Side-curtain airbag and method of manufacture

• US 20020167153A1
• Filed: 09/25/2001
• Published: 11/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Key Safety Systems, Inc. (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Key Safety Systems, Inc. (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kippschull, Bernd
• Granted Patent: US 6,666,475 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/730.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23107 the bag being integrated in a multi-bag system
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23386 External tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23514 coated fabric
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/2615 for diverting the gas into a plurality of bags
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/232 Curtain-type airbags deploying mainly in a vertical direction from their top edge
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2338 Tethers

Abstract

A side-curtain airbag has at least two inflation chambers spaced apart from each other. The inflation chambers each have two fabric layers. The region between the two inflation chambers has at the most one layer of fabric. A method of manufacturing such a side-curtain airbag is disclosed.

Claims

1. A side-curtain airbag comprising least two inflation chambers located at a distance to one another, which are in each case between two fabric layers, in which in the region between the two inflation chambers at the most one layer of the same fabric is located.

2. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 1 wherein a free space is located between the two inflation chambers.

3. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 2 wherein the two inflation chambers are connected to each other by at least one connecting strip.

4. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 3 wherein the connecting strip is one piece with at least one of the two fabric layers.

5. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 3 wherein the connecting strip is a separate connecting piece.

6. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 1 wherein a second inflation chamber is made of fabric layer sections, which are cut out of the parts of the fabric layers which form a first inflation chamber.

7. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 6 wherein the fabric layer section s of the second inflation chamber are cut out of the parts of region with at least one of the fabric layers of the first inflation chamber as one piece.

8. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 1 wherein a fabric material that is not gas tight is used between the two inflation chambers.

9. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 1 further comprising a cover in the form or a tube extending between the two inflation chambers.

10. The side-curtain airbag according to claim 1 wherein only one of the fabric layers of the inflation chambers is gas tight and in the region between the two inflation chambers the most one layer comprises the same gas tight fabric.

11. A method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag comprising the steps of:

providing two flatly superimposed fabric layers for the formation of a first inflation chamber;

cutting out of a section of the two fabric layers for the formation of a second inflation chamber; and

arranging the cut out section outside the surface formed by the two fabric layers.

12. The method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag according to claim 11 wherein the two fabric layers of the first inflation chamber and the two layers of the cut out, newly formed section are in each case connected to each other.

13. The method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag according to claim 11 wherein the cut out section remains connected to the fabric layers at least along a lateral edge and is folded around this lateral edge.

14. The method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag according to claim 12 wherein the cut out section remains connected to the fabric layers at least along a lateral edge and is folded around this lateral edge.

15. The method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag according to claim 11 wherein the cut out section is completely cut out of the two fabric layers and subsequently connected with an outer edge of the remaining fabric layers.

16. The method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag according to claim 12 wherein the cut out section is completely cut out of the two fabric layers and subsequently connected with an outer edge of the remaining fabric layers.

19. The method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag according to claim 18 wherein the first and second fabric pieces are in each case folded such that regions of them are superimposed, to create the inflation chambers.

17. A method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag comprising the steps of:

providing a fabric layer;

folding over of two border regions of the fabric layer, so that they come to lie on the fabric layer in such a manner that a middle region of the fabric layer is not covered by the border regions; and

connecting the border regions with the underlying fabric layer.

18. A method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag comprising the steps of:

providing at least one fabric piece for the formation of a first inflation chamber and at least one second fabric piece for the formation of a second inflation chamber and connecting of the two fabric pieces via at least a third fabric piece and/or a connecting strip.

20. A method of manufacturing a side-curtain airbag comprising the steps of:

providing at least one fabric layer is woven such that it comprises at least two regions distanced from each other for the formation of at least two inflation chambers, whereby between the two regions a free space is provided.