Vehicle air bag module and method of assembly
First Claim
1. Apparatus comprising an air bag module for an air bag and an inflator,said module comprising,(i) an air bag container having a wall defining part of an air bag cavity with an air bag completely contained therein, said wall having a surface for engagement with a portion of said air bag,(ii) means defining an inflator cavity outside of, and in communication with, said air bag cavity, for receiving said inflator when said air bag is disposed in said air bag cavity, and(iii) alignment means for aligning said inflator in a predetermined position in said inflator cavity when said air bag is disposed in said cavity.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle air bag module includes a container for a folded air bag and structure for attaching an inflator to the container. The container is initially assembled with an air bag disposed therein. The inflator can be attached to an exterior side of the container after the container has been assembled with an air bag. Thus, the container can be formed as an initial assembly, and the inflator can be attached to the container as the final step in the assembly of the air bag module.
62 Citations
24 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising an air bag module for an air bag and an inflator,
said module comprising, (i) an air bag container having a wall defining part of an air bag cavity with an air bag completely contained therein, said wall having a surface for engagement with a portion of said air bag, (ii) means defining an inflator cavity outside of, and in communication with, said air bag cavity, for receiving said inflator when said air bag is disposed in said air bag cavity, and (iii) alignment means for aligning said inflator in a predetermined position in said inflator cavity when said air bag is disposed in said cavity.
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6. Apparatus comprising a wall for forming part of an air bag container and means for securing an inflator to said wall,
said wall having opposite first and second sides, said first side of said wall adapted to engage a vehicle air bag, said second side of said wall defining a recess shaped to receive a selected portion of an inflator, and said means for securing an inflator to said wall when a selected portion of the inflator is received in said recess of said second side of said wall.
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11. Apparatus comprising a container having a folded air bag therein and support structure for securing an inflator to said container,
said support structure including a wall of said container having an internal surface on the inside of said container and an external surface on the outside of said container, said external surface of said wall configured for receiving a selected portion of an inflator, and means for securing the inflator to said wall when the selected portion of the inflator is received against said external surface of said wall.
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18. A method of assembling an air bag container and an inflator comprising the steps of:
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providing a wall forming part of said container; securing an air bag to one side of said wall; folding the air bag to a predetermined configuration relative to said one side of said wall; securing closure structure to said wall to complete the air bag container with the folded air bag therein; and aligning and securing said inflator in an inflator cavity formed at least partially in the other side of said wall. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification