Vehicle occupant restraint apparatus
First Claim
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1. An occupant restraint apparatus for installation in a vehicle, comprising:
- an inflatable airbag;
a housing having a vent in fluid communication with the airbag;
a cylinder provided in the housing;
a piston slidably received in the cylinder to define, to a back side, a reservoir containing a liquid propellant and, to a front side, a combustion chamber in fluid communication with the housing vent;
a sensor;
an inflation initiator operable, in response to a vehicle collision detected by the sensor, to generate fluid pressure in the combustion chamber that acts on the piston to generate an amplified fluid pressure in the reservoir; and
a liquid propellant injection port provided between the reservoir and the combustion chamber, the injection port being closed while the piston is in a quiescent position and opening as the piston moves rearwardly to decrease reservoir volume, an opening area of the injection port varying as a function of piston travel in the rearward direction to achieve a variable flow rate of liquid propellant regeneratively pumped by the amplified reservoir fluid pressure through the injection port into the combustion chamber for ignition and sustained combustion to generate, by exothermic reaction, a gas flowing through the housing vent to produce inflation of the airbag.
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Abstract
To achieve programmed inflation of an airbag in a vehicle occupant restraint apparatus, movement of a piston, that separates a combustion chamber from a liquid propellant reservoir, is utilized to vary the opening size of an injection port through which liquid propellant is regeneratively pumped from the reservoir into the combustion chamber for combustion, such that the rate at which the bag inflation gas is generated during an inflation period may be controlled.
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Citations
54 Claims
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1. An occupant restraint apparatus for installation in a vehicle, comprising:
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an inflatable airbag; a housing having a vent in fluid communication with the airbag; a cylinder provided in the housing; a piston slidably received in the cylinder to define, to a back side, a reservoir containing a liquid propellant and, to a front side, a combustion chamber in fluid communication with the housing vent; a sensor; an inflation initiator operable, in response to a vehicle collision detected by the sensor, to generate fluid pressure in the combustion chamber that acts on the piston to generate an amplified fluid pressure in the reservoir; and a liquid propellant injection port provided between the reservoir and the combustion chamber, the injection port being closed while the piston is in a quiescent position and opening as the piston moves rearwardly to decrease reservoir volume, an opening area of the injection port varying as a function of piston travel in the rearward direction to achieve a variable flow rate of liquid propellant regeneratively pumped by the amplified reservoir fluid pressure through the injection port into the combustion chamber for ignition and sustained combustion to generate, by exothermic reaction, a gas flowing through the housing vent to produce inflation of the airbag. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An inflator for inflating an airbag of an occupant restraint apparatus for installation in a vehicle, comprising:
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a housing having a vent; a cylinder provided in the housing; a piston slidably received in the cylinder to define, to a back side, a reservoir containing a liquid propellant and, to a front side, a combustion chamber in fluid communication with the housing vent; an inflation initiator positioned in the combustion chamber and operable to generate fluid pressure in the combustion chamber that acts on the piston to generate an amplified fluid pressure in the reservoir; and a liquid propellant injection port provided between the reservoir and the combustion chamber, the injection port being closed while the piston is in a quiescent position and opening as the piston moves rearwardly to decrease reservoir volume, an opening area of the injection port varying as a function of piston travel in the rearward direction to achieve a variable flow rate of liquid propellant regeneratively pumped by the amplified reservoir fluid pressure through the injection port into the combustion chamber for ignition and sustained combustion to generate, by exothermic reaction, an airbag inflating gas flowing through the housing vent. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. An inflator for a vehicle occupant restraint apparatus, comprising:
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a housing providing a cylinder; a piston slidably received in the cylinder to divide a cylinder volume into a reservoir containing a liquid propellant and a combustion chamber in fluid communication with a housing vent; an inflation initiator operable, in response to a vehicle collision, to generate fluid pressure in the combustion chamber that acts on the piston to generate an amplified fluid pressure in the reservoir; and a liquid propellant injection port provided between the reservoir and the combustion chamber and defined in part by the piston, the injection port varying in size as a function of piston motion to achieve a variable flow rate of liquid propellant regeneratively pumped through the injection port into the combustion chamber for combustion and generation of an airbag inflation gas flowing through the housing vent. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification