Passenger airbag with extended base

• US 9,969,349 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2014
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Cheng, James Chih, Cho, Jaeho, Belwafa, Jamel E., Faruque, Mohammed Omar, Abramoski, Edward Joseph, Jindal, Pardeep Kumar, Midoun, Diamal Eddine
• Primary Examiner(s): Beck, Karen
• Application Number:
  US14/260,601
• Publication Number:
  US 20150307056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,482 Days
• Field of Search: 280729, 280732, 2807432, 280735
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/161 characterised by additional means for controlling deployment trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23308 the individual compartments defining the external shape of the bag
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23382 Internal tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23504 characterised by material
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/205 in dashboards
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/231 characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/233 comprising a plurality of individual compartments; comprising two or more bag-like members, one within the other B60R21/232 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2334 Expansion control features

Abstract

An airbag module for a vehicle includes an inflator disposed behind an instrument panel and an airbag arrangement. The airbag arrangement includes a cushion section configured to receive an occupant during impact and a balloon section disposed proximate a base of the cushion section and adjacent the instrument panel such that, upon inflation, the balloon section contacts and pushes against the instrument panel. This forms a swell on the cushion section adjacent to the balloon section configured to hinder movement of the occupant toward the balloon section.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

an instrument panel; and

an airbag module including a passenger side frontal airbag and an inflator disposed behind the instrument panel, the airbag defining, when inflated, a cushion section configured to receive an occupant torso during driver side oblique impacts and a balloon section configured to, during inflation, press against the instrument panel to propel the cushion section in a direction away from a passenger side to shift a position of the cushion section toward a driver side.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein a volume defined by the balloon section is less than a volume defined by the cushion section.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein the volume defined by the balloon section is approximately one third the volume defined by the cushion section.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the balloon section is positioned proximate the inflator.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the balloon section, when inflated, is positioned proximate a base of the cushion section.

6. An airbag module for a vehicle comprising:

an inflator disposed behind an instrument panel; and

a passenger side frontal airbag arrangement including a cushion section configured to receive an occupant torso during driver side oblique impacts and a balloon section disposed proximate a base of the cushion section and adjacent the instrument panel such that, upon inflation, the balloon section contacts and pushes against the instrument panel to propel the cushion section in a direction away from a passenger side to form a swell on the cushion section adjacent to the balloon section configured to hinder movement of the occupant toward a driver side.

7. The airbag module of claim 6 wherein the balloon section is partitioned from the cushion section via a panel configured such that upon an oblique impact by the vehicle, the panel vents inflation gas to the balloon section.

8. The airbag module of claim 6 wherein the balloon section is disposed proximate the inflator.

9. The airbag module of claim 6 wherein the cushion section is made of a material different than a material of the balloon section.

10. The airbag module of claim 6 further comprising a tether arranged to at least partially define the balloon section.