Air bag installation using integrated energy device to form trim piece air bag deployment openings
First Claim
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1. In combination, an air bag assembly including an air bag receptacle container, a folded air bag and an inflator device for generating an inflating gas flow, and an initiator circuit for activating said inflator device;
- an interior trim structure having a substrate panel and a covering layer;
a deployment opening formed in said interior trim structure substrate panel with a hinge deployment door panel fit in said deployment opening, said covering layer smoothly extending over said deployment door panel and adjacent regions of said substrate panel;
said air bag receptacle mounted aligned with said deployment opening;
a flattened tube mounted beneath said covering layer and extending around said deployment opening;
an outwardly directed cutting edge extending along said flattened tube and located to be forced into said covering layer upon expansion of said flattened tube;
a gas pressure source activatable to generate a gas flow upon initiation of said air bag inflation; and
,a fluid passage connecting said gas pressure source and said flattened tube causing a gas flow into said flattened tube to occur upon initiation of said air bag inflation to cause said flattened tube to expand and said cutting edge to be driven to sever said covering layer about said substrate panel deployment opening.
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Abstract
An air bag installation is disclosed in which a flattened tube is expanded by a flow of pressurized gas from the air bag inflator or a separate source when the air bag system is deployed. The resulting tube expansion drives a cutting edge to sever an opening in a covering layer disposed over a substrate panel of an interior trim structure. A pyrotechnic charge may be used to augment the flow of pressurized gas. The tube may alternatively form an integral part of the instrument panel or the air bag assembly.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. In combination, an air bag assembly including an air bag receptacle container, a folded air bag and an inflator device for generating an inflating gas flow, and an initiator circuit for activating said inflator device;
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an interior trim structure having a substrate panel and a covering layer; a deployment opening formed in said interior trim structure substrate panel with a hinge deployment door panel fit in said deployment opening, said covering layer smoothly extending over said deployment door panel and adjacent regions of said substrate panel; said air bag receptacle mounted aligned with said deployment opening; a flattened tube mounted beneath said covering layer and extending around said deployment opening; an outwardly directed cutting edge extending along said flattened tube and located to be forced into said covering layer upon expansion of said flattened tube; a gas pressure source activatable to generate a gas flow upon initiation of said air bag inflation; and
,a fluid passage connecting said gas pressure source and said flattened tube causing a gas flow into said flattened tube to occur upon initiation of said air bag inflation to cause said flattened tube to expand and said cutting edge to be driven to sever said covering layer about said substrate panel deployment opening. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of forming an air bag deployment opening in a covering layer of an interior trim structure having an inflatable air bag assembly mounted behind said interior trim structure, said air bag assembly including an air bag inflator device generating a flow of gas when initiated comprising the steps of:
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directing a flow of pressurized gas from a gas pressure source into a flattened tube disposed to expand the same; and
,cutting the covering layer by expansion of said flattened tube. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification