Low-mount inflatable knee airbags having serial chambers
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An inflatable knee airbag configured to be mounted in a vehicle at a bottom portion of an instrument panel, wherein the inflatable knee airbag comprises:
- a first inflatable chamber; and
a second inflatable chamber fluidly coupled to the first inflatable chamber in a serial configuration, such that during inflatable knee airbag deployment, the second inflatable chamber is at least partially inflated before the first inflatable chamber,wherein a lower portion of the first inflatable chamber is attached to the second inflatable chamber at an upper portion of a rear face of the second inflatable chamber,wherein each of the first and second inflatable chambers comprise single panels of material,wherein the lower portion of the first inflatable chamber comprises a folded middle portion of the single panel of material from which the first inflatable chamber is formed,wherein in the deployed configuration, the first inflatable chamber is located above the second inflatable chamber, andwherein in the deployed configuration, an angle between a rear face of the first inflatable chamber and the rear face of the second inflatable chamber is greater than 90°
.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An inflatable knee airbag can have a plurality of inflatable chambers. The inflatable chambers can be formed as independent chambers, rather than a single chamber being divided by an internal tether. The inflatable chambers can be arranged in a serial configuration, wherein the chambers form an “L” shape so that when the airbag is deployed, it conforms to the shape of an instrument panel.
-
Citations
14 Claims
-
1. An inflatable knee airbag configured to be mounted in a vehicle at a bottom portion of an instrument panel, wherein the inflatable knee airbag comprises:
-
a first inflatable chamber; and a second inflatable chamber fluidly coupled to the first inflatable chamber in a serial configuration, such that during inflatable knee airbag deployment, the second inflatable chamber is at least partially inflated before the first inflatable chamber, wherein a lower portion of the first inflatable chamber is attached to the second inflatable chamber at an upper portion of a rear face of the second inflatable chamber, wherein each of the first and second inflatable chambers comprise single panels of material, wherein the lower portion of the first inflatable chamber comprises a folded middle portion of the single panel of material from which the first inflatable chamber is formed, wherein in the deployed configuration, the first inflatable chamber is located above the second inflatable chamber, and wherein in the deployed configuration, an angle between a rear face of the first inflatable chamber and the rear face of the second inflatable chamber is greater than 90°
. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
-
-
4. An inflatable knee airbag configured to be mounted in a vehicle at a bottom portion of an instrument panel, wherein the inflatable knee airbag comprises:
-
a first inflatable chamber; and a second inflatable chamber fluidly coupled to the first inflatable chamber in a serial configuration, such that during inflatable knee airbag deployment, the second inflatable chamber is at least partially inflated before the first inflatable chamber, wherein the second inflatable chamber comprises a front face and a rear face, wherein the front face and the rear face are opposite from each other, wherein the second inflatable chamber comprises an inflator insert aperture and an inflator stem aperture that are each located on the rear face of the second inflatable chamber, wherein a lower portion of the first inflatable chamber is attached to the second inflatable chamber at only an upper portion of the rear face of the second inflatable chamber, wherein in the deployed configuration, the first inflatable chamber is located above the second inflatable chamber, wherein in the deployed configuration, an angle between a rear face of the first inflatable chamber and the rear face of the second inflatable chamber is greater than 90°
as determined by the attachment of the first inflatable chamber and the second inflatable chamber,wherein the upper portion of the second inflatable chamber and the lower portion of the first inflatable chamber each comprise a plurality of chamber-to-chamber vents, wherein the first and second inflatable chambers are attached such that each chamber-to-chamber vent of the second inflatable chamber aligns with a chamber-to-chamber vent of the first inflatable chamber, wherein stitching attaches the first inflatable chamber and the second inflatable chamber together, and wherein the stitching extends around the plurality of chamber-to-chamber vents. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
Specification