Crash protector for passenger vehicles

• US 3,894,750 A
• Filed: 11/19/1973
• Issued: 07/15/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert Eckels Family Trust
• Original Assignee: Robert E. Eckels
• Inventors: Eckels, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Betts, Kenneth H.
• Application Number:
  US05/417,279
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 280/15AB,15B 296/84K 222/5
• US Class Current: 280/730.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/08 automatically movable from an inoperative to an operative position, e.g. in a collision electrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements B60R21/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/214 in roof panels
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/33 Arrangements for non-electric triggering of inflation electrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements B60R21/01

Abstract

An overhead energy attenuating panel in a vehicle moves from an inactive position above the occupants, on the inside of the roof of the vehicle, to a position in front of the front seat passengers upon a generally headon crash, and a mound of soft material formed by the overhead protector receives and protects a person projected against it on such a crash. In one form of the invention, the mound of soft material is an air bag which inflates as the overhead panel moves between the passengers and the vehicle windshield.

Claims

1. In a crash protector for roofed vehicles in which an articulated, shock attenuating multi-segment panel means is mounted on tracks and is mounted generally flat adjacent the inside roof of the vehicle and is slidable forwardly and downwardly along the tracks to a position between passengers and the vehicle windshield on impact of the vehicle, the improvement of means including a gas bag inflatable on the sliding deployment of said panel means on impact of the vehicle whereby said panel and said inflated bag are positioned between the vehicle windshield and passengers to receive passengers and attenuate their impact energy, and at least one container for inflating gas mounted in said panel means.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said at least one container is frangible.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said at least one container is mounted with breaking means interconnected with the roof of said vehicle arranged to break said at least one container and inflate said gas bag during the sliding deployment of said panel means.

4. The improvement of claim 3 wherein said breaking means is hammer means interconnected with the roof of the vehicle to break said at least one container on initial movement of said panel.

5. The improvement of claim 1 wherein two gas containers are mounted in said panel and both connected to said bag.

6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the capacity of each of said containers is sufficient to fill said bag sufficiently to attenuate the impact energy of a passenger.