Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Laura A Hawthorn

James Kent Conlee

James Lloyd Webber

Michael W Donegan

Michael John Wolanin

Jack L Jensen

Hubert P Blom

John William Melvin

David E Pettigrove

Bruce S Albright

Laura C Stevenson

Jeffrey L Makley

Craig S MacBrien

A supplemental inflatable restraint is provided including an air bag housing positioned in an instrument panel lower surface with an open end extending toward the seated occupant, the open end having a top and a bottom; and an air bag which has a lower lobe for contact with lower extremities of a seated occupant and an upper lobe for contact with the torso of a seated occupant. The upper and lower lobes are separated by a first tether extending from an area generally adjacent to the top of the housing projecting generally toward the seated occupant. The air bag has a pressure restrictor creating a pressure differential between the upper and lower lobes. The upper lobe is subdivided by a second tether from an area adjacent to the top of the housing to an end of the upper lobe generally opposite the lower lobe.

Vehicle body/supplemental inflation restraint arrangement

A method and system for folding an air bag for a supplemental inflatable restraint system for use in a vehicle wherein the air bag includes a front face, a rear face, upper and lower edges, an inflation opening located on the front face, and an upper portion defined between the upper edge and the inflation opening and a lower portion defined between the lower edge and the inflation opening. The air bag is initially placed in a flattened position and the lower portion is provided with a series of unidirectional folds to define a rolled portion of the air bag. Subsequently, the upper portion is folded over the rolled portion. During deployment, the upper portion is initially deployed and the lower portion subsequently unrolls generally downwardly and across the lap of an occupant in the vehicle.

Method and system for folding an air bag

A supplemental inflatable restraint system including an air bag for use in a vehicle to restrain an occupant during an accident. The air bag is folded and placed in the module such that inflation of the air bag causes the air bag to be expelled from the module in a substantially folded condition whereby a contact face of the air bag defines a substantially flat or unfolded contact surface for initial contact with a vehicle occupant. The air bag is folded such that top and bottom edges thereof are rolled toward a central location on the air bag. During inflation, the rolled portions unroll upwardly and downwardly across the occupant.

Cushion fold for a supplemental inflatable restraint system

A restraint cushion is comprised of first and second fabric panels. Each of the two fabric panels is folded and interleaved with the other to form the restraint cushion. A single continuous seam interconnects the mating edges of the two panels. The restraint cushion has a generally cubic shape defined by top, bottom, forward, rearward, left, and right side. Each of the two fabric panels is a generally elongate continuous strip folded to a U-shape and interleaved with the other to form the cubic shape of the restraint cushion. The restraint cushion minimizes the number of panels used in forming the restraint cushion and minimizes the number of seams sewn to interconnect the panels so that the assembly costs of the restraint cushion are reduced.

Single seam cube shaped restraint cushion

A vehicle air bag assembly has a housing mounted beneath an opening in a vehicle panel and holding an inflator for discharging gas to inflate an air bag for deployment through the opening. A door normally closes the opening and is forcibly moved out of the opening from a closed position to an open position by the deploying air bag. The housing also includes a plurality of apertures communicable with ambient air. A flap closes the apertures to prevent communication with ambient air so that discharging inflator gas is blocked from escaping out through the apertures and is fully utilized for initial air bag inflation to open the door. A positioning device positions the flap for closing the apertures in the housing. The flap is operatively connected to the door, such as by having an end secured thereto, and is pulled by the opening movement of the door to open the apertures. Upon opening movement of the door by the deploying air bag, ambient air is aspirated in through the apertures to augment the volume of inflator gas delivered to the air bag, and subsequently inflator gas and ambient air may be vented out through the apertures.

Vehicle air bag assembly

According to the invention, a vehicle body has a passenger seating position and an inflatable restraint system for restraining a passenger. The inflatable restraint system includes an inflatable restraint module mounted to the vehicle body. The module includes a module opening through which an inflatable restraint cushion is deployed. The module includes an inflator for discharging gas out through the module opening to inflate the cushion. The cushion includes a forward wall and a rearward wall. The longitudinal centerline of the module opening is offset in a lateral offset direction, such as inboard or outboard, from the longitudinal centerline of the passenger seating position so that initial cushion inflation occurs offset of the centerline of the passenger seating position. A first tether device extends diagonally from the forward wall towards the lateral offset direction to the rearward wall. The first tether device provides a lateral force to laterally steer further cushion inflation in the direction opposite the lateral offset direction and in front of the passenger.

Offset inflatable restraint system

A new and improved apparatus for biasing the direction of air bag deployment includes a box-shaped guide member, preferably of fabric construction, and attached to the air bag module and folded to overlie the folded air bag. The box-shaped guide member has an open bottom and is erected to the box shape upon deployment of the air bag through the air bag opening. The box-shape has an open end wall at the inboard side thereof to define a lateral deployment opening through which the air bag may be deployed laterally, and a top deployment opening through which the air bag may deploy upwardly and rearwardly toward the occupant. The box-shape also includes a top flap which selectively closes off the top deployment opening of the box to bias and divert the deploying air bag through the lateral opening until the top flap is unfolded to an extended position opening the top opening to permit the further deployment of the air bag through the top opening.

Air bag deployment bias apparatus

An occupant restraint air bag assembly includes an air bag having a base wall portion communicating with an inflator and a face wall for contacting the occupant upon inflation of the bag. A vent opening is provided in the base wall portion of the air bag for venting a portion of the inflation gas from the air bag to the occupant compartment. A valve flap carried by the air bag is operable to a position closing the vent opening to contain the inflation gas within the air bag. A tether has a first end connected to the valve flap and a second end attached to the face wall so that the inflation of the air bag and consequent displacement of the face wall pulls the tether to close the valve flap. The vent opening is preferably a plurality of spaced apart openings and the tether progressively moves the valve flap across the openings to progressively close the vent opening in response to the progressive travel of the face wall toward the occupant. If desired, one or more additional vent openings with flap valves may be provided and operated by tethers of different operative lengths to provide selected and variable control over the venting of inflation gas from the air bag in response to displacement of the bag.

Growing community of inventors

Vandalia, OH, United States of America

Laura A Hawthorn