Method and apparatus for restraining a vehicle occupant
First Claim
1. An apparatus for restraining a vehicle occupant comprising:
- a container with at least one fluid discharge opening;
a source of pressurized fluid in said container, said pressurized fluid being released in response to a deployment signal, said released pressurized fluid passing through said at least one fluid discharge opening and thereby creating a force vector;
pivotal mounting means for mounting said container to the vehicle for pivotal movement about a pivot axis offset from said force vector so that said force vector acts to pivot said container from a stored position to an occupant restraining position; and
restraining means secured to said container for restraining movement of the vehicle occupant when said container pivots to said occupant restraining position.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (10) for restraining a vehicle occupant comprises an air bag assembly having a center of gravity (70) and including a container (20), an air bag (42), and an inflator (50). The air bag assembly is pivotally mounted to an instrument panel (16) of the vehicle with a pivot axis (90) offset from the center of gravity (70). The air bag assembly has a stored position and an operative position and is pivotable from the stored position to the operative position. Thrust produced upon inflation of the air bag pivots the air bag assembly. The apparatus further includes a knee blocking member (36) secured to a side (24) of the container (20) of the air bag assembly. When the assembly moves from the stored position to the operative position, the knee blocking member (36) moves to an occupant restraining position. An actuator (110, 116) is operatively mounted to the air bag assembly and the instrument panel (16) for, when actuated, applying a moment to the air bag assembly to pivot the air bag assembly from the stored position to the operative position.
112 Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for restraining a vehicle occupant comprising:
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a container with at least one fluid discharge opening; a source of pressurized fluid in said container, said pressurized fluid being released in response to a deployment signal, said released pressurized fluid passing through said at least one fluid discharge opening and thereby creating a force vector; pivotal mounting means for mounting said container to the vehicle for pivotal movement about a pivot axis offset from said force vector so that said force vector acts to pivot said container from a stored position to an occupant restraining position; and restraining means secured to said container for restraining movement of the vehicle occupant when said container pivots to said occupant restraining position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for restraining a vehicle occupant, said apparatus comprising:
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a container pivotally mounted in an instrument panel of the vehicle, said container having a stored position and being pivotable to an open, occupant restraining position; and actuator means operatively coupled between said instrument panel and said container and responsive to a deployment signal for applying a force to said container in a direction to pivot said container to said occupant restraining position in response to said deployment signal, said actuator means including a piston reciprocally mounted in a housing, an actuatable means responsive to said deployment signal for providing pressurized fluid to move said piston to an extended position relative to said housing, movement of said piston to its extended position pivoting said container to said occupant restraining position, and scissor arms having distal ends operatively connected to said instrument panel and said container and proximal ends connected to an end of said piston, said movement of said piston toward its extended position spreading apart the distal ends of said scissor arms. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus for restraining a vehicle occupant comprising:
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an air bag assembly including a container having an air bag and actuatable means for providing inflation fluid mounted in said container, said actuatable means including at least one fluid discharge opening for directing provided inflation fluid in a first direction, said at least one fluid discharge opening being in fluid communication with said air bag, said inflation fluid directed from said at least one fluid discharge opening (i) inflating said air bag and (ii) providing a force vector in a second direction opposite said first direction; mounting means for pivotally mounting said air bag assembly to an instrument panel of the vehicle with a pivot axis offset from said force vector, said air bag assembly having a stored position and an operative restraining position and being pivotable from said stored position to said operative restraining position, said force vector applying a moment to said air bag assembly about said pivot axis so as to pivot said air bag assembly from said stored position to said operative restraining position thereby permitting said air bag to inflate to an occupant restraining position; and a knee blocking member secured to a side of said container presented toward the vehicle occupant, said knee blocking member being moved to an occupant knee blocking position when said assembly pivots from said stored position to said operative restraining position. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An apparatus for restraining a vehicle occupant comprising:
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an air bag assembly including a container, an air bag, and a source of inflation fluid for the air bag, said air bag assembly having a center of gravity; mounting means for pivotally mounting said air bag assembly to an instrument panel of the vehicle with a pivot axis offset from said center of gravity, said air bag assembly having a stored position and an operative restraining position and being pivotable from said stored position to said operative restraining position; a knee blocking member secured to a side of said container presented toward the vehicle occupant, said knee blocking member being moved to an occupant knee blocking position when said assembly member pivots from said stored position to said operative restraining position; and actuator means operatively mounted to said air bag assembly and to said instrument panel for, when actuated, applying a moment to said air bag assembly so as to pivot said air bag assembly from said stored position to said operative restraining position. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A method for restraining a vehicle occupant including the steps of:
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mounting an occupant restraining device to the vehicle for pivotal movement about a pivot axis; providing a source of pressurized fluid for the occupant restraining device upon the occurrence of a vehicle crash condition requiring occupant restraint; discharging said pressurized fluid in response to a deployment signal in a direction offset from the pivot axis, to apply a moment to pivot the occupant restraining device to an occupant restraining position; providing an actuator connected between the vehicle and the restraining device so that when the actuator is actuated, it acts to pivot the occupant restraining device to the occupant restraining position; and actuating the actuator in response to said deployment signal.
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Specification