Frontal airbag systems for oblique crash protection
First Claim
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1. An inflatable airbag system that is configured to be mounted to a steering wheel of a vehicle, the inflatable airbag system comprising:
- an airbag cushion that is deployed in response to a collision event; and
a positioning member disposed within the airbag cushion and configured to cause the airbag cushion to deploy in a first configuration if the collision event is a frontal collision event and to cause the airbag cushion to deploy in a second configuration if the collision event is an oblique collision event,wherein the second configuration caused by the positioning member is based on an angle of rotation of the steering wheel; and
wherein the positioning member comprises a plurality of tethers, and the positioning member comprises a positioning member adjustment mechanism configured to, when activated, lengthen at least one of the plurality of tethers and shorten at least another of the plurality of tethers.
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Abstract
An inflatable airbag system can be configured to be mounted to a frontal region of a vehicle. The inflatable airbag system includes an airbag and a positioning member, and is configured to deploy in various configurations in response to frontal and oblique collision events and based on an impact angle and a rotational angle of the steering wheel.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An inflatable airbag system that is configured to be mounted to a steering wheel of a vehicle, the inflatable airbag system comprising:
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an airbag cushion that is deployed in response to a collision event; and a positioning member disposed within the airbag cushion and configured to cause the airbag cushion to deploy in a first configuration if the collision event is a frontal collision event and to cause the airbag cushion to deploy in a second configuration if the collision event is an oblique collision event, wherein the second configuration caused by the positioning member is based on an angle of rotation of the steering wheel; and wherein the positioning member comprises a plurality of tethers, and the positioning member comprises a positioning member adjustment mechanism configured to, when activated, lengthen at least one of the plurality of tethers and shorten at least another of the plurality of tethers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An inflatable airbag system that is configured to be mounted to a steering wheel of a vehicle, the inflatable airbag system comprising:
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a housing to be mounted in a steering wheel of a vehicle; an inflator; an airbag cushion that receives inflation gas from the inflator to expand and deploy from the housing to provide occupant crash protection during a collision event; one or more impact angle detection sensors to detect forces of an impact of the collision event of the vehicle and provide one of an impact ratio and an impact angle; one or more steering wheel angle sensors to detect a rotational angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle; and a positioning member to receive one of the impact ratio and the impact angle and to receive the rotational angle of the steering wheel and to cause the airbag cushion to deploy in a first configuration if the one of the impact ratio and the impact angle is below a threshold and cause the airbag cushion to deploy in a second configuration if the one of the impact ratio and the impact angle is above the threshold, wherein the second configuration is determined based on the rotational angle of the steering wheel; wherein the positioning member comprises a plurality of tethers; and wherein the positioning member is configured to, when activated, lengthen at least one of the plurality of tethers and shorten at least another of the plurality of tethers. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An inflatable airbag system that is configured to be mounted to a steering wheel of a vehicle, the inflatable airbag system comprising:
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an airbag cushion that is deployed in response to a collision event; a positioning member disposed within the airbag cushion and configured to cause the airbag cushion to deploy in a first configuration if the collision event is a frontal collision event and to cause the airbag cushion to deploy in a second configuration if the collision event is an oblique collision event, wherein the positioning member comprises a plurality of tethers; a positioning member adjustment mechanism that, when activated, adjusts at least one of the plurality of tethers of the positioning member; and a tear seam disposed in a panel of the airbag cushion at a portion of the airbag cushion, the tear seam configured to burst in response to adjusting of the at least one of the plurality of tethers to allow the portion of the airbag cushion to conform to the second configuration, wherein the second configuration caused by the positioning member is based on an angle of rotation of the steering wheel. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification