Trw Limited

Trw Vehicle Safety Systems Inc.

David D Ryder

Michael G Mangum

Jerome W Emery

Peter J Astrauskas

A gas generating material ( ) comprises an oxidizer, a fuel, and a binder composition. The binder composition includes a polystyrene based thermoplastic block copolymer and a thermoplastic modifier. The thermoplastic modifier is miscible with the polystyrene based thermoplastic block copolymer and has a glass transition temperature greater than about 170&deg; C.

Binder for a gas generating material

A body of gas generating material for a vehicle occupant protection device comprises about 40 to about 85 weight percent ammonium nitrate. The body of gas generating material also comprises an amount of a glycidyl azide polymer (GAP). The GAP is cured with a polyfunctional acrylate. The acrylate cured GAP can be used as a binder in the gas generating composition or as an energetic coating on tablets prepared from the composition. The acrylate cured GAP can also function as the sole fuel component in the gas generating composition, the composition being essentially free of an added fuel component. The acrylate cured GAP improves the burn and/or ignition rates of the ammonium nitrate based gas generating composition.

Gas generating material for vehicle occupant protection device

An apparatus (10) for inflating an air bag includes a container (12) having a chamber (16) for holding an inert gas and an oxidizer gas under pressure. A body (20) of a combustible material is disposed in the container (12). The body (20) of combustible material comprises a non-metallic nitrogen containing compound, a thermoplastic polymer, and an oxidizer material. The oxidizer material is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal nitrate, alkali-earth metal nitrate, ammonium perchlorate, alkali metal perchlorate, alkali-earth metal perchlorate, organo-ammonium nitrate, or ammonium dinitramide. An igniter (32) ignites the body (20) of combustible material to generate combustion products that mix with, and heat, the inert gas and the oxidizer gas. The body (20) of combustible material undergoes further combustion upon exposure to the oxidizer gas to yield an inflation fluid comprising the combustion products, the inert gas, and any unreacted oxidizer gas. A conduit directs the inflation fluid flow from the container (12) into an air bag. The apparatus produces unexpectedly low levels of CO, NO, NO.sub.2, HCN and HCOH in the inflation fluid.

Air bag inflator

A hybrid inflator for an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device comprises a quantity of a stored inflation fluid (42) and a body (44) of an ignitable combustible material to heat the stored inflation fluid and increase its pressure. The body (44) of ignitable combustible material comprises a solid binder and an oxidizing agent. The binder is a block copolymer comprising blocks of an amorphous polymeric monomer in an alternating sequence with blocks of a crystalline polymeric monomer. A preferred block copolymer comprises a long chain polyether glycol as the amorphous polymeric monomer and a polybutylene terephthalate as the crystalline polymeric monomer.

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Gilbert, AZ, United States of America

David D Ryder