Airbag inflator attachment with snap-in sleeve
First Claim
1. An inflator attachment for mounting an airbag inflator including an elongated sidewall and at least one stop extending transversely outwardly with respect to the sidewall, the inflator attachment comprising:
- a sleeve sized and shaped to receive and support the sidewall of the airbag inflator and butt against the stop of the airbag inflator, the sleeve having at least one inwardly projecting grip sized and adapted to allow passage of the sidewall of the airbag inflator into the sleeve and to engage the airbag inflator so that the airbag inflator, once inserted into the sleeve, is retained within the sleeve by the at least one inwardly projecting grip and a butting engagement between the sleeve and the stop of the airbag inflator; and
at least one mount extending outwardly from the sleeve for securing the inflator attachment and airbag inflator within an airbag module.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An airbag inflator assembly including an airbag inflator and an inflator attachment having a sleeve. The inflator includes an elongated sidewall and an end having a flange stop extending outwardly from the sidewall. The sleeve receives and supports the sidewall of the inflator with the flange stop butting against the sleeve. The sleeve has an inwardly extending resilient tab that faces away from the flange stop and engages a gas exhaust port defined by the sidewall to retain the inflator within the sleeve. At least one stud extends transversely to and outwardly from the sleeve for mounting the inflator attachment and inflator within an airbag module. The inflator attachment further includes at least two spaced-apart pairs of diametrically opposed ribs protruding inwardly from the sleeve and grippingly engaging the sidewall of the inflator. The sleeve also defines gas exhaust outlets, which on different versions of the sleeve may vary to accommodate different types of inflators. According to one alternative embodiment, the inflator does not include a flange stop. Instead, the sleeve includes an endwall that butts against the inflator, with the resilient tab facing the endwall. According to another embodiment, the inflator sidewall has a tapered neck, and the resilient tab engages the tapered neck instead of the gas exhaust port. According to an additional embodiment, the sleeve does not include the resilient tab but only includes the at least two spaced-apart pairs of diametrically opposed ribs for grippingly engaging and securing the inflator within the sleeve.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. An inflator attachment for mounting an airbag inflator including an elongated sidewall and at least one stop extending transversely outwardly with respect to the sidewall, the inflator attachment comprising:
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a sleeve sized and shaped to receive and support the sidewall of the airbag inflator and butt against the stop of the airbag inflator, the sleeve having at least one inwardly projecting grip sized and adapted to allow passage of the sidewall of the airbag inflator into the sleeve and to engage the airbag inflator so that the airbag inflator, once inserted into the sleeve, is retained within the sleeve by the at least one inwardly projecting grip and a butting engagement between the sleeve and the stop of the airbag inflator; and at least one mount extending outwardly from the sleeve for securing the inflator attachment and airbag inflator within an airbag module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An inflator attachment for mounting an airbag inflator having an elongated sidewall, the inflator attachment comprising:
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a sleeve sized and shaped to receive and support the sidewall of the airbag inflator and having an endwall for butting against the airbag inflator when the airbag inflator is received in the sleeve, the sleeve having at least one inwardly projecting grip sized and adapted to allow passage of the sidewall of the airbag inflator into the sleeve and to engage the airbag inflator so that the airbag inflator, once inserted into the sleeve, is retained within the sleeve by the at least one inwardly projecting grip and a butting engagement between the endwall of the sleeve and the airbag inflator; and at least one mount extending outwardly from the sleeve for securing the inflator attachment and inflator within an airbag module. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An airbag inflator assembly for use in an airbag module, the airbag inflator assembly comprising:
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an airbag inflator having an elongated sidewall; an inflator attachment having a sleeve receiving and supporting the elongated sidewall of the airbag inflator; at least one stop on one of the airbag inflator and inflator attachment providing butting engagement with the other of the airbag inflator and the inflator attachment; at least one snap projection on one of the airbag inflator and the inflator attachment in snap engagement with at least one snap receptor on the other of the airbag inflator and the inflator attachment, wherein the butting engagement and snap engagement retain the airbag inflator in the sleeve; and at least one mount extending from the sleeve of the inflator attachment for securing the inflator attachment and the airbag inflator within an airbag module. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An airbag inflator assembly for use in an airbag module, the airbag inflator assembly comprising:
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an airbag inflator having an elongated sidewall; an inflator attachment having a sleeve receiving and supporting the elongated sidewall of the airbag inflator; a plurality of spaced-apart protrusions extending inwardly from the sleeve and grippingly engaging the sidewall of the airbag inflator, retaining the airbag inflator in the sleeve; and at least one mount extending from the sleeve of the inflator attachment for securing the inflator attachment and the airbag inflator within an airbag module. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification