Patent Application
20120025503
The present disclosure relates generally to inflatable air bag cushions for motor vehicles. More specifically, various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, systems and methods used in inflatable air bag cushions for motor vehicles.
Modern motor vehicles typically employ various occupant protection systems that self-actuate from an undeployed to a deployed state without the need for intervention by the occupant. Such systems often include an inflatable occupant protection system in the form of a cushion or bag, commonly referred to as an “air bag cushion.” Such air bag cushions may deploy into one or more locations within the vehicle between the occupant and certain parts of the vehicle interior, such as the doors, steering wheel, instrument panel, dashboard or the like, to prevent or cushion the occupant from forcibly striking such parts of the vehicle interior.
Various types or forms of occupant protection systems have been developed or tailored to provide desired vehicle occupant protection based on either or both the position or placement of the occupant within the vehicle and the direction or nature of the vehicle collision. For example, driver and passenger inflatable cushion installations have found wide usage for providing protection to drivers and front seat passengers, respectively, in the event of head-on type of collision. Other installations have found wide usage for providing protection to vehicle occupants in the event of a side impact (e.g., side collision, roll-over).
The air bag cushion is conventionally housed in an uninflated and folded condition to minimize space requirements. Upon actuation of the system, the air bag cushion may be inflated with gas supplied or produced by a device commonly referred to as an “inflator.” Such inflators may typically be attached to a gas guide for the air bag cushion. As a result, conventional air bag cushions may include one or more features to facilitate attachment of the gas guide to the inflator. However, conventional inflators typically employ multiple components that may be individually formed (e.g., machined, forged, stamped, etc.) and attached together to provide a structure to facilitate attachment to the gas guide.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure comprise diffusers for use with an air bag cushion inflator having a reduced number of components resulting in a simplified, cheaper and more structurally sound diffuser. In one or more embodiments, a diffuser may comprise a unitary or integral hollow body defining a diffusion chamber. The hollow body may include a first longitudinal end having an aperture and an opposing second longitudinal end that is at least substantially enclosed. A module attach feature may be disposed between the first longitudinal end and the second longitudinal end. The module attach feature may comprise a lateral extent that is greater than a lateral extent of the hollow body. A plurality of apertures extending through the hollow body may be disposed between the module attach feature and the second longitudinal end.
Additional embodiments of the present disclosure include inflatable air bag systems. According to at least one embodiment, such system may comprise at least one inflatable cushion and an inflator. The inflator may include an elongated hollow tube with a first longitudinal tube end and a second longitudinal tube end. An initiator may be coupled to the first longitudinal tube end and a diffuser may be disposed at the second longitudinal tube end. The diffuser may be coupled to a portion of the at least one inflatable cushion. The diffuser may include a unitary hollow body comprising a first body end and a second body end that is at least substantially enclosed. An inflatable cushion attachment feature may be disposed between the first body end and the second body end, and may facilitate coupling the diffuser to the portion of the at least one inflatable cushion. A plurality of apertures may be disposed in the diffuser between the inflatable cushion attachment feature and the second body end.
Yet other embodiments of the present disclosure comprise methods of making a diffuser configured for use with an air bag cushion inflator. One or more embodiments of such methods may comprise forming a unitary hollow body. The unitary hollow body may be formed to include a first longitudinal end with an aperture therein and an opposing second longitudinal end that is at least substantially enclosed. A module attach feature may be disposed between the first longitudinal end and the second longitudinal end, such module attach feature having a lateral extent that is greater than a lateral extent of the hollow body. A plurality of apertures may be disposed in the hollow body and located between the module attach feature and the second longitudinal end.
Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only exemplary embodiments and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of the disclosure's scope, the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which:
The illustrations presented herein are, in some instances, not actual views of any particular inflatable air bag system, air bag inflator, or diffuser, but are merely idealized representations which are employed to describe the present disclosure. Additionally, elements common between figures may retain the same numerical designation.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure include air bag cushion inflators including a unique diffuser.
The hollow tube 102 includes opposing first and second longitudinal ends, 108 and 110, respectively. An initiator 112 may be coupled to the first longitudinal end 108, for instance as part of an initiator assembly 114. Such an initiator assembly 114 may be coupled to the first longitudinal end 108 using, for example, an inertial weld 115. The initiator 112 is adapted to inflate (e.g., ignite) the stored fluid 106 upon receipt of an electrical signal, such as may be generated by a sensor (not shown) upon the sensing of a collision.
The second longitudinal end 110 of the hollow tube 102 may be enclosed with a burst disk 116. A diffuser 118 may be formed integral with or appropriately coupled to the second longitudinal end 110 of the hollow tube 102. For example, the diffuser 118 may be coupled to the second longitudinal end 110 with an inertial weld 120, or the diffuser 118 may be formed integral with the hollow tube 102. Some examples of diffusers 118 are shown in
Referring to
According to at least one feature, the diffuser 118A includes a module attach feature 216 disposed between the first body end 206 and the second body end 208. The module attach feature 216 is adapted to facilitate attachment of the diffuser 118A to a module of an inflatable air bag system, and may also be characterized as an inflatable cushion attachment feature. For example, the module attach feature 216 may facilitate attachment of the diffuser 118A to a gas guide (e.g., hose 416 in
The module attach feature 216 may comprise a lateral extent 218 (e.g., an outer diameter of a cylindrically-shaped diffuser 118A) that is greater than a lateral extent 220a, 220b of the hollow body 202. According to various embodiments, the lateral extent 218 of the module attach feature 216 may be sufficiently greater than the lateral extent 220a of the hollow body 202 (e.g., between the first body end 206 and the module attach feature 216) to facilitate retention of a module, such as a gas guide, of an inflatable air bag system. By way of example and not limitation, the lateral extent 218 of the module attach feature 216 may be greater than the lateral extent 220a of the hollow body 202 by about 5 mm or more. In some embodiments, the lateral extent 220a of the hollow body 202 between the first body end 206 and the module attach feature 216 may be larger than the lateral extent 220b of the hollow body 202 between the module attach feature 216 and the second body end 208. The lateral extent 220b of the hollow body 202 (e.g., between the module attach feature 216 and the second body end 208) may be selected to provide sufficient clearance between the lateral extent 220b and a module (e.g., a gas guide) attached to the hollow body to facilitate the flow of a gas into the module (e.g., gas guide). By way of example and not limitation, the lateral extent 220b of the hollow body 202 may be adapted to provide a clearance of about 5 mm or more between the lateral extent 220b and an inner wall of a module (e.g., gas guide) of an inflatable air bag system attached to the diffuser 118A.
The module attach feature 216 may be formed integral with the hollow body 202, such that the entire diffuser 118 comprises a single unitary component. For example, the module attach feature 216 may comprise a portion or section of the hollow body 202 that has been folded outward, thereby forming an overlapped portion referred to herein as a crimped bend 222.
The hollow body 202 may comprise a plurality of apertures 214 disposed between module attach feature 216 and the second body end 208. In conventional diffusers, a filter may be disposed in the diffusion chamber 204 to filter out particulate that may be forced into the diffusion chamber 204 with an inflation fluid 106 (see
Turning to
One difference between the diffuser 118A of
Additional embodiments of the present disclosure relate to inflatable air bag systems employing inflators having diffusers, such as those described above.
The inflatable air bag cushion 402, which may also be characterized as an inflatable cushion and is shown in the operative state in
The inflator 100 may be associated with a sensor (not shown) which senses a side impact situation and activates the inflator 100 (e.g., the initiator 112 in
When an accident occurs, such as side impact, the inflator 100 produces, forms or otherwise supplies an inflation fluid, which is passed through the diffuser 118 into the hose 416 and then the duct 418 and inflates the cells 420. The inflatable air bag cushion 402 thus moves from its initial stored position within the recess in the door frame 414 to the operative position shown in
It is noteworthy, that while the embodiment described with reference to
Further implementations of the present disclosure relate to methods of making a diffuser adapted for use with an air bag cushion inflator.
At operation block 504, a module attach feature 216 may be disposed between the first longitudinal end 206 and the second longitudinal end 208. The module attach feature 216 may include a lateral extend thereof that is greater than a lateral extent of the hollow body 202. In at least some implementations, the module attach feature 216 may be formed integral to the unitary hollow body 202. For example, the module attach feature 216 may be disposed in the hollow body 202 by folding a portion or section of the hollow body 202 outward, thereby forming an overlapped portion identified with reference to
At operation block 506, a plurality of apertures 214 may be disposed in the hollow body 202 such that the apertures 214 are located between the module attach feature 216 and the second longitudinal end 208. The apertures 214 may be adapted to operate as a filter for the diffuser. For example, the apertures 214 may be sized and configured to filter particulate from an inflation fluid passing through the apertures. By way of example and not limitation, the plurality of apertures 214 may be formed to comprise a circular or oval shape and may include diameters selected from the range between about 0.5 mm and about 2.5 mm.
The various embodiments of the present disclosure result in diffusers that are unitary and may include integral filtering. Such unitary diffusers substantially reduce the costs associated with conventional diffusers having multiple separate components and are substantially easier and cheaper to manufacture.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its structures, methods, or other essential characteristics as broadly described herein and claimed hereinafter. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
