Key Safety Systems, Inc.

Anthony J Curtis

Michael Eugene Kelley

Michael F Mulville

Guido Klettenheimer

Marko Morhard

Samir Heric

Richard Townsend

Axel Josef Wehrwein

Dennis A Trevillyan

Kevin Fitzgerald

William Francis McLeod, Ii

Richard M Townsend

An airbag module assembly () has a module housing (). An airbag () and an airbag inflator () are positioned inside the module housing. The airbag inflator () has an exhaust port end () extending external of the module housing () for venting inflation gasses directly from the airbag inflator () externally of the module housing ().

Airbag module with external venting

An airbag inflator () for inflating an airbag has a tubular inflator housing () having a first end (A) and a second end (B). A gas release mechanism () has an exhaust port end or housing () at the first end (A) for releasing gas directly from the tubular inflator housing () to ambient air, bypassing the airbag. A heater assembly () containing a gas generant is located and attached at the second end (B). An igniter () ignites the heater assembly (). A primary gas vent port () vents gas from the tubular inflator housing () into an airbag during normal deployment of the airbag. The gas release mechanism () has a passageway or opening () for exhausting gas from the tubular inflator housing () to an exhaust port (). A seal () seals the passageway or opening () of the gas release mechanism (). An igniterfor opens the seal () thereby terminating or slowing deployment and normal inflation of the airbag through the primary vent port ().

Airbag inflator

A dual stage invention is designed to autoignite an autoignition material before a low temperature gas generant melts. Low temperature gas generants include a high nitrogen content organic fuel with ammonium nitrate as the oxidizer. The dual stage inflator has a first gas generant and a second gas generant that are ignited by separate igniters. The first gas generant and the second gas generant are insulated from the inflator housing to delay the heat transfer from the housing to the first gas generant and second gas generant during a bonfire test, which needs to be passed to receive Department of Transportation classification. The dual stage inflator also has an autoignition cartridge for disposing of the second gas generant by the first gas generant after the first gas generant burns for a predetermined amount of time.

Dual stage inflator for low melting gas generants

A cold gas inflator has a pressure vessel made of first and second cylindrical members that are joined by friction welding, the friction welding producing curls that serve to preclude an orifice plate from sliding into the second cylindrical member. The cold gas inflator is filled with stored gas. The cold gas inflator has a burst disk, which prevents the stored gas from exiting the pressure vessel. In the event of an automobile accident, an opening device is actuated, which causes the ignition of pyrotechnic material. This ignition generates a shockwave of sufficient energy to rupture a burst disk. The stored gas flows from the cold gas inflator in a radial direction.

Opening device for a cold gas inflator

Growing community of inventors

Palm Harbor, FL, United States of America

Anthony J Curtis