Yarn, airbag and method
First Claim
1. A 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 at least one yarn which possesses at least one of an elongation at break of at least about 14.6% when tested according to ASTM Standard Test Method D 2256-97, published by American Society of Testing Materials, and a breaking toughness of at least about 0.4 gram per denier (gpd) where the breaking toughness is defined as the energy to break divided by the product of the denier and the sample length, and wherein the yarn is evenly distributed across said face portion of said body.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lightweight airbag cushion for deployment in opposing relation to a vehicle occupant is provided. In one embodiment, the cushion is formed from a body of wound yarn which has an enhanced elongation to break. 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 that region.
45 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A 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 at least one yarn which possesses at least one of an elongation at break of at least about 14.6% when tested according to ASTM Standard Test Method D 2256-97, published by American Society of Testing Materials, and a breaking toughness of at least about 0.4 gram per denier (gpd) where the breaking toughness is defined as the energy to break divided by the product of the denier and the sample length, and wherein the yarn is evenly distributed across said face portion of said body.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A lightweight, inflatable airbag cushion for deployment in opposing relation to a vehicle occupant during a collision event, the cushion comprising;
- a body including an interior, a face portion for contact with the vehicle occupant and a rear portion including an inlet port for introduction of an inflation medium into the body, wherein the body is formed by substantially continuous windings of at least one yarn disposed around a rotating collapsible mandrel of a shape substantially corresponding to the final desired shaped of the airbag cushion, using at least one yarn which possesses at least one of an elongation at break of at least about 14.6% when tested according to ASTM Standard Test Method D 2256-97, published by American Society of Testing Materials, and a breaking toughness of at least about 0.4 gram per denier where the breaking toughness is defined as the energy to break divided by the product of the denier and the sample length, and wherein the yarn is evenly distributed across said face portion of said body.
- View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An inflatable restraint made of yarn which possesses at least one of an elongation at break of more than 30% when tested according to ASTM Standard Test Method D 2256-97, published by American Society of Testing Materials, and a breaking toughness of more than 1.0 gram per denier where the breaking toughness is defined as the energy to break divided by the product of the denier and the sample length, and a tenacity of less than 4.0 grams per denier (gpd).
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32. A yarn for an inflatable restraint, comprising a yarn which possesses at least one of an elongation at break of more than 30% when tested according to ASTM Standard Test Method D 2256-97, published by American Society of Testing Materials, and a breaking toughness of more than 1.0 gram per denier where the breaking toughness is defined as the energy to break divided by the product of the denier and the sample length.
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33. In a method of making an airbag, the improvement comprising a yarn which possesses at least one of an elongation at break of more than 30% when tested according to ASTM Standard Test Method D 2256-97, published by American Society of Testing Materials, and a breaking toughness of more than 1.0 gram per denier where the breaking toughness is defined as the energy to break divided by the product of the denier and the sample length.
Specification