Curtain air bag assembly

• US 20060255570A1
• Filed: 04/04/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2005
• 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: Padiyar, Prabhakar, Wipasuramonton, Pongdet P., Young, Jeffrey, Ju, Chang-Hwan
• Granted Patent: US 7,789,418 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/729
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/2617 Curtain bag nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/232 Curtain-type airbags deploying mainly in a vertical direction from their top edge
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2346 Soft diffusers

Abstract

An air bag assembly comprising: an inflator for providing a source of inflation gas, and an air bag having a first end and a second end and a first side and a second side, the air bag configured to have a first inflatable chamber proximate the first end, a second inflatable chamber proximate the second and a non-inflatable region therebetween; the air bag including an inlet communicated with the inflator, the air bag further including a plurality of joints or seams, which connect selective regions of the first and second sides together thereby controlling the inflatable volume of the air bag, a top portion of each of the plurality of joints or seams located a determinable distance from a top of the air bag to form within the air bag an integral gas flow path or channel, the inlet generally positioned spaced from a top of the air bag and generally located between the first inflatable chamber and second Inflatable chamber.

Claims

1. An air bag assembly (10) comprising:

an inflator (40) for providing a source of inflation gas, and an air bag (20, 20a, 20b) having a first end and a second end (50c, 50d) and a first side (28b) and a second side (28a), the air bag configured to have a first inflatable chamber (32) proximate the first end, a second inflatable chamber (34) proximate the second and a non-inflatable region (76) therebetween;

the air bag including an inlet (38) communicated with the inflator (40), the air bag further including a plurality of joints or seams (58) which connect selective regions of the first and second sides (28a, 28b) together thereby controlling the inflatable volume of the air bag, a top portion (55) of each of the plurality of joints or seams located a determinable distance from a top (50) of the air bag to form within the air bag an integral gas flow path or channel (120), the inlet (38) generally positioned spaced from the top of the air bag (50) and generally located between the first inflatable chamber and second inflatable chamber.

2. The assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein the inflator is an axial flow inflator.

3. The assembly as defined in claim 2 further comprising a fill tube having a generally rigid, hollow tube construction having a first end that is crimped to retard the flow of inflation gas therethrough and second end in communication with the inflator, at least one set of exit ports arranged in the tube to permit inflation gas exiting therefrom to exit the tube exit ports in a generally radial manner.

4. The assembly as defined in claim 1 further comprising a fill tube that is formed of a woven fabric configured as a hollow cylinder.

5. The assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein the fill tube has a first end attached to the inflator and an open second end communicating inflation gas into the diffuser.

6. The assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein the fill tube has a first end attached to the inflator, a second end that is closed to gas flow and an exit port positioned along a lower side of the fill tube.

7. The assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein the integrally formed gas flow path includes a first end proximate the first end of the air bag and second end proximate the second end of the air bag, wherein restrictions are formed proximate the first and second ends of the gas flow path causing more gas to flow into the first and second inflatable regions than would flow in the absence of the restrictions.