Venting canister for airbag system
First Claim
1. An airbag system for a vehicle comprising:
- a canister for housing an airbag, the canister defining a vent hole;
a canister vent valve arranged over the vent hole; and
a tether coupled between an airbag resident in the canister and the vent valve,wherein the canister vent valve is a ball valve comprising;
a tether pin coupled to the tether and a mobile valve element,wherein the tether pin is withdrawable from the mobile valve element in accordance with tether tension.
20 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An airbag canister vent is attached to or resides within an airbag module of an automobile. The module has a housing, within which resides a gas generator, an airbag, a tether cord, and a housing vent valve configured to close in accordance with the tether length that connects the airbag and the housing vent valve. The tension or any slack in the tether is governed by the discharge distance of the airbag from the canister. The canister vent may be a rotating disk that gradually closes as the airbag moves toward a seat occupant or a movable ball valve with a tether pin that remains open until the bag is discharged far enough from the canister to pull a tether pin from the ball causing the pressurized gas in the canister to forcibly lodge the ball against the vent hole wall thereby forming a seal and closing the valve.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. An airbag system for a vehicle comprising:
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a canister for housing an airbag, the canister defining a vent hole; a canister vent valve arranged over the vent hole; and a tether coupled between an airbag resident in the canister and the vent valve, wherein the canister vent valve is a ball valve comprising; a tether pin coupled to the tether and a mobile valve element, wherein the tether pin is withdrawable from the mobile valve element in accordance with tether tension. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. An airbag system for a vehicle comprising:
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a canister including a vent hole; an airbag disposed within the canister; a canister vent valve disposed over the vent hole; and a tether coupled to the airbag at a first end and coupled to the vent valve at a second end, the second end being selectively detachable from the vent valve, wherein the vent valve includes a valve element movable between en open position and a closed position, and wherein gas pressure within the canister urges the vent valve into the closed position when the tether is decoupled from the vent valve. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7)
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8. An airbag system for a vehicle comprising:
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a canister including a vent hole; an airbag disposed within the canister; a canister vent valve disposed over the vent hole; and a tether coupled to the airbag at a first end and coupled to the vent valve at a second end, the second end being selectively detachable from the vent valve, wherein the vent valve is a ball valve.
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Specification