Regulation of pressure in automotive airbags
First Claim
1. An airbag module housing containing an uninflated airbag stored in said housing,means in said housing to inflate said airbag by gases under pressure and means to relieve excess pressure in said housing, said means comprising a valve located in a wall of said housing and formed entirely of material from said housing,said valve comprising:
- a slug having a shape derided by a slit punched in said housing, said slit starting at a first point on said housing and terminating at a second point on said housing, the area between said first point and said second point being unpunched, defining an unpunched valve-connecting leg in said housing,and a pair of slots adjacent to said first point and to said second point, said pair of slots being punched in said housingwhereby when the pressure in said housing needs to be relieved during deployment of said bag, said slug bends outwardly from said housing along a hinge formed in said valve-connecting leg between said first point and said second point to create an aperture for the outward flow of gas from within said housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A valve is provided in an automotive airbag module housing to relieve any excessive pressure in the module housing as may occur during deployment of an airbag. The valve is formed entirely from material in the housing by punching out openings in the housing material. The invention is applicable to airbag inflating devices in which the inflator is enclosed entirely within the module housing and is particularly useful in passenger side airbag inflation devices.
18 Citations
4 Claims
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1. An airbag module housing containing an uninflated airbag stored in said housing,
means in said housing to inflate said airbag by gases under pressure and means to relieve excess pressure in said housing, said means comprising a valve located in a wall of said housing and formed entirely of material from said housing, said valve comprising: -
a slug having a shape derided by a slit punched in said housing, said slit starting at a first point on said housing and terminating at a second point on said housing, the area between said first point and said second point being unpunched, defining an unpunched valve-connecting leg in said housing, and a pair of slots adjacent to said first point and to said second point, said pair of slots being punched in said housing whereby when the pressure in said housing needs to be relieved during deployment of said bag, said slug bends outwardly from said housing along a hinge formed in said valve-connecting leg between said first point and said second point to create an aperture for the outward flow of gas from within said housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeAutoliv ASP Incorporated (Autoliv Incorporated)
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Original AssigneeMorton International Incorporated (Autoliv Incorporated)
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InventorsNewkirk, John C., Rose, Larry D., Steimke, Daniel L.
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Primary Examiner(s)Culbreth, Eric D.
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Application NumberUS08/519,865Time in Patent Office291 DaysField of Search280/739, 280/738, 280/728.1, 280/736, 280/737US Class Current280/739CPC Class CodesB60R 21/276 with means to vent the infl...F16K 17/14 with fracturing member
