Air bag assembly and tether

• US 9,290,150 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2012
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Key Safety Systems, Inc. (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Key Safety Systems, Inc. (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Gaiser, John, Young, Jeffrey, Salmo, Shakir
• Primary Examiner(s): Beck, Karen
• Application Number:
  US14/347,061
• Publication Number:
  US 20140232091A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,260 Days
• Field of Search: 280/730.2, 280/733, 280/743.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23386 External tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2171 specially adapted for elongated cylindrical or bottle-like inflators with a symmetry axis perpendicular to the main direction of bag deployment, e.g. extruded reaction canisters B60R21/2176 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/231 characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2338 Tethers

Abstract

An air bag (102 or 320) having a tether (30 or 130), the tether formed into a hook (155, 157) and loop or eye (142) configured to be looped about a structure including an inflator (332) to which the air bag and tether are to be secured.

Claims

1. An air bag (102 or 320) having a tether (30 or 130), the tether (30 or 130) formed into a hook (155 or 157) or hooks (155 and 157) and an eye (142) configured to be looped about a structure to which the air bag and tether are to be secured, wherein the hooks (152 and 154) are secured by a plurality of stitches (156) wherein a remote end (150) having the hooks (155 and 157) is formed into a pointed tip or arrow like structure (160) and wherein to secure the air bag to a frame of a seat, the remote end (150) of the tether (130) is looped about the frame, and the pointed tip or arrow like structure (160) is threaded through the eye (142), subsequently that portion of the tether forming the hook (152 and 154) form a double hook or barbed structure (155 and 157) about the seat is pulled moving the barbed structure or double hooks (155 and 157) toward the eye (142) to secure the air bag to the seat.

2. The air bag (102 or 320) having a tether (30 or 130) of claim 1 wherein a portion of the tether (130) is sewn upon itself using a plurality of stitches (146) to form the loop or eye (142).

3. The air bag (102 or 320) having a tether (30 or 130) of claim 1 wherein the remote end (150) is first formed into a plurality of loops (152 and 154), each loop is positioned on an opposite side of the tether (30 or 130).

4. The air bag (102 or 320) having a tether (30 or 130) of claim 1 wherein an end (134) of the tether (130) is secured by stitches (136) to a border region of the air bag (102).

5. The air bag (102 or 320) having a tether (30 or 130) of claim 1 wherein the air bag is a seat airbag (102).

6. An air bag (102 or 320) having a tether (30 or 130), the tether (30 or 130) formed into a hook (155 or 157) or hooks (155 and 157) and a loop or eye (142) configured to be looped about a structure including an inflator (332) to which the air bag and tether are to be secured, wherein the air bag is a curtain air bag (320) and the curtain air bag (320) has a plurality of tabs (322), each tab (322) having an opening (324) for attachment to mounting locations along a roof rail (302), the curtain airbag (320) includes an inlet (330) into which an inflator (332) is placed and the air bag (320) has a location (340) having the tether (30), the tether (30) includes the loop (142) and the tether (30) is secured to a border region (350) of the curtain air bag (320), the tether (30) has the end (150) wrapped about the inflator (332) and then threaded through the loop (142) securing the airbag in the vicinity of the location (340) to the inflator.