Covers for inflatable knee airbag housings
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An inflatable knee airbag assembly comprising:
- an inflatable knee airbag;
an inflator coupled to the inflatable knee airbag;
a housing coupled to the inflator, wherein the inflatable knee airbag is retained within the housing when the assembly is in a packaged configuration; and
a cover coupled to the housing, wherein the cover comprises;
a car-forward longitudinal side that comprises an end cap coupled to the housing via a first set of structures;
an opposing car-rearward longitudinal side that comprises an end cap coupled to the housing via a second set of structures;
two opposing lateral sides that are coupled to the housing; and
a tear seam at only the car-rearward longitudinal side of the cover,wherein the inflatable knee airbag is configured to be expanded by the inflator to rupture the tear seam, andwherein, when the inflatable knee airbag is inflated;
the knee airbag extends through the ruptured tear seam to exit the housing in a primarily car-rearward direction; and
the end caps of both the car-forward longitudinal side and the car-rearward longitudinal side of the cover remain coupled to the housing via the first and second sets of structures.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An inflatable knee airbag is typically stored in a packaged state within an airbag housing. The housing typically has a cover, which can be either a cosmetic cover or an unfinished cover, if the cover will not be readily visible to an occupant. The cover can be extruded rather than molded and may have features for coupling the cover to the housing. The cover may also have other features such as a tear seam.
167 Citations
23 Claims
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1. An inflatable knee airbag assembly comprising:
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an inflatable knee airbag; an inflator coupled to the inflatable knee airbag; a housing coupled to the inflator, wherein the inflatable knee airbag is retained within the housing when the assembly is in a packaged configuration; and a cover coupled to the housing, wherein the cover comprises; a car-forward longitudinal side that comprises an end cap coupled to the housing via a first set of structures; an opposing car-rearward longitudinal side that comprises an end cap coupled to the housing via a second set of structures; two opposing lateral sides that are coupled to the housing; and a tear seam at only the car-rearward longitudinal side of the cover, wherein the inflatable knee airbag is configured to be expanded by the inflator to rupture the tear seam, and wherein, when the inflatable knee airbag is inflated; the knee airbag extends through the ruptured tear seam to exit the housing in a primarily car-rearward direction; and the end caps of both the car-forward longitudinal side and the car-rearward longitudinal side of the cover remain coupled to the housing via the first and second sets of structures. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An inflatable knee airbag assembly comprising:
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an inflatable knee airbag; an inflator coupled to the inflatable knee airbag; an airbag housing coupled to the inflator, wherein the inflatable knee airbag is retained within the housing when the assembly is in a packaged configuration; and a cover coupled to the housing, wherein the cover has comprises; a car-forward longitudinal side that is coupled to the housing; a car-rearward longitudinal side that is coupled to the housing, the car-rearward longitudinal side comprising a tear seam; and two opposing lateral sides that are coupled to the housing at a car-forward portion of the cover and are not coupled to the housing at a car-rearward portion of the cover, wherein, when the inflatable knee airbag is deployed; both the car-forward longitudinal side and the car-rearward longitudinal side of the cover remain coupled to the housing; the two lateral sides of the cover remain coupled to the housing at the car-forward portion of the cover to limit an ability of the cover to rotate about its car-forward longitudinal side; the tear seam is ruptured to at least partially defines define an opening with a smile shape through which the inflatable knee airbag exits the housing in a primarily car-rearward direction; and the two lateral sides of the cover at the car-rearward portion of the cover are moved away from the housing. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An inflatable knee airbag assembly comprising:
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an inflatable knee airbag; an inflator coupled to the inflatable knee airbag; a housing coupled to the inflator; and a cover coupled to the housing, wherein the cover has a car-forward longitudinal side, an opposing car-rearward longitudinal side with a tear seam, two opposing lateral sides, and an external surface that extends between the car-forward and car-rearward longitudinal sides and extends between the lateral sides, wherein the car-forward longitudinal side and the car-rearward longitudinal side each comprise end caps, and wherein each of the end caps comprises structures for coupling the cover to the housing, and wherein each of the longitudinal end-caps comprises a tang that extends away from the external surface of the cover and away from the longitudinal end cap inwardly toward the housing such that each of the tangs rests adjacent to and parallel with a longitudinal sidewall of the housing, and wherein each of the tangs is configured to stiffen the cover against rotational forces encountered during inflatable knee airbag deployment. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification