Film airbags made from ribbons
First Claim
1. An inflatable airbag for a vehicle which is deployed in the event of an accident involving the vehicle to provide protection for an occupant of the vehicle, comprising:
- a first airbag portion, said first airbag portion comprising;
a plurality of elongate film pieces, each of said film pieces having a width of less than about 3 mm, said plurality of film pieces comprising a first set of film pieces oriented in a first direction and a second set of film pieces oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, said first and second sets of film pieces being woven together; and
at least one layer of film, each of said at least one layer of film being arranged on a respective one of an outer side of said film pieces and an inner side of said film pieces; and
a second airbag portion, said second airbag portion comprising;
a plurality of elongate film pieces, each of said film pieces having a width of less than about 3 mm, said plurality of film pieces comprising a first set of film pieces oriented in a first direction and a second set of film pieces oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, said first and second sets of film pieces being woven together; and
at least one layer of film, each of said at least one layer of film being arranged on a respective one of an outer side of said film pieces and an inner side of said film pieces;
said first and second airbag portions defining in combination an enclosed, fluid-retaining space.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Inflatable airbag for a vehicle which is deployed in the event of an accident involving the vehicle to provide protection for an occupant of the vehicle includes a plurality of ribbons coupled together to define an enclosed, fluid-retaining space and a layer of film laminated on at least one of an outer side of the woven ribbons and an inner side of the ribbons. The ribbons each have a width of less than about 3 mm and preferably about 0.5 to about 1 mm. The ribbons may be made from polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester or polyamide and the layers of film may be made from polyethylene, polyurethane, polyester or polyamide. The ribbons and layers of film may be made of the same or different materials.
39 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An inflatable airbag for a vehicle which is deployed in the event of an accident involving the vehicle to provide protection for an occupant of the vehicle, comprising:
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a first airbag portion, said first airbag portion comprising; a plurality of elongate film pieces, each of said film pieces having a width of less than about 3 mm, said plurality of film pieces comprising a first set of film pieces oriented in a first direction and a second set of film pieces oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, said first and second sets of film pieces being woven together; and at least one layer of film, each of said at least one layer of film being arranged on a respective one of an outer side of said film pieces and an inner side of said film pieces; and a second airbag portion, said second airbag portion comprising; a plurality of elongate film pieces, each of said film pieces having a width of less than about 3 mm, said plurality of film pieces comprising a first set of film pieces oriented in a first direction and a second set of film pieces oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, said first and second sets of film pieces being woven together; and at least one layer of film, each of said at least one layer of film being arranged on a respective one of an outer side of said film pieces and an inner side of said film pieces; said first and second airbag portions defining in combination an enclosed, fluid-retaining space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for forming an inflatable airbag for a vehicle which is deployed in the event of an accident involving the vehicle to provide protection for an occupant of the vehicle, comprising:
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coupling an edge portion of a first airbag portion to an edge portion of a second airbag portion to thereby define an inflatable interior space sealed at a seam of the first and second airbag portions; each of the first and second airbag portions being produced by weaving a plurality of elongate film pieces together, each of the film pieces having a width of less than about 3 mm, the plurality of film pieces comprising a first set of film pieces oriented in a first direction and a second set of film pieces oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, the first and second sets of film pieces being woven together; and coating a layer of film on at least one of an outer side of the film pieces and an inner side of the film pieces. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for forming an inflatable film airbag for a vehicle which is deployed in the event of an accident involving the vehicle to provide protection for an occupant of the vehicle, comprising:
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coupling an edge portion of a first airbag portion to an edge portion of a second airbag portion to thereby define an inflatable interior space sealed at a seam of the first and second airbag portions; each of the first and second airbag portions being produced by providing at least two uniaxially oriented films, each of the films being stretched in a single direction to provide the uniaxial orientation and each of the films having a different orientation direction such that the films are at a non-parallel angle to one another, each of the films comprising a plurality of elongate film pieces, each of the film pieces having a width of less than about 3 mm, the plurality of film pieces comprising a first set of film pieces oriented in a first direction and a second set of film pieces oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, the first and second sets of film pieces being woven together; and joining the films together. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification