Cushion and housing vents for inflatable cushion airbags
First Claim
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1. An airbag assembly, comprising:
- an airbag assembly housing having first housing aperture and a second housing aperture;
an inflatable airbag cushion disposed inside the airbag assembly housing;
wherein the inflatable airbag cushion comprises a cushion membrane having a first vent aperture and a second vent aperture, wherein the first vent aperture and the second vent aperture are located opposite each other in opposing sides of the airbag cushion, andwherein the inflatable airbag cushion further comprises two tabs that are each respectively coupled near a perimeter of each vent aperture, each tab protruding through the housing aperture adjacent to the respective vent aperture, and each tab is coupled to a side wall of the housing,wherein the first vent aperture is initially aligned with the first housing aperture and the second vent aperture is initially aligned with the second housing aperture such that during inflatable airbag cushion deployment with obstruction, the first vent aperture remains at least partially aligned with the first housing aperture and the second vent aperture remains at least partially aligned with the second housing aperture, thereby allowing inflation gas to exit the airbag cushion via vent and apertures, andwherein during inflatable airbag cushion deployment without obstruction, the vent apertures move as the inflatable airbag cushion expands such that the vent apertures become misaligned with respect to the housing apertures, whereby inflation gas directed toward the housing apertures is blocked from exiting through the housing apertures by the cushion membrane and the inflatable airbag cushion fully expands.
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Abstract
An airbag assembly comprising a housing with an inflatable airbag cushion disposed therein and at least one vent aperture attached to the inflatable airbag cushion, wherein during inflatable airbag cushion deployment with an obstruction, the at least one vent aperture remains open, and during inflatable airbag cushion deployment without an obstruction, the at least one vent aperture at least partially closes.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An airbag assembly, comprising:
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an airbag assembly housing having first housing aperture and a second housing aperture; an inflatable airbag cushion disposed inside the airbag assembly housing; wherein the inflatable airbag cushion comprises a cushion membrane having a first vent aperture and a second vent aperture, wherein the first vent aperture and the second vent aperture are located opposite each other in opposing sides of the airbag cushion, and wherein the inflatable airbag cushion further comprises two tabs that are each respectively coupled near a perimeter of each vent aperture, each tab protruding through the housing aperture adjacent to the respective vent aperture, and each tab is coupled to a side wall of the housing, wherein the first vent aperture is initially aligned with the first housing aperture and the second vent aperture is initially aligned with the second housing aperture such that during inflatable airbag cushion deployment with obstruction, the first vent aperture remains at least partially aligned with the first housing aperture and the second vent aperture remains at least partially aligned with the second housing aperture, thereby allowing inflation gas to exit the airbag cushion via vent and apertures, and wherein during inflatable airbag cushion deployment without obstruction, the vent apertures move as the inflatable airbag cushion expands such that the vent apertures become misaligned with respect to the housing apertures, whereby inflation gas directed toward the housing apertures is blocked from exiting through the housing apertures by the cushion membrane and the inflatable airbag cushion fully expands. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An airbag assembly, comprising:
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an airbag assembly housing having at least one aperture; and an inflatable airbag cushion in a packaged configuration and located inside the airbag assembly housing, wherein the cushion comprises at least one vent aperture that is retained in at least partial alignment with the housing aperture via at least one tab, wherein during inflatable airbag cushion deployment with obstruction, the at least one tab continues to retain the housing and vent apertures in at least partial alignment, thereby allowing inflation gas to exit the airbag cushion via the vent and housing apertures, and wherein during inflatable airbag cushion deployment without obstruction, the at least one tab ceases to retain the vent and housing apertures in at least partial alignment such that the housing and vent apertures may become at least partially misaligned. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An airbag assembly, comprising:
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an airbag assembly housing comprising a first housing aperture and a second housing aperture; an inflatable airbag cushion disposed within the airbag assembly housing; wherein the inflatable airbag cushion comprises a cushion membrane having a first vent aperture and a second vent aperture, wherein the first vent aperture and the second vent aperture are located opposite each other in opposing sides of the inflatable airbag cushion, wherein when the cushion is in a packaged configuration, the first vent aperture is aligned with the first housing aperture and the second vent aperture is aligned with the second housing aperture; and a diffuser disposed within the inflatable airbag cushion and configured to receive inflation gas from an inflator and to re-direct inflation gas from the inflator in the direction of the first housing aperture and the second housing aperture of the airbag assembly housing such that the gas exits the inflatable airbag cushion via the at least one vent aperture when deployment of the airbag is obstructed; wherein, during initial deployment of the inflatable airbag cushion, the first vent aperture is aligned with the first housing aperture and the second vent aperture is aligned with the second housing aperture, and during deployment of the inflatable airbag cushion with obstruction, the first vent aperture remains at least partially aligned with the first housing aperture and the second vent aperture remains at least partially aligned with the second housing aperture, thereby allowing inflation gas to be directed from the diffuser toward the housing apertures and exit out of the housing apertures via the vent apertures; and wherein during inflatable airbag cushion deployment without obstruction, the vent apertures move as the inflatable airbag cushion expands such that the vent apertures become at least partially misaligned with respect to the housing apertures and the diffuser, whereby inflation gas directed from the diffuser toward the housing apertures is blocked from exiting through the housing apertures by the cushion membrane and the inflatable airbag cushion fully expands. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification