Autoliv Asp, Incorporated

Morton International, Inc.

Autiliv Asp, Inc.

Scott A Jackson

Donald J Cunningham

Brian H Fulmer

David W Lindsey

Bradley W Smith

Todd S Parker

Paul T Philpot

Kerry C Walker

David J Green

Karl K Rink

Gregory J Lang

Linda M Rink

Darrin L Johnson

Brent K Olson

J Kirk Storey

Harry W Miller, Ii

James D Erickson

Brian T Snyder

Steven R Pripps

Wesley L Hatt

John N Parker

Graig S Oba

Steven A Spear

Eugene R Dearden

An airbag inflator having a reduced area filter and cartridge-loaded generant. The inflator has a tubular housing with a plurality of exit ports in a limited angular extent. A filter having the general shape of a section of a tube is received within the housing within the extent of the exit ports. The filter has lateral edges which are compressed to reduce the thickness of the filter along these edges, increasing the inner diameter of the filter. A hollow cylindrical cartridge may be provided to house a quantity of pyrotechnic gas generant. The cylindrical cartridge is received within the housing, with the filter interposed between the cartridge and the exit ports. The increased inner diameter of the filter permits the use of a larger diameter cartridge compared to a filter which has not had its lateral edges compressed, which in turn permits a shorter inflator to hold the same volume of generant. The housing may be formed by double impact extrusion to have two separate interiors, each having a generant cartridge. This will permit the cartridges to be fired separately, providing adaptive performance for the inflator.

Pyrotechnic inflator with reduced extent filter and cartridge charges

A method and apparatus for igniting a pyrotechnic gas generator, or inflator, such as those used in automotive airbag systems is disclosed. The ignition system uses a flammable gas to ignite the pyrotechnic gas generant. The flammable gas can be stored either throughout interior free space in the inflator or it can be maintained in a separate sealed container either separately or jointly with the pyrotechnic gas generant. The method and apparatus offer both cost savings and a reduction in delay time over conventional pyrotechnic ignition systems.

Flammable gas initiated pyrotechnic inflator

A consumable igniter tube for a solid fuel passenger side airbag inflator is provided. The igniter tube is composed of a thin metallic material, such as aluminum foil, that has it walls being at least partially, and preferably essentially fully devoured, almost instantaneously upon ignition of the primary igniter charge that is initially confined within the tube. The entire combustion products produced from the burning igniter charge, including hot gases as well as hot burning particulates, are thereby released through the openings created in the consumed igniter tube walls and vented into the adjacent combustion chamber that contains the solid fuel gas generant. All of the burning igniter products are thus used to ignite the solid fuel gas generant, which, upon ignition, generates inflation gases that eventually exit the inflator into a folded airbag in order to inflate and deploy the airbag into the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The igniter tube advantageously does not act as a heat sink to reduce heat transfer between the burning igniter charge and gas generant, since the walls of the igniter are consumed and vanish almost instantaneously upon ignition of the igniter charge. The igniter tube, accordingly, does not confine the solid burning particulates generated from the ignited igniter charge, thereby allowing for even more effective heat transfer from the ignited igniter to the solid fuel gas generant.

Airbag inflator with consumable igniter tube

A variable volume airbag cushion. The cushion includes a front wall having a central region for contacting the passenger, and a periphery. This periphery is connected to a periphery of a rear wall. The rear wall includes a central inlet operatively connected to a gas generator. The generator provides gas to initially inflate the volume defined between the front wall and rear walls. The rear wall includes at least one pleat therein, with the pleat held by a frangible connection such as a tear seam. It is preferred that the pleat be folded over to lie against the remainder of the rear wall, and secured thereto, again by a frangible connection. The pleats reduce the size of the rear wall, and therefore the volume between the front and rear walls. The frangible connections will rupture above a predetermined gas pressure in the cushion. This permits the rear wall to expand to its full size, increasing the volume between the front and rear walls. The cushion may therefore compensate for increase gas production due to higher ambient temperatures, or may be used with an adaptive gas generator which produces larger or smaller amounts of gas based upon various conditions.

Variable volume airbag cushion

An integral label/gasket for use in crimped sealing engagement with an airbag inflator. The integral label/gasket combines a flat, generally annular label, an annular, deformable outer gasket seal and an annular, deformable inner gasket seal into one component. The outer gasket seal is secured to and extends downwardly from a bottom surface of the label adjacent an outer edge of the label, and the inner gasket seal is secured to and extends downwardly from the bottom surface of the label adjacent an inner edge of the label. The label, for printing handling and operational warnings and other information thereon, has adhesive on a top surface thereof for securing the label to a baseplate of an airbag inflator. The outer gasket seal and the outer edge of the label are sized to be secured between the baseplate and a lower marginal edge of a cylindrical outer sidewall of the airbag inflator crimped radially inwardly engaging the baseplate, with the outer gasket seal providing a seal between the baseplate and the outer sidewall. The inner gasket seal and the inner edge of the label are sized to be secured between the baseplate and a lower marginal edge of a cylindrical inner sidewall of the airbag inflator crimped radially inwardly engaging the baseplate, with the inner gasket seal providing a seal between the baseplate and the inner sidewall.

Integral label/gasket for crimped inflator housing

A wrapped gas generant cartridge is incorporated in an inflator of a vehicle occupant restraint system. The gas generant cartridge includes a stacked, aligned plurality of substantially flat annular wafers of gas generant material having a central opening therethrough. A wrap of sheet material surrounds the plurality of wafers and has marginal end panels folded along the end surfaces of the plurality of wafers, leaving at least one end opening exposed for receiving an ignition tube of the inflator. The wrap of sheet material is selected from metal foil, expanded metal, cellulose, thermoplastics, including polyolefin shrink wrap, with tape, adhesive or adhesive laminates holding the wrap in position. The gas generant cartridge is received in a filter and screen pack within the inflator.

Wrapped gas generant cartridge

An improved method for the fabrication of filter assemblies for use in automotive air bag inflators by spirally winding a hollow cylindrical combustion screen comprised of layers of filter material. The spirally wound filter is then cut into individual units of desired length by the use of a conventional cutting device and additional filtering layers can optionally be added to form an inflator filter assembly.

Spiral wrapped inner tube for gas generator filter

A passenger air bag inflator using pressurized inert gas upon initial deployment to provide cool gas to the folded air bag. After the bag has started to unfold, the remaining gas is provided by pyrotechnic gas generant. Pyrotechnic gas expands against a piston. The piston compresses the inert gas and forces it to exhaust from the inflator. Upon expulsion of the inert gas, the piston then becomes a filter for the pyrotechnic. The system provides a reduction in air bag stresses from fast hot gas deployments.

Cold deployment pyrotechnic inflator for air bag systems

A generant cartridge for incorporation into an airbag inflation module, is produced by shrink wrapping a plastic envelope around gas generant pellets or wafers thereby completely encapsulating the gas generant in a hermetically sealed envelope. The gas generant cartridge may be prepared at one location and brought to an assembly line located at another location. As a result, the assembly of the generant into the module inflator is simplified. The gas generant may be shrink wrapped with an entire filter assembly or with only a portion of the filter assembly and then inserted into an inflator. A booster charge for rapid ignition of the gas generant may also be inserted in the cartridge.

Shrink wrap generant cartridge

An electrically energized coil or solenoid activates a magnetic piston/plunger assembly which forces pressurized gas out of a container through a diffuser and into an air bag without using pyrotechnic material, and thereby eliminating all of the undesirable effects associated with current state of the art inflators (i.e., particulate, smell, smoke, manufacturing dangers, etc.).

Electromechanical automotive air bag inflator

A dual-walled air bag inflator having a filter and gas generant within a common chamber, with the gas exiting radially from the inflator. Various arrangements are provided to force the generated gas to change its direction of travel at least 90.degree. prior to exiting in order to slow the gas and improve filtration. Gas barriers are placed within the chamber to force the desired flow. The gas flow may be directed radially inward in opposed streams to cancel velocity, and then directed radially outward toward the filter and exits. In one embodiment a mixing chamber is provided for the gas prior to encountering the filter.

Growing community of inventors

Centerville, UT, United States of America

Scott A Jackson