American Components, Inc.

Robert Scott Baker

Frank H Speckhart

A roll-over airbag 10 having an upper fabric panel 15 and a lower fabric panel 20 perimetrically bonded to the upper fabric panel 15. This perimetric joint is reinforced with a lap joint 30 defining a reinforced interior seal. In order to limit the height and/or thickness of the roll-over airbag 10 by limiting the displacement of the upper and lower fabric panels 15 and 20 from one another during expansion of the roll-over airbag 10, at least one tether member 40 is disposed within roll-over airbag 10. Also a through-opening is defined by passageway 85 to permit passage of a seat belt through the roll-over airbag 10 while stored in a deflated condition. In the preferred embodiment, the passageway 85 is defined by a pleated channel member 90. The pleats 96 allow the channel member 90 to fold flat when the roll-over airbag 10 is deflated and allows substantially uniform expansion of the roll-over airbag 10 during inflation.

Roll-over air bag

A sensor pad for controlling the deployment of an automobile airbag. Weight sensing pad 10 is used in the seat 54 of an automobile, (not illustrated), to detect the presence of an occupant on the seat. Weight sensing pad 10 is used in conjunction with the vehicle's airbag control module in order to allow deployment of the airbag, in the event of a collision, only if the seat is occupied by a person of a preselected weight. Weight sensing pad 10 is defined by a bladder member 15 having an interior volume subdivided into a plurality of individual cells 42 in fluid communication with each other and that is filled with a non-compressible fluid 18, such as silicon or a silica gel of medium viscosity. A pressure tube 22 is in fluid communication with bladder 15 and is in further fluid communication with a pressure activated electronic transducer 26 which in turn is in electronic communication with the airbag controller 30. When a person sits upon weight sensing pad 10, there is a volumetric displacement of fluid 18 that provides a pressure change in the bladder member. If there is a sufficient pressure change due to the volumetric displacement of fluid to activate transducer 26, transducer 26 sends a signal to air bag controller 30. Electronic transducer 26 is selected to generate a signal upon detection of pressure resultant from the volumetric displacement of fluid 18 from bladder 15 expected from the average size adult of approximately one hundred pounds or heavier.

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Dandridge, TN, United States of America

Robert Scott Baker