Vehicle occupant restraint apparatus
First Claim
1. Apparatus comprising:
- a vehicle seat back having front and rear sides, said seat back including a bladder arranged between said front and rear sides in a deployed condition from which said bladder is substantially inextendible by internal fluid pressure forces, said bladder being contractible from said deployed condition by forces applied to said rear side of said seat back by a vehicle occupant moving behind said seat back under ordinary vehicle operating conditions; and
means for responding to a crash-indicating condition by providing said bladder with an elevated internal fluid pressure, whereby said bladder provides a fluid pressure force for restraining forward movement of said vehicle occupant against said rear side of said seat back under the influence of a vehicle crash force.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (10) includes a vehicle seat back (26) having front and rear sides (40, 42). A bladder (50) is arranged between the front and rear sides (40, 42) of the seat back (26) in a deployed condition from which is it substantially inextendible by internal fluid pressure forces. The bladder (50) is contractible from the deployed condition by forces applied to the rear side (42) of the seat back (26) by a vehicle occupant moving behind the seat back (26) under ordinary vehicle operating conditions. The apparatus (10) responds to a crash-indicating condition by providing the bladder (50) with an elevated internal fluid pressure. The bladder (50) then provides a fluid pressure force for restraining forward movement of the vehicle occupant against the rear side (42) of the seat back (26) under the influence of a vehicle crash force.
71 Citations
5 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising:
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a vehicle seat back having front and rear sides, said seat back including a bladder arranged between said front and rear sides in a deployed condition from which said bladder is substantially inextendible by internal fluid pressure forces, said bladder being contractible from said deployed condition by forces applied to said rear side of said seat back by a vehicle occupant moving behind said seat back under ordinary vehicle operating conditions; and means for responding to a crash-indicating condition by providing said bladder with an elevated internal fluid pressure, whereby said bladder provides a fluid pressure force for restraining forward movement of said vehicle occupant against said rear side of said seat back under the influence of a vehicle crash force. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification