AIRBAG ARRANGEMENT FOR BULKHEAD SEATS

• US 20130106079A1
• Filed: 10/28/2011
• Published: 05/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Autoliv ASP Incorporated (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Autoliv ASP Incorporated (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Werth, Douglas, Valera, Raj, Jarboe, Patrick
• Application Number:
  US13/284,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20130106079A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/730.1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/06 Arrangements of seats, or adaptations or details specially adapted for aircraft seats crew seat constructions for emergency purposes B64D25/04
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/06205 Arrangements of airbags

Abstract

An airbag mounted on a bulkhead wall of an aircraft inflates downward in front of bulkhead seat occupants in a direction configured to make a first contact with a seat occupant'"'"'s head. In a normal, deflated state, the airbag is mounted in a roll or folded bundle at a location on a bulkhead wall that approximately corresponds to an average seat occupant'"'"'s chest or head height. Upon detonation of a pyrotechnical gas generator, the airbag unfolds initially downward. With increasing volume of the airbag, its increasing thickness pressing against the wall makes the airbag protrude from the wall toward a seat occupant'"'"'s face so that the first contact with the airbag is made by the face of the seat occupant. The airbag may extend across a seat row and have adjacent chambers providing protection for seat occupants in adjacent seats.

Claims

1. An airbag arrangement for protecting at least one seat occupant in an aircraft of the type having at least one seat for a seat occupant and a bulkhead wall, the seat facing a bulkhead wall, the airbag arrangement comprising:

an airbag assigned to the at least one seat and configured to inflate between the the bulkhead and the at least one seat;

at least one gas generator connected to the airbag and configured to inflate the airbag.

2. The airbag arrangement of claim 1, wherein the airbag is secured to the bulkhead wall.

3. The airbag arrangement of claim 2, wherein the airbag is secured at a height corresponding to a chest or head height of an average seat occupant.

4. The airbag arrangement of claim 1, wherein the at least one gas generator is connected to an upper portion of the airbag to inflate the airbag downward.

5. The airbag arrangement of claim 1, wherein the airbag arrangement is in an aircraft with a seating row of a plurality of adjacent seats facing the bulkhead wall and is assigned to the plurality of seats, the airbag arrangement further comprising that the airbag has a width corresponding to the plurality of seats and includes a number of barriers that divide the width of the airbag into chambers, each chamber having a width of approximately one of the seats.

6. The airbag arrangement of claim 5, wherein each barrier is configured to leave open an upper channel and a lower channel for communication between two adjacent chambers.

7. The airbag arrangement of claim 6, wherein the upper channel is narrower than the lower channel.

8. The airbag arrangement of claim 5, wherein the airbag has a facing the seat and a wall layer and the barriers are seams attaching the face layer to the wall layer.

9. The airbag arrangement of claim 5, further comprising that each chamber has one port connected to a dedicated gas generator, the ports being arranged on the same side of the airbag.

10. The airbag arrangement of claim 9, wherein the gas generators are mounted on the bulkhead wall at a height corresponding to the chest or head height of the average seated seat occupant.

11. The airbag arrangement of claim 1, further comprising a face layer facing the seat and a wall layer facing the bulkhead wall, the face layer having at least one pair of connected attachment points consisting of a first attachment point and a second attachment point, the first attachment point being located above the second attachment point, and the first attachment point being directly or indirectly affixed to the second attachment point at a distance that is shorter than the distance of the first and second attachment points along the face layer.

12. The airbag arrangement of claim 11, further comprising that each pair of attachment points has a tether connecting the first attachment point with the second attachment point.

13. The airbag arrangement of claim 12, wherein the tether has a length configured to create a substantially horizontal fold in the face layer.

14. The airbag arrangement of claim 11, further comprising that each chamber has two pairs of attachment points for each seat to which the airbag is assigned.