Knee airbag assemblies
First Claim
1. An airbag assembly comprising:
- a housing to be mounted in a vehicle;
an inflatable knee airbag in a packaged state within the housing, the airbag to receive inflation gas to expand and deploy from the housing to a deployed state, the airbag comprising;
a vehicle-facing panel;
an occupant-facing panel coupled to the vehicle-facing panel to form a main inflatable chamber that provides a primary cushioning protection zone to a lower leg of an occupant of the vehicle, the occupant-facing panel and the vehicle-facing panel further coupled by a first tether extending substantially laterally along a width of the main inflatable chamber, wherein the first tether is offset from an upper portion of the occupant-facing panel in the deployed state;
an external chamber panel coupled to a rearward surface of the occupant-facing panel external to the main inflatable chamber to form an external inflatable chamber facing the occupant, wherein an upper portion of the external chamber is coupled to the occupant-facing panel beneath the first tether in the deployed state; and
one or more vents disposed through the occupant-facing panel to provide fluid communication between the main inflatable chamber and the external inflatable chamber and to communicate inflation gas from the main inflatable chamber to the external chamber,wherein the one or more vents control timing of inflation of the external chamber to inflate the main inflatable chamber to fill a space between the vehicle and the lower leg of the occupant, andwherein the one or more vents control timing of inflation of the external chamber to cause the external chamber to inflate on lateral sides of the lower leg of the occupant to limit lateral movement of the lower leg relative to the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Airbag assemblies are disclosed that include inflatable knee airbags. The knee airbags can include panel(s) forming a main chamber that provides a primary cushioning protection zone to a lower leg of a vehicle occupant. The knee airbags can further include an external chamber panel coupled to a rearward surface of an occupant-facing panel, external to the main inflatable chamber, to form an external chamber facing the occupant. Vent(s) through the occupant-facing panel can communicate inflation gas from the main chamber to the external chamber to fill a space between the vehicle and the lower leg of the occupant, and to control timing of inflation of the external chamber to cause it to inflate on lateral sides of the lower leg of the occupant to thereby limit lateral movement of the lower leg relative to the vehicle.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An airbag assembly comprising:
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a housing to be mounted in a vehicle; an inflatable knee airbag in a packaged state within the housing, the airbag to receive inflation gas to expand and deploy from the housing to a deployed state, the airbag comprising; a vehicle-facing panel; an occupant-facing panel coupled to the vehicle-facing panel to form a main inflatable chamber that provides a primary cushioning protection zone to a lower leg of an occupant of the vehicle, the occupant-facing panel and the vehicle-facing panel further coupled by a first tether extending substantially laterally along a width of the main inflatable chamber, wherein the first tether is offset from an upper portion of the occupant-facing panel in the deployed state; an external chamber panel coupled to a rearward surface of the occupant-facing panel external to the main inflatable chamber to form an external inflatable chamber facing the occupant, wherein an upper portion of the external chamber is coupled to the occupant-facing panel beneath the first tether in the deployed state; and one or more vents disposed through the occupant-facing panel to provide fluid communication between the main inflatable chamber and the external inflatable chamber and to communicate inflation gas from the main inflatable chamber to the external chamber, wherein the one or more vents control timing of inflation of the external chamber to inflate the main inflatable chamber to fill a space between the vehicle and the lower leg of the occupant, and wherein the one or more vents control timing of inflation of the external chamber to cause the external chamber to inflate on lateral sides of the lower leg of the occupant to limit lateral movement of the lower leg relative to the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An inflatable knee airbag configured to deploy from a component of a vehicle at a position below a knee position of a vehicle seating position, wherein the inflatable knee airbag comprises:
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a first panel to deploy to be positioned facing the vehicle seating position; a second panel to deploy to be positioned facing opposite the vehicle seating position and in a direction of the component of the vehicle, the second panel coupled to the first panel to define a main inflatable chamber of the inflatable knee airbag, the first and second panels further coupled by a first tether extending substantially laterally along a width of the main inflatable chamber, wherein the first tether is offset from an upper portion of the second panel in the deployed state; an external panel coupled to an external surface of the first panel to form a supplemental inflatable chamber, wherein an upper portion of the external panel is coupled to the second panel beneath the first tether in the deployed state; and one or more vents disposed through the first panel to communicate inflation gas from the main inflatable chamber to the supplemental inflatable chamber, wherein the one or more vents are configured to control timing of communication of inflation gas to inflate the main inflatable chamber to fill a space between the vehicle and a lower leg of an occupant before occupant impact with the inflatable knee airbag and to inflate the supplemental chamber to form around a portion of the lower leg of the occupant. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification