Means for expandable objects, preferably shock-absorbing protective means for passengers in vehicles
First Claim
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1. Expandable means adapted for use as shock-absorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of branched gas receiving channels interconnected and communicating with each other and extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall comprising a pair of branched continuous flat strips of material arranged one upon the other and joined along their long sides, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
said outer wall comprising two strips of material arranged one upon the other and joined along their long sides, joining means between the strips of material being sufficiently strong to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space and thereby limit the expansion of the inner wall.
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Abstract
A safety bag formed of a flexible foldable material occupying a small volume when collapsed and expandable to form a hollow enclosure substantially completely surrounding an interior space by means of interconnected channels arranged along the surface of the shell and adapted to receive and retain a pressurized gas. The interior is filled with ambient air during the expansion process and its volume is preferably at least five times and, in some cases, of the order of forty times greater than the total interior volume of the inflatable channels. Means, including the shell itself, serve to limit the extent of inflation of the channels.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. Expandable means adapted for use as shock-absorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of branched gas receiving channels interconnected and communicating with each other and extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall comprising a pair of branched continuous flat strips of material arranged one upon the other and joined along their long sides, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
said outer wall comprising two strips of material arranged one upon the other and joined along their long sides, joining means between the strips of material being sufficiently strong to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space and thereby limit the expansion of the inner wall.
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of branched gas receiving channels interconnected and communicating with each other and extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall comprising a pair of branched continuous flat strips of material arranged one upon the other and joined along their long sides, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
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2. Expandable means adapted for use as a shock-absorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
the inner wall comprises two strips of material placed one upon the other and joined by a seal formed along each of their opposed longitudinal edges;
the strips of inner wall material having at least one gathered portion when in the unexpanded state.
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
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3. Expandable means adapted for use as shock-absorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined threedimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
said gas retaining portions of at least certain of the channels communicating with each other at intersections or branchings, wherein the channel network with intersections and branchings has inner walls comprised of two branched materials arranged one upon the other, each being comprised of a single piece of material and joined along their long sides, and the outer walls consisting of two branched pieces arranged one upon the other and joined along their long sides.
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined threedimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
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4. Expandable means adapted for use as shock-absorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
said gas retaining portions of at least certain of the channels communicating with each other at intersections or branchings, each of the branchings of the inner wall being substantially produced from several strips which are joined to form one piece by means of thermoplastic welding, for example.
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
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5. Expandable means adapted for use as shockabsorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined threedimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
said gas retaining portions of at least certain of the channels communicating with each other at intersections or branchings, each of the branchings of the outer wall being comprised of several strips which have been joined to form one piece by means of seams, for example.
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined threedimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
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6. Expandable means adapted for use as shock-absorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined threedimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
said channels being provided in their outer walls with gathering threads so that when the channels are supplied with compressed gas, they are caused to assume longitudinal curvilinear configurations.
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined threedimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
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7. Expandable means adapted for use as shock-absorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined threedimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
said channels being provided in their outer walls with heat shrinkable fabric so that when the channels are supplied with compressed gas, they are caused to assume longitudinal curvilinear configurations.
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined threedimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
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8. Expandable means adapted for use as shock-absorbing protective means and the like for passengers in vehicles, said means comprising:
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
at least one bursting membrane arranged to cooperate with the channel network so that the membrane bursts at a predetermined pressure allowing the compressed gas to escape from the channel network;
means for receiving the compressed gas escaping through the burst member;
valve means coupled to the enclosure;
said receiving means including means responsive to the received gas to open said valve means; and
adjustable delay means coupled between said opening means and said valve means for opening the enclosure.
- a normally folded compact enclosure adapted to be expanded to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration from its folded state and having a similarly folded and expandable system of gas receiving channels extending along the walls of the enclosure, in which the enclosure is expanded by supplying compressed gas to said channels so that the ambient air at least partially fills the hollow interior of the expanded enclosure, said channels comprising an inflatable inner space whose inflation is limited by a thin, flexible, elastic and substantially gastight inner wall, said inner wall being surrounded by a flexible outer wall arranged, when the inner space is inflated, to entirely surround the inner wall and limit its expansion, and which becomes relatively stiff and assumes a substantially circular cross section upon expansion, said outer wall being a material which is strong enough to withstand the pressure prevailing in the inner space;
Specification
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Current AssigneeAb Inventing
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Original AssigneeAb Inventing
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InventorsWallsten, Hans Ivar
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Primary Examiner(s)Tollberg, Stanley H.
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Assistant Examiner(s)Handren, Frederick R.
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Application NumberUS05/381,145Time in Patent Office1,047 DaysField of Search280/150 AB, 244/138 R, 244/DIG. 2, 244/146, 116/DIG. 9, 52/2, 135/20 BUS Class Current280/731CPC Class CodesB60R 2021/23115 with inflatable support com...B60R 21/231 characterised by their shap...
