Trw Airbag Systems Gmbh & Co. Kg

Trw Airbag Systems Gmbh

Contec Chemieanlagen Gmbh

Maximilian Bergmann

Achim Hofmann

Werner Zengerle

Alexander Gerstner

Uwe D&ouml;lling

Lorenz Seidl

Thomas Kapfelsperger

Christian Jung

Nils Henning

Anja Esau

Jens Holzapfel

Peter Semmler

Eduard Gast

Bernhard Schmid

A gas generator comprises a container () filled with a pressurized fluid () and having an outflow opening (), and a piston () which is displaceably arranged in the container (). The piston has a shutter opening () dividing the container () into a first chamber () and a second chamber (), the first and second chambers () being filled with the fluid (). The piston () on activation of the gas generator () and when the outflow opening () has been opened, is moved by a pressure prevailing in the second chamber () from a predetermined initial position (AP) in the direction towards the outflow opening () into an end position (EP) in which the end volume of the first chamber () is significantly reduced compared with the start volume of the first chamber (). There is also proposed a method of operating such gas generator.

Gas generator

A hybrid gas generator comprises a chamber that contains pressurized fluid and that is sealed off by a rupturable membrane, and a pyrotechnical propellant charge that ruptures the membrane when it is ignited. The gas generator further comprises a nozzle wall that is arranged between the propellant charge and the membrane and that has at least one passage opening through which combustion products generated upon ignition of said pyrotechnical propellant charge flow towards the membrane. The passage opening has such a shape and is oriented with respect to the membrane in such a way that, when the membrane is ruptured, there are formed sections of said membrane that remain all connected to an edge of the membrane.

Hybrid gas generator

A hybrid gas generator comprises an elongated cylindrical outer housing, and a pressure chamber that is filled with pressurized gas and that is closed off by a membrane provided on an end face of the pressure chamber. The gas generator further comprises a pyrotechnical propellant charge that is provided for opening the membrane and is accommodated in a preferably bushing-shaped propellant charge housing. The propellant charge housing is connected to the outer housing at a location outside of the pressure chamber and a longitudinal axis of the propellant charge housing extends at a right angle to a longitudinal axis of the outer housing. The generator also has an axial outflow opening situated at one axial end of the outer housing. The outer housing has a circumferential wall with a radial insertion opening for introducing the propellant charge housing. The propellant charge housing is attached to a section of the circumferential wall diametrically opposite the insertion opening in such a way that the propellant charge housing is secured at least against a movement in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the outer housing.

A pyrotechnical gas generator, preferably for an airbag system, consists of a housing, an ignition unit, a gas generating mixture, a conically shaped cooling system (or cooling and filtering system) tapering in the discharge direction, a gas generating mixture disposed within the cooling system. The housing is preferably one piece and tubular. The combustion gases are discharged through exit ports arranged radially, axially or diagonally on a side of the housing opposite the ignition unit. The cooling system (or cooling and filtering system) separates the gas generator into a combustion chamber, which contains the gas generating mixture and in which a gas is generated by burning the gas generating mixture, and an outflow chamber, through which the cooled (and optionally filtered) gas can flow and the exit through the exit ports. The conical arrangement of the cooling system (or cooling and filtering system) tapering in the discharge direction achieves an optimum effect as regards cooling and filtering, accompanied by a minimum of space requirements and a reduction in weight.

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Mühldorf, Germany

Maximilian Bergmann