Electrically controlled airbag inflator apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An inflator for inflating a cushion of an airbag module for protecting an occupant of a vehicle from impact, the inflator comprising:
- a quantity of compressed gas;
an anode; and
a cathode;
wherein one of the anode and the cathode extends through at least a portion of the other of the anode and the cathode such that the anode and the cathode cooperate to produce a voltage across at least a portion of the compressed gas to induce expansion of the compressed gas in response to application of an activation signal to the anode and cathode.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to an inflator for inflating a cushion of an airbag module. The inflator induces expansion of a gas by application of an electric voltage to the gas or to a plurality of filaments disposed within the gas. The voltage may be applied between a nozzle and a conductor in such a manner that an arc forms within the nozzle. Gas passing through the nozzle then forms an arc-jet that further heats adjacent gas. Multiple gases may be used, including gases designed to combust and/or dissociate to produce additional moles of inflation gas. The voltage may alternatively be applied within the housing in such a manner that a corona is formed in the gas, thereby at least partially ionizing the gas to heat the gas. As yet another alternative, the voltage may be applied to some of the filaments to provide gas expansion via filament combustion.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An inflator for inflating a cushion of an airbag module for protecting an occupant of a vehicle from impact, the inflator comprising:
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a quantity of compressed gas; an anode; and a cathode; wherein one of the anode and the cathode extends through at least a portion of the other of the anode and the cathode such that the anode and the cathode cooperate to produce a voltage across at least a portion of the compressed gas to induce expansion of the compressed gas in response to application of an activation signal to the anode and cathode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An inflator for inflating a cushion of an airbag module for protecting an occupant of a vehicle from impact, the inflator comprising:
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a housing; a quantity of compressed gas stored within the housing; a nozzle in communication with the compressed gas, the nozzle having a generally tapered interior; and at least one conductor disposed to produce an electrical arc proximate the nozzle such that at least a portion of the compressed gas passes through the nozzle and is heated by the electrical arc to form an arc-jet in response to receipt of an electric activation signal by the conductor. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An airbag module for protecting an occupant of a vehicle from impact, the airbag module comprising:
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a cushion having a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration in which the cushion is inflated to receive impact of the occupant; and an inflator comprising an anode and a cathode, wherein one of the anode and the cathode extends through at least a portion of the other of the anode and the cathode such that the anode and the cathode cooperate to produce a voltage across at least a portion of a gas to induce expansion of the gas in response to application of an activation signal to the anode and cathode. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification