Braided fabric structure for seamless fabric confinements
First Claim
1. An air bag restraint system for protecting an occupant of a vehicle during a collision comprising:
- a seamless inflatable confinement adapted for attachment to said vehicle and being inflatable upon collision of said vehicle, said confinement being constructed from a seamless fabric comprising braided fibers or yarns; and
inflating means for inflating said inflatable confinement with a fluid upon the occurrence of a collision;
wherein said confinement is inflated by said inflating means to a predetermined shape upon a collision, said shape being determined by characteristics of said braided fabric.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An air bag restraint system for protecting vehicle occupants during a collision comprising a seamless inflatable confinement of braided fabric constructed by strands of multiple fibers which are interlocked by diagonally crossing a number of these strands alternately over and under one or more of the other strands. The seamless air bag is formed by braiding textile yarns to a mold having the shape of the desired confinement. An elastomer coating may be applied to render the braided fabric either essentially non-porous and non-permeable to air or semi-permeable to control air flow. Also, methods for manufacturing such seamless braided fabric confinements.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. An air bag restraint system for protecting an occupant of a vehicle during a collision comprising:
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a seamless inflatable confinement adapted for attachment to said vehicle and being inflatable upon collision of said vehicle, said confinement being constructed from a seamless fabric comprising braided fibers or yarns; and inflating means for inflating said inflatable confinement with a fluid upon the occurrence of a collision; wherein said confinement is inflated by said inflating means to a predetermined shape upon a collision, said shape being determined by characteristics of said braided fabric. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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- 14. In a passive air restraint device having an air bag inflatable upon a collision, inflating means to inflate said air bag upon said collision and collision detection means to detect a collision of magnitude at least equal to a threshold magnitude, the improvement which comprises a seamless air bag formed from a braided fabric constructed by strands of multiple fibers which are interlocked by diagonally crossing a number of said strands such that each strand alternates over and under one or more said other strands, wherein said strands are not parallel to the axis of said braided fabric, said braided fabric capable of conforming to a predetermined shape and wherein said seamless air bag is deflatable and inflatable to said predetermined shape.
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22. A method for manufacturing an inflatable confinement for use in protecting an occupant of a vehicle during a collision, which method comprises:
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providing a mold having an exterior surface forming a desired shape; forming a seamless fabric confinement by braiding yarns about said exterior surface of said mold to form a seamless braided fabric structure having said desired shape; and removing said seamless braided fabric structure from said mold to obtain an inflatable confinement capable of being inflated to said desired shape or being deflated to a compact configuration for storage of same. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of manufacturing a seamless inflatable confinement for use in passive air bag restraint devices, which method comprises:
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inflating an inflatable mold to a predetermined size having an exterior surface of a desired shape; braiding textile yarns upon said exterior surface of said inflatable mold by diagonally crossing a plurality of said yarns such that each yarn alternates over and under one or more of the other yarns so as to form a seamless braided fabric structure of interlocked yarns in said desired shape; deflating said inflatable mold; and removing said seamless braided fabric structure from said mold to obtain an inflatable confinement capable of being inflated to said desired shape or being deflated to a compact configuration for storage of same. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification