Occupant restraint and protection system for an automotive vehicle
First Claim
1. A system for restraining and protecting the driver and passengers of an automotive vehicle against injury as a result of a collision of the vehicle with another object, said vehicle including a vehicle body having laterally spaced windshield posts for supporting a windshield, a dashboard, the lower ends of said windshield posts intersecting said dashboard, a front seat for supporting the driver and one or more passengers in said vehicle body, and a roof overlying said seat, said system comprising expansible cushioning means adapted to be mounted on the underside of the roof of said vehicle body in a collapsed, inoperative position and expandable to an operative position engaging the laps and pelvic areas of the driver and passengers seated on the front seat of said vehicle body so as to restrain said driver and passengers against forward movement in said vehicle body and thereby prevent injury thereto in the event of a collision, a pair of elongated, laterally spaced arms adapted to be mounted in said vehicle body for movement about axes located adjacent to the intersection of the lower ends of said windshield posts with said dashboard and from inoperative positions adjacent to said windshield posts to operative positions wherein one end of each arm is disposed generally adjacent to the knees of the driver and passengers, said ends of said arms being connected to said cushioning means and operable to extend and hold the latter in its operative, expanded position extending laterally across the front seat of said vehicle body and engaging the laps and pelvic areas of the driver and passengers, and actuating means for effecting movement of said arms from their inoperative to their operative positions and expansion of said cushioning means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for restraining and protecting the driver and passengers on the front seat of an automotive vehicle against injury as a result of a collision with another vehicle or object, wherein an expansible bag is stored in a folded, inoperative position in a compartment on the underside of the roof of the vehicle and generally overlying the laps of the driver and passengers. A pair of elongated arms are pivotally mounted in the vehicle for movement between an upwardly inclined, inoperative position adjacent the windshield posts of the vehicle to a downwardly inclined, operative position adjacent the inner sides of the side doors of the vehicle. The distal ends of the arms are connected to the expansible bag and serve to rapidly withdraw and unfold the same from the storage compartment when the system is triggered. After the bag is unfolded and deployed, fluid under pressure is supplied to a pair of laterally spaced compartments in the bag through passages in the arms. A central compartment of the bag inflates with air at atmospheric pressure as a result of inflation of the laterally spaced compartments.
A lost motion connection between the piston and plunger rod of each piston and cylinder assembly permits the rod to extend an additional incremental amount, whenever the bag is subjected to the forward force of the bodies of the driver and passengers, so that a vent valve in each assembly is shifted to a position causing a respective one of the pressurized compartments of the bag to be vented to the atmosphere and deflate at a controlled rate.
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Citations
30 Claims
- 1. A system for restraining and protecting the driver and passengers of an automotive vehicle against injury as a result of a collision of the vehicle with another object, said vehicle including a vehicle body having laterally spaced windshield posts for supporting a windshield, a dashboard, the lower ends of said windshield posts intersecting said dashboard, a front seat for supporting the driver and one or more passengers in said vehicle body, and a roof overlying said seat, said system comprising expansible cushioning means adapted to be mounted on the underside of the roof of said vehicle body in a collapsed, inoperative position and expandable to an operative position engaging the laps and pelvic areas of the driver and passengers seated on the front seat of said vehicle body so as to restrain said driver and passengers against forward movement in said vehicle body and thereby prevent injury thereto in the event of a collision, a pair of elongated, laterally spaced arms adapted to be mounted in said vehicle body for movement about axes located adjacent to the intersection of the lower ends of said windshield posts with said dashboard and from inoperative positions adjacent to said windshield posts to operative positions wherein one end of each arm is disposed generally adjacent to the knees of the driver and passengers, said ends of said arms being connected to said cushioning means and operable to extend and hold the latter in its operative, expanded position extending laterally across the front seat of said vehicle body and engaging the laps and pelvic areas of the driver and passengers, and actuating means for effecting movement of said arms from their inoperative to their operative positions and expansion of said cushioning means.
Specification