Low permeability airbag cushions having film coatings of extremely low thickness
First Claim
1. A one-piece woven airbag cushion comprising a fabric exhibiting an outer surface and an inner surface in relation to said cushion, wherein a film is laminated to at least one of said outer surface and said inner surface of said fabric;
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
wherein said inflatable fabric comprises at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and at least one narrow single fabric layer at a discrete area within said fabric;
wherein said at least one narrow single fabric layer is the sole source of providing inflatable pillow structures within said airbag cushion; and
wherein said at least one narrow single fabric layer is formed solely from a basket weave pattern of an even number of yarns, at most 12 yarns in width.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Coated inflatable fabrics, more particularly airbags to which very low add-on amounts of coating have been applied, are provided which exhibit extremely low air permeability. The inventive inflatable fabrics are primarily for use in automotive restraint cushions that require low permeability characteristics (such as side curtain airbags). Traditionally, heavy, and thus expensive, coatings of compounds such as neoprene, silicones and the like, have been utilized to provide such required low permeability. The inventive fabric utilizes an inexpensive, very thin coating to provide such necessarily low permeability levels. Thus, the inventive coated inflatable airbag comprises a film laminated on at least a portion of the target fabric surface wherein the film possesses a tensile strength of at least 2,000 and an elongation at break of at least 180%. The film provides a low permeability airbag cushion exhibiting a leak-down time of at least 5 seconds wherein the film is present on the surface in an amount of at most 3.0 ounces per square yard of the fabric.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A one-piece woven airbag cushion comprising a fabric exhibiting an outer surface and an inner surface in relation to said cushion, wherein a film is laminated to at least one of said outer surface and said inner surface of said fabric;
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
wherein said inflatable fabric comprises at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and at least one narrow single fabric layer at a discrete area within said fabric;
wherein said at least one narrow single fabric layer is the sole source of providing inflatable pillow structures within said airbag cushion; and
wherein said at least one narrow single fabric layer is formed solely from a basket weave pattern of an even number of yarns, at most 12 yarns in width. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
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17. A one-piece woven airbag cushion comprising a fabric exhibiting an outer surface and an inner surface in relation to said cushion, wherein a film is laminated to at least one of said outer surface and said inner surface of said fabric;
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
wherein said inflatable fabric comprises at least two layers of fabric in certain descrete areas of the fabric and at least one single fabric layer at a discrete area within said fabric;
wherein said at least one narrow single fabric layer is the sole source of providing inflatable pillow structures within said airbag cushion;
wherein said at least one narrow single fabric layer is solely formed from a weave pattern of at most 12 yarns in width; and
wherein the weave diagram for such an inflatable fabric does not exhibit more than three consecutive unfilled blocks in any row or column. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
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26. A one-piece woven airbag cushion comprising a fabric exhibiting an outer surface and an inner surface in relation to said cushion, wherein a film is laminated to at least one of said outer surface and said inner surface of said fabric;
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
wherein said inflatable fabric comprises at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and at least one narrow single fabric layer at a discrete area within said fabric;
wherein said at least one narrow single fabric layer is the sole source of providing inflatable pillow structures within said airbag cushion;
wherein said at least one narrow single fabric layer is solely formed from a weave pattern of at most 12 yarns in width; and
wherein only two separate weave densities are present within the area directly adjacent to said at least one narrow single fabric layer. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
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35. A one-piece woven airbag cushion comprising a fabric exhibiting an outer surface and an inner surface in relation to said cushion, wherein a film is laminated to at least one of said outer surface and said inner surface of said fabric;
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
wherein said inflatable fabric comprises at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and a plurality of narrow single fabric layers in at least two discrete areas within said fabric;
wherein said at least two narrow single fabric layers are the sole source of providing inflatable pillow structures within said airbag cushion; and
wherein the narrow single fabric layers present within said two discrete areas within said fabric are formed solely from a basket weave pattern of an even number of yarns, from 4 to 8 yarns in width. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
- wherein said airbag cushion exhibits a characteristic leak-down time after inflation of at least 5 seconds;
Specification