Airbag inflation gas generation via a dissociating material and the moderation thereof

• US 6,332,404 B1
• Filed: 02/02/2000
• Issued: 12/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Autoliv ASP Incorporated (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Autoliv ASP Incorporated (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Mendenhall, Ivan V., Green, David J., Rink, Karl K., Moore, Walter A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Carone, Michael J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FELTON, AILEEN BAKER
• Application Number:
  US09/495,975
• Publication Number:
  US 20010054461A1
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• Field of Search: 149/74, 149/1, 102/530, 102/531, 280/736, 280/737, 280/741
• US Class Current: 102/530
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/264 using instantaneous generation of gas, e.g. pyrotechnic B60R21/268 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C06D 5/04 by auto-decomposition of single substances

Abstract

An inflator apparatus for inflating an inflatable device and a method are provided wherein a combination of a dissociative gas source material and at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier is stored at least partially in liquefied form with the reaction modifier effective to moderate at least one of the temperature and concentration of the at least one gas source material upon the dissociation of at least a portion of the at least one gas source material.

Claims

1. In an apparatus for inflating an inflatable device, the apparatus includes a first chamber having contents which include at least one gas source material which, upon initiation, undergoes dissociation to form dissociation products used to inflate the inflatable device, the improvement comprising:

at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier selected from a group consisting of CO₂, Xe, SF₆ and mixtures thereof stored at least partially in liquefied form in fluid contact with the at least one gas source material in the first chamber, the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier effective to moderate at least one of the temperature and concentration of the at least one gas source material in the first chamber upon the dissociation of at least a portion of the at least one gas source material and with the first chamber contents having an equivalence ratio of less than 0.25.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one gas source material comprises nitrous oxide.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier includes CO₂.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier includes CO₂.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the first chamber contents consist essentially of nitrous oxide and CO₂.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least one gas source material and the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier is introduced within the first chamber in a solid form.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the solid form comprises at least one cryogenically-formed solid.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the at least one cryogenically-formed solid comprises the at least one gas source material.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the at least one gas source material comprises nitrous oxide.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the at least one cryogenically-formed solid comprises the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier comprises CO₂.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the at least one cryogenically-formed solid comprises a combination of at least the at least one gas source material and the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier.

13. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the at least one cryogenically-formed solid comprises a combination of at least nitrous oxide and CO₂.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first chamber contents additionally include a quantity of oxidative material.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 additionally comprising a chamber opener including an initiator device and an associated supply of reactant material.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the reactant material comprises an additive effective whereby, upon reaction of the reactant material, NO_x products are present in a reduced amount as compared to reaction of the same reactant material without the additive.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the additive comprises ammonium sulfate.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the reactant material comprises ammonium sulfate in an amount between about 2 and about 20 composition weight percent.

19. A method for inflating an inflatable safety device in a vehicle, said method comprising:

initiating, within a first chamber having contents at an equivalence ratio of less than 0.25, an at least partially liquefied inflation gas-resulting combination including at least one gas source material and at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier selected from a group consisting of CO₂, Xe, SF₆ and mixtures thereof whereby at least a portion of the at least one gas source material dissociates to form dissociation products including at least one gaseous dissociation product and the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier moderates at least one of the temperature and concentration of the at least one gas source material in the first chamber and

releasing inflation gas comprising at least a portion of the at least one gaseous dissociation product and the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier from the first chamber to inflate the inflatable safety device.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the at least one gas source material comprises nitrous oxide.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier includes CO₂.

22. The method of claim 19 wherein the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier includes CO₂.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the first chamber contents consist essentially of nitrous oxide and CO₂.

24. The method of claim 19 additionally comprising the step of introducing at least one of the at least one gas source material and the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier into the first chamber in a solid form.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the solid form of the at least one of the at least one gas source material and the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier comprises a cryogenically-formed solid.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the at least one cryogenically-formed solid comprises the at least one gas source material.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the at least one gas source material comprises nitrous oxide.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein the at least one cryogenically-formed solid comprises the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier comprises CO₂.

30. The method of claim 25 wherein the cryogenically-formed solid comprises a combination of at least the at least one gas source material and the at least one unreactive dissociation reaction modifier.

31. The method of claim 25 wherein the cryogenically-formed solid comprises a combination of at least nitrous oxide and CO₂.

32. The method of claim 19 wherein the first chamber additionally contains a quantity of oxidative material.

33. The method of claim 19 wherein the initiating of an at least partially liquefied inflation gas-resulting combination comprises the steps of reacting a quantity of a reactant material comprising a gas generant material to form gas generant reaction products and contacting the at least partially liquified inflation gas-resulting combination with the gas generant reaction products.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the reactant material additionally comprises an additive effective whereby, upon reaction of the reactant material, NO_x products are present in a reduced amount as compared to reaction of the same reactant material without the additive.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the additive comprises ammonium sulfate.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the reactant material comprises ammonium sulfate in an amount between about 2 and about 20 composition weight percent.

37. The method of claim 33 wherein the contacting of the at least partially liquified inflation gas-resulting combination with the gas generant reaction products comprises passing at least a portion of the gas generant reaction products into the first chamber.

38. An apparatus for inflating an inflatable device, the apparatus comprising:

a first chamber having contents at an equivalence ratio of less than 0.25 and consisting essentially of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, wherein the nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide are in an at least partially liquefied form and wherein, upon initiation, at least a portion of the nitrous oxide undergoes dissociation to form dissociation products used to inflate the inflatable device.