Patent Application
20210221320
The present disclosure relates to an airbag having an elongated coupler that cooperates with a mount.
Vehicles include airbags mounted to structural components of the vehicle behind interior trim panels. Some airbags, such as side curtain airbags, have a considerable length and may extend along all or a majority of the length of a vehicle passenger compartment. Mounting such airbags within the vehicle has been done with spaced apart brackets and separate fasteners. The long airbags can be somewhat unwieldy and may become twisted or otherwise oriented differently than preferred. Further, it is time consuming and can be difficult to secure the multiple fasteners which typically requires an operator to perform many operations at a relatively high height, for example, over the operator's head.
In at least some implementations, an airbag includes a body and a coupler. The body has a body first end and a body second end with a length defined between the body first end and the body second end. The coupler has a coupler first end that is closer to the body first end than the body second end, a coupler second end that is closer to the body second end than the body first end, and a length defined between the coupler first end and the coupler second end. The coupler is connected to the body and has a first portion with a thickness measured perpendicular to the coupler length, and a second portion with a thickness measured perpendicular to the coupler length, wherein the second portion has a greater thickness than the first portion. Further, the second portion is located farther from the body than is the first portion, and the coupler extends at least 60% of the length of the body.
In at least some implementations, one or both of the first portion and the second portion are continuous along the length of the coupler. The first portion may be connected to the body along the length of the first portion. In at least some implementations, the length of the coupler is the same as or within 10% of the same length of the body. The second thickness is at least twice the first thickness, and/or the second portion may define a free end of the coupler that is spaced from the airbag body.
In at least some implementations, a mount has a mount body with an opening extending from an opening first end to an opening second end. The opening is defined between two surfaces that are spaced apart at least as far as the thickness of the first portion and not as far as the thickness of the second portion. When the airbag is coupled to the mount, the second portion is adjacent to an opposite side of the opening than is the body of the airbag. In at least some implementations, the two surfaces that define the opening are continuous between the opening first end and the opening second end and wherein a length of the opening between the opening first end and the opening second end is at least 75% of the length of the coupler.
In at least some implementations, the mount defines a cavity, which may be a channel, track or other open area, that is open to the opening and the second portion is sized for receipt within the cavity with the first portion extending through the opening. In at least some implementations, the mount includes at least two pieces and one of the two surfaces is defined by a first piece of the at least two pieces and the other of the two surfaces is defined by a second piece of the at least two pieces. At least one of the first piece and the second piece may be part of a structural component of a vehicle body.
In at least some implementations, an airbag assembly includes an airbag and a mount. The airbag has a body with a body first end and a body second end and a length defined between the body first end and the body second end. The airbag also has a coupler having a coupler first end that is adjacent to the body first end and a coupler second end that is adjacent to the body second end with a length of the coupler defined between the coupler first end and the coupler second end. The coupler is connected to the airbag body and has a first portion with a thickness measured perpendicular to the coupler length, and a second portion with a thickness measured perpendicular to the coupler length, wherein the second portion has a greater thickness than the first portion. Further, the second portion is located farther from the body than is the first portion, and the coupler extends at least 60% of the length of the body. The mount has a mount body with an opening extending from an opening first end to an opening second end. The opening is defined between two surfaces that are spaced apart at least as far as the thickness of the first portion and not as far as the thickness of the second portion. When the airbag is coupled to the mount, the second portion is adjacent to an opposite side of the opening than is the body of the airbag.
In at least some implementations, the two surfaces that define the opening are continuous between the opening first end and the opening second end and a length of the opening between the opening first end and the opening second end is at least 75% of the length of the coupler. In at least some implementations, one or both of the first portion and the second portion are continuous along the length of the coupler. The length of the coupler may be the same as or within 10% of the same length of the body. The second thickness may be at least twice the first thickness. And the second portion may define a free end of the coupler that is spaced from the body.
In at least some implementations, the mount defines a cavity that is open to the opening and the second portion is sized for receipt within the cavity with the first portion extending through the opening. In assembly, the second portion of the coupler is within the cavity and the airbag body is outside of, or not within, the cavity, and a retention surface may extend between at least part of the second portion of the coupler and the airbag body.
Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims and drawings provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the summary and detailed description, including the disclosed embodiments and drawings, are merely exemplary in nature intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, its application or use. Thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
Referring in more detail to the drawings,
The interior or inwardly facing side of the pillars 12-18, roof rail 20 and other structural components of the body 10 are typically covered by trim pieces that have an inwardly facing surface that defines part of a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The trim pieces may include, for example, a headliner that covers the roof and pillar cappings that overlie the pillars 12-18 and extend from door panels to the headliner. Certain components of the vehicle may be mounted between the trim pieces and the body, such as one or more airbags.
The airbag 34 has a body 38 with a first end 40 closer to the front of the vehicle than a second end 42 which is closer to the rear of the vehicle than the first end 40. The body 38 may be defined of any suitable material and defines an interior in which a gas may be received to inflate the body 38 to its second or deployed state in which the body 38 moves outwardly into the passenger compartment where it may be located between one or more passengers in the vehicle and the vehicle pillars, doors and/or windows. The airbag 34 may include one or more tethers 44 connected to the body 38 and to the vehicle body 10, generally at one or both of the first end and second end of the body 38. The tethers 44 limit travel of the airbag 34 as the airbag 34 is deployed, to provide a desired movement of the airbag 34 and/or position the airbag 34 in a desired location within the vehicle when deployed.
As shown in
The first portion 54 may be continuous along the length of the coupler 46, or the first portion 54 may be defined by discrete sections with spaced between the sections, as desired. In
To secure the airbag 34 to the vehicle, the mount 48 is arranged to cooperate with the coupler 46 and hold the coupler 46 in place relative to the vehicle. The mount 48 may be defined by a member separate from the structural components of the vehicle (e.g. the roof rail 20 and/or pillars), as shown in
In at least some implementations, such as is shown in
The opening 68 in the mount 48 extends through a wall 70 of the mount body 60 and into the cavity 66 and may be defined by two surfaces 72, 74 of the mount body 60 on either side of the opening 68. The opening 68 may extend the length of the cavity 66 and may be continuous (e.g. from the first end 62 to the second end 64). The opening 68 has a width that is less than the width of the cavity 66, and is arranged so that the first portion 54 of the coupler 46 extends through the opening 68 in assembly, but the second portion 56 of the coupler 46 is larger/wider than and does not fit in the opening 68. So arranged, the second portion 56 of the coupler 46 is within the cavity 66, the first portion 54 of the coupler 46 extends through the opening 68 to the airbag body 38 which is outside of the cavity 66. The second portion 56 is retained by the mount body 60 that defines, or mount bodies 60 that define, the cavity 66. At least one surface of the mount body 60 may define a retention surface that is engaged by the second portion 56 of the coupler 46 and which is between the second portion 56 of the coupler 46 and the airbag 34 when the airbag 34 is installed on the mount 48.
In at least some implementations, the mount 48 is the same length as the coupler 46 or within 30% of the length of the coupler 46. The two surfaces 72, 74 that define the opening 68 may be continuous between the opening's first end (e.g. at mount first end 62) and the opening's second end (which may be at the mount second end 64). A length of the opening 68 between the opening's first end and the opening's second end may be at least 75% of the length of the coupler 46. The mount 48 may be formed from one piece or multiple pieces and the length noted herein is the collective length of all pieces of the mount.
The second portion 56 of the coupler 46 is sufficiently firm or rigid such that the second portion 56 remains in the cavity 66 even when the airbag 34 is deployed. That is, the force of the airbag deployment is not sufficient to pull the second portion 56 through the opening 68. Further, the first portion 54 is firmly secured to the airbag body 38 such that the first portion 54 remains fully or at least partially intact when the airbag 34 is deployed. In this way, the airbag 34 remains coupled to the mount 48 even after the airbag 34 is deployed. This facilitates, for example, providing a desired positioning of the airbag 34, and/or a desired path or mode of deployment of the airbag 34.
To assemble the airbag 34 to the mount 48, the second end 52 of the second portion 56 of the coupler 46 is aligned with and inserted into the passage at the first end 62 of the mount 48. The airbag 34 and coupler 46 are then slid or pulled toward the second end 64 of the mount 48, with the first portion 54 sliding along one or both surfaces 72, 74 that define the opening 68 and the second portion 56 sliding within the cavity 66. In doing so, the airbag 34 is properly oriented with respect to the mount 48, and hence, the vehicle, and twisting or other contortions of the airbag 34 are prevented in the installed position of the airbag 34. When the second portion 56 of the coupler 46 and the mount 48 are continuous along their lengths, only a single alignment and insertion of the second portion 56 into the cavity 66 is needed, and the proper alignment and connection of the airbag 34 along the length of the second portion 56 can be assured. Even if one or both of the second portion 56 and the mount 48 are not continuous, the separate alignment and insertion steps that would be needed to insert the sections of the second portion 56 into the cavity 66, the second portion 56 into each cavity 66 of a multiple section mount 48, or the sections of the second portion 56 into each cavity 66 of a multiple section mount 48 are easy to perform and readily visually detectable when completed. Further, the multiple steps still ensure alignment of the airbag 34 relative to the mount(s) 48 and vehicle as the coupler 46 is secured to a desired portion of the airbag 34 and the coupler 46 desirably fits into the mount 48 in one orientation.
Previously, multiple separate brackets were used to mount such airbags to the vehicle, the brackets were of short length and separated by a distance significant enough that the airbags could become twisted and/or partially unfolded and incorrectly aligned or attached to the brackets. Further, attaching long airbags, such as that shown in
Assembly of the airbag 34 is similar to that described above in that the first portion 54 is aligned with the opening 86 at a first end 98 of the mount 84, with the second portion 56 aligned with the cavity 96 or open area behind the plates 80, 82. Then, the airbag 34 is moved toward a second end 100 of the mount 84 and the first portion 54 slides along one or both surfaces 88, 90 that define the opening 86. The two plates 80, 82 would be securely held in place by being coupled to other portions of the vehicle and/or to each other, behind the opening 86 and not interfering with the installation of the coupler 46 in the mount 84 and opening 86. The plates 80, 82 may be the full length of the airbag 34 and/or coupler 46, or the mount 84 may be defined in additional plates aligned lengthwise to provide a mount 84 of a desired length. When the coupler 46 is received in the mount 84, the airbag 34 is firmly secured to the vehicle and in a desired orientation and location.
Assembly of the airbag 34 in this implementation is like that described above with regard to the implementation shown in
In the example shown, the mounts 114 are defined in sections of the plate 118 that include an opening 122 to receive a fastener through the plate 118. The opening 122 may be defined in part by a socket 128 and a flange 130 that may define part of the socket 128 and extend outwardly from a main section of the plate 118. As shown in
In the example shown, the socket 128, or the flange 130 adjacent thereto, extends away from the inner surface 126 of the plate 118, toward the passenger compartment of the vehicle, although other arrangements may be used. While the sections defining the mount 114 are less than 50% of the length of the plate 118, the openings 122 could be longer, if desired, including extending along the full length of the plate 118. Such an opening 122 could be formed, for example, by a flange 130 that extends lengthwise (e.g. in the direction between the two ends of the plate 118) any desired length. In any event, aligning the second portion 56 with each mount 114 or mount section ensures that the airbag 34 is securely coupled to the vehicle and located in a desired orientation and position. Further, that the coupler 46 is secured to each mount 114 or section of the mount 114 is easily visually confirmed to reduce improper or incomplete installations and ensure a desired connection of the airbag 34 to the vehicle. In this example, the cavity 120 exists behind the plate 118, the opening 122 is open to the back or outer surface 124 of the plate 118, and the retention surface is defined by the outer surface 124 of the plate 118 in the area adjacent to the opening 122 and overlapped by the second portion 56 of the coupler 46.
In assembly, the first end of the second portion 56 of the coupler 46 is initially aligned with the first end of the opening 122 closest to the first end of the plate 118 (recognizing that there might be only one opening), and the airbag 34 is moved relative to the plate 118 to slide the first portion 54 of the coupler 46 within the opening 122 of that mount(s) 114 or section of the mount 114. Then, the first end of the second portion 56 is aligned with openings 122 of successive mounts or sections of the mount and the airbag 34 is moved to move the coupler 46 relative to the plate 118 and secure the coupler 46 to each mount 114.
Accordingly, the airbag 34 is securely connected to a coupler 46 that extends along a significant portion of the length of the airbag 34 and which is retained within a mount. The assembly of the coupler 46 to the mount ensures a proper orientation and location of the airbag 34, inhibits or prevents twisting of the airbag 34 during installation, enables visual confirmation of proper airbag installation, and does not require driving of a plurality of separate fasteners spaced along the length of the airbag 34.
