Liquid propellant inflation apparatus for deploying an inflatable member
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for deploying an inflatable member, comprising:
- a housing including a vent passage in fluid flow communication with the inflatable member installed to the housing;
a combustion chamber in the housing;
an initiator positioned in the housing to generate, upon activation, high temperature gas increasing fluid pressure in the combustion chamber;
a reservoir in the housing containing a liquid propellant;
a fluid passage connecting the liquid propellant reservoir to the combustion chamber; and
a hydraulic actuator responsive to the fluid pressure in the combustion chamber for continuously pressurizing the liquid propellant in the reservoir to higher magnitudes than the fluid pressure in the combustion chamber, whereby to achieve sustained injection of the liquid propellant into the combustion chamber from the reservoir for ignition and combustion to generate combustion gases that flow through the vent passage to deploy the inflatable member.
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Abstract
An apparatus for deploying an inflatable member, such as a safety bag in a motor vehicle, includes a hydraulic actuator for amplifying the fluid pressure in a combustion chamber, initially generated by a pyrotechnic initiator, and applying the amplified fluid pressure to continuously pressurize a liquid propellant reservoir to magnitudes exceeding the combustion chamber fluid pressure. All of the liquid propellant in the reservoir is then rapidly injected as a continuous stream into the combustion chamber for ignition and sustained combustion, thereby generating the volume of combustion gases necessary to fully inflate the safety bag.
19 Citations
13 Claims
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1. Apparatus for deploying an inflatable member, comprising:
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a housing including a vent passage in fluid flow communication with the inflatable member installed to the housing; a combustion chamber in the housing; an initiator positioned in the housing to generate, upon activation, high temperature gas increasing fluid pressure in the combustion chamber; a reservoir in the housing containing a liquid propellant; a fluid passage connecting the liquid propellant reservoir to the combustion chamber; and a hydraulic actuator responsive to the fluid pressure in the combustion chamber for continuously pressurizing the liquid propellant in the reservoir to higher magnitudes than the fluid pressure in the combustion chamber, whereby to achieve sustained injection of the liquid propellant into the combustion chamber from the reservoir for ignition and combustion to generate combustion gases that flow through the vent passage to deploy the inflatable member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for deploying an inflatable member, comprising:
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a housing including a vent passage in fluid flow communication with the inflatable member installed to the housing; a combustion chamber in the housing; an initiator positioned in the housing to generate, upon activation, high temperature gas increasing fluid pressure in the combustion chamber; first and second cylinders positioned in parallel relation within the housing and having respective first and second open ends facing the combustion chamber and respective first and second closed ends; an opening adjacent the first and second closed ends connecting the first and second cylinders in fluid communication; a closure in the first cylinder open end and including a fluid passage; a first piston slidingly received in the first cylinder to cooperate with the closure in defining a first reservoir; liquid propellant contained in the first reservoir; a second piston slidingly received in the second cylinder open end to define a second reservoir between the first and second pistons; and hydraulic fluid filling the second reservoir, wherein the second piston communicates a force proportional to the fluid pressure in the combustion chamber to the first piston through the hydraulic fluid, and wherein one of the first and second pistons has a differential surface area of opposed faces effective to continuously pressurize the liquid propellant in the first reservoir to a higher fluid pressure than the fluid pressure in the combustion chamber, whereby to achieve sustained injection of the liquid propellant from the first reservoir into the combustion chamber through the fluid passage for ignition and generation of combustion gases that flow through the vent passage to deploy the inflatable member. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification