Airbag structure
First Claim
1. A strong lightweight airbag cushion for deployment in opposing relation to a vehicle occupant during a collision event, the cushion comprising:
- a body of wound yarn including an interior, a face portion for contact with the vehicle occupant and a rear portion including an inlet port for the introduction of an inflation medium into the body, wherein the body is formed by windings of yarn is spread across said face portion of said body and such that the yarn is disposed preferentially across the back of said body in the area surrounding the inlet port so as to form a localized region of enhanced thickness defining a concentric annulus around the inlet and spaced a distance from said inlet port.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A strong lightweight airbag cushion for deployment in opposing relation to a vehicle occupant and the method of making same. The cushion is formed from a body of wound yarn. The body includes an interior, a face portion for contact with the occupant and a rear portion including an inlet port for the introduction of an inflation medium. The body is formed by the continuous winding of yarn around a mandrel such that the yarn is spread across the face and is disposed preferentially across the back in the area surrounding the inlet port so as to provide added strength in the region adjacent the port that is located at a radial distance greater than the radius of said port. This is accomplished by shifting or shogging the yarn supplying mechanism relative to the cushion mandrel.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A strong lightweight airbag cushion for deployment in opposing relation to a vehicle occupant during a collision event, the cushion comprising:
- a body of wound yarn including an interior, a face portion for contact with the vehicle occupant and a rear portion including an inlet port for the introduction of an inflation medium into the body, wherein the body is formed by windings of yarn is spread across said face portion of said body and such that the yarn is disposed preferentially across the back of said body in the area surrounding the inlet port so as to form a localized region of enhanced thickness defining a concentric annulus around the inlet and spaced a distance from said inlet port.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
19. The process of manufacturing a strong lightweight airbag cushion comprises the steps of:
- providing an inflated spheroidal rotating mandrel having a rotating collar, supplying yarn from a rotating arm onto said mandrel and varying back and forth the angle between the plane of yarn placement and the equatorial of the mandrel to provide an area of enhanced yarn density defining a concentric annulus around the rotating collar and spaced a distance from said collar.
- View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
Specification