Discharge valve for vehicle safety apparatus

• US 3,884,499 A
• Filed: 10/16/1973
• Issued: 05/20/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kazuma Sato, Takashi Oka
• Original Assignee: Kazuma Sato, Takashi Oka
• Inventors: Oka, Takashi, Sato, Kazuma
• Primary Examiner(s): Betts, Kenneth H.
• Application Number:
  US05/406,841
• Time in Patent Office: 581 Days
• Field of Search: 280/15AB 89/1B 102/38 222/5 137/68
• US Class Current: 280/735
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/2765 comprising means to control the venting
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/276 with means to vent the inflation fluid source, e.g. in case of overpressure B60R21/30 takes precedence; venting means on inflatable member walls B60R21/239
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/1647 Explosive actuation

Abstract

A brittle plate seals a hole in a confinement inflatable in response to a vehicle collision. An explosive propels a projectile against the plate to shatter it and allow excess fluid to escape through the hole as an occupant strikes the confinement.

Claims

1. A discharge valve for a safety apparatus for a vehicle, the safety apparatus having an inflatable confinement with a hole formed therethrough, a collision sensor operative to generate a collision signal in response to a collision of the vehicle, and a fluid producer operative to produce pressurized fluid to inflate the confinement in response to the collision signal, said discharge valve comprising:

a brittle plate sealing the hole and being strong enough to resist the pressure of the pressurized fluid produced by the fluid producer; and

, a plate breaker comprising a casing mounted adjacent to said brittle plate and an explosive and a projectile disposed inside said casing;

said explosive being ignitable by the collision signal;

said explosive and said projectile being mutually aligned within said casing substantially tangent to said brittle plate so that said explosive, when ignited, Propels said projectile against said brittle plate to shatter the same and allow pressurized fluid to escape through the hole from the confinement.

2. A discharge valve as claimed in claim 1, in which said explosive comprises a primer ignitable by the collision signal, a fuse charge ignitable by said primer and operative to burn for a predetermined length of time, and a propellant ignitable by said fuse charge after said predetermined length of time and operative to propel said projectile against said brittle plate to shatter the same.

3. A discharge valve as claimed in claim 2, in which said predetermined length of time is substantially that between generation of the collision signal and engagement of a vehicle occupant with the confinement.

4. A discharge valve as claimed in claim 1, in which said brittle plate is made of tempered glass.