Air bag module
First Claim
1. A vehicle air bag module comprising:
- a reaction can including a main body defining a cavity and an air bag opening, an external flange extending away from said air bag opening, and an inflator-receiving slot formed in part of said main body;
a folded air bag having a gas inlet opening and being at least partially disposed in said cavity;
a retention device integral with said air bag around the periphery of said gas inlet opening and disposed adjacent said external flange on said reaction can;
an inflator comprising a cylindrical housing and a coupling structure integral with the housing, said cylindrical housing extending partially through said inflator-receiving slot and including a portion disposed within said cavity and a portion disposed outside said cavity, gas dispensing nozzles being formed in said portion of said cylindrical housing disposed within said cavity;
a first set of fasteners connecting said coupling structure of said inflator with a portion of said main body of said reaction can; and
a second set of fasteners connecting said retention device with said external flange on said reaction can.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A new and useful vehicle air bag module design and new assembly techniques are designed specifically for automating the process of assembling an air bag module. The air bag module includes a reaction can which has a main body defining a cavity and an air bag opening, an external flange extending away from the air bag opening, and an inflator-receiving slot formed in part of the main body. A folded air bag having a gas inlet opening is at least partially disposed in the cavity. A retention device is integral with the air bag around the periphery of the gas inlet opening and is disposed adjacent the external flange on the reaction can. The inflator has a cylindrical housing and an integral coupling structure. The cylindrical housing extends partially through the inflator-receiving slot and includes a portion disposed within said cavity and a portion disposed outside said cavity. A first set of fasteners connects the coupling structure of the inflator with a portion of said main body of said reaction can. A second set of fasteners connects the retention device with the external flange on the reaction can. The reaction can, which may be either aluminum or steel, is formed as a monolithic structure by deep drawing techniques.
52 Citations
35 Claims
-
1. A vehicle air bag module comprising:
-
a reaction can including a main body defining a cavity and an air bag opening, an external flange extending away from said air bag opening, and an inflator-receiving slot formed in part of said main body; a folded air bag having a gas inlet opening and being at least partially disposed in said cavity; a retention device integral with said air bag around the periphery of said gas inlet opening and disposed adjacent said external flange on said reaction can; an inflator comprising a cylindrical housing and a coupling structure integral with the housing, said cylindrical housing extending partially through said inflator-receiving slot and including a portion disposed within said cavity and a portion disposed outside said cavity, gas dispensing nozzles being formed in said portion of said cylindrical housing disposed within said cavity; a first set of fasteners connecting said coupling structure of said inflator with a portion of said main body of said reaction can; and a second set of fasteners connecting said retention device with said external flange on said reaction can. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A vehicle air bag module comprising:
-
a reaction can including (a) a main body defining a cavity and an air bag opening and (b) an external flange extending away from said air bag opening, said main body comprising a pair of converging wall sections and having an inflator-receiving slot formed in one of said pair of converging wall sections; a folded air bag having a gas inlet opening, said folded air bag being attached to said reaction can and disposed at least partially within said cavity; an inflator comprising a cylindrical housing and a coupling structure integral with the housing, said cylindrical housing extending partially through said slot in said main body and including a portion disposed within said cavity and a portion disposed outside said cavity, gas dispensing nozzles being formed in said portion of said cylindrical housing disposed within said cavity; and a first set of fasteners connecting said inflator coupling structure with said main body of said reaction can. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A reaction can for a vehicle air bag module, said reaction can comprising:
-
a monolithic structure defining a cavity and an air bag opening; said monolithic structure including a main body portion and an external substantially planar flange circumscribing said air bag opening and extending away from said air bag opening; said main body portion of the monolithic structure extending away from said flange and defining the cavity; said main body portion having a slot shaped to enable a cylindrical inflator to extend partially through said slot whereby the cylindrical inflator will be disposed partially in said air bag cavity and partially outside said air bag cavity. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
-
-
34. A vehicle air bag module comprising:
-
a reaction can including a main body defining a cavity and an air bag opening, an external flange extending away from said air bag opening, and an inflator-receiving slot formed in part of said main body; a folded air bag having a gas inlet opening and being at least partially disposed in said cavity; a retention device integral with said air bag around the periphery of said gas inlet opening and disposed adjacent said external flange on said reaction can; an inflator comprising a cylindrical housing and a coupling structure which couples said housing to said reaction can, said cylindrical housing extending partially through said inflator-receiving slot and including a portion disposed within said cavity and a portion disposed outside said cavity, gas dispensing nozzles being formed in said portion of said cylindrical housing disposed within said cavity; a first set of fasteners connecting said coupling structure of said inflator with a portion of said main body of said reaction can; and a second set of fasteners connecting said retention device with said external flange on said reaction can.
-
-
35. A vehicle air bag module comprising:
-
a reaction can including (a) a main body defining a cavity and an air bag opening and (b) an external flange extending away from said air bag opening, said main body comprising a pair of converging wall sections and having an inflator-receiving slot formed in one of said pair of converging wall sections; a folded air bag having a gas inlet opening, said folded air bag being attached to said reaction can and disposed at least partially within said cavity; an inflator comprising a cylindrical housing an a coupling structure which couples said housing to said reaction can, said cylindrical housing extending partially through said slot in said main body and including a portion disposed within said cavity and a portion disposed outside said cavity, gas dispensing nozzles being formed in said portion of said cylindrical housing disposed within said cavity; and a first set of fasteners connecting said inflator coupling structure with said main body of said reaction can.
-
Specification