Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Paul Mark Marable

Timothy Scott

Allen Charles Bosio

Marcus John Scott Ward

Tim Scott

Gregor Whelan

Edward Joseph Abramoski

Barry Grindle

Robert William Sleath

Pieter Christopher Van Ast

Marcus Ward

A torsion shaft for a seat belt retractor assembly, the torsion shaft being connectable at a first location to a spool for receiving a seat belt and connectable at a second location to a locking mechanism, the first and second locations being spaced apart along a length of the torsion shaft, wherein the torsion shaft is configured to deform when a torsion force is applied between the first and second locations during an impact event, wherein the torsion shaft comprises a cavity and a fluid is provided in said cavity so as to support the torsion shaft as the torsion shaft deforms during the impact event.

Torsion shaft, seat belt retractor assembly and associated methods

An assembly is disclosed, in which a rigid ramp is rigidly connected to a tubular upper part of a steering column for interaction with a displaceable part of an instrument panel. Interaction between the tubular upper part and the displaceable part moves the displaceable part in a reliable manner out of the way during an impact scenario, during which a steering wheel is displaced towards the instrument panel. Displacement of the displaceable part by the rigid ramp permits the steering wheel to be fully displaced without the instrument panel hindering such motion.

Motor vehicle steering column assembly

An airbag assembly for a vehicle is provided. The airbag assembly comprises an airbag and an inflator to inflate the airbag when deployed. The airbag comprises one or more tethers. The one or more tethers are coupled to an outer wall of the airbag at a first end of the tethers. The tethers are configured to form one or more pleats in the outer wall of the airbag when the airbag is fully inflated. The one or more tethers are coupled to the outer wall at a location such that the one or more pleats at least partially unfold during an impact between an occupant of the vehicle and the airbag and reduce a tension in a portion of the outer wall of the airbag when inflated and during an initial period of an impact between an occupant of the vehicle and the airbag.

Airbag

An airbag has a fabric enclosure, a vent in the fabric enclosure, and a flow control device made up of a flexible membrane fastened around part of a periphery thereof to the fabric enclosure adjacent to the vent. The membrane defines a flow passage having a free end through which inflation gas is vented to atmosphere and has a tongue extending away from the free end. The tongue has a pre-deployment position in which it overlies an inner surface of the fabric enclosure and a distal end of the tongue extends past an end of the vent closest to the free end. A first distance from the distal end of the tongue to a closest end of the vent may be shorter than a second distance from the distal end of the tongue to a closest end of fastening between the periphery of the membrane and the fabric enclosure.

Airbag having a pressure responsive vent

An airbag assembly for a motor vehicle has an airbagthat is inflated by an inflatorwhen the airbagis deployed in accordance with a control signal from an electronic controller. A portion of the airbagin a region where an expected head impact with the airbagwill occur is formed by a soft panel portionwhich provides a softer or more compliant structure that can expand or stretch to an increased surface area condition to thereby reduce the risk of injury to an occupant. The soft panel portionis constructed so as to provide increased give or stretch relative to the other parts of the fabric bagwhen a head of an occupant impacts against it.

Airbag assembly

An airbag assembly for a motor vehicle is disclosed having an airbagthat is inflated by an inflator when the airbagis deployed in accordance with a control signal from an electronic controller. The airbaghas a main chamberand at least one subsidiary chamberfluidly connected to the main chamberby a transfer vent. The main and subsidiary chambersandare vented to atmosphere by respective ventsand the pressure in the subsidiary chamberis arranged to be equal to or lower than the pressure in the main chamber. The subsidiary chamberis produced in a simple manner by forming a depression in the main chamberusing a tetherand covering the depression so formed with a cover

A steering column assembly for a motor vehicle is disclosed having lower and upper steering column members that are slidingly interengaged. The upper column member is attached to a structural part of the motor vehicle by a ride down mechanism that allows the upper steering column to move in the event of a collision. A load transfer means is provided to bypass the ride down mechanism when an adjustment lever is moved to a position allowing the position of the upper steering column member to be adjusted thereby preventing accidental damage occurring to the ride down mechanism due to operator abuse.

Growing community of inventors

Rayleigh, United Kingdom

Paul Mark Marable