Automotive Components Holdings, LLC

Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Visteon Global Technolgoies, Inc.

Brian Charles Slane

Nicholas Andrew Mazzocchi

Kenneth J Kwasnik

Gary D Mullen

Peter Joseph Bejin

Kalyanaraman Bharathan

Michael Williams

Michael Alan Samluk

Andrew James Harley

James Daniel Grace

Jim Harley

Mike Ford Motor Company Limited Samluk

An air bag deployment apparatus is provided for use in an air bag deployment system of an automotive vehicle. The apparatus has a support base for attachment to a rear surface of an occupant facing substrate. A door support panel has upper and lower surfaces and four side edges for attachment to the rear surface of the substrate within the area of an air bag deployment door. An air bag chute extends downward from the support base and contains a plurality of skirt walls for defining a path for deployment of an air bag from beneath the substrate. A hinge element extends from one of the skirt walls to one edge of the door support panel wherein the hinge element has upper and lower surfaces joined by a left side surface and a right side surface. At least one of the side surfaces protruding from the skirt wall includes an undercut so that a lower corner of the hinge element forms an obtuse angle, resulting in better transfer of deployment forces through the hinge element.

Air bag deployment door with force transmitting hinge

An integrated air bag support structure that functions to dissipate excessive energy from a door panel during air bag deployment includes a support base configured to surround a door support panel. An air bag chute tube extends downward from the support base and contains a plurality of skirt walls. The door support panel separated from the support base by a gap on all four sides. A hinge element extends between one of the skirt walls of the air bag chute tube and one edge of the door support panel, and includes a plurality of pivoting elements and an arm extension to absorb energy during deployment.

Energy absorbent hinge for an air bag deployment door

An integrated air bag support structure that includes a support base for attachment to the rear side of a substrate. The support base is configured to surround a door support panel and both are configured for attachment to the rear side of a substrate in an area that is pre-weakened to define an air bag deployment door in a vehicle instrument panel or a steering wheel air bag module. The upper surfaces of the support base and door support panel are attached to the rear surface of the substrate, and a test tab extends from the base that is attached to the rear surface of the substrate in the same manner as the support base and the door support panel. The test tab has an unattached extension portion for the purpose of gripping and pulling to test the integrity of the attachment without affecting the attachment of the support panel.

Air bag deployment chute and method

An integrated air bag support structure that includes a support base for attachment to the rear side of a substrate. The support base is configured to surround a door support panel and both are configured for attachment to the rear side of a substrate in an area that is pre-weakened to define an air bag deployment door in a vehicle instrument panel or a steering wheel air bag module. The upper surfaces of the support base and door support panel are attached to the rear surface of a substrate and a test tab extends from the base that is attached to the rear surface of the substrate in the same manner as the support base and the door support panel. The test tab has an unattached extension portion for the purpose of gripping and pulling to sample test that the attachment of the test tab without affecting the attachment of the support panel.

Air bag deployment chute

An instrument panel system includes box sections that increase the stiffness, rigidity, and natural frequency of the instrument panel system. A two-piece instrument panel system provides a two-tone appearance with differing die draws and grains.

Automotive vehicle instrument panel system

Growing community of inventors

Flat Rock, MI, United States of America

Brian Charles Slane