Airbag
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An airbag for protecting a vehicle occupant, comprising:
- inner and outer fabric panels connected at a structural seam to form an inflatable chamber,wherein the structural seam forms a boundary of the inflatable chamber and includes;
first and second coatings, the first coating directly adjacent to the inner fabric panel and a second coating directly adjacent to the outer fabric panel,an adhesive located between a third coating and a fourth coating, the third coating being directly adjacent to the inner fabric panel and the adhesive, and the fourth coating being directly adjacent to the outer fabric panel and the adhesive, andwherein the first coating, second coating, third coating, fourth coating and adhesive comprise silicone.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An airbag is provided which includes at least one fabric panel and a structural seam. The structural seam includes an adhesive but does not include stitching. Such stitching tends to weaken the fabric of airbags and causes a higher denier fabric with higher strength to be used to offset the loss in strength, but this in turn produces an airbag of greater weight due to the high denier fabric. By providing an airbag with a structural seam provided by an adhesive without stitching, an airbag may be lighter and may be inflated in less time.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An airbag for protecting a vehicle occupant, comprising:
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inner and outer fabric panels connected at a structural seam to form an inflatable chamber, wherein the structural seam forms a boundary of the inflatable chamber and includes; first and second coatings, the first coating directly adjacent to the inner fabric panel and a second coating directly adjacent to the outer fabric panel, an adhesive located between a third coating and a fourth coating, the third coating being directly adjacent to the inner fabric panel and the adhesive, and the fourth coating being directly adjacent to the outer fabric panel and the adhesive, and wherein the first coating, second coating, third coating, fourth coating and adhesive comprise silicone.
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2. An airbag for protecting a vehicle occupant, comprising:
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an inflatable chamber; a fabric panel forming a wall of the inflatable chamber; and a structural seam located on the fabric panel and forming a boundary of the inflatable chamber, wherein the structural seam includes only an adhesive, wherein the structural seam includes at least two beads of adhesive, and wherein one of the beads is located adjacent the inflatable chamber and is configured to be exposed to inflation gases used to inflate the airbag and comprises an adhesive having a greater heat resistance than the adhesives of other beads. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An airbag for protecting a vehicle occupant, comprising:
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an inflatable chamber; a fabric panel forming a wall of the inflatable chamber; and a structural seam located on the fabric panel and forming a boundary of the inflatable chamber, wherein the structural seam includes only an adhesive, wherein the structural seam includes at least two beads of adhesive, and wherein one of the beads is located adjacent the inflatable chamber and is configured to be exposed to inflation gases used to inflate the airbag and comprises an adhesive having a greater resistance to rapid separation than the adhesives of other beads. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification