Advanced passenger inflator with slide in attachment to extruded module
First Claim
1. In an automotive airbag assembly comprising a trough-shaped reaction canister including a floor and first and second sidewalls;
- first and second end plates closing the ends of said canister, an inflator chamber carried by said canister, means for passing gases generated from within said inflator chamber into said canister, and an airbag within said canister adapted to be inflated by gases from said inflator chamber, the improvement comprising;
at least one channel integral with, and extending along the length, of said canister; and
at least one wing integral with, and extending along the length, of said inflator chamber, said wing being insertable in said channel for sliding therein to a desired operative position and retained therein by staking of said channel to said wing.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The reaction canister of an airbag module assembly is extruded to include a semicircular floor, first and second sidewalls, and first and second end plates closing the ends of the canister, with the floor extending uniformly between the sidewalls, and a bottom edge of each sidewall defining a channel along its length. A cylindrical inflator chamber is suspended beneath the floor of the canister by opposed parallel wings which are integral with the inflator chamber and are insertable into and slide in the channels to a position wherein the walls of the channel are staked to the wings. A plenum chamber is formed between the curved wall of the inflator chamber and the floor of the reaction canister. The plenum chamber separates gas exit vent holes of the inflator chamber from gas inlet passages or vent holes in the canister floor. The plenum chamber is closed by the canister end plates which seal the plenum chamber by engaging the adjacent ends of the wings of the inflator chamber and the adjacent ends of the canister floor and of the channels. The module assembly requires only eight fasteners, that is, four on each end of the canister.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. In an automotive airbag assembly comprising a trough-shaped reaction canister including a floor and first and second sidewalls;
- first and second end plates closing the ends of said canister, an inflator chamber carried by said canister, means for passing gases generated from within said inflator chamber into said canister, and an airbag within said canister adapted to be inflated by gases from said inflator chamber, the improvement comprising;
at least one channel integral with, and extending along the length, of said canister; and at least one wing integral with, and extending along the length, of said inflator chamber, said wing being insertable in said channel for sliding therein to a desired operative position and retained therein by staking of said channel to said wing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
- first and second end plates closing the ends of said canister, an inflator chamber carried by said canister, means for passing gases generated from within said inflator chamber into said canister, and an airbag within said canister adapted to be inflated by gases from said inflator chamber, the improvement comprising;
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8. An automotive airbag module assembly comprising:
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a trough-shaped reaction canister including a floor having perforations therein and including first and second sidewalls, each of said sidewalls defining a channel beneath said floor extending the length of said canister, said floor having a substantially semicircular portion that extends uniformly into the space between said sidewalls, first and second end plates closing the ends of said canister, a substantially cylindrical inflator chamber having vent holes and including first and second projections thereon that are insertable, respectively, into said channels, wherein said inflator chamber is spaced from said semicircular portion of said canister floor to form a plenum chamber intermediate said vent holes and said perforations, with the ends of said plenum chamber being closed by said end plates, said plenum chamber comprising means for passing gases generated from within said inflator chamber into said canister, and an airbag within said canister adapted to be inflated by gases from said inflator chamber. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16)
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14. An automotive airbag module assembly comprising:
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a trough-shaped reaction canister including a floor having perforations therein and including first and second sidewalls, each of said sidewalls defining a channel beneath said floor extending the length of said canister, said floor having a substantially semicircular portion that extends uniformly into the space between said sidewalls, first and second end plates closing the ends of said canister, a substantially cylindrical inflator chamber having vent holes and including first and second projections thereon that are insertable, respectively, into said channels, wherein said inflator chamber is spaced from said semicircular portion of said canister floor to form a plenum chamber intermediate said vent holes and said perforations, with the ends of said plenum chamber being closed by said end plates, said plenum chamber comprising means for passing gases generated from within said inflator chamber into said canister, and an airbag within said canister adapted to be inflated by gases from said inflator chamber, wherein, in the event that a module is needed that is longer than said inflator chamber, said substantially cylindrical inflator chamber includes an integral semicircular flange that fills the gap between the end of the inflator chamber and the respective canister end plate, with the adjacent end of said plenum chamber being sealed by said semicircular flange.
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17. An automotive airbag assembly comprising:
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an extruded trough-shaped reaction canister including a floor and first and second sidewalls, each of said sidewalls defining a substantially rectangular channel extending the length of said canister beneath said floor; and an extruded inflator chamber having substantially rectangular first and second projections thereon insertable, respectively, into said channels and staked therein.
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Specification