Air bag assembly with deployment chute

• US 5,364,124 A
• Filed: 10/29/1992
• Issued: 11/15/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Brown, Thomas C., Volz, John L., Donegan, Michael W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Focarino, Margaret A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): English, Peter C.
• Application Number:
  US07/967,909
• Time in Patent Office: 747 Days
• Field of Search: 280/732, 280/728 R, 280/728 A, 280/742, 280/743 R, 280/743 A, 280/730 R
• US Class Current: 280/730.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/161 characterised by additional means for controlling deployment trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/16 Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags protective garments with automatically inflatable shock-absorbing means A41D13/018; connection of valves to inflatable elastic bodies B60C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/205 in dashboards

Abstract

An air bag assembly is mounted in a vehicle instrument panel recess located below an opening in the instrument panel upper surface which has a removable cover door normally closing the opening. The air bag assembly comprises an inflator, an air bag, a container mounting the inflator at its bottom and housing the folded air bag atop the inflator, and an air bag deployment chute. The deployment chute is a fabric rectangular tube having one end attached to the container around its deployment opening. The deployment chute is folded atop the air bag. A fabric tether connects the lower edge of the chute outer end to the container and is shorter than the tube. Upon actuation of the inflator, the deployment chute forces open the instrument panel door and extends outwardly of the instrument panel opening. The tether forces the chute to arch rearwardly and downwardly of the instrument panel opening. The inflating air bag forces its way through the narrow deployment chute until it emerges from the chute downwardly and rearwardly of the instrument panel and fully inflates. Upon emerging, the inflating air bag forces the chute to retract to a gathered position about the instrument panel opening, thus allowing full inflation of the air bag.

Claims

1. A deployment chute for an air bag which is mounted beneath a deployment opening of an air bag container, said chute comprising an elongated, open-ended fabric tube having its inner end secured to the container

3. The improvement of claim 1, including the chute having an outer end and a tether connecting the chute outer end to the container to position the outer end upon deployment.

4. The improvement of claim 3, wherein the tether is connected to the lower edge of the chute outer end, thus causing the chute to arch upon extension and initially deploy the air bag in a direction rearwardly and downwardly of the instrument panel opening.

5. The improvement of claim 4, wherein the chute is flexible and retracts to a position gathered about said deployment opening upon full inflation of the air bag.

6. The improvement of claim 5, wherein the chute has a rectangular cross-section.

2. In a vehicle instrument panel having a recess for mounting an air bag assembly below an opening, and a removable cover door for normally closing the opening, wherein the air bag assembly comprises an inflator, an air bag, and a container for housing the air bag and inflator and having a deployment opening adjacent said instrument panel opening, the improvement comprising a deployment chute through which the air bag deploys, said chute being a flexible fabric cylindrical tube connected with the container and having a cross-sectional area substantially the same size as the instrument panel opening and being extendible between a stored position folded atop the air bag in the container, and a deployed position, said chute having a length such that in the deployed position the unfolded chute extends substantially through the instrument panel opening rearwardly of the instrument panel and guidably encircles a portion of the air bag, and means to arch the chute upon deployment to initially deploy the air bag in a direction rearwardly and downwardly of the instrument panel opening, thereby directing deployment of the air bag rearwardly of the instrument panel.

7. A deployment chute for an air bag which is mounted beneath a deployment opening of an air bag container, said chute comprising an elongated, open-ended fabric tube with a rectangular cross-section and a cross-sectional area significantly smaller than the cross-sectional area of the fully-inflated air bag and having an inner end secured to the container about the periphery of its deployment opening and an outer end, said chute being extendible from a position folded atop the air bag to an extended position outwardly of the opening, and a tether connecting the chute outer end to the container to position the outer end upon deployment to guide deployment of the air bag through a passage to emerge from the chute outer end.

8. The improvement of claim 7, wherein the air bag container is mounted in an instrument panel opening and at the tether is connected to the lower edge of the tube outer end, thus causing the chute to arch upon extension and initially deploy the air bag in a direction rearwardly and downwardly of the instrument panel opening.

9. The improvement of claim 8, wherein the chute is flexible and retracts to a position gathered about said deployment opening upon full inflation of the air bag.