Airbag assembly
First Claim
1. An airbag comprising:
- a main chamber having at least one main vent to vent gas from the main chamber to atmosphere;
at least one subsidiary chamber of considerably smaller volume than the main chamber connected to the main chamber by at least one transfer vent formed in a common wall between the respective subsidiary chamber and the main chamber wherein;
each subsidiary chamber has at least one subsidiary vent to atmosphere, the airbag has a main wall fastened on each longitudinal edge to a respective side wall and at least one shaping tether connected to the main wall to form a depression in the main wall when the airbag is deployed corresponding to the location of each subsidiary chamber and a cover member is attached to the main wall and the two side walls to cover each depression to form the respective subsidiary chamber, and wherein at least one of the vents is a self-regulating vent arranged to automatically reduce the flow of gas from one of the chambers during deflation of the airbag, the self-regulating vent controlled by tension in a vent tether attached to the vent and arranged to automatically increase the restriction to flow when the tension in the vent tether reduces during deflation of the airbag.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An airbag assembly for a motor vehicle is disclosed having an airbag 110 that is inflated by an inflator when the airbag 110 is deployed in accordance with a control signal from an electronic controller. The airbag 110 has a main chamber 114 and at least one subsidiary chamber 116 fluidly connected to the main chamber 114 by a transfer vent 117. The main and subsidiary chambers 114 and 116 are vented to atmosphere by respective vents 115, 118 and the pressure in the subsidiary chamber 116 is arranged to be equal to or lower than the pressure in the main chamber 114. The subsidiary chamber 116 is produced in a simple manner by forming a depression in the main chamber 114 using a tether 124 and covering the depression so formed with a cover 125.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An airbag comprising:
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a main chamber having at least one main vent to vent gas from the main chamber to atmosphere; at least one subsidiary chamber of considerably smaller volume than the main chamber connected to the main chamber by at least one transfer vent formed in a common wall between the respective subsidiary chamber and the main chamber wherein; each subsidiary chamber has at least one subsidiary vent to atmosphere, the airbag has a main wall fastened on each longitudinal edge to a respective side wall and at least one shaping tether connected to the main wall to form a depression in the main wall when the airbag is deployed corresponding to the location of each subsidiary chamber and a cover member is attached to the main wall and the two side walls to cover each depression to form the respective subsidiary chamber, and wherein at least one of the vents is a self-regulating vent arranged to automatically reduce the flow of gas from one of the chambers during deflation of the airbag, the self-regulating vent controlled by tension in a vent tether attached to the vent and arranged to automatically increase the restriction to flow when the tension in the vent tether reduces during deflation of the airbag. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An airbag, comprising:
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a main chamber having a main vent to atmosphere; a subsidiary chamber of lesser volume than the main chamber connected to the main chamber by a transfer vent formed in a common wall between the subsidiary chamber and the main chamber wherein; the subsidiary chamber has at least one subsidiary vent to atmosphere, and at least one of the vents is a self-regulating vent arranged to automatically reduce the flow of gas from one of the chambers during deflation of the airbag, the self-regulating vent controlled by tension in a tether attached to the vent and arranged to automatically increase the restriction to flow when the tension in the tether reduces during deflation of the airbag. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An airbag, comprising:
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a main chamber having a main vent; and a subsidiary chamber connected to the main chamber by a transfer vent and having at least one subsidiary vent to atmosphere, wherein at least one of the vents is controlled by a tether arranged such that tension in the tether decreases during deflation of the airbag, the decrease in tension causing an increase in restriction to flow of gas through the vent. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification