Air bag system and method
First Claim
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1. An air bag system comprising:
- an inflator operable to release gas;
an inflatable air bag having releasable tether elements connected thereto, wherein said air bag is inflatable upon release of gas from said inflator;
a housing substantially surrounding said inflator and said air bag prior to inflation thereof, wherein the housing is formed with a first vent therein for venting gas released by said inflator;
a tether release/vent-modifying mechanism operatively connected to said housing, wherein said tether release/vent-modifying mechanism has a plurality of walls and a movable member, wherein the movable member has a cap portion and a generally elongated rod portion extending longitudinally from an underside of said cap portion, wherein a first broad portion extends from said cap portion forward of said underside, wherein said plurality of walls and said cap portion cooperate to partially form a pressurizable chamber;
wherein said tether release/vent-modifying mechanism further includes an actuator operable to selectively emit gas into said pressurizable chamber for moving said movable member from a first position to a second position, said actuator further defining said pressurizable chamber;
wherein said tether elements are restrained by said rod portion when said movable member is in the first position, thereby restricting inflation of said air bag by said inflator to a first profile, wherein said tether elements are released from said rod portion when said movable member moves to said second position, thereby permitting inflation of said air bag by said inflator to a second profile;
wherein said first broad portion covers said vent when said movable member is in one of said first position and said second position, and wherein said first broad portion uncovers said vent when said movable member is in the other of said first position and said second position.
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Abstract
An air bag system includes an inflatable air bag and a housing formed with a vent. A tether release/vent-modifying mechanism is connected to the housing and has a plurality of walls and a movable member. The movable member has a cap portion and a rod portion extending longitudinally from the underside of the cap portion. A first broad portion extends from the cap portion forward of the underside of the cap portion and covers or uncovers a vent in the housing when the movable member is actuated to move between first and second positions to release tethers connected to the air bag.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An air bag system comprising:
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an inflator operable to release gas;
an inflatable air bag having releasable tether elements connected thereto, wherein said air bag is inflatable upon release of gas from said inflator;
a housing substantially surrounding said inflator and said air bag prior to inflation thereof, wherein the housing is formed with a first vent therein for venting gas released by said inflator;
a tether release/vent-modifying mechanism operatively connected to said housing, wherein said tether release/vent-modifying mechanism has a plurality of walls and a movable member, wherein the movable member has a cap portion and a generally elongated rod portion extending longitudinally from an underside of said cap portion, wherein a first broad portion extends from said cap portion forward of said underside, wherein said plurality of walls and said cap portion cooperate to partially form a pressurizable chamber;
wherein said tether release/vent-modifying mechanism further includes an actuator operable to selectively emit gas into said pressurizable chamber for moving said movable member from a first position to a second position, said actuator further defining said pressurizable chamber;
wherein said tether elements are restrained by said rod portion when said movable member is in the first position, thereby restricting inflation of said air bag by said inflator to a first profile, wherein said tether elements are released from said rod portion when said movable member moves to said second position, thereby permitting inflation of said air bag by said inflator to a second profile;
wherein said first broad portion covers said vent when said movable member is in one of said first position and said second position, and wherein said first broad portion uncovers said vent when said movable member is in the other of said first position and said second position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A vehicle having an air bag system for impact restraint, comprising:
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a vehicle body at least partially defining an interior space therein;
an air bag system comprising an inflatable air bag having releasable tether elements connected thereto, wherein said air bag is inflatable upon release of gas from an inflator to deploy into said interior space;
said passenger air bag system further comprising a housing substantially surrounding said inflator and said air bag prior to inflation thereof, wherein the housing is formed with a first vent therein for venting gas released by said inflator;
said passenger air bag system comprising a tether release/vent-modifying mechanism operatively connected to said housing, wherein said tether release/vent-modifying mechanism has a plurality of walls and a movable member, wherein the movable member has a cap portion and a rod portion extending from an underside of said cap portion, wherein a first broad portion extends from said cap portion, wherein said plurality of walls and said cap portion cooperate to at least partially form a pressurizable chamber;
wherein said tether release/vent-modifying mechanism further includes an actuator operable to selectively emit gas into said pressurizable chamber for moving said movable member from a first position to a second position, said actuator further defining said pressurizable chamber;
wherein said tether elements are restrained by said rod portion when said movable member is in the first position, thereby restricting inflation of said air bag by said inflator to a first profile, wherein said tether elements are released from said rod portion when said movable member moves to said second position, thereby permitting inflation of said air bag by said inflator to a second profile;
wherein said first broad portion covers said vent when said movable member is in one of said first position and said second position, and wherein said first broad portion uncovers said vent when said movable member is in the other of said first position and said second position. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A tether release/vent-modifying mechanism for an air bag system, the tether release/vent-modifying mechanism comprising:
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a plurality of walls;
a movable member having a cap portion and a generally elongated rod portion extending longitudinally from an underside of said cap portion, wherein a first broad portion extends from said cap portion forward of said underside, wherein said plurality of walls and said cap portion cooperate to at least partially form a pressurizable chamber;
an actuator operable to selectively emit gas into said pressurizable chamber for moving said movable member from a first position to a second position, said actuator further forming said pressurizable chamber;
wherein said rod portion is operable to restrain tether elements attached to an inflatable air bag when said movable member is in said first position and to release said tether elements when said movable member moves to said second position, said air bag being inflatable to a first profile when said tether elements are so restrained and to a second profile when said tether elements are so released; and
wherein said first broad portion is operable for covering or uncovering an adjacent vent formed in an air bag housing when said movable member moves from said first position to said second position.
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19. A method of assembling an air bag system, wherein the air bag system includes an inflatable air bag having releasably restrainable tether elements attached thereto, a tether release/vent-modifying mechanism for releasably restraining said tether elements, said air bag being inflatable by an inflator to a first profile when said tether elements are restrained and to a second profile when said tether elements are released, and an air bag retainer for retaining said air bag to a module housing upon inflation of said air bag, the method comprising:
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securing said tether release/vent-modifying mechanism to said air bag retainer;
connecting said air bag to said air bag retainer;
restraining said tether elements at said movable member;
after said securing step, attaching said air bag retainer to said module housing such that said air bag is retained by said housing upon inflation of said air bag; and
attaching said inflator to said module housing. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification