Vehicular Occupant Protection Method Using Airbags

Abstract

Method for protecting an occupant of a vehicle using an inflatable airbag includes sealing sheets of film to form a sealed airbag having interconnected compartments receivable of inflating gas and a port through which the compartments are inflated, and positioning the airbag, when in an uninflated state, into a recessed portion alongside the passenger compartment. The airbag is positioned to extend, when inflated, across a side of the passenger compartment between occupant seating positions on that side of the vehicle and a portion of the vehicle defining the passenger compartment. A pressurized gas source inflates the airbag so that when an accident is sensed and a determination is made to inflate the airbag, gas enters into and inflate the airbag through the port thereby causing the airbag to extend across the side of the passenger compartment.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a side curtain airbag system which deploys to prevent injury to vehicle occupants in an accident involving the vehicle.

The present invention also relates to airbags made from plastic film such as a side curtain airbag arranged to deploy along the side of a vehicle to protect occupants during a crash involving the vehicle.

The present invention also relates to airbags having interconnected compartments for use in vehicular crashes whereby the airbags deploy before or during the crash to cushion the occupant of the vehicle and prevent injury to the occupant. The present invention also relates to a method for making an airbag having interconnected compartments and an occupant protection system including an airbag with interconnected compartments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Background of the invention is found in the parent '517 application. All mentioned patents, published patent applications and literature therein are incorporated by reference herein.

The definitions set forth in section 2 of the parent '517 application are also applicable to this application.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below and unless specifically noted, it is the applicant's intention that the words and phrases in the specification and claims be given the ordinary and accustomed meaning to those of ordinary skill in the applicable art(s). If applicant intends any other meaning, he will specifically state he is applying a special meaning to a word or phrase.

Likewise, applicant's use of the word “function” here is not intended to indicate that the applicant seeks to invoke the special provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, to define his invention. To the contrary, if applicant wishes to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, to define his invention, he will specifically set forth in the claims the phrases “means for” or “step for” and a function, without also reciting in that phrase any structure, material or act in support of the function. Moreover, even if applicant invokes the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, to define his invention, it is the applicant's intention that his inventions not be limited to the specific structure, material or acts that are described in the preferred embodiments herein. Rather, if applicant claims his inventions by specifically invoking the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, it is nonetheless his intention to cover and include any and all structure, materials or acts that perform the claimed function, along with any and all known or later developed equivalent structures, materials or acts for performing the claimed function.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new method for protecting an occupant of a vehicle using an inflatable airbag.

In order to achieve this object and others, a method for protecting an occupant of a vehicle using an inflatable airbag in accordance with the invention includes sealing sheets of film to form a sealed airbag having a plurality of interconnected compartments receivable of inflating gas and a port through which the plurality of compartments are inflated, and positioning the airbag, when in an uninflated state, into a recessed portion alongside a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The recessed portion is preferably in a ceiling defining the passenger compartment. The airbag is preferably positioned to extend, when inflated, across a side of the passenger compartment of the vehicle between occupant seating positions on that side of the vehicle and a portion of the vehicle defining the passenger compartment on that side of the vehicle. The method also entails arranging a pressurized gas source on the vehicle to inflate the airbag so that when an accident involving the vehicle is sensed and a determination is made to inflate the airbag, the pressurized gas source causes pressurized gas to enter into and inflate the airbag through the port thereby causing the airbag to extend across the side of the passenger compartment of the vehicle between the occupant seating positions on that side of the vehicle and the portion of the vehicle defining the passenger compartment on that side of the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the airbag is dimensioned or sized relative to the vehicle to extend at least partly alongside each of a plurality of windows on the side of the passenger compartment, when inflated and/or to extend alongside substantially the entire side of the passenger compartment, when inflated.

The airbag may be formed from the sealed sheets of film such that at least one of the sheets of film is an outermost layer of the airbag which is exposed to atmosphere in the passenger compartment when inflated. The airbag may be formed without a venting arrangement such that the airbag vents through an inflator which provides the pressurized gas source. The airbag system may be positioned in a headliner portion of the ceiling of the vehicle. The port may be formed to extend longitudinally along the airbag such that pressurized gas is caused to flow into all of the compartments substantially simultaneously.

Optionally, an inflator is arranged relative to the compartments such that pressurized gas flows from the inflator through the port into an upper end of the compartments substantially simultaneously.

The sheets of film may be sealed to form substantially straight compartments and/or to form compartments substantially parallel to one another. At least one of the sheets of film may comprise an elastomer, e.g., urethane, and/or an inelastic polymer, such as NYLON®. The sheets of film may be sealed to form the sealed airbag such that there is only a single port situated at an upper edge of the airbag through which the airbag is inflated.

The airbag may be arranged in an airbag module which is arranged in the recessed portion of the vehicle. The airbag may be arranged alongside a door on the side of the passenger compartment.

A method for protecting an occupant of a vehicle using an inflatable airbag in accordance with the invention includes sealing sheets of film to form a sealed airbag having a plurality of interconnected compartments receivable of inflating gas and a single port through which the plurality of compartments are inflated, and positioning the airbag, when in an uninflated state, into a recessed portion alongside a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The recessed portion may be in a ceiling defining the passenger compartment and the airbag positioned to extend, when inflated, alongside a front seat and a rear seat on the same side of the passenger compartment of the vehicle. A pressurized gas source is arranged on the vehicle to inflate the airbag such that when an accident involving the vehicle is sensed and a determination is made to inflate the airbag, the pressurized gas source causes pressurized gas to enter into and inflate the airbag through the port thereby causing the airbag to extend across the front and rear seats. The port may be formed to extend longitudinally along the airbag such that pressurized gas is caused to flow into all of the compartments substantially simultaneously. An inflator may be arranged relative to the compartments such that pressurized gas flows from the inflator through the single port into an upper end of the compartments substantially simultaneously.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are illustrative of embodiments of the invention and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as encompassed by the claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view with portions cut away and removed of a film airbag wherein the film is comprised of at least two layers of material which have been joined together by a process such as co-extrusion or successive casting or coating.

FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of the inner film airbag layer and outer film airbag layer taken within circle 1A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the material of the inner film airbag and outer film airbag taken within circle 1A of FIG. 1 but showing an alternate configuration where the outer airbag layer has been replaced by a net.

FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of the material of the inner film airbag layer and outer film airbag layer taken within circle 1A of FIG. 1 but showing an alternate configuration where fibers of an elastomer are incorporated into an adhesive layer between the two film layers.

FIG. 1D is a perspective view with portions cut away of a vehicle showing the driver airbag of FIG. 1 mounted on the steering wheel and inflated.

FIG. 2 illustrates a section of a seam area of an airbag showing the deformation of the elastic sealing film layer.

FIG. 3 is a partial cutaway perspective view of a driver side airbag made from plastic film.

FIG. 4A is a partial cutaway perspective view of an inflated driver side airbag made from plastic film and a fabric to produce a hybrid airbag.

FIG. 4B is a partial cutaway perspective view of an inflated driver side airbag made from plastic film and a net to produce a hybrid airbag.

FIG. 4C is a partial cutaway perspective view of an inflated driver side airbag made from plastic film having a variable thickness reinforcement in a polar symmetric pattern with the pattern on the inside of the airbag leaving a smooth exterior.

FIG. 4D is an enlarged cross sectional view of the material of the film airbag taken at 4D-4D of FIG. 4C showing the thickness variation within the film material.

FIG. 5A is a partial cutaway perspective view of an inflated driver side airbag made from plastic film using a blow molding process.

FIG. 5B is a partial cutaway perspective view of an inflated driver side airbag made from plastic film using a blow molding process so that the airbag design has been partially optimized using finite element airbag model where the wrinkles have been eliminated and where the stresses within the film are more uniform.

FIG. 5C is a cutaway view of an inflated driver side airbag made from plastic film showing a method of decreasing the ratio of thickness to effective diameter.

FIG. 5D is a view of a driver side airbag of FIG. 5C as viewed along line 5D-5D.

FIG. 6 shows a deployed airbag, supported on the steering wheel of a vehicle with a steep steering column, in contact with an occupant.

FIG. 7 shows an inflated airbag and a steering wheel, self-aligned with an occupant.

FIG. 8 shows a driver side airbag module supported by a steering column, but not attached to the steering wheel.

FIG. 9 illustrates an inflated driver side airbag installed on the dashboard of a vehicle.

FIG. 10 shows an airbag system installed on the dashboard of a vehicle with a vent hole to the engine compartment.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a tubular inflatable system mounted on the dashboard of a vehicle.

FIG. 12 is a partial cutaway perspective view of a passenger side airbag made from plastic film.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view with portions cut away of a vehicle showing the knee bolster airbag or restraint in an inflated condition mounted to provide protection for front-seated occupants.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an airbag and inflator system where the airbag is formed from tubes.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view with portions removed of a vehicle having several deployed film airbags.

FIG. 16 is a view of another preferred embodiment of the invention shown mounted in a manner to provide protection for a front and a rear seat occupant in side impact collisions and to provide protection against impacts to the roof support pillars in angular frontal impacts.

FIG. 16A is a view of the side airbag of FIG. 9 of the side airbag with the airbag removed from the vehicle.

FIG. 17 is a partial view of the interior driver area of a vehicle showing a self-contained airbag module containing the film airbag of this invention in combination with a stored gas inflator.

FIG. 18 is a view looking toward the rear of the airbag module of FIG. 17 with the vehicle removed taken at 18-18 of FIG. 17.

FIG. 18A is a cross sectional view of the airbag module of FIG. 18 taken at 18A-18A.

FIG. 18B is a cross sectional view, with portions cutaway and removed, of the airbag module of FIG. 18 taken at 18B-18B.

FIG. 18C is a cross sectional view of the airbag module of FIG. 18 taken at 18C-18C.

FIG. 18D is a cross sectional view of the airbag module of FIG. 18A taken at 18D-18D.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the invention shown mounted in a manner to provide protection for a front and a rear seat occupant in side impact collisions, to provide protection against impacts to the roof support pillars in angular frontal impacts and to offer some additional protection against ejection of the occupant or portions of the occupant.

FIG. 20 is a side view of the interior of a motor vehicle provided with another form of safety device in accordance with the invention, before the safety device moves to the operative state.

FIG. 21 illustrates the vehicle of FIG. 20 when the safety device is in the operative state.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view of one form of safety device as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 in a plane perpendicular to the vertical direction.

FIG. 22A is a view as in FIG. 22 with additional sheets of material attached to span the cells.

FIG. 23 is a side view of the passenger compartment of a vehicle showing the compartment substantially filled with layers of tubular film airbags some of which are interconnected.

FIG. 23A is a top view of the airbag arrangement of FIG. 23 taken along line 23A-23A.

FIG. 24 is a similar but alternate arrangement of FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is another alternate arrangement to FIG. 23 using airbags that expand radially from various inflators.

FIG. 26 is a detail of the radial expanding tubular airbags of FIG. 25.

FIG. 26A is an end view of the airbags of FIG. 26 taken along line 26A-26A.

FIG. 27 is a detailed view of a knee bolster arrangement in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 27A illustrates the deployment stages of the knee bolster arrangement of FIG. 27.

FIGS. 28A, 28D, 28F, 28H, 28J and 28L illustrate various common fabric airbag designs that have been converted to film and have additional film layers on each of the two sides of the airbag.

FIGS. 28B, 28C, 28E, 28G, 28I, 28K and 28M are cross-sectional views of FIGS. 28A, 28D, 28F, 28H, 28J and 28L.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a self limiting airbag system including a multiplicity of airbags surrounded by a net, most of which has been cutaway and removed, designed to not cause injury to a child in a rear-facing child seat.

FIG. 30 is a partial cutaway perspective view of a driver side airbag made from plastic film having a variable vent in the seam of the airbag.

FIG. 30A is an enlargement of the variable vent of FIG. 30 taken along line 30A-30A of FIG. 30.

FIG. 31 shows a plot of the chest acceleration of an occupant and the occupant motion using a conventional airbag.

FIG. 32 shows the chest acceleration of an occupant and the resulting occupant motion when the variable orifice of this invention is utilized.

FIG. 33 is a partial cross section of a vehicle passenger compartment illustrating a curtain airbag in the folded condition prior to deployment.

FIG. 34 is an enlarged view of airbag module shown in FIG. 33.

FIGS. 35A and 35B are cross-sectional views taken along the line 35-35 in FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 is a flow chart of a method for designing a side curtain airbag in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

1. Airbags

1.1 Plastic Film Airbags

A fundamental problem with the use of plastic films for airbags is that when a single conventional plastic film is used and a tear is (inadvertently) introduced into the film, the tear typically propagates easily and the airbag fails catastrophically upon deployment. As noted above, this invention is concerned with various methods of eliminating this problem and thus permitting the use of films for airbags with the resulting substantial cost and space savings as well as a significant reduction in injuries to occupants. The reduction in occupant injury arises from the fact that the film is much lighter than fabric in a conventional airbag and it is the mass of the airbag traveling at a high velocity which typically injures the out-of-position occupant. Also, since the packaged airbag is considerably smaller than conventional airbags, the module is also smaller and the total force exerted on the occupant by the opening of the deployment door is also smaller further reducing the injuries to severely out-of-position occupants caused by the initial stages of the airbag deployment. Finally, in some preferred implementations of this invention, the airbag is mounted onto the ceiling of the vehicle making it very difficult for an occupant to get into a position as to be injured by the opening of the deployment door. Ceiling mounting of conventional fabric airbags is less practical due their excessive size. Ceiling mounting of full protection film airbags, on the other hand, is practical based on the use of the materials and, the reinforcements disclosed here.

One method of solving the tear problem is to use two film airbags or two airbag layers, one inside the other, where the airbags or layers are attached to each other with an adhesive which is strong enough to hold the two airbags or layers closely together but not sufficiently strong to permit a tear in one airbag or layer to propagate to the other. If a tear is initiated in the outer airbag or layer, for example, and the material cannot support significant tensile stresses in the material close to the tear, the inner airbag or layer must accommodate the increased tensile stress until it can be transferred to the outer layer at some distance from the tear. If the tear is caused by a small hole, this increased stress in the inner bag may only occur for a few hole diameters away from the hole. If the inner airbag is also made from an elastomer and the outer airbag layer is made from a less elastic material, the outer material can cause the airbag to take on a particular, desired shape and the inner airbag is used to provide the tear resistance.

In a preferred embodiment, five layers make up the film that is used to construct the airbag. The inner layer is a high tensile strength plastic such as NYLON® and the two outer layers are elastomeric and also capable of being heat sealed together. The three layers are joined together using an adhesive layer between each adjacent pair of layers resulting in a total of five layers. In addition to blunting the propagation of a crack, the elastomeric layers allow the airbag to be formed by heat sealing the elastic layers together. Additional layers can be added if particular properties are desired. Additional layers may also be used at particular locations where added strength is desired, such as at the seams. Although five layers are described, a preferred embodiment is to use three layers by eliminating one elastic and one adhesive layer. Also, in many cases, the elastic and inelastic layers can be thermally bonded together eliminating the need for the adhesive layer.

The problem which arises with a two airbag system with one airbag inside of and attached to the other, when both film layers have high elastic moduli and the cause of the tear in one airbag also causes a tear in the second airbag, is solved if one of the materials used for the two airbags has a low modulus of elasticity, such a thermoplastic elastomer. In this case, even though a tear starts in both airbags at the same time and place, the tear will not propagate in the thermoplastic elastomer and thus it will also be arrested in the high modulus material a short distance from the tear initiation point.

An example of a two layer airbag construction is illustrated in FIG. 1 which is a perspective view with portions cut away and removed of a film airbag made from two layers or sheets of plastic film material, which are preferably substantially coextensive with one another. Frequently, a third adhesive layer is used if the first and second layers cannot be joined together.

Some of the constructions discussed below contain various materials for reinforcing films. Although not yet available, a promising product for this purpose is carbon nanotubes. These materials are 100 times stronger than steel and have one sixth the weight. Such nanotubes have been demonstrated at Rice University, The University of Texas and Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

The phenomenon of crack blunting is discussed in C.-Y. Hui, A. Jagota, S. J. Bennison and J. D. Londono “Crack blunting and the strength of soft elastic solids”, Proc. R. Soc. London, A(2003) 459, 1489-1516. The invention herein makes use of crack blunting to arrest the propagation of a crack (or tear) by the use of elastic layers on one or both sides of the more rigid film, typically NYLON®. The NYLON® prevents the stretching of the elastic films and the elastic films serve to both seal the pieces of plastic film to make an airbag and to blunt the propagation of cracks or tears.

As discussed above and elsewhere herein, the combination of two layers of film wherein one layer comprises a high tensile strength material, such as biaxially oriented Nylon®, and the other generally thicker layer comprises an elastic material, such as polyurethane or a thermoplastic elastomer, not only provides the high strength plus blunting property but also permits the stress concentrations in the seams to be substantially reduced. This is illustrated in FIG. 2 where 590 illustrates an airbag including a high tensile strength layer 590 of NYLON®, for example, 591 an elastic layer of polyurethane, for example, and the joint 592 illustrates the expansion of the elastic layer 591 signifying the redistribution of the stresses in the joint 592. This stress distribution takes place both along the seam (i.e., into the plane of the drawing) and into the joint 592 (i.e., from right to left in the drawing). By this process, the maximum stress can be moved from the joint 592 to the material away from the joint 592 where the strength of the high tensile strength material in layer 590 limits the pressure that the airbag can withstand. By thereby reducing or eliminating the stress concentrations in the joints 592 and/or seams, the thickness and thus the weight of the material making up the airbag is reduced. This permits an airbag to be constructed with interconnected compartments formed by joining portions of sheet material together, e.g., by heat sealing or vulcanization, to form the desired shape for occupant protection while minimizing stress concentrations and thus minimizing the weight of the airbag.

Appendix 1 (of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/817,379) provides a finite element analysis for a production side curtain airbag as used on the AGM Saturn vehicle. The stresses calculated in the seams are shown to require a NYLON® film thickness of about 0.3 mm or about 0.012 inches to withstand a gage pressure of about 2.8 kg/cm². Through the use of the elastic film techniques described herein, this thickness can be dramatically reduced to about 0.004 inches or lower.

As mentioned above, U.S. Pat. No. 5,811,506 (Slagel) describes a thermoplastic, elastomeric polyurethane for use in making vehicular airbags. Slagel does not mention the possibility of this material for use in a laminated film airbag. The elasticity of this material and the fact that it can be cast or otherwise made into a thin film renders this an attractive candidate for this application especially due to its high temperature resistance and other properties. Such a laminated film airbag would be considerably thinner and have a lighter weight than the polyurethane material by itself which would have to be quite thick to avoid becoming a balloon.

Another technique which can be used in some situations where particular geometries are desired is to selectively deposit or laminate metal foil onto particular sections or locations of the airbag. Such a foil not only greatly reduces gas permeation or leakage through the material but it also adds local stiffness or tensile strength to a particular area of the airbag. This can be used, for example, to reinforce the airbag seams or joints. The most common material for this purpose is aluminum; however, other metals can also be used. Selective addition of metal foil can also be used to control the shape of the airbag. For some applications, one layer of the entire airbag can be foil.

Other additives can be used in conjunction with the film airbags according with this invention including, e.g., aluminum tribydrate or antimony trioxide for flame proofing, BPS by Morton Thiokol for mildew prevention and TINUVUN 765 by Ciba Geigy for ozone resistance.

1.2 Driver Side Airbag

In FIG. 1, the driver airbag is shown in the inflated condition generally at 600 with one film layer 601 lying inside a second film layer 602. The film layers 601, 602, or sheets of film laminated or otherwise attached together, are non-perforated and are also referred to as airbags or layers herein since they constitute the same. FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of the material of the inner layer 601 and outer layer 602 taken within circle 1A of FIG. 1. When manufactured, the film of the inner layer 601 may be made from a thermoplastic elastomer such as polyurethane, for example, as shown in FIG. 1A, and the outer layer 602 may be made from a more rigid material such as NYLON® or polyester. The two film layers 601, 602 are held together along their adjacent regions by adhesive such as an adhesive 603 applied in a manner sufficient to provide adherence of the two film layers 601, 602 together, as is known in the art.

In FIG. 1, a driver side airbag 600 is illustrated where the bag is formed from two flat pieces of material 601, 602 and a center cylindrical piece 604 all of which are joined together using heat sealing with appropriate reinforcement at the heat sealed joints. Heat sealing entails the application of heat to one or both of the surfaces to be joined. In most implementations, the center cylindrical piece 604 is not required as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,464 mentioned above.

The example of FIG. 1 is meant to be illustrative of a general technique to minimize the propagation of tears in a composite film airbag. In an actual airbag construction, the process can be repeated several times to create a composite airbag composed of several layers, each adjacent pair of layers optionally joined together with adhesive.

The materials used for the various film layers can be the same or different and are generally made from NYLON®, polyethylene or polyester, for the high modulus component and from polyurethane, polyester elastomer such as HYTREL™ or other thermoplastic elastomers for the low modulus component, although other materials could also be used. The use of different materials for the different layers has the advantage that tear propagation and strength properties can complement each other. For example, a material which is very strong but tears easily can be used in conjunction with a weaker material which requires a greater elongation before the tear propagates or where the tear does not propagate at all as with blunting materials. Alternately, for those cases where self-shaping is not necessary, all layers can be made from thermoplastic elastomers which expand upon inflation and do not maintain any set shape.

In the implementation of FIG. 1, the adhesive 603 has been applied in a uniform coating between the film layers. In some cases, it is preferable to place the adhesive in a pattern so as to permit a tear to propagate a small distance before the stress is transferred between layers. This permits the stress concentration points to move a small distance away from each other in the two films and further reduces the chance that a catastrophic failure will result. Thus, by selecting the pattern of the application of the adhesive 603 and/or the location(s) of application of the adhesive 603, it is possible to control the propagation of a tear in the composite airbag 600.

FIG. 1B illustrates an alternate configuration of a composite airbag where the outermost airbag 602 has been replaced by a net 605. There may be additional film layers beneath the inner layer 601 in this embodiment. A “net” is defined for the purposes of this application as an interlaced or intercrossed network of material, e.g., strips of material which cross one another. The interlacing may be generated, e.g., by weaving discrete elongate strips of material together or by molding, casting, progressive coating or a similar process in which case the material is molded into the network to provide an intercrossed structure upon formation. Additionally, the net 605 may be formed integrally with the film material in which case it appears as a substantial change in material thickness from the net 605 and film portions of the material to the only film portions of the material. The strips of material may be joined at the intersection points in the event that discrete material strips are woven together. In the illustrated embodiment, the material strips which constitute the net 605 are oriented in two directions perpendicular to one another. However, it is within the scope of the invention to have a net comprising material strips oriented in two, non-perpendicular directions (at an angle to one another though) or three or more directions so long as the material strips are interlaced with each other to form the net. Additionally, the net pattern can vary from one portion of the airbag to another with the particular location and orientation determined by analysis to minimize stress concentrations, eliminate wrinkles and folds, or for some other purpose. Also, it is understood that the net has openings surrounded by material having a thickness and width substantially smaller than the openings.

The net 605 may be an integral part of the inner airbag 601 or it can be attached by an adhesive 603, or by another method such as heat sealing, to the inner airbag 601 or it can be left unattached to the inner airbag 601 but nevertheless attached to the housing of the airbag system. In this case, the stress in the inner airbag 601 is transferred to the net 605 which is designed to carry the main stress of the composite airbag and the film of the inner airbag 601 is used mainly to seal and prevent the gas from escaping. Since there is very little stress in the film layer constituting the inner airbag 601, a tear will in general not propagate at all unless there is a failure in the net 605. The net 605 in this illustration has a mesh structure with approximately square openings of about 0.25 inches. This dimension will vary from design to design. The adhesive 603 also serves the useful purpose of minimizing the chance that the net 605 will snag buttons or other objects which may be worn by an occupant. The design illustrated in FIG. 1B shows the net 603 on the outside of the inner airbag 601. Alternately, the net 605 may be in the inside, internal to the inner airbag 601, especially if it is created by variations in thickness of one continuous material.

In one embodiment, the net 605 is attached to the housing of the inner airbag 601 and is designed to enclose a smaller volume than the volume of the inner airbag 601. In this manner, the inner airbag 601 will be restrained by the net 605 against expansion beyond the volumetric capacity of the net 605. In this manner, stresses are minimized in the film permitting very thin films to be used, and moreover, a film having a higher elastic modulus can be used. Many other variations are possible. In one alternative embodiment, for example, the net 605 is placed between two layers of film so that the outer surface of the composite airbag is smooth, i.e., since the film layer is generally smooth. In another embodiment shown in FIG. 1C, fibers 606 of an elastomer, or other suitable material, are randomly placed and sealed between two film layers 601, 602 (possibly in conjunction with the adhesive). In this embodiment, the fibers 606 act to prevent propagation of tears in much the same manner as a net. The net 605 may also be constructed from fibers.

The driver airbag 600 of FIG. 1 is shown mounted on a vehicle by a conventional mounting structure (not shown) in the driver side position and inflated in FIG. 1D.

It is understood that the airbag 600 is arranged prior to deployment in a module or more specifically in a housing of the module and further that the interior of the airbag 600 is adapted to be in fluid communication with an inflator or inflator system for inflating the airbag, e.g., a gas generation or gas production device. Thus, the inflator is coupled in some manner to the housing. Also, the module includes an initiator or initiation system for initiating the gas generation or production device in response to a crash of the vehicle. This structure is for the most part not shown in the drawings but may be included in connection with all of the airbag concepts disclosed herein.

An airbag made from plastic film is illustrated in FIG. 3 which is a partial cutaway perspective view of a driver side airbag 610 made from film. This film airbag 610 is constructed from two flat disks or sheets of film material 611 and 360 which are sealed together by heat welding or an adhesive to form a seam 613. A hole 617 is provided in one of the sheets 612 for attachment to an inflator (not shown). The hole 617 can be reinforced with a ring of plastic material 619 and holes 618 are provided in the ring 619 for attachment to the inflator. A vent hole 615 is also provided in the sheet 612 and it can be surrounded by a reinforcing plastic disk 616. Since this airbag 610 is formed from flat plastic sheets 611 and 612, an unequal stress distribution occurs causing the customary wrinkles and folds 614.

Several different plastic materials are used to make plastic films for balloons as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,558, U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,275, U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,873 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,892. These films are sufficiently inelastic that when two flat disks of film are joined together at their circumferences and then inflated, they automatically attain a flat ellipsoidal shape. This is the same principle used herein to make a film airbag, although the particular film materials selected are different since the material for an airbag has the additional requirement that it cannot fail during deployment when punctured.

When the distinction is made herein between an “inelastic” film airbag and an elastic airbag, this difference in properties is manifested in the ability of the untethered elastic airbag to respond to the pressure forces by becoming approximately spherical with nearly equal thickness and diameter while the inelastic film airbag retains an approximate ellipsoidal shape, or other non-spherical shape in accordance with the design of the inelastic film airbag, with a significant difference between the thickness and diameter of the airbag.

An analysis of the film airbag shown in FIG. 3 shows that the ratio of the thickness to the diameter is approximately 0.6. This ratio can be increased by using films having greater elasticity. A completely elastic film, rubber for example, will form an approximate sphere when inflated. This ratio can also be either increased or decrease by a variety of geometric techniques some of which are discussed below. The surprising fact, however, is that without resorting to complicated tethering involving stitching, stress concentrations, added pieces of reinforcing material, and manufacturing complexity, the airbag made from inelastic film automatically provides nearly the desired shape for driver airbags upon deployment (i.e., the roughly circular shape commonly associated with driver side airbags). Note that this airbag still has a less than optimum stress distribution which will be addressed below.

Although there are many advantages in making the airbag entirely from film, there is unfortunately reluctance on the part of the automobile manufacturers to make such a change in airbag design until the reliability of film airbags can be satisfactorily demonstrated. To bridge this gap, an interim design using a lamination of film and fabric is desirable. Such a design is illustrated in FIG. 4A which is a partial cutaway perspective view of a driver side airbag made from film 622 laminated with fabric 621 to produce a hybrid airbag 620. The remaining reference numbers represent similar parts as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. In all other aspects, the hybrid airbag 620 acts as a film airbag. The inelastic nature of the film 622 causes the hybrid airbag 620 to form a proper shape for a driver airbag. The fabric 621, on the other hand, presents the appearance of a conventional airbag when viewed from the outside. Aside from the lamination process, the fabric 621 may be attached to the film 622 directly by suitable adhesives, such that there are only two material layers, or by heat sealing or any other convenient attachment and bonding method. Note, this is not to be confused with a neoprene or silicone rubber coated conventional driver side airbag where the coating does not significantly modify the properties of the fabric.

Analysis, as described in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,485, has shown that a net is much stronger per unit weight than a fabric for resisting tears. This is illustrated in FIG. 4B which is a partial cutaway perspective view of a driver side airbag 610 made from film 612 and a net 622, which is preferably laminated to the film 612 or formed from the same material as the film 612 and is integral with it, to produce a hybrid airbag. The analysis of this system is presented in the '485 patent and therefore will not be reproduced here. The reference numerals designating the element in FIG. 4B correspond to the same elements as in FIG. 4A.

For axisymmetric airbag designs such as shown in FIGS. 4A-4D, a more efficient reinforcement geometry is to place the reinforcements in a pattern of circular rings 623 and ribs 625 (FIG. 4C). A cross-sectional view of the material taken along line 4D-4D in FIG. 4C is shown in FIG. 4D. In this case, the reinforcement has been made by a progressive coating process from a thermoplastic elastomeric material such as polyurethane. In this case, the reinforcing rings and ribs 623, 625 are many times thicker than the spanning thin film portions 624 and the reinforcing ribs 625 have a variable spacing from complete contact at the center or polar region to several centimeters at the equator. The reinforcements may comprise the laminated net as discussed above. Since the rings and ribs 623, 625 are formed in connection with the inner surface of the airbag 610, the outer surface of the airbag 610 maintains its generally smooth surface.

In this regard, it should be stated that plastic manufacturing equipment exists today which is capable of performing this progressive coating process, i.e., forming a multi-layer plastic sheet (also referred to as a material sheet) from a plurality of different plastic layers. One such method is to provide a mold having the inverse form of the predetermined pattern and apply the specific plastic materials in individual layers into the mold, all but the initial layer being applied onto a preexisting layer. The mold has depressions having a depth deeper than the remaining portions of the mold which will constitute the thicker regions, the thinner portions of the mold constituting the spanning regions between the thicker regions. Also, it is possible and desirable to apply a larger amount of the thermoplastic elastomer in the depressions in the mold so that the thicker regions will provide a reinforcement effect. In certain situations, it is foreseeable that only the thermoplastic elastomer can be coated into the depressions whereas a plastic material which will form an inelastic film layer is coated onto the spanning regions between the depressions as well as in the depressions in order to obtain an integral bond to the thermoplastic elastomer. The mold can have the form of the polar symmetric pattern shown in FIG. 4C.

The film airbag designs illustrated thus far were constructed from flat plastic sheets which have been sealed by heat welding, adhesive or otherwise. An alternate method to fabricate an airbag is to use a molding process to form an airbag 630 as illustrated in FIG. 5A which is a partial cutaway perspective view of a driver side airbag made from film using blow molding (a known manufacturing process). Blow molding permits some thickness variation to be designed into the product, as does casting and progressive coating methods molding (other known manufacturing processes). In particular, a thicker annular zone 633 is provided on the circumference of the airbag 630 to give additional rigidity to the airbag 630 in this area. Additionally, the material surrounding the inflator attachment hole 636 has been made thicker removing the necessity for a separate reinforcement ring of material. Holes 637 are again provided, usually through a secondary operation, for attachment of the airbag 630 to the inflator.

The vent hole 635 is formed by a secondary process and reinforced, or, alternately, provision is made in the inflator for the gases to exhaust therethrough, thereby removing the need for the hole 635 in the bag material itself. Since this design has not been stress optimized, the customary wrinkles and folds 634 also appear. The vent hole 635 might also be a variable-sized or adjustable vent hole to achieve the benefits of such as known to those skilled in the art.

One advantage of the use of the blow molding process to manufacture airbags is that the airbag need not be made from flat sheets. Through careful analysis, using a finite element program for example, the airbag can be designed to substantially eliminate the wrinkles and folds seen in the earlier implementations. Such a design is illustrated in FIG. 5B which is a partial cutaway perspective view of a driver side airbag made from film using a blow molding process where the airbag design has been partially optimized using a finite element airbag model. This design has a further advantage in that the stresses in the material are now more uniform permitting the airbag to be manufactured from thinner material.

In some vehicles, and where the decision has been made not to impact the driver with the airbag (for example if a hybrid airbag is used), the inflated airbag comes too close to the driver if the ratio of thickness to diameter is 0.6. In these applications, it is necessary to decrease this ratio to 0.5 or less. For this ratio, thickness means the dimension of the inflated airbag measured coaxial with the steering column, assuming the airbag is mounted in connection with the steering column, and diameter, or average or effective diameter, is the average diameter measured in a plane perpendicular to the thickness. This ratio can be obtained without resorting to tethers in the design as illustrated in FIG. 5C which is a side view of a driver side airbag made from film where the ratio of thickness to effective diameter decreases. FIG. 5D is a view of the airbag of FIG. 5C taken along line 5D-5D. This airbag 630 can be manufactured from two sheets of material 631 and 632 which are joined together, e.g., by a sealing substrate, to form seal 633. Inflator attachment hole 636 can be reinforced with a ring of plastic material 360 as described above. Many circumferential geometries can be used to accomplish this reduction in thickness to diameter ratio, or even to increase this ratio if desired. The case illustrated in FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D is one preferred example of the use of a finite element design method for an airbag.

Some vehicles have a very steep steering column angle. Direct mounting of an airbag module on the steering wheel will therefore not provide good protection to the driver. One approach to solve this problem can be accomplished by using a softer wheel rim or column, which adjusts its angle when pressed by the occupant. However, in some cases this can have just the opposite effect. If a non-rotating driver side airbag is used, the airbag can be arranged to deploy at a different angle from the steering wheel without modifying the steering column while the airbag can be inflated in a direction appropriate for driver protection. Another advantage of using a non-rotating driver side airbag module is that the angle of the sensor axis is independent of the steering column angle for self-contained airbag modules.

In a high-speed vehicle crash, the steering column may collapse or shift due to the severe crush of the front end of the vehicle. The collapse of the steering column can affect the performance of an airbag if the bag is installed on the steering column. One steering system proposed herein purposely induces a large stroking of the steering column when the driver side airbag is activated. This stroking or “disappearing” column, creates a large space in the driver side compartment and therefore allows the use of a relatively large airbag to achieve better protection. In both of the above cases, an airbag module not rotating with the steering wheel is the better choice to accomplish occupant protection.

Recently, there are some developments in steering design, such as “steering by wire”, to eliminate the steering column or the mechanical mechanism connecting the steering column to the front wheels. The rotation of the steering wheel is converted into a signal which controls the turning of front wheels by actuators adjacent to the wheels. As steer-by-wire is commercialized, it will be advantageous to use the invention herein of a non-rotating driver side airbag module, which does not have to be supported by a steering column.

To provide better viewing to the instrumentation panel for the driver, it is also beneficial to arrange a driver side airbag module so that it does not obstruct this view. A non-rotating driver side airbag can be either arranged to be out of the central portion of the steering wheel or completely out of the steering wheel to avoid this inconvenience.

An inflated airbag 640 interacting with an occupant driver 641 is shown in FIG. 6. Airbag 640 is installed in and deployed from steering wheel 642. The steering column 643 has a steep column angle placing the lower rim 644 of the steering wheel close to the driver 641. When the driver 641 moves forward after a crash, the driver's head 645 and the upper torso 646 make contact with the airbag 640 and the steering wheel 642. The airbag 640 is then deformed and pushed by the occupant 641 so that the airbag 640 does not form a cushion between the upper torso 646 and the steering wheel 642 even though the occupant's driver's head 645 is in full contact with the airbag 640.

A modified column 648 is illustrated in FIG. 7, which is equipped with a joint 647 between a lower part 648A of the steering column 648 connected to the vehicle and an upper part 648B of the steering column 648 connected to the steering wheel 642. Joint 647 allows the steering wheel 642 and the inflated airbag 640 to have a variable angle relative to the lower part 648A of the steering wheel 648 and thus an adjustable angle to the driver 641. Appropriate rotation of the joint 647 enables the inflated airbag 640 to align with the head 645 and upper torso 646 of the driver 641. The protection offered by the steering column 648 including the airbag 640 system in FIG. 7 is an improvement over the system in FIG. 6 since the airbag 640 is in a better orientation to cushion the occupant driver 641 and penetration of the lower rim 644 of the steering wheel 642 is avoided. The concept of a self-aligned driver side airbag can also be accomplished by rotating the steering wheel 642 or utilizing a soft rim for the steering wheel 642.

Construction of the joint 647 may involve use of a pivot hinge having two parts pivotable relative to one another with one part being attached to the lower part 648A of the steering column 648 and the other part being attached to the upper part 648B of the steering column 648. Alternatively, one of the lower and upper parts 648A, 648B can be formed with a projecting member and the other part formed with a fork-shaped member and a pivot pin connects the projecting member and fork-shaped member. Other ways to construct joint 647 will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the disclosure herein and are encompassed by the description of joint 647.

Pivotal movement of the upper part 648B of the steering column 648 and thus the steering wheel 642 and airbag 640 mounted in connection therewith may be realized manually by the driver or automatically by an actuating mechanism. The actuating mechanism can be designed to cooperate with an occupant position and monitoring system to receive the detected position and/or morphology of the driver 641 and then adjust the steering wheel 642 to a position within a range of optimum positions for a driver in that position and/or with that morphology. To allow for situations in which the driver manually changes the position of the steering wheel 642 outside of the range, the actuating mechanism can be designed to cooperate with a crash sensor system to receive a signal indicative of an impending or actual crash and then automatically adjust the position of the upper part 648B of the steering column 648. In this manner, even if the driver has the steering wheel 642 set in a position during regular driving in which it will adversely affect airbag deployment, the actuating mechanism causes the steering wheel 642 to be re-positioned during the crash

A design with an airbag and an inflator on the steering column is illustrated in FIG. 8. The steering column can comprise an outer shaft 651, an inner shaft 652, and a supporting bracket 653. Outer shaft 651 can be coupled with the steering wheel 654 at one end region and extended to the engine compartment at the other end region to drive the steering mechanism 655 which causes turning of the tire(s) of the vehicle. The inner shaft 652 can be coupled with the inflator and airbag module 656 at one end region while the other end region can be attached to a stationary part 657 of the vehicle chassis in the engine compartment, for example. The supporting bracket 653 can be fixed to the firewall 658 for support. Bearings 659 and 660 can be placed between the bracket 653 and the outer shaft 651 to rotatably support the outer shaft 651 on the bracket 653 and bearings 661 and 662 can be placed between the outer shaft 651 and the inner shaft 652 and can be used for rotatably supporting the outer shaft 651 on the inner shaft 652. The outer and inner shafts 651, 652 may be tubular and concentric to one another.

Inner shaft 652 is stationary, not rotating with the steering wheel 654, therefore the airbag in airbag module 656 can be designed in an arbitrary shape and orientation. For example, a large airbag can be designed to provide the optimal protection of the driver. A less rigid steering wheel or column can also reduce the force exerted on the driver and allow the airbag to align with the driver. For example, the curved portion 663 of the steering wheel 654 can be designed to be flexible or to move away when the force on the rim of the steering wheel 654 exceeds a certain level. This force can be measured by appropriate measurement devices or sensors and a processor used to determine when the curved portion 663 of the steering wheel 654 should be moved away.

Steering wheel 654 can have a central cavity in which the inflator and airbag module 656 is situated. This central cavity may be centered about a rotation axis of the steering wheel 654.

Although module 656 is referred to as an inflator and airbag module, it is conceivable that only the airbag is arranged in the steering wheel 654, i.e., in the cavity defined thereby, while the inflator portion is arranged at another location and the inflation gas is directed into the airbag, e.g., the inflator is arranged on the dashboard and inflating gas directed into the airbag via a passage in the inner shaft 652.

A driver side restraint system, which is installed on or in the dashboard 675 of a vehicle is depicted in FIG. 9. The inflated airbag 671 fills the space between the ceiling of the passenger compartment 672, the windshield 673, the steering wheel 674, the dashboard 675, and the occupant driver 676. The airbag 671 is of such a geometry that the occupant driver 676 is surrounded by air cushion after the airbag 671 is fully inflated. An additional improvement can be provided if the steering wheel 674 and column strokes and sinks toward the dashboard 675 increasing the space between the occupant driver 676 and the steering wheel 674. The stroking movement of the steering wheel 674 and column can be initiated by the restraint system crash sensor. One approach is to use a mechanism where pins 678 lock the column and the steering wheel 674. As soon as the sensor triggers to initiate the airbag 671, the pins can be released and the steering wheel 674 and the column can then move towards the firewall 677. Other mechanisms for enabling movement of the steering wheel 674, i.e., the steering column to sink toward the dashboard 675, can be used in the invention.

An airbag 680 installed on the dashboard 681 of a vehicle is illustrated in FIG. 10. The airbag 680 is partially deployed between the windshield 682 and the steering wheel 683 and the dashboard 681. The inflator 685 provides gas to unfold and inflate the airbag 680. A torsional spring 686, or other mechanism, can be used to control the opening of a valve 687, which controls the flow of gas out of vent hole 688 of the airbag 680. When the pressure inside the airbag 680 is lower than a desired pressure, the valve 687 can close retaining the gas within the airbag 680. When the pressure inside the airbag 680 exceeds a design level, the valve 687 opens and releases gas from the airbag 680 into the engine compartment 689, which is separated from the passenger compartment by firewall 690. Although only a single vent hole 688 and associated valve 687 are shown, multiple vent holes and/or valves can be provided.

A distributed inflator and airbag module 691 along the dashboard of a vehicle below the windshield 692 is illustrated in FIG. 11A. FIG. 11B illustrates a side view of the inflator and airbag module 691, which shows the module cover 693, the folded airbag 694, the inflator 695 and the vent hole 696 covering an opening in the airbag 694. The long tubular inflator 695, which has multiple ports along the module 691, can evenly and quickly generate gas to inflate the airbag 694. Multiple vent holes 696 are shown in FIG. 11A, located near the bottom of the windshield 692. These vent holes 696, since they cover openings in the airbag 694, can direct, or allow the flow of, the exhaust gases from the airbag 694 into the engine compartment. More specifically, vent holes 696 can be used regulate the gas flow from the airbag 694 to the engine compartment so that the inflated airbag 694 can be matched to the occupant and the severity of the crash.

Airbag 694 may be attached to the dashboard so that the periphery of the opening in the airbag 694 associated with each vent hole 696 is aligned with the vent hole 696.

Drive-by-wire is being considered for automobiles. Such a system will permit a significant reduction in the mass and cost of the steering wheel and steering column assembly. However, if the airbag is still deployed from the steering wheel, the strength and thus weight of the airbag will have to be largely maintained. Thus, a preferable arrangement is to cause the steering wheel and column to move out of the way and have the airbag for the driver deploy from the dashboard or the ceiling as discussed elsewhere herein. Such an airbag can be multi-chambered so as to better capture and hold the driver occupant in position during the crash.

1.3 Passenger Side Airbag

The discussion above has been limited for the most part to the driver side airbag which is attached to the vehicle steering wheel or otherwise arranged in connection therewith. This technology is also applicable to a passenger side airbag, which is generally attached to the instrument panel, as illustrated in FIG. 12 which is a partial cutaway perspective view of a passenger side airbag 700 made from three pieces or sheets of flat film 701, 702 and 703 which have joined seams 704 between adjacent pieces of film 701, 702, 703. The passenger side airbag, as well as rear seat airbags and side impact airbags, generally have a different shape than the driver side airbag but the same inventive aspects described above with respect to the driver side airbag could also be used in connection with passenger side airbags, rear seat airbags and side impact airbags. Although illustrated as being constructed from a plurality of sheets of plastic film, the passenger side airbag 700 can also be made by blow molding or other similar molding process, i.e., as one unitary sheet. Also, for many vehicles, the film sheet 702 is unnecessary and will not be used thereby permitting the airbag to once again be manufactured from only two flat sheets. The inflator attachment hole 706 is now typically rectangular in shape and can be reinforced by a rectangular reinforcement plastic ring 708 having inflator-mounting holes 707. A vent hole 705 can also be provided to vent gases from the deploying airbag 700. The vent hole 705 might be a variable-sized or adjustable vent hole to achieve the benefits of such as known to those skilled in the art.

Another class of airbags that should be mentioned are side impact airbags that deploy from the vehicle seat or door. These also can be made from plastic film according to the teachings of this invention.

1.4 Inflatable Knee Bolster-Knee Airbag

An example of a knee airbag is illustrated in FIG. 13 which is a perspective view of a knee restraint airbag illustrating the support of the driver's knees and also for a sleeping occupant lying on the passenger seat of the vehicle (not shown). The knee support airbag shown generally at 514 comprises a film airbag 515 which is composed of several smaller airbags 516, 517, 518, and 519 as disclosed above. Alternately, the knee airbag can be made from a single film airbag as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,464 referenced above. The knee support airbag can be much larger than airbags previously used for this purpose and, as a result, offers some protection for an occupant, not shown, who is lying asleep on the vehicle seat prior to the accident.

With the development of the film airbag and the inflator design above, a very thin airbag module becomes possible as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,485. Such a module can be made in any length permitting it to be used at many locations within the vehicle. For example, one could be positioned on the ceiling to protect rear seat occupants. Another one would stretch the length of the car on each side to protect both front and rear occupants from head injuries in side impacts. A module of this design lends itself for use as a deployable knee restraint as shown in FIG. 13. Eventually, especially when drive-by-wire systems are implemented and the steering wheel and column are redesigned or eliminated, such an airbag system will be mounted on the ceiling and used for the protection of all of the front seat passengers and driver in frontal impacts. With the economies described above, airbags of this type will be very inexpensive, perhaps one-fifth the cost of current airbag modules offering similar protection.

In FIG. 13, a knee protection airbag for the front driver is shown generally at 709 (and is also referred to as a knee bolster herein). Since the knee airbag 709 fills the entire space between the knees and the instrument panel and since the instrument panel is now located at a substantial distance from the occupant's knees, there is substantially more deflection or stroke provided for absorbing the energy of the occupant. Submarining is still prevented by inflating the knee airbag 709 to a higher pressure, typically in excess of 1 bar and sometimes in excess of 2 bars, and applying the force to the occupant knees before he or she has moved significantly. Since the distance of deployment of the knee airbag 709 can be designed large enough to be limited only by the interaction with an occupant or some other object, the knee airbag 709 can be designed so that it will inflate until it fills the void below the upper airbag, not illustrated in this figure. The knee protection airbag 709 can take the form of a fabric or any of the composite airbags disclosed above, e.g., include a plastic film layer and an overlying net, or two or more plastic film layers, usually at least one is inelastic to provide the shape of the knee bolster and at least one is elastic to control the propagation of a tear. The knee bolster airbag can also be deployed using as aspirated inflator or other method permitting the airbag to be self-limiting or self-adjusting so as to fill the space between the knees of the occupant and the vehicle structure. In FIG. 13, the width of the cells is typically less than the width of the knee of an occupant. In this manner, the capturing of the knees of the occupant to prevent them from sliding off of the knee airbag 709 is enhanced.

In preferred designs presented herein and below, the knee airbag 709 is deployed as a cellular airbag with the cells, frequently in the form of tubes, interconnected during inflation and, in most cases, individual valves in each chamber close to limit the flow of gas out of the chamber during the accident. In this manner, the occupant is held in position and prevented from submarining. A composite film is one preferred material, however, fabric can also be used with some increased injury risk. The cellular or tubular airbags designs described herein are also sometimes referred as compartmentalized airbags.

Normally, the knee bolster airbag will not have vents. It will be deployed to its design pressure and remain deployed for the duration of the accident. For some applications, a vent hole will be used to limit the peak force on the knees of the occupant. As an alternate to providing a fixed vent hole as illustrated in the previous examples, a variable vent hole can be provided as shown in FIGS. 30 and 30A (discussed below). Alternately, this variable vent function can be incorporated within the inflator as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,238.

Typically, inflatable knee bolster installations comprise an inflatable airbag sandwiched between a rigid or semi-rigid load distributing impact surface and a reaction surface. When the inflator is triggered, the airbag expands to move the impact surface a predetermined distance to an active position. This position may be determined by tethers between the reaction and impact surfaces. These installations comprise numerous parts, bits and pieces and require careful installation. In contrast, in a preferred knee bolster described herein, there is no rigid load distributing surface but rather, the knee bolster conforms to the shape of the knees of the occupant. Tethers in general are not required or used as the shaping properties of inelastic films are utilized to achieve the desired airbag shape. Finally, preferred designs herein are not composed of numerous parts and in general do not require careful installation. One significant problem with the use of load distribution plates as is commonly done in the art is that no provision is made to capture the knees and thus, especially if the crash is an angular impact or if the occupant is sitting on an angle with respect to the knee bolster or has his or her legs crossed, there is a tendency for the knees to slip sideways off of the knee bolster defeating the purpose of the system. In the multi-cellular knee bolster disclosed herein, the cells expand until they envelop the occupant's knees, capturing them and preventing them from moving sideways. Once each cell is filled to a design pressure, a one-way valve closes and flow out of the cell is prevented for the duration of the crash. This design is especially effective when used with an anticipatory sensor as the knees can be captured prior to occupant movement relative to the passenger compartment caused by the crash. A signal from the anticipatory sensor would initiate an inflator to inflate the knee bolster prior to or simultaneous with the crash.

An improvement to this design, not illustrated, is to surround the airbags with a net or other envelope that can slide on the surface of the airbag cells until they are completely inflated. Then, when the occupant begins loading the airbag cells during the crash, displacement of the knees not only compresses the cells that are directly in line with the knees but also the adjacent cells thus providing a significant increase to the available effective piston area to support the knees in much the same way that a load distribution plate functions. Such a net or envelope effectively distributes the load over a number of cells thus limiting the required initial pressure within the airbag cells. Other methods of accomplishing this load distribution include the addition of somewhat flexible stiffeners into the surface of the airbag where it contacts the knees, again with the goal of causing a load on one cell to be partially transferred to the adjacent cells.

In a preferred design, as discussed below, the cellular airbags inflate so as to engulf the occupant by substantially filling up all of the space between the occupant and the walls of the passenger compartment freezing the occupant in his or her pre-crash position and preventing the occupant from ever obtaining a significant velocity relative to the passenger compartment. This will limit the acceleration on the occupant to below about 15-20 Gs for a severe 30 MPH barrier crash. This retains the femur loads well below the requirements of FMVSS-208 and can essentially eliminate all significant injury to the occupant in such a crash. This, of course, assumes that the vehicle passenger compartment is effectively designed to minimize intrusion, for example.

In most of the preferred designs disclosed herein, the surface that impacts the occupant is a soft plastic film and inflicts little if any injury upon impact with the occupant. Even the fabric versions when used as a knee bolster, for example, can be considered a soft surface compared with the load distribution plates or members that impact the knees of the occupant in conventional inflatable knee bolster designs. This soft impact is further enhanced when an anticipatory sensor is used and the airbags are deployed prior to the accident as the deployment velocity can be substantially reduced.

In a conventional airbag module, when the inflator is initiated, gas pressure begins to rise in the airbag which begins to press on the deployment door. When sufficient force is present, the door breaks open along certain well-defined weakened seams permitting the airbag to emerge from its compartment. The pressure in the airbag when the door opens, about 10 to 20 psi, is appropriate for propelling the airbag outward toward the occupant, the velocity of which is limited by the mass of the airbag. In the case of a film airbag, this mass is substantially less, perhaps by as much as a factor of three or more, causing it to deploy at a much higher velocity if subjected to these high pressures. This will place unnecessary stresses in the material and the rapid movement of the airbag past the deployment door could induce abrasion and tearing of the film by the deployment door. A film airbag, therefore, must be initially deployed at a substantially lower pressure. However, conventional deployment doors require a higher pressure to open. This problem is discussed in literature mentioned in the parent '517 application, where, in one implementation, a pyrotechnic system is used to cut open the door according to the teachings of Barnes et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,950).

There are of course many ways of making inflatable knee restraints using chambered airbags, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,217, without deviating from the teachings of this invention.

1.5 Ceiling Deployed Airbags

Airbags disclosed herein and in the assignee's prior patents are believed to be the first examples of multi-chambered airbags that are deployed from the ceiling and the first examples of the use of tubular or cellular airbags. These designs should become more widely used as protection is sought for other situations such as preventing occupants from impacting with each other and when developments in drive-by-wire are implemented. In the former case, airbags will be interposed between seating positions and in the latter case, steering wheel assemblies will become weaker and unable to support the loads imposed by airbags. In some cases, in additional to support from the ceiling, these airbags will sometimes be attached to other surfaces in the vehicle such as the A, B and C pillars in much the way that some curtain airbags now receive such support.

One method of forming a film airbag is illustrated generally at 710 in FIG. 14. In this implementation, the airbag is formed from two flat sheets or layers of film material 711, 712 which have been sealed, e.g., by heat or adhesive, at joints 714 to form long tubular shaped mini-airbags 713 (also referred to herein as compartments or cells) in much the same way that an air mattress is formed. In FIG. 14, a single layer of mini-airbags 713 is shown. It should be understood that the mini-airbags 713 are interconnected to one another to allow the inflating gas to pass through all of the interior volume of the airbag 710. Also, the joints 714 are formed by joining together selected, opposed parts of the sheets of film material 711, 712 along parallel lines whereby the mini-airbags 713 are thus substantially straight and adjacent one another. In other implementations, two or more layers could be used. Also, although a tubular pattern has been illustrated, other patterns are also possible such as concentric circles, waffle-shaped or one made from rectangles, or one made from a combination of these geometries or others. The film airbag 710 may be used as either a side airbag extending substantially along the entire side of the vehicle, an airbag disposed down the center of the vehicle between the right and left seating positions or as a rear seat airbag extending from one side of the vehicle to the other behind the front seat (see FIG. 15) and may or may not include any of the venting arrangements described herein.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view with portions removed of a vehicle having several deployed film airbags. Specifically, a single film airbag having several interconnected sections, not shown, spans the left side of the vehicle and is deployed downward before being filled so that it fits between the front seat and the vehicle side upon inflation (an airbag spanning the right side of the vehicle can of course be provided). This provides substantial support for the airbag and helps prevent the occupant from being ejected from the vehicle even when the side window glass has broken. A system which also purports to prevent ejection is described in Bark (U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,322 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,181). The Bark system uses a small diameter tubular airbag stretching diagonally across the door window. Such a device lacks the energy absorbing advantages of a vented airbag however vents are usually not desired for rollover protecting airbags. In fact, the device can act as a spring and can cause the head of the occupant to rebound and actually experience a higher velocity change than that of the vehicle. This can cause severe neck injury in high velocity crashes. The airbag of Bark '322 also is designed to protect primarily the head of the occupant, offering little protection for the other body parts. In contrast to the completely sealed airbag of Bark, a film airbag of the present invention can have energy absorbing vents and thus dampens the motion of the occupant's head and other body parts upon impact with the film airbag. Note that the desirability of vents typically goes away when anticipatory sensors are used as discussed elsewhere herein.

The airbag of Bark '322 covers the entire vehicle opening and receives support from the vehicle structure, e.g., it extends from one side of the B-pillar to the other so that the B-pillar supports the airbag 720. In contrast to the tube of Bark, the support for a preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed herein in some cases may not require complicated mounting apparatus going around the vehicle door and down the A-pillar but is only mounted to or in the ceiling above the side door(s). Also, by giving support to the entire body and adjusting the pressure between the body parts, the airbag of the present invention minimizes the force on the neck of the occupant and thus minimizes neck injuries.

3.5.1 Side Curtain Airbags

In FIG. 15, a single side protection airbag for the driver side is illustrated at 720. A single front airbag spans the front seat for protection in frontal impacts and is illustrated at 723 with the ceiling mounted inflator at 724. A single airbag is also used for protection of each of the rear seat occupants in frontal impacts and is illustrated at 725. With respect to the positioning of the side airbag 720, the airbag 720 is contained within a housing 722 which can be position entirely above the window of the side doors, i.e., no portion of it extends down the A-pillar or the B-pillar of the vehicle (as in Bark '322). The side airbag housing 722 thus includes a mounting structure (not shown) for mounting it above the window to the ceiling of the vehicle and such that it extends across both side doors (when present in a four-door vehicle) and thus protects the occupants sitting on that side of the vehicle from impacting against the windows in the side doors. To ensure adequate protection for the occupants from side impacts, as well as frontal impacts and roll-overs which would result in sideward movement of the occupants against the side doors, the airbag housing 722 is constructed so that the airbag 720 is initially projected in a downward direction from the ceiling prior to inflation and extends at least substantially along the entire side of the ceiling. This initial projection may be designed as a property of the module 722 which houses the airbag 720, e.g., by appropriate construction and design of the module and its components such as the dimensioning the module's deployment door and deployment mechanism.

Although a variety of airbag designs can be used as the side impact protection airbag, one preferred implementation is when the airbag includes first and second attached non-perforated sheets of film and a tear propagation arresting mechanism arranged in connection with each of the film sheets for arresting the propagation of a tear therein. A net may also be used as described above. The net would constrict or tension the airbag if it were to be designed to retain an interior volume less than the volume of the airbag (as discussed above).

The airbag can include a venting device (e.g., a venting aperture as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B) arranged in connection with the airbag for venting the airbag after inflation thereof. In certain embodiments, the airbag is arranged to extend at least along a front portion of the ceiling such that the airbag upon inflation is interposed between a passenger in the front seat of the vehicle and the dashboard (this aspect being discussed below with respect to FIG. 19).

FIG. 16 is a view looking toward the rear of the vehicle of the deployed side protection airbag of FIG. 15. An airbag vent is illustrated as a fixed opening 721. Other venting designs are possible including venting through the airbag inflator as disclosed in the above-referenced patents and patent applications as well as the variable vent described below with reference to FIGS. 30 and 30A or even no vent for rollover protection.

The upper edge of the airbag is connected to an inflator 722 and that the airbag 720 covers the height of the window in the door in this implementation.

FIG. 16A is a view of a side airbag similar to the one of FIG. 16 although with a different preferred shape, with the airbag 720 removed from the vehicle. The parallel compartments or cells can be seen. This aspect is discussed below with reference to FIGS. 24-26.

3.5.2 Frontal Curtain Airbags

FIGS. 17 and 18-18D illustrate the teachings of this invention applied in a manner similar to the airbag system of Ohm in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,326. The airbag of Ohm is a small limited protection system designed for the aftermarket. It uses a small compressed gas inflator and an unvented thin airbag which prevents the occupant from contacting with the steering wheel but acts as a spring causing the occupants head to rebound from the airbag with a high velocity. The system of FIG. 17 improves the performance of and greatly simplifies the Ohm design by incorporating the sensor and compressed gas inflator into the same mounting assembly which contains the airbag. The system is illustrated generally at 730 in FIG. 17 where the mounting of the system in the vehicle is similar to that of Ohm.

In FIG. 18, the module assembly is illustrated from a view looking toward the rear of the airbag module of FIG. 17 with the vehicle removed, taken at 18-18 of FIG. 17. The module 730 incorporates a mounting plate 731, a high pressure small diameter tube constituting an inflator 733 and containing endcaps 734 which are illustrated here as having a partial spherical surface but may also be made from flat circular plates. The mounting plate 731 is attached to the vehicle using screws, not illustrated, through mounting holes 735. An arming pin 729 is illustrated and is used as described below.

FIG. 18A is a cross sectional view of the airbag module of FIG. 18 taken at 18A-18A and illustrates the inflator initiation system of this invention. The inflator 733 is illustrated as a cylindrical tube, although other cross sectional shapes can be used, which contains a hole 730 therein into which is welded by weld 732 to an initiation assembly 737. This assembly 737 has a rupture disk 738 welded into one end. A rupture pin 739 is positioned adjacent rupture disk 738 which will be propelled to impact the rupture disk 738 in the event of an accident as described below. When disk 738 is impacted by pin 739, it fails thereby opening essentially all of the orifice covered by disk 738 permitting the high pressure gas which is in a tube of the inflator 733 to flow out of the tube 733 into cavity 740 of initiator assembly 737 and then through holes 741 into cavity 742. Cavity 742 is sealed by the airbag 736 which now deploys due to the pressure from the gas in cavity 742.

When the vehicle experiences a crash of sufficient severity to require deployment of the airbag 736, sensing mass 743, shown in phantom, begins moving to the left in the drawing toward the front of the vehicle. Sensing mass 743 is attached to shaft 744 which in turn is attached to D-shaft 745 (see FIG. 18C). As mass 743 moves toward the front of the vehicle, D-shaft 745 is caused to rotate. Firing pin 747 is held and prevented from moving by edge 746 of D-shaft 745. However, when D-shaft 745 rotates sufficiently, edge 746 rotates out of the path of firing pin 747 which is then propelled by spring 748 causing the firing pin point to impact with primer 749 causing primer 749 to produce high pressure gas which propels pin 739 to impact disk 738 releasing the gas from inflator tube 733 inflating the airbag 736 as described above. The sensor 743,744, D-shaft 745 and primer mechanism 747, 748, 749 are similar to mechanisms described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,716.

FIG. 18B is a cross sectional view, with portions cutaway and removed, of the airbag module 730 of FIG. 18 taken at 18B-18B and illustrates the arming pin 729 which is removed after the module 730 is mounted onto the vehicle. If the module 730 were to be dropped accidentally without this arming pin 729, the sensor could interpret the acceleration from an impact with the floor, for example, as if it were a crash and deploy the airbag 736. The arming system prevents this from happening by preventing the sensing mass 743 from rotating until the arming pin 729 is removed.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the airbag of this invention 720 shown mounted in a manner to provide protection for a front and a rear seat occupant in side impact collisions and to provide protection against impacts to the roof support pillars in angular frontal impacts and to offer some additional protection against ejection of the occupant.

More particularly, in this embodiment, an airbag system for protecting at least the front-seated occupant comprises a single integral airbag 720 having a frontal portion 726 sized and shaped for deploying in front of the front-seated occupant and a side portion 727 sized and shaped for deploying to the side of the front-seated occupant. In this manner, airbag 720 wraps around the front-seated occupant during deployment for continuous front to side coverage. An inflator (not shown) is provided for inflating the single integral airbag with gas. As shown, the side portion 727 may be sized and shaped to deploy along an entire side of the vehicle, the side portion 727 is longer than the frontal portion 726 and the frontal portion 726 and side portion 727 are generally oriented at a 90 degree angle relative to each other. As with the other side curtain airbags discussed in connection with FIGS. 15, 16, 16A and 19, the airbag 720 may be housed in the ceiling. Also, as noted throughout this application, airbag 720 may comprise one or more sheets of film and the tear propagation arresting structure or a net may be provided to tension or constrict the deployment of the airbag 720. The construction can also comprise straight or curved interconnected cells or tubular structures.

FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate another embodiment of the invention intended to provide protection from side impacts and rollover accidents not only for a person in the front seat of a motor vehicle such as a motor car, but also for a person in the rear seat of the vehicle which is similar to that shown in FIGS. 15, 16 and 16A.

Referring to FIG. 20, the housing 715 is provided over both the front door 716 and the rear door 750. The airbag or other type of inflatable element 751 is shown in the inflated state in FIG. 21. The inflatable element 751 has its top edge 752 secured to a part of the housing 715 or ceiling of the passenger compartment that extends above the doors 716, 750 of the motor vehicle (see, e.g., FIG. 16A). The design of the inflatable element is similar to that shown in FIG. 14 or 16A, with the inflatable element including a plurality of parallel cells or compartments 752, which when inflated are substantially cylindrical. A gas generator 750 is provided which is connected to the inflatable element 751 in such a way that when the gas generator 750 is activated by a sensor 751 to supply gas to the cells 752. Sensor 751 may be separate as shown or formed integrally with the gas generator 750, or which is otherwise associated with the gas generator 750, and responds to a crash condition requiring deployment of the inflatable element 751 to activate the gas generator 750. Thus, as the inflatable element 751 inflates, the cells 752 inflate in a downward direction until the inflatable element 751 extends across the windows in the doors 716, 750 of the motor vehicle (see FIG. 16). As the inflatable element 751 inflates, the length of the lower edge thereof decreases by as much as 30% as a consequence of the inflation of the cells 752. This reduction in the length of the lower edge ensures that the inflated element 751 is retained in position as illustrated in FIG. 21 after it has been inflated. Although shown as parallel tubes, other geometries are of course possible such as illustrated in FIGS. 28A-28L.

The inflatable element 751 described above incorporates a plurality of parallel substantially vertical, substantially cylindrical cells 752. The inflatable element 751 may be made of interwoven sections of a material such as film or other material such as woven fabric. Such a interweaving of material comprises a first layer that defines the front of the inflatable element 751, i.e., the part that is visible in FIGS. 20 and 21, and a second layer that defines the back part, i.e., the part that is adjacent the window in FIGS. 20 and 21, whereby selected parts of the first region and the second region are interwoven to define links in the form of lines where the front part and the back part of the inflatable element are secured together. A technique for making an inflatable element of inter-woven sections of material is described in International Patent Publication No. WO 90/09295.

The tubes or cells 752 can be further joined together as illustrated in FIG. 22A by any method such as through the use of an additional sheet of material 753 which joins the front and back edges 754 and 755 of the adjacent cells 752 in order to render the inflatable element 751 more resistant to impacts from parts of the body of an occupant. The additional chambers 756 formed between the additional sheet of material 753 and the front and back edges of the cells 752 can either be pressurized at the same pressure as the tubes or cells 752 or they can be left exposed to the atmosphere, as is preferred. Although illustrated as joining adjacent cells of the inflatable element 751, they can alternatively be arranged to join non-adjacent cells. Although the cells are illustrated as parallel tubes, any geometry of chambers, cells or tubes can benefit from this improvement including those as illustrated in FIGS. 28A-28L.

FIG. 22 is a cross section showing the nature of the cells 752 of the inflatable element 751 of FIGS. 20 and 21. It can be seen that the cells 752 are immediately adjacent to each other and are only separated by narrow regions where the section of material, e.g., film, forming the front part of the inflatable element 751 has been woven or otherwise attached by heat sealing or adhesive with the section of material forming the back part of the inflated element.

Also, as noted throughout this application, inflatable element 751 may have any of the disclosed airbag constructions. For example, inflatable element 751 may comprise one or more sheets of film and the tear propagation arresting mechanism or a net may be provided to tension or constrict the deployment of the inflatable element 751. The film surface facing the occupant need not be the same as the film facing the side window, for example. In order to prevent broken glass, for example, from cutting the airbag, a thicker film, a lamination of a film and a fabric or a film and a net can be used.

There are of course many ways of making ceiling-mounted frontal protection airbags using chambers without departing from the teachings of this invention such as disclosed in published patent applications WO03093069, 20030234523 and 20030218319. Such airbags can be made from tubular sections or sections of other shapes and the amount of deployment of such airbags can be determined by occupant sensors as disclosed in other patents assigned to the assignee of this patent. Such airbags can be flat as disclosed herein or other shapes.

3.5.3 Other Compartmentalized Airbags

As mentioned above, anticipatory crash sensors based on pattern recognition technology are disclosed in several of assignee's patents and pending patent applications. The technology now exists based on research by the assignee to permit the identification and relative velocity determination to be made for virtually any airbag-required accident prior to the accident occurring. This achievement now allows airbags to be reliably deployed prior to the accident. The implications of this are significant. Prior to this achievement, the airbag system had to wait until an accident started before a determination could be made whether to deploy one or more of the airbags. The result is that the occupants, especially if unbelted, would frequently achieve a significant velocity relative to the vehicle passenger compartment before the airbags began to interact with the occupant and reduce his or her relative velocity. This would frequently subject the occupant to high accelerations, in some cases in excess of 40 Gs, and in many cases resulted in serious injury or death to the occupant especially if he or she is unrestrained by a seatbelt or airbag. On the other hand, a vehicle typically undergoes less than a maximum of 20 Gs during even the most severe crashes. Most occupants can withstand 20 Gs with little or no injury. Thus, as taught herein, if the accident severity could be forecast prior to impact and the vehicle filled with plastic film airbags that freeze the occupants in their pre-crash positions, then many lives will be saved and many injuries will be avoided.

One scenario is to use a camera, or radar-based or terahertz-based anticipatory sensor to estimate velocity and profile of impacting object. From the profile or image, an identification of the class of impacting object can be made and a determination made of where the object will likely strike the vehicle. Knowing the stiffness of the engagement part of the vehicle allows a calculation of the mass of the impacting object based on an assumption of the stiffness impacting object. Since the impacting velocity is known and the acceleration of the vehicle can be determined, we know the impacting mass and therefore we know the severity or ultimate velocity change of the accident. From this, the average chest acceleration that can be used to just bring the occupant to the velocity of the passenger compartment during the crash can be calculated and therefore the parameters of the airbag system can be set to provide that optimum chest acceleration. By putting an accelerometer on the airbag surface that contacts the occupant, the actual chest acceleration can be measured and the vent size can be adjusted to maintain the calculated optimum value. With this system, neither crush zone or occupant sensors are required, thus simplifying and reducing the cost of the system and providing optimum results even without initiating the airbag prior to the start of the crash.

There is of course a concern that if the airbags are inflated too early, the driver may lose control of the vehicle and the accident would be more severe than in the absence of such early inflation. To put this into perspective, experiments and calculations show that a reasonable maximum time period to inflate enough airbags to entirely fill a normal sedan is less than 200 ms. To protect the occupants of such a vehicle by filling the vehicle with airbags before the accident would require initiating deployment of the airbags about 200 ms prior to the accident which corresponds to a distance of vehicle travel of approximately 15 feet for the case where two vehicles are approaching each other with a closing velocity of about 60 MPH. It is unlikely that any action taken by the driver during that period would change the outcome of the accident and when the sensor signals that the airbags should be deployed, a control system can take control of the vehicle and prevent any unstable motions.

FIG. 23 illustrates one preferred method of substantially filling the passenger compartment with airbags. Primary airbag 760 along with secondary airbags 761, 762, and 763 prior to inflation are attached to one or more aspirated inflators 776 and stored, for example, within the headliner or ceiling of the vehicle. When the anticipatory or other crash sensor, not shown, determines that deployment is necessary, primary airbag 760 deploys first and then secondary airbags 761-763 deploy from gas that flows through airbag 760 and through one-way valves 764. Inflation continues until pressure builds inside the airbags 760-763 indicating that they have substantially filled the available volume. This pressure buildup reduces and eventually stops the aspiration and the remainder of the gas from the gas generator flows either into the airbags 760-763 to increase their pressure or into the passenger compartment. Since the pumping ratio of the aspirated inflators 776 is typically above 4, approximately 75% of the gas in the airbags 760-763 comes from the passenger compartment thus minimizing the pressure increase in the passenger compartment and injuries to the ears of the occupants. This also permits the substantial filling of the passenger compartment without the risk of breaking windows or popping doors open. If additional pressure relief is required then it can be achieved, for example, by practicing the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,326.

In a similar manner, primary airbag 765 inflates filling secondary airbags 766-770 through one-way valves 771. Additionally, airbags 775 mounted above the heads of occupants along with secondary airbags 772 can be inflated using associated inflators 776 to protect the heads of the occupants from impact with the vehicle roof or headliner. If occupant sensors are present in the vehicle, then when the rear seat(s) is (are) unoccupied, deployment of the rear-seat located airbags can be suppressed.

The knees and lower extremities of the occupants can be protected by knee airbags 780 and secondary airbags 779 in a similar manner. The design of these airbags will depend on whether there is a steering wheel 774 present and the design of the steering wheel 774. In some cases, for example, a primarily airbag may deploy from the steering wheel 774 while in other cases, when drive-by-wire is implemented, a mechanism may be present to move the steering wheel 774 out of the way permitting the secondary airbag(s) 779 to be deployed in conjunction with the knee airbag 780. The knee airbag deployment will be discussed below.

FIG. 23A illustrates a view from the top of the vehicle with the roof removed taken along line 23A-23A in FIG. 23 with the vehicle unoccupied. As can be seen, primary airbag 760, for example, is actually a row of tubular structures similar to that shown in FIG. 14. Additionally, curtain airbags 786 are present only in this implementation and they also comprise several rows of tubes designed to contact the occupants and hold them away from contacting the sides of the vehicle. Airbags 787 are also advantageously provided down the center of the vehicle to further restrain the occupants and prevent adjacent occupants from impacting each other.

In the preferred design, support for the airbags relies of substantially filling the vehicle and therefore loads are transferred to the walls of the vehicle passenger compartment. In many cases, this ideal cannot be completely achieved and straps of tethers will be required to maintain the airbags in their preferred locations. Again, this will depend of the design and implementation of this invention to a particular vehicle.

The particular designs of FIGS. 23 and 23A are for illustrative purposes only and the particular method of substantially filling a portion of the passenger compartment with airbags will depend substantially on the vehicle design.

An alternate design is illustrated in FIG. 24 where a cellular airbag 790 deploys from the steering wheel in a somewhat conventional manner and additional lateral tubes 791 deploy between the occupant and the windshield. These airbags also provide added support for the steering wheel airbag for those cases where drive-by-wire has been implemented and the heavy structural steering wheel and column has been replaced by a lighter structure.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example wherein cellular tubular airbags made from thin plastic film, for example, expand is a flower pattern to engage the occupants and receive support from the walls, ceiling etc. of the passenger compartment. The airbags deform and interact with each other and the occupants to conform to the available space and to freeze the occupants in their pre-crash positions. Airbags 792 come from the ceiling for upper body protection. Airbags 793 deploy from the upper instrument panel for upper body protection and airbags 794 deploy for lower body protection. Airbags 795 protect the knees and lower extremities and airbags 796 protect the rear seated occupants. Finally, airbags 797 again provide protection for the tops of the heads of the occupants. Although not shown in this drawing, additional airbags may be provided to prevent the lateral movement of the occupants such as curtain and center-mounted airbags. Again, the intent is to fill as much of the vehicle passenger compartment surrounding the occupant as possible. If occupant sensors are present and the absence of a rear-seated occupant, for example, can be detected, then the rear seat airbags need not be deployed.

FIGS. 26 and 26A illustrate an example of a flower-type airbag design. The inflator 800, preferably an aspirated inflator, discharges into a common distribution volume or manifold, which can be made from the plastic film, which distributes the gas to the cells or tubes 802 of the airbag assembly through one-way valves 804, formed in the sheet of the tubes 802, in a manner similar to the tubular airbags of FIG. 23. An envelope 803 of plastic film is provided to contain the tubes 802. Alternately, the tubes 802 can be connected together along their adjacent edges and the envelope 803 eliminated.

FIGS. 27 and 27A illustrate an example of a knee bolster airbag 805 and its inflation sequence. Only four tubes are illustrated although frequently, a larger number will be used. The inflation gas comes from the inflator, not shown, into a manifold 807 which distributes the gas into the tubes 806 through one-way valves 808 formed in the material of the airbag 805. During inflation, the airbag 805 unrolls in a manner similar to a Chinese whistle.

In some of the implementations illustrated here, the airbags do not have vent holes. At the end of the crash, the gas in the airbags should be allowed to exhaust, which generally will occur through the inflator housing. Vents in the airbags for the purpose of dissipating the kinetic energy of the occupants can, in many cases, be eliminated since the philosophy is to freeze the occupant before he or she has achieved significant velocity relative to the passenger compartment. In other words, there will be no “second collision”, the term used to describe the injury producing impact of the occupant with the walls of the passenger compartment. The occupants will, in general, experience the same average deceleration as the vehicle which in a 30 mph barrier crash is significantly less than 20 Gs.

FIGS. 28A, 28D, 28F, 28H, 28J and 28L illustrate six related prior art curtain airbag designs that have been modified according to teachings of this invention to include the use of an envelope or a material sheet that spans the cells or tubes that make up the curtain airbag. The curtain airbag of FIG. 28A, designated 810, is a design based on parallel vertical tubes 811 and can be made from fabric or plastic film. Sheets of fabric or film material 812 are attached to the outer edges of tubes 811 so as to span from one tube to the adjacent tubes as illustrates in FIG. 28B which is a view of FIG. 28A taken along line 28B-28B. The volumes created between the tubes 811, i.e., cells, can be pressurized as illustrated in FIG. 28C or left exposed to the atmosphere as illustrated in FIG. 28B. The particular geometry that the cells will acquire is shown simplified here. In reality, the cell geometry will depend on the relative lengths of the various material sections, the thickness of the material and the relative inflation pressures of each cell. Care must be exercised in the design to assure that resulting airbag will fold properly into the storage area. The presence of the envelope of spanning sheets renders the curtain airbag 810 significantly more resistant to deformation on impact from the head of the occupant, for example. This improves the ability of the airbag to retain the occupant's head within the vehicle during a side impact or rollover. The main function of the curtain airbag 810 is to prevent this partial ejection which is the major cause of injury and death in side impact and rollover accidents. Although the envelope or spanning sheets 812 add additional material to the airbag 810, the added stiffness created actually permits the use of thinner materials for the entire airbag 810 and thus reduces the total weight and hence the cost of the airbag 810.

FIGS. 28D and 28E illustrate an alternate geometry of a side curtain airbag where the tubes acquire a varying thickness and shape. Curtain airbag 813 has tubes 814 and an envelope or spanning sheet 815. FIGS. 28F and 28G illustrate still another geometry of a side curtain airbag where the tubes 817 are formed by joining islands between the opposing sheets of material. As in all of the cases of FIGS. 28A, 28D, 28F, 28H, 28J and 28L, various manufacturing processes can be used to join the opposing sheets of material including sewing, heat sealing, adhesive sealing and interweaving where the entire bag is made in one pass through the loom, among others. Curtain airbag 816 has tubes 817 and an envelope or spanning sheet 818 (FIGS. 28F and 28G).

FIGS. 28H and 28I illustrate another geometry of a side curtain airbag where the tubes again acquire a roughly rectangular shape. Curtain airbag 819 has tubes 820 and an envelope or spanning sheet 821. FIGS. 28J and 28K illustrate yet another alternate geometry of a side curtain airbag where the tubes are slanted but still retain a roughly rectangular shape. Curtain airbag 822 has tubes 823 and an envelope or spanning sheet 824.

Finally, FIGS. 28L and 28M illustrate still another geometry of a side curtain airbag where the tubes again acquire a roughly rectangular shape with the tubes running roughly fore and aft in the vehicle. Curtain airbag 825 has tubes 826 and an envelope or spanning sheet 827.

As airbags begin to fill more and more of the passenger compartment, the edges of the passenger compartment or the locations where the walls of the passenger compartment join become attractive locations for the deployment of airbags. This is especially the case when the airbags are made from thin plastic film that can be stored at such locations since they occupy a minimum of space. Thus, storage locations such as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20030178821 are contemplated by this and previous inventions by the current assignee. For some applications, it is possible to put the entire airbag system in the headliner if knee protection is not required. This is a problem for convertible vehicles where the edges of the passenger compartment become more important.

The size of the cells or tubes in the various airbag designs discussed above can vary according to the needs of the particular application. For a given internal pressure, the thickness of the film material decreases as the diameter of the tubes decreases. Since the thickness determines the weight of the airbag and thus the potential to cause injury on impact with an occupant, in general, an airbag made from multiple smaller tubes will cause less injury than a single-chambered airbag of the same size. Therefore, when possible the designs should use more smaller cells or tubes. In the extreme, the vehicle can be filled with a large number of small airbags each measuring three inches or less in diameter, for example, and as long as the passenger compartment is substantially filled at least between the occupant and the compartment in the direction of the crash, the exact positioning of a particular airbag becomes less important as each one will receive support from others and eventually the passenger compartment walls.

Through the implementation of the ideas expressed herein, the airbag system becomes truly friendly. It can deploy prior to the accident, freeze the occupant in his or her pre-crash position, impact the occupant without causing injury, and gradually deflate after the accident. Inflators would preferably be aspirated to draw most of the required gas from the passenger compartment. Since an aspirated inflator automatically adjusts to provide just the right amount of gas, only single stage pyrotechnic systems would be required. Occupant sensors would not be necessary as the system would adjust to all occupants regardless of whether they were seated in a rear-facing child seat, belted, unbelted, out-of-position, lying down, sleeping, had their feet in the dashboard, etc. By eliminating the dual stage inflator, using aspiration thereby greatly reduces the amount of propellant required and by using thin plastic film, this airbag system is not only by far the best performing system it is also potentially the least expensive system.

In FIG. 29, the advantages of the self-limiting airbag system disclosed herein and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,238 and with reference to FIG. 15, when used with a rear-facing child seat, are illustrated. In this case, where multiple film airbags are illustrated, the airbags deploy but the deployment process stops when each of the film airbags interacts with the child seat and the pressure within each bag rises to where the flow is stopped. In this case, the child 666 is surrounded by airbags 664 and further protected from the accident rather than being injured as is the case with current design airbags. The airbags 664 can be additionally surrounded by a net or other envelope 665 most of which has been cutaway and removed in the figure. In other implementations, a single airbag will be used in place of the multiple airbags illustrated here or multiple attached airbags can be used eliminating the need for the net.

The self-limiting feature is illustrated here by either a variable orifice exhaust port in the airbag, discussed below, or, preferably, provision is made in the airbag inflator itself as illustrated in the referenced '238 patent where a close-down of the aspiration system is used during the deployment portion of the process and a smaller variable orifice is used during the deflation portion. The aspiration cutoff can be designed so that the airbag deploys until the pressure begins to rise within the bag which then stops the inflation process, closes the aspiration ports and the airbag then becomes stiffer to absorb the kinetic energy of the impacting occupant. Thus, during the deployment phase, very little force is exerted on the occupant, or the child seat, but as the occupant begins to move into and load the airbag, substantial force is provided to limit his or her motion.

1.6 Rear of Seat Mounted Airbags

FIG. 25, discussed above, illustrates airbags that deploy from the rear of the front seat to protect rear seat occupants of a vehicle in a crash. These airbags also provide protection for front seat occupants to help prevent unbelted occupants in the rear seat from moving into the front seat during a crash and causing injury to those occupants seated in the front seat.

1.7 Exterior Airbags

Airbags that deploy outside of the vehicle have been disclosed primarily for side impacts. Generally, these externally deployed airbags are based on the use of an anticipatory sensor that identifies that an accident is about to occur using, for example, pattern recognition technologies such as neural network. Normally, these airbags are made from fabric but as the properties of films improve, these fabric airbags will be replaced by film airbags. In particular, using technology available today, the combination of a film and a reinforcing net can now be used to construct externally deployed airbags that are both stronger and lighter in weight than fabric. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20030159875 discloses the use of a resin for a pedestrian protection airbag. All of the film airbag constructions illustrated herein for interior use are also applicable for external use with appropriate changes in dimensions, material properties etc. as needed to satisfy the requirements of a particular application.

Particular mention should be made of pedestrian protection since this is rapidly becoming a critical safety issue primarily in Japan and Europe where the percentage of people killed in automobile accidents that are pedestrians is greater than in North America. Although many patents have now issued and are pending relating to pedestrian airbags, those of the current assignee make use of an anticipatory sensor that can identify that the vehicle is about to impact with a pedestrian. See, e.g., U.S. Patent Publication No. 20030159875 and EP01338483A2. Since this technology has been developed by the current assignee, the technology is now available to identify that a pedestrian is about to be struck by the vehicle. This technology uses a camera or other imaging system and a pattern recognition system such as a neural network or combination network as defined in the assignee's patents.

Exterior airbags can require a substantial amount of gas for inflation and thus are candidates for aspirated inflators such as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20020101067 and above herein. Exterior airbags can get quite large and thus require a substantial amount of gas. Also they frequently require a high pressure. Aspirated inflators can economically satisfy both of these requirements. Such exterior airbags can also be of the shape and construction as disclosed herein and illustrated, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20040011581. Such exterior airbags can be made from plastic film.

1.8 Variable Vent

A great deal of effort has gone into the design on “smart” inflators that can vary the amount of gas in the airbag to try to adjust for the severity of the crash. The most common solution is the dual stage airbag where either of two charges or both can be initiated and the timing between the initiation can be controlled depending on the crash. Typically, one charge is set off for low speed crashes and two for higher speed crashes. The problem, of course, is to determine the severity of the crash and this is typically done by a passenger compartment-mounted crash sensor. This is relatively easy to do for barrier crashes but the crashes in the real world are quite different. For example, some pole crashes can appear to be mild at the beginning and suddenly become severe as the penetrating pole strikes the engine. In this case, there may not be time to initiate the second charge. An alternate solution is to use a single stage inflator but to control the flow of gas into and/or out of the airbag. If this is an aspirated inflator, this control happens automatically and if the airbag is a film airbag, it can be designed to interact with any occupant and thus inflator control is not required.

In an alternate situation where either a conventional inflator is used or an aspirated inflator is used, the flow out of the airbag can be managed to control the acceleration of the chest of the occupant. Most airbags have a fixed vent hole. As an alternate to providing a fixed vent hole as illustrated in the previous examples, a variable vent hole can be provided as shown in FIGS. 30 and 30A, where FIG. 30 is a partial cutaway perspective view of a driver side airbag made from film having a variable vent in the seam of the airbag. In this embodiment of an airbag, a hinged elastic member or flap 835 is biased so that it tends to maintain vent 830 in a closed position. As pressure rises within the airbag, the vent 830 is forced open as shown in FIG. 30 and FIG. 30A, which is a detail of the vent 830 shown in FIG. 30 taken along line 30A-30A of FIG. 30. This construction enables the use of a smaller inflator and also reduces the maximum chest acceleration of the occupant in a crash and more accurately controls the deceleration of the occupant. In FIGS. 30 and 30A, vent 830 contains an opening 833 formed between film layer 834 and reinforcement member 832. Film layer 831 is also sealed to reinforcing member 832. Member 835 is attached to reinforcing member 832 (via portion 837) through film 834. A weakened section 836 is formed in member 835 to act as a hinge. The elasticity of the material, which may be either metal or fiber reinforced plastic or other suitable material, is used to provide the biasing force tending to hold the variable opening closed. The variable vent can also be accomplished through controlling the flow back through the inflator assembly. This latter method is particularly useful when aspirated inflators and self limiting airbags are used. For other variable vent designs, see the discussion about FIGS. 33-42.

FIG. 31 shows a typical chest G pulse experienced by an occupant and the resulting occupant motion when impacting an airbag during a 35-MPH frontal impact in a small vehicle. When the variable orifice airbag is used in place of the conventional airbag, the chest acceleration curve is limited and takes the shape similar to a simulation result shown in FIG. 32. Since it is the magnitude of the chest acceleration that injures the occupant, the injury potential of the airbag in FIG. 32 is substantially less than that of FIG. 31.

Since the variable exhaust orifice remains closed as long as the pressure in the airbag remains below the set value, the inflator need only produce sufficient gas to fill the airbag once. This is approximately half of a gas which is currently produced by standard inflators. Thus, the use of a variable orifice significantly reduces the total gas requirement and therefore the size, cost and weight of the inflator. Similarly, since the total amount of gas produced by all inflators in the vehicle is cut approximately in half, the total amount of contaminants and irritants is similarly reduced or alternately each inflator used with the variable orifice airbag is now permitted to be somewhat dirtier than current inflators without exceeding the total quantity of contaminants in the environment. This in turn, permits the inflator to be operated with less filtering, thus reducing the size and cost of the inflator. The pressure buildup in the vehicle is also substantially reduced protecting the occupants from ear injuries and permitting more or larger airbags to be deployed.

Characteristics of inflators vary significantly with temperature. Thus, the mass flow rate of gas into the airbag similarly is a significant function of the temperature of the inflator. In conventional fixed orifice airbags, the gas begins flowing out of the airbag as soon as positive pressure is achieved. Thus, the average pressure in the airbag similarly varies significantly with temperature. The use of a variable orifice system as taught by this invention however permits the bags to be inflated to the same pressure regardless of the temperature of the inflator. Thus, the airbag system will perform essentially the same whether operated at cold or hot temperature, removing one of the most significant variables in airbag performance. The airbag of this invention provides a system which will function essentially the same at both cold and hot temperatures.

The variable orifice airbag similarly solves the dual impact problem where the first impact is sufficient to trigger the crash sensors in a marginal crash where the occupant is wearing a seatbelt and does not interact with the airbag. A short time later in a subsequent, more serious accident, the airbag will still be available to protect the occupant. In conventional airbags using a fixed orifice, the gas generator may have stopped producing gas and the airbag may have become deflated.

Since the total area available for exhausting gas from the airbag can be substantially larger in the variable orifice airbag, a certain amount of protection for the out-of-position occupant is achieved even when the aspiration system of the referenced '238 patent is not used. If the occupant is close to the airbag when it deploys, the pressure will begin to build rapidly in the airbag. Since there is insufficient time for the gas to be exhausted through the fixed orifices, this high pressure results in high accelerations on the occupant's chest and can cause injury. In the variable orifice embodiment, however, the pressure will reach a certain maximum in the airbag and then the valve would open to exhaust the gas as fast as the gas generator is pumping gas into the airbag thus maintaining a constant and lower pressure than in the former case. The airbag must be sufficiently deployed for the valve to be uncovered so that it can operate. Alternately, the valving system can be placed in the inflator and caused to open even before the cover opens thereby handling the case where the occupant is already against the deployment door when the airbag deployment is initiated.

Many geometries can be used to achieve a variable orifice in an airbag. These include very crude systems such as slits placed in the bag in place of round exhaust vents, rubber patches containing one or more holes which are sewn into the bag such that the hole diameter gets larger as the rubber stretches in response to pressure in the bag, plus a whole variety of flapper valves similar to that disclosed herein. Slit systems, however, have not worked well in experiments and rubber patches are affected by temperature and thus are suitable only for very crude systems. Similarly, the bag itself could be made from a knitted material, which has the property that its porosity is a function of the pressure in the bag. Thus, once again, the total amount of gas flowing through the bag becomes a function of the pressure in the bag.

Although the case where the pressure is essentially maintained constant in the bag through the opening of a valve has been illustrated, it is possible that for some applications, a different function of the pressure in the bag may be desirable. Thus, a combination of a fixed orifice and variable valve might be desirable. The purpose of adjusting the opening area of an airbag vent hole is to control the gas flow rate out of the vent hole according to the pressure inside the airbag. If the pressure is higher, then the area of the vent hole becomes larger and allows more gas to flow out. By regulating the pressure inside an airbag, the force applied on an occupant is minimized.

A superior solution to the problem is to place an acceleration sensor on the surface to the airbag that contacts the chest of the occupant, or is expected to contact the chest of the occupant or the forwardmost part of the occupant. An electronic controlled valve can then be coupled to the accelerometer and the acceleration of the chest of the occupant can be controlled to limit this acceleration below some value such as 40 Gs. Alternately, if the severity of the crash has been accurately forecast, then the airbag can provide the minimum deceleration to the occupant's chest to bring the occupant to the same speed as the vehicle passenger compartment at the time the airbag has become deflated.

When airbags are used in conjunction with an anticipatory sensor to inflate and hold occupants in their pre-crash position, they usually will not have vents for dissipating the kinetic energy of the occupants since the occupants will never attain a significant velocity relative to the vehicle. Usually, it will be desirable to retain such airbags in their inflated state for several seconds and then to deflate them to permit the occupants to egress from the vehicle. There are several methods of permitting such airbags to deflate including: opening the aspiration vent when aspirated inflators are used; electrically and/or mechanically opening the airbags when the pressure drops below atmospheric pressure; chemically, thermally melting or burning or otherwise opening a hole in such an airbag after a predetermined time period or perhaps two seconds (for example) after the vehicle motion has stopped; etc.

1.8.1 Discharge Valves for Airbags

Details about discharge valves for airbags are found in the parent application, section 1.8.1 with reference to FIGS. 33-42, and incorporated by reference herein.

1.9 Airbags with a Barrier Coating

Details about barrier coatings for airbags are found in the parent application, section 1.9 with reference to FIGS. 43-48, and incorporated by reference herein.

Referring FIGS. 33, 34, 35A and 35B, an airbag module in accordance with the invention is designated generally as 890 and comprises a module housing 891 in which an airbag 892 is folded. The housing 891 may be arranged in any vehicle structure and includes a deployment door 893 to enable the airbag to deploy to protect the occupants of the vehicle from injury. Thus, as shown, the housing 891 may be mounted in the ceiling 894 of the vehicle passenger compartment 895 to deploy downward in the direction of arrow A as a side curtain airbag to protect the occupants during the crash.

As shown in FIG. 35A, one embodiment of the airbag 892 comprises a substrate 896 and a barrier coating 897 formed on the substrate 896, either on the inner surface which will come into contact with the inflation fluid or on an outer surface so that the barrier coating 897 will come into contact only with inflation fluid passing through the substrate 895. The airbag 892 may be formed with any of the barrier coatings described in the parent application. In one embodiment, a flat sheet of the substrate 896 would be coated with the barrier coating 897 and then cut to form airbags having an edge defining an entry opening for enabling the inflation of the airbag. The edge 898 of the airbag 892 would then be connected, e.g., by sealing, to a part 899 of the housing 891 which defines a passage through which the inflation fluid can flow into the interior of the airbag 892 (see FIG. 34). The inflation fluid may be generated by an inflator 900 possibly arranged in the module housing 891.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 35B, the barrier coating 897 is placed between two substrates 896, 901. Any number of substrates and barrier coatings can be used in the invention. Also, the number of substrates and barrier coatings can be varied within a single airbag to provide additional substrates and/or barrier coatings for high stresses areas.

Referring now to FIG. 36, a method for designing a side curtain airbag in accordance with the invention will now be described. It is a problem with side curtain airbags that since they are usually formed of two pieces of material, the manner of connecting the pieces of material results in leakage at the seams.

To avoid this problem, in the invention, two pieces of material, for example, a piece of fabric with a barrier coating as described herein, are cut (step 902) and edges of the two pieces are sealed together to form an airbag while leaving open an entry opening for inflation fluid (step 903). The location of partition lines for partitioning the airbag into a plurality of compartments, e.g., a plurality of parallel compartment each of which is receivable of inflation fluid and adapted to extend when inflated vertically along the side of the vehicle, is determined (step 904) and it is determined whether the stresses are at the seams (step 905). If not, the design is acceptable (step 906). Otherwise, the airbag is re-designed until stresses are not created at the seams during inflation or a minimum of stress is created at the seams during inflation. The determination of the location of the partition lines may involve analysis of the airbag using finite element theory.

This embodiment of the invention is illustrated by non-limiting examples (Examples 1-17) set forth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/413,318, which is incorporated by reference herein.

2. Summary

Disclosed is above a method for manufacturing an airbag for a vehicle in which a plurality of sections of material are joined together to form a plurality of interconnected compartments, e.g., by applying an adhesive between opposed surfaces of the sections of material to be joined together or heating the sections of material to be joined together. The sections of material may be joined together along parallel or curved lines to form straight or curved, elongate interconnected compartments which become tubular or cellular when inflated with a gas.

The tear propagation arresting structure for the film sheets may be (i) the incorporation of an elastomeric film material, a laminated fabric, or net, which are connected to each of the pieces of plastic film (e.g., the inelastic film which provides the desired shape upon deployment of the airbag), or (ii) structure incorporated into the formulation of the plastic film material itself. Also, the two pieces of film may be formed as one integral piece by a blow molding or similar thermal forming or laminating process.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, an airbag has a coating composition which contains substantially dispersed exfoliated layered silicates in an elastomeric polymer. This coating, when dry, results in an elastomeric barrier with a high effective aspect ratio and improved permeability characteristics, i.e., a greater increase in the reduction of permeability of the coating. Drying may occur naturally over time and exposure to air or through the application of heat. This is a further use of a plastic film where although the mechanical properties of the base material are not altered the flow properties through the material are.

The airbag is optionally made of fabric and can take any form including those in the prior art. For example, if a side curtain airbag, then the airbag can define a series of tubular gas-receiving compartments, or another series of compartments. The side curtain airbag can be arranged in a housing mounted along the side of the vehicle, possibly entirely above the window of the vehicle or partially along the A-pillar of the vehicle.

The side curtain airbag includes opposed sections or layers of material, either several pieces of material joined together at opposed locations or a single piece of material folded over onto itself and then joined at opposed locations. Gas is directed into the compartments from a gas generator or a source of pressurized gas. Possible side curtain airbags include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,068, U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,194 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,668.

The invention is not limited to side curtain fabric airbags and other fabric airbags are also envisioned as being encompassed by the invention. Also, it is conceivable that airbags may be made of materials other than fabric and used with a barrier coating such as any of those disclosed herein and other barrier coatings which may be manufactured using the teachings of this invention or other inventions relates to barrier coatings for objects other than airbags. Thus, the invention can encompass the use of a barrier coating for an airbag, regardless of the material of the airbag and its placement on the vehicle.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a side curtain airbag including one or more sheets of fabric that contains air or a gas under pressure, and having on an interior or exterior surface of the fabric sheet(s) a barrier coating formed by applying to the surface a mixture comprising in a carrier liquid an elastomeric polymer, a dispersed exfoliated layered platelet filler preferably having an aspect ratio greater than about 25 and optionally at least one surfactant. The solids content of the mixture is optionally less than about 30% and the ratio of polymer to the filler is optionally between about 20:1 and about 1:1. The coating may be dried on the coated surface, wherein the dried barrier coating has the same polymer to filler ratio as in the mixture and provides an at least 5-fold greater reduction in gas, vapor, moisture or chemical permeability than a coating formed of the unfilled polymer alone.

In a preferred embodiment, the fabric is coated with a barrier coating mixture, which contains the polymer at between about 1% to about 30% in liquid form and between about 45% to about 95% by weight in the dried coating. The dispersed layered filler is present in the liquid coating mixture at between about 1% to about 10% by weight, and in the dried coating formed thereby, at between about 5% to about 55% by weight. The dried coating, in which the filler exhibits an effective aspect ratio of greater than about 25, and preferably greater than about 100, reduces the gas, vapor or chemical permeability greater than 5-fold that of the dried, unfilled polymer alone.

In another preferred embodiment, the invention provides a fabric side curtain airbag coated with a preferred barrier coating mixture which has a solids contents of between about 5% to about 15% by weight, and comprises in its dried state between about 65% to about 90% by weight of a butyl rubber latex, between about 10% to about 35% by weight of a layered filler, desirably vermiculite, and between about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of a surfactant.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a fabric side curtain airbag on a surface or at the interface of two surfaces therein a dried barrier coating formed by a barrier coating mixture comprising in a carrier liquid, an elastomeric polymer, a dispersed exfoliated layered platelet filler preferably having an aspect ratio greater than about 25 and optionally at least one surfactant, wherein the solids content of the mixture may be less than about 30% and the ratio of polymer to the filler is optionally between about 20:1 and about 1:1. When dried, the coating optionally comprises about 45% to about 95% by weight of the polymer, between about 5% to about 55% by weight the dispersed layered filler; and between about 1.0% to about 15% by weight the surfactant. The coating on the article, in which the filler exhibits an effective aspect ratio of greater than about 25, preferably greater than about 100, reduces the gas, vapor or chemical permeability of the airbag greater than 5-fold the permeability of the airbag coated with the polymer alone.

In still another embodiment, the invention provides a fabric side curtain airbag having on a surface or at the interface of two surfaces therein a dried barrier coating formed by a barrier coating mixture comprising in a carrier liquid, a butyl-containing polymer latex, a dispersed exfoliated layered vermiculite filler preferably having an aspect ratio about 1000 or greater; and optionally at least one surfactant. The solids content of the mixture may be less than about 17% and the ratio of the polymer to the filler may be between about 20:1 and about 1:1.

In a preferred embodiment, the coating mixture has a solids content of between about 5% to about 15% by weight, and forms a dried coating on the surface that comprises between about 65% to about 90% by weight the butyl-containing polymer, between about 10% to about 35% by weight the vermiculite filler, and between about 1.0% to about 15% by weight the surfactant. The coating on the inflated product in which the filler exhibits an effective aspect ratio of greater than about 25, preferably greater than about 100, reduces the gas, vapor or chemical permeability of the airbag greater than 5-fold the permeability of the article coated with the polymer alone.

In still a further embodiment, the invention provides a method for making a fabric side curtain airbag, the method involving coating a surface of the fabric airbag with, or introducing into the interface between two surfaces of the fabric airbag, an above-described barrier coating mixture.

One method for manufacturing an airbag module including an airbag in accordance with the invention entails applying to a surface of a substrate a solution comprising an elastomeric polymer and a dispersed exfoliated layered filler and causing the solution to dry to thereby form a barrier coating on the substrate, forming an airbag having an edge defining an entry opening for enabling the inflation of the airbag from the substrate having the barrier coating thereon, arranging the airbag in a housing, sealing the edge of the airbag to the housing and providing a flow communication in the housing to allow inflation fluid to pass through the entry opening into the airbag. The airbag is preferably folded in the housing. The airbag may be formed by cutting the substrate to the desired shape and size.

Another method for manufacturing an airbag module entails applying to a surface of a first substrate a solution comprising an elastomeric polymer and a dispersed exfoliated layered filler, covering the solution with a second substrate, causing the solution to dry to thereby form a barrier coating between the first and second substrates, forming an airbag having an edge defining an entry opening for enabling the inflation of the airbag from the first and second substrates having the barrier coating therebetween, arranging the airbag in a housing and sealing the edge of the airbag to the housing. Further, a flow communication is provided in the housing to allow inflation fluid to pass through the entry opening into the airbag. The airbag may be folded in the housing. The formation of the airbag may involve cutting the first and second substrates having the barrier coating therebetween.

Another method for forming an airbag, in particular a side curtain airbag or another type of airbag made of a first piece for fabric constituting a front panel of the airbag and a second piece of fabric constituting a rear panel of the airbag, entails heat or adhesive sealing the first and second pieces of fabric together over an extended seam width to form an airbag while maintaining an entry opening for passage of inflation fluid into an interior of the airbag and partitioning the airbag along partition lines into a plurality of chambers each receivable of the inflation fluid. The location of the partition lines is determined to prevent concentration of stress in the seams, e.g., by analyzing the airbag using finite element analysis as described in Appendix 1 herein and Appendices 1-6 of the '379 application. The first and second pieces of fabric may be coated with a barrier coating.

Still another method for forming an airbag in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of providing a plurality of layers of material, interweaving, heat sealing or sewing the layers together to form the airbag while maintaining an entry opening for passage of inflation fluid into an interior of the airbag and coating the airbag with a barrier coating. The airbag may be a side airbag with front and rear panel joined together over an extended seam width. As such, it is possible to partition the airbag along partition lines into a plurality of chambers each receivable of the inflation fluid and determine the location of the partition lines to prevent concentration of stress in the seams.

There has thus been shown and described an airbag system with a self-limiting and self-shaping airbag which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought after. Further, there has been shown and described an airbag system with a film airbag utilizing a film material which comprises at least one layer of a thermoplastic elastomer film material which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought after. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawings which disclose the preferred embodiments thereof. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the following claims. For example, the present invention describes numerous different airbag constructions as well as different methods for fabricating airbags. It is within the scope of the invention that all of the disclosed airbags can, for the most part, be made by any of the methods disclosed herein. Thus, in one typical process for constructing a film airbag having at least two compartments, either isolated from one another, within one another or in flow communication with each other, at least one flat panel of film airbag material is provided and then manipulated, processed or worked to form the different compartments. More particularly, the flat panel is joined at appropriate locations to form the different compartments, e.g., by heat sealing or an adhesive. The compartments may be any shape disclosed herein, e.g., tubular-shaped.

With respect to the construction of the airbag as shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, another method of obtaining the airbag with a variable thickness is to provide an initial, substantially uniformly thick film substrate (inelastic film) and thereafter applying a coating (a thermoplastic elastomer) thereon in predetermined locations on the substrate, preferably in an organized predetermined pattern, such that it is possible to obtain thicker portions in comparison to other uncoated portions. In this manner, the film airbag can be provided with distinct thicknesses at different locations, e.g., thicker portions which constitute rings and ribs (i.e., the polar symmetric pattern of FIG. 4C), or only at specific locations where it is determined that higher stresses arise during deployment for which reinforcements by means of the thicker film is desired. An alternative fabrication method would be to produce the airbag from thermoplastic elastomeric material with an initial varying thickness as well as a layer of inelastic film to provide the airbag with the desired shape. In this regard, plastic-manufacturing equipment currently exists to generate a plastic sheet with a variable thickness. Such equipment could be operated to provide an airbag having thicker portions arranged in rings and ribs as shown in FIG. 4C.

The limiting net described above may be used to limit the deployment of any and all of the airbags described herein, including embodiments wherein there is only a single airbag.

This application is one in a series of applications covering safety and other systems for vehicles and other uses. The disclosure herein goes beyond that needed to support the claims of the particular invention that is claimed herein. This is not to be construed that the inventors are thereby releasing the unclaimed disclosure and subject matter into the public domain. Rather, it is intended that patent applications have been or will be filed to cover all of the subject matter disclosed above.

The inventions described above are, of course, susceptible to many variations, modifications and changes, all of which are within the skill of the art. It should be understood that all such variations, modifications and changes are within the spirit and scope of the inventions and of the appended claims. Similarly, it will be understood that applicant intends to cover and claim all changes, modifications and variations of the examples of the preferred embodiments of the invention herein disclosed for the purpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the present invention as claimed.

Although several preferred embodiments are illustrated and described above, there are possible combinations using other geometries, materials and different dimensions for the components and different forms of the neural network implementation that perform the same functions. Also, the neural network has been described as an example of one pattern recognition system. Other pattern recognition systems exist and still others are under development and will be available in the future. Such a system can be used to identify crashes requiring the deployment of an occupant restraint system and then, optionally coupled with additional information related to the occupant, for example, create a system that satisfies the requirements of one of the Smart Airbag Phases. Also, with the neural network system described above, the input data to the network may be data which has been pre-processed rather than the raw acceleration data either through a process called “feature extraction”, as described in Green (U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,940) for example, or by integrating the data and inputting the velocity data to the system, for example. This invention is not limited to the above embodiments and should be determined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for protecting an occupant of a vehicle using an inflatable airbag, comprising: sealing sheets of film to form a sealed airbag having a plurality of interconnected compartments receivable of inflating gas and a port through which the plurality of compartments are inflated;positioning the airbag, when in an uninflated state, into a recessed portion alongside a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the recessed portion being in a ceiling defining the passenger compartment, the airbag being positioned to extend, when inflated, across a side of the passenger compartment of the vehicle between occupant seating positions on that side of the vehicle and a portion of the vehicle defining the passenger compartment on that side of the vehicle;arranging a pressurized gas source on the vehicle to inflate the airbag;whereby when an accident involving the vehicle is sensed and a determination is made to inflate the airbag, the pressurized gas source causes pressurized gas to enter into and inflate the airbag through the port thereby causing the airbag to extend across the side of the passenger compartment of the vehicle between the occupant seating positions on that side of the vehicle and the portion of the vehicle defining the passenger compartment on that side of the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising dimensioning the airbag relative to the vehicle to extend at least partly alongside each of a plurality of windows on the side of the passenger compartment, when inflated.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the airbag is formed from the sealed sheets of film such that at least one of the sheets of film is an outermost layer of the airbag which is exposed to atmosphere in the passenger compartment when inflated.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the airbag without a venting arrangement such that the airbag vents through an inflator which provides the pressurized gas source.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising positioning the airbag system in a headliner portion of the ceiling of the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising dimensioning the airbag relative to the vehicle to extend alongside substantially the entire side of the passenger compartment, when inflated.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the port to extend longitudinally along the airbag such that pressurized gas is caused to flow into all of the compartments substantially simultaneously.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging an inflator relative to the compartments such that pressurized gas flows from the inflator through the port into an upper end of the compartments substantially simultaneously.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the sheets of film are sealed to form substantially straight compartments.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the sheets of film are sealed to form compartments substantially parallel to one another.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: arranging the airbag in an airbag module; andarranging the airbag module in the recessed portion of the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging the airbag alongside a door on the side of the passenger compartment.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the sheets of film comprises an elastomer.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the elastomer is urethane.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the sheets of film comprises an inelastic polymer.

16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the inelastic polymer is NYLON®.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the sheets of film are sealed to form the sealed airbag such that there is only a single port situated at an upper edge of the airbag through which the airbag is inflated.

18. A method for protecting an occupant of a vehicle using an inflatable airbag, comprising: sealing sheets of film to form a sealed airbag having a plurality of interconnected compartments receivable of inflating gas and a single port through which the plurality of compartments are inflated;positioning the airbag, when in an uninflated state, into a recessed portion alongside a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the recessed portion being in a ceiling defining the passenger compartment, the airbag being positioned to extend, when inflated, alongside a front seat and a rear seat on the same side of the passenger compartment of the vehicle;arranging a pressurized gas source on the vehicle to inflate the airbag;whereby when an accident involving the vehicle is sensed and a determination is made to inflate the airbag, the pressurized gas source causes pressurized gas to enter into and inflate the airbag through the port thereby causing the airbag to extend across the front and rear seats.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming the port to extend longitudinally along the airbag such that pressurized gas is caused to flow into all of the compartments substantially simultaneously.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising arranging an inflator relative to the compartments such that pressurized gas flows from the inflator through the single port into an upper end of the compartments substantially simultaneously.