. 3. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the tether member includes a vertical tether member disposed along a vertical direction of the airbag, and a horizontal tether member disposed along a lateral direction of the airbag,
Wherein an upper length of the vertical tether member is longer than a lower length of the tether member. The driver's seat airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the sewing line has an arcuate shape. Rear panel facing the driver at inflation '
A front panel facing the rear panel and connected to the inflator; And
And a radial gas distribution panel interposed between the rear panel and the front panel and connected to the front panel to radially distribute the gas from the inflator,
Wherein the gas distribution panel is connected to the front panel by a sewing line and the gas discharge path is limited,
And a reinforcing panel is provided between the front panel and the gas distribution panel at a portion where the sewing line is formed to prevent the front panel or the gas distribution panel formed with the sewing line from being broken when the airbag inflates, .

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