Occupant restraint cushion

• US 4,169,613 A
• Filed: 03/06/1978
• Issued: 10/02/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Barnett, Ronald R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Silverstrim, John P.
• Application Number:
  US05/883,895
• Time in Patent Office: 575 Days
• Field of Search: 280/728-743
• US Class Current: 280/732
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23316 Inner seams, e.g. creating separate compartments or used as tethering means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/233 comprising a plurality of individual compartments; comprising two or more bag-like members, one within the other B60R21/232 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/239 characterised by their venting means

Abstract

An occupant restraint cushion made of a single sheet of woven material and having an upper compartment that is adapted to engage the windshield of a vehicle and be guided thereby rearwardly when deployed so that subsequently a lower compartment extends downwardly from the upper compartment and is inflated in a position between the driver and the steering wheel.

Claims

1. In combination with a vehicle body having an instrument panel provided with a cavity in the upper portion thereof having a steering wheel supported for controlled movement by a vehicle operator, an occupant restraint cushion adapted to be housed in said cavity in the instrument panel and to be deployed rearwardly relative thereto when inflated, said occupant restraint cushion comprising a top wall and a bottom wall defining an upper compartment having a front end adapted to be attached to said instrument panel and a rear end adapted to be located above and to the rear of the steering wheel when inflated, the bottom wall being divided into a front section and a rear section, a front wall depending from said front section and a rear wall depending from said rear section, said front and rear walls defining a lower compartment adapted to be positioned between the vehicle operator and the steering wheel when inflated, and means directly joining the front wall to the rear wall adjacent said upper compartment so as to locate the lower compartment intermediate the front and rear ends of the upper compartment and provide at least one orifice of a predetermined size for connecting the upper compartment with the lower compartment to thereby control gas flow therebetween and cause the upper compartment to be substantially inflated prior to inflation of the lower compartment.

2. In combination with a vehicle body having an instrument panel and a steering wheel supported for controlled movement by a vehicle operator, an occupant restraint cushion adapted to be housed in the upper portion of the instrument panel and to be deployed rearwardly relative thereto, said occupant restraint cushion comprising a top wall and a bottom wall joined at their outer edges so as to define an upper compartment having a front end adapted to be attached to said instrument panel and a rear end adapted to be located above and to the rear of the steering wheel when inflated, the bottom wall being divided into a front section and a rear section, a front wall depending from said front section and a rear wall depending from said rear section, said front and rear walls being connected to each other at the outer edges thereof so as to define a lower compartment adapted to be positioned between the vehicle operator and the steering wheel when inflated, and stitch means directly joining and sealing the front wall to the rear wall adjacent said upper compartment so as to locate the lower compartment intermediate the front and rear ends of the upper compartment and provide at least one orifice of a predetermined size for connecting the upper compartment with the lower compartment to thereby control gas flow therebetween and cause the upper compartment to be substantially inflated prior to inflation of the lower compartment.

3. In combination with a vehicle body having an instrument panel connected to a windshield and having a steering wheel supported for controlled movement by a vehicle operator, an occupant restraint cushion housed in the upper portion of the instrument panel and adapted to engage the windshield and be guided thereby rearwardly relative to the instrument panel when inflated, said occupant restraint cushion being formed from a single sheet of woven material and comprising a top wall and a bottom wall joined at their outer edges so as to define an upper compartment having a front end adapted to be attached to said instrument panel and a rear end adapted to be located above and to the rear of the steering wheel when inflated, the bottom wall being divided into a front section and a rear section, a front wall integrally formed with and depending from said front section and a rear wall integrally formed with and depending from said rear section, said front and rear walls being connected to each other at the outer edges thereof so as to define a lower compartment adapted to be positioned between the vehicle operator and the steering wheel when inflated and stitch means extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of said cushion for directly joining and sealing the front wall to the rear wall adjacent said upper compartment so as to locate the lower compartment intermediate the front and rear ends of the upper compartment and provide at least one orifice of a predetermined size for connecting the upper compartment with the lower compartment to thereby control gas flow therebetween and cause the upper compartment to be substantially inflated prior to inflation of the lower compartment.

4. In combination with a vehicle body having an instrument panel and a steering wheel supported for controlled movement by a vehicle operator, an occupant restraint cushion adapted to be connected to a gas generator housed in the upper portion of the instrument panel and to be deployed rearwardly relative thereto, said occupant restraint cushion being formed from a single sheet of woven material and comprising a top wall and a bottom wall joined at their outer edges so as to define an upper compartment having a front end adapted to be attached to said gas generator and a rear end adapted to be located above and to the rear of the steering wheel when inflated, the bottom wall being divided into a front section and a rear section, a front wall depending from said front section and a rear wall depending from said rear section, said front and rear walls being connected to each other at the outer edges thereof so as to define a lower compartment adapted to be positioned between the vehicle operator and the steering wheel when inflated, means directly joining the front wall to the rear wall adjacent said upper compartment so as to locate the lower compartment intermediate the front and rear ends of the upper compartment and provide at least one orifice of a predetermined size for connecting the upper compartment with the lower compartment to thereby control gas flow therebetween and cause the upper compartment to be substantially inflated prior to inflation of the lower compartment, said front section of the bottom wall having a transversely extending slit formed therein, and a patch having a plurality of edges, said patch being located within said upper compartment covering said slit and having the edges thereof joined to said front section so as to provide a passage to the slit that opens away from the gas generator so when an obstacle prevents full deployment of said restraint cushion the pressure within the restraint cushion is relieved to thereby prevent full inflation thereof.