Inflatable restraint system
First Claim
1. Apparatus for generating gas, said apparatus comprising:
- a cylindrically shaped grain having a central longitudinal axis and opposite, radially extending end faces spaced apart along the longitudinal axis;
said grain being made of a material which generates gas upon combustion;
said grain having a plurality of parallel passages extending therethrough and intersecting said opposite end faces;
said passages having central longitudinal axes located on concentric circles which have their centers on the longitudinal axis of said grain;
the axes of the passages on a first one of said concentric circles being circumferentially spaced around said grain from the axes of the passages on a second one of said concentric circles; and
said passages having axes located on adjacent concentric circles forming a plurality of rectangular arrays of openings in said end faces, one of the end faces of said grain including a plurality of projections, each of said projections being disposed in the center of a rectangular array of openings and having end surface means spaced axially from the one end face for engaging an adjacent surface to provide space for gas to flow across the one end face of said grain during combustion of said grain.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An inflatable restraint system includes an airbag which is expanded by an inflator assembly to restrain movement of an occupant of a vehicle in the event of a collision. The inflator assembly includes a plurality of grains or bodies of gas generating material which are disposed in a longitudinally extending array and are enclosed by a filter assembly and a housing. To promote a rapid and uniform combustion of the grains to quickly generate a large volume of gas, passages extend through the grains between spaces at opposite ends of the grains. Uniform combustion of the grains is promoted by having the passages located on concentric circles with the longitudinal axes of the passages spaced apart by equal distances along the circles. The axes of the passages on one concentric circle are circumferentially spaced from the axes of the passages on another concentric circle. The grains positioned with the passages in axial alignment and are cushioned by resilient retainer tubes which engage the outside of the grains. When the airbag has become inflated, a pressure control valve system is opened to exhaust excess gas generated by the combustion of the grains.
146 Citations
14 Claims
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1. Apparatus for generating gas, said apparatus comprising:
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a cylindrically shaped grain having a central longitudinal axis and opposite, radially extending end faces spaced apart along the longitudinal axis; said grain being made of a material which generates gas upon combustion; said grain having a plurality of parallel passages extending therethrough and intersecting said opposite end faces; said passages having central longitudinal axes located on concentric circles which have their centers on the longitudinal axis of said grain; the axes of the passages on a first one of said concentric circles being circumferentially spaced around said grain from the axes of the passages on a second one of said concentric circles; and said passages having axes located on adjacent concentric circles forming a plurality of rectangular arrays of openings in said end faces, one of the end faces of said grain including a plurality of projections, each of said projections being disposed in the center of a rectangular array of openings and having end surface means spaced axially from the one end face for engaging an adjacent surface to provide space for gas to flow across the one end face of said grain during combustion of said grain. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. Apparatus for generating gas, said apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of grains each of which has a central longitudinal axis and opposed, radially extending end faces spaced apart along the longitudinal axis, each of said grains being made of a material which generates gas upon combustion; each of said grains having parallel passages therethrough intersecting said end faces at locations spaced radially inwardly of the outer sides of each of said grains; said passages in each of said grains being defined by surfaces where combustion takes place to produce gas which flows through the passages; each of said grains having surfaces defining a plurality of recesses extending along the outer side of said grain between said end faces; a structure surrounding said plurality of grains; and elongated and resiliently yieldable retainer means extending along and projecting from said recesses into engagement with said structure for retaining said grains in positions in which the passages through said grains are axially aligned and for cushioning said grains against the influence of forces applied to said structure. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. Apparatus for generating gas for inflating a vehicle occupant restraint, said apparatus comprising:
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a material for generating gas upon burning; a container for said material, said container having a first plurality of openings for directing gas into the restraint and a second plurality of openings which are smaller than the openings in said first plurality of openings for directing gas away from the restraint; and means covering said first and second plurality of openings which ruptures at one predetermined pressure to allow gas to flow into the restraint through the first plurality of openings and which ruptures at a predetermined pressure higher than said one pressure to allow gas to flow away from the restraint through the second plurality of openings. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. Apparatus for generating gas for inflating a vehicle occupant restraint, said apparatus comprising:
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a material for generating gas upon combustion; a container for said material; a filter in said container and through which the generated gas flows; said container having first passage means for directing gas into the restraint and second passage means for directing gas away from the restraint; and first and second means blocking said first and second passage means respectively and which open at different pressures to enable gas to flow through said first passage means into said restraint when the pressure in said container reaches a predetermined magnitude and excess gas to flow through said second passage means away from said restraint when the pressure in said container reaches a magnitude higher than said predetermined magnitude. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. Apparatus for generating gas for inflating a vehicle occupant restraint, said apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of grains of gas generating material arranged in a longitudinal array; said gas generating material generating gas upon combustion; at least one of said plurality of grains having a central opening; an ignitor for igniting said gas generating grains and located in said opening; each of said grains being cylindrically shaped and having a central longitudinal axis and opposite, radially extending ends spaced apart along the longitudinal axis, each of said grains having a plurality of passages extending therethrough and intersecting said ends, said passages being parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis of the grain; at least one end of each grain having projections extending therefrom to engage projections from the end of an adjacent grain to provide space between the grains for the flow of gas radially between the grains; and each of said grains having aligned recesses on the outer surface thereof and resilient means located in said recesses and projecting therefrom to align said parallel passages in said grains.
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14. Apparatus for generating gas, said apparatus comprising:
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a cylindrically shaped grain having a central longitudinal axis and opposite, radially extending end faces spaced apart along the longitudinal axis; said grain being made of a material which generates gas upon combustion; said grain having a plurality of parallel passages extending therethrough and intersecting said opposite end faces each of the passage having a circular cross-section in a plane extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said grain and having a uniform cross-section throughout its length; said passages having central longitudinal axes located on concentric circles which have their centers on the longitudinal axis of said grain; the axis of each of the passages on the first one of said concentric circles being circumferentially spaced around said grain from the axes of adjacent passages on the second one of said concentric circles so that the axis of each of the passages on the first one of said concentric circles is disposed in a radial plane angularly offset from a radial plane containing the axis of any of the adjacent passages on the second one of said concentric circles, said angular offset being five degrees (5°
) to fifteen degrees (15°
);the circumferential distance between axes of adjacent passages disposed on the first concentric circle being equal to the circumferential distance between the axes of adjacent passages disposed on the second concentric circle.
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Specification