Inflatable cushion assembly
First Claim
1. An inflatable cushion assembly for coupling an inflatable cushion within an inflatable restraint system comprising:
- a) an inflatable cushion including a gas inlet opening and at least one channel member disposed about the gas inlet opening;
b) at least one elongate strip disposed within the channel member; and
c) means for retaining the strip within the channel member including at least one flange fixedly disposed about the strip and communicating with the channel member.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides an improved inflatable cushion assembly and method for coupling an inflatable cushion (12) to a reaction housing (16) in an inflatable restraint system. The assembly utilizes various arrangements of a flanged strip inserted into a channel member (36) disposed about the gas inlet opening (30) of the cushion (12) to form a flanged cushion insert (7,8). The flanges of the cushion insert retain the strip (42) in the channel member (36), and are used in the assembly process to couple the flanged cushion insert, in a fastenerless manner, either to a cushion retainer member (14), which in turn is coupled with the reaction housing (16), or directly to the reaction housing (16).
42 Citations
57 Claims
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1. An inflatable cushion assembly for coupling an inflatable cushion within an inflatable restraint system comprising:
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a) an inflatable cushion including a gas inlet opening and at least one channel member disposed about the gas inlet opening; b) at least one elongate strip disposed within the channel member; and c) means for retaining the strip within the channel member including at least one flange fixedly disposed about the strip and communicating with the channel member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An inflatable cushion assembly for coupling an inflatable cushion within an inflatable restraint system comprising;
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a) an inflatable cushion including a gas inlet opening and at least one channel member disposed about the gas inlet opening; b) at least one elongate strip disposed in the channel member; c) means for retaining the strip within the channel member including at least one flange fixedly disposed about the strip and communicating with the channel member, wherein the channel member, elongate strip and means for retaining the strip within the channel member define a flanged cushion insert; and d) a cushion retainer member including at least one channel portion for receiving and securing the flanged cushion insert therein to form a cushion retainer insert for coupling the flanged cushion insert within the inflatable restraint system. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system for coupling an inflatable cushion to a reaction housing within an inflatable restraint system comprising:
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a) an inflatable cushion including a gas inlet opening and at least one channel member disposed about the gas inlet opening; b) at least one elongate strip disposed within the channel member; c) means for retaining the strip within the channel member including at least one flange fixedly disposed about the strip and communicating with the channel member, wherein the channel member, elongate strip and means for retaining the strip within the channel member define a flanged cushion insert; and d) a reaction housing comprising an attachment sleeve configured to receive the flanged cushion insert therein thereby coupling the flanged insert and inflatable cushion to the reaction housing. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method for fabricating an inflatable cushion assembly for incorporation into an inflatable restraint system comprising the steps of:
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a) providing an inflatable cushion which includes a gas inlet opening and a channel member disposed about the gas inlet opening; b) inserting at least one elongate strip within the channel member of said cushion; and c) retaining the strip within the channel member by providing a retaining means including at least one flange fixedly disposed about the strip and communicating with the channel member; wherein the channel member, elongate strip and retaining means define a flanged cushion insert. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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Specification