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Simplified passenger air bag module

  • US 5,433,471 A
  • Filed: 12/13/1993
  • Issued: 07/18/1995
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1993
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An air bag module comprising an air bag having an opening,an air bag retainer ring secured to the air bag about the opening and having a mounting flange,a housing having spaced side and end walls defining a rectangular air bag storage chamber for storing the folded air bag and having an upper air bag deployment opening and a bottom gas discharge opening, a mounting flange extending from each of the side walls, and at least two axially-spaced part-circumferential straps spanning the gas discharge opening to interconnect the side walls and form an inflator cradle,an elongated inflator located on the straps and comprising a substantially cylindrical case having a plurality of gas discharge holes, a cap end and a blank end,an inflator container comprising a U-shaped body forming bottom and side walls, at least two axially-spaced raised part-circumferential ribs formed in the bottom wall, each diametrically opposed from one of the straps to form pairs of straps and ribs, the pairs being spaced from the housing end walls to enable clamping of either an inflator having a case with an outward tapered section near its cap or an inflator having a purely cylindrical casing, and a mounting flange extending from each of the side walls,a plurality of aligned mounting apertures formed in all of the mounting flanges, anda plurality of threaded fasteners extending through the aligned apertures to clamp the air bag retainer ring, the housing and the inflator container together, thereby clamping the inflator between the strap and rib pairs, whereby the ribs space the inflator from the side and bottom walls of the inflator container which functions as a heat shield.

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