Tubular airbag, method of making the same and occupant protection system including the same
DCFirst Claim
1. An airbag for a vehicle, comprisinga plurality of sheets of material, two of said sheets of material being at least partially in opposed relationship to one another, said two opposed sheets of material being joined to one another to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments between said two opposed sheets of material receivable of an inflating medium.
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Litigations
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Accused Products
Abstract
An airbag for a vehicle formed from sections of material joined to one another, e.g., heat-sealed or adhesively-sealed, such that interconnected compartments receivable of an inflating medium are formed. The sections of material may be fabric or discrete sheets of film with optional tear propagation arresting devices. Two or more of the sections of material may be at least partially in opposed relationship to one another and then joined to one another at locations other than at a periphery of any of the sections to thereby form the interconnected compartments between the sections of material. The sections of material may also be joined to one another along parallel lines such that the interconnected compartments formed between the sections of material are elongate, i.e., substantially straight, and when inflated will be tubular.
138 Citations
45 Claims
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1. An airbag for a vehicle, comprising
a plurality of sheets of material, two of said sheets of material being at least partially in opposed relationship to one another, said two opposed sheets of material being joined to one another to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments between said two opposed sheets of material receivable of an inflating medium.
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11. A vehicle having a passenger compartment and an inflatable occupant protection system for protecting an occupant in the passenger compartment in a crash involving the vehicle, the inflatable occupant protection system comprising:
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a housing mounted in the vehicle and having an interior;
a deployable airbag contained within said housing interior prior to deployment, said airbag comprising a plurality of sheets of material, two of said sheets of material being at least partially in opposed relationship to one another, said two opposed sheets of material being joined to one another to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments between said two opposed sheets of material receivable of an inflating gas, inflation means coupled to said housing for inflating said airbag, said inflation means comprising gas supply means for supplying a gas into said interconnected compartments, said airbag being attached to and in fluid communication with said inflation means; and
initiation means for initiating said gas supply means to supply the gas into said interconnected compartments in response to a crash of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for manufacturing an airbag for a vehicle, comprising the steps of
providing a plurality of sheets of material, and joining the sheets of material to one another with two of the sheets of material being at least partially in opposed relationship to one another, said step of joining the sheets of material to one another comprising the step of joining the two opposed sheets to one another to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments between the two opposed sheets of material.
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26. A vehicle comprising
a passenger compartment, a door, and a safety device for protecting an occupant in the passenger compartment in a crash involving the vehicle, said safety device comprising a gas generator; -
a sensor operatively connected to said gas generator for sensing a crash requiring activation of said gas generator; and
an inflatable element in flow communication with said gas generator for being inflated with gas from said gas generator upon activation of said gas generator;
said inflatable element having a non-inflated mode and an inflated mode and being positioned adjacent said door in the inflated mode,said inflatable element comprising a first material layer defining a front part of said inflatable element;
a second material layer defining a back part of said inflatable element, selected parts of said first material layer and said second material layer other than the periphery of said first and second material layers being joined to one another to thereby define joints at locations at which said first and second material layers are joined to one another, said inflatable element thereby incorporating a plurality of cells defined between said joints. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A vehicle comprising
a passenger compartment, front and rear doors on a common side, and a safety device for protecting an occupant in the passenger compartment in a crash involving the vehicle, said safety device comprising a gas generator; -
a sensor operatively connected to said gas generator for sensing a crash requiring activation of said gas generator; and
an inflatable element in flow communication with said gas generator for being inflated with gas from said gas generator upon activation of said gas generator;
said inflatable element having a non-inflated mode and an inflated mode and being positioned adjacent both said front and rear doors in the inflated mode,said inflatable element comprising a first material layer defining a front part thereof;
a second material layer defining a back part thereof, selected parts of said first material layer and said second material layer other than the periphery of said first and second material layers being joined together to thereby define joints at locations at which said first and second material layers are joined together, said inflatable element thereby incorporating a plurality of cells defined between said joints.
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39. An airbag for a vehicle, comprising
a plurality of sections of material, said sections of material being made of film, said sections of material being joined to one another to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments receivable of an inflating medium.
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40. An airbag for a vehicle, comprising
a plurality of sections of material, at least one of said sections of material being a non-perforated sheet of film including tear propagation arresting means arranged in connection therewith for arresting the propagation of a tear in said film sheet, said sections of material being joined to one another to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments receivable of an inflating medium.
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41. A vehicle having a passenger compartment and an inflatable occupant protection system for protecting an occupant in the passenger compartment in a crash involving the vehicle, the inflatable occupant protection system comprising:
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a housing mounted in the vehicle and having an interior;
a deployable airbag contained within said housing interior prior to deployment, said airbag comprising a plurality of sections of material, said sections of material being each made from a discrete sheet of film, said sections of material being joined to one another to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments receivable of an inflating gas, inflation means coupled to said housing for inflating said airbag, said inflation means comprising gas supply means for supplying a gas into said interconnected compartments, said airbag being attached to and in fluid communication with said inflation means; and
initiation means for initiating said gas supply means to supply the gas into said interconnected compartments in response to a crash of the vehicle.
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42. A vehicle having a passenger compartment and an inflatable occupant protection system for protecting an occupant in the passenger compartment in a crash involving the vehicle, the inflatable occupant protection system comprising:
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a housing mounted in the vehicle and having an interior;
a deployable airbag contained within said housing interior prior to deployment, said airbag comprising a plurality of sections of material, at least one of said sections of material being a non-perforated sheet of film including tear propagation arresting means arranged in connection therewith for arresting the propagation of a tear in said film sheet, said sections of material being joined to one another to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments receivable of an inflating gas, inflation means coupled to said housing for inflating said airbag, said inflation means comprising gas supply means for supplying a gas into said interconnected compartments, said airbag being attached to and in fluid communication with said inflation means; and
initiation means for initiating said gas supply means to supply the gas into said interconnected compartments in response to a crash of the vehicle.
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43. A method for manufacturing an airbag for a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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joining a plurality of sections of material together to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments, at least one of the sections of material being a non-perforated sheet of film, and arranging tear propagation arresting means in connection with the film sheet for arresting the propagation of a tear in the film sheet.
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44. A vehicle comprising
a passenger compartment, a door, and a safety device for protecting an occupant in the passenger compartment in a crash involving the vehicle, said safety device comprising a gas generator; -
a sensor operatively connected to said gas generator for sensing a crash requiring activation of said gas generator; and
an inflatable element in flow communication with said gas generator for being inflated with gas from said gas generator upon activation of said gas generator;
said inflatable element having a non-inflated mode and an inflated mode and being positioned adjacent said door in the inflated mode,said inflatable element comprising a first material layer defining a front part thereof;
a second material layer defining a back part thereof, selected parts of said first material layer and said second material layer other than the periphery of said first and second material layers being joined together to thereby define joints at locations at which said first and second material layers are joined together, said inflatable element thereby incorporating a plurality of cells defined between said joints, said first and second material layers being made from film.
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45. An airbag for a vehicle, consisting of
a plurality of sheets of material, two of said sheets of material being at least partially in opposed relationship to one another, said two opposed sheets of material being joined to one another along at least one straight line to form a plurality of substantially straight, interconnected compartments between said two opposed sheets of material receivable of an inflating medium, at least one of said compartments being situated on each side of said at least one line.
Specification