Air bag with volume-filling mechanical structure
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An air bag system comprising:
- a vehicle structure;
an air bag cushion;
an inflator configured to inflate said air bag cushion; and
a celled material expandable along an axis of expansion from a dormant state to a deployed state, said celled material operably coupled to said air bag cushion and said vehicle structure such that upon an inflation of said air bag cushion said celled material is stretched along said axis of expansion by said air bag cushion to thereby cause a deployment of said celled material from said dormant state to said deployed state;
wherein inflation of said air bag cushion deploys said celled material via energy harnessed from expansion of said air bag cushion to provide power to expand said celled material.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A volume-filling mechanical structure includes an air bag cushion, an inflator configured to inflate the air bag cushion, and a celled material expandable from a dormant state to a deployed state. The celled material is operably coupled to the air bag cushion and a vehicle structure, wherein deployment of the air bag cushion causes deployment of the celled material from the dormant state to the deployed state.
18 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An air bag system comprising:
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a vehicle structure; an air bag cushion; an inflator configured to inflate said air bag cushion; and a celled material expandable along an axis of expansion from a dormant state to a deployed state, said celled material operably coupled to said air bag cushion and said vehicle structure such that upon an inflation of said air bag cushion said celled material is stretched along said axis of expansion by said air bag cushion to thereby cause a deployment of said celled material from said dormant state to said deployed state; wherein inflation of said air bag cushion deploys said celled material via energy harnessed from expansion of said air bag cushion to provide power to expand said celled material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An air bag system comprising:
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a vehicle structure; an air bag cushion an inflator configured to inflate said air bag cushion; and a honeycomb brick of celled material expandable from a dormant state to a deployed state when said honey comb brick is pulled into a fully deployed and expanded state solely by an inflation of said air bag cushion, said celled material operably coupled to said air bag cushion and to said vehicle structure such that a deployment of said air bag cushion causes deployment of said honeycomb celled material from said dormant state to said deployed state. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A system to harness energy from deployment of an air bag to expand an energy absorbing structure comprising:
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an air bag module; an air bag cushion disposed in the air bag module; an air bag inflator disposed in the air bag module, the air bag inflator in operable communication with the air bag to inflate the same; and a celled material expandable from a dormant state to a deployed state, said celled material operably coupled to said air bag cushion and said air bag module, said celled material being disposed substantially inside said air bag cushion; wherein deployment of said air bag cushion causes deployment of said celled material from said dormant state to said deployed state. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method for attenuating a vehicle crash energy impact, comprising:
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attaching a volume-filling mechanical structure to at least one of a vehicle structure, an air bag cushion, and an inflator configured to inflate said air bag cushion, wherein the volume-filling mechanical structure comprises a celled material expandable when pulled by said air bag cushion from a dormant state into a deployed state solely by an inflation of said air bag cushion;
said celled material operably coupled at respective opposing ends thereof to said air bag cushion and said vehicle structure; andexpanding said celled material by deploying said air bag cushion, thus causing a deployment of said celled material from said dormant state to said deployed state, and wherein the celled material absorbs kinetic energy from the energy impact. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification