Autoliv Asp, Incorporated

Scott Jackson

Anthony M Young

Kevin Smith

David J Green

Brent A Parks

Michael Perry Jordan

Gregory J Lang

Matthew Alan Cox

Alan Ralph Larsen

Robert E Lewis

Kenneth J Clark

Paul Dinsdale

Gary Smith

Michael Perez

Greg Lanham

Andrew P Jackson

An igniter for a passenger vehicle safety airbag module includes a housing with apertured walls, gas-generating tablets filling the housing, and, in direct contact with gas-generating tablets, an initiator containing combustible material. A plurality of four malleable flaps of substantially identical shape and size are secured about the squib in an upstanding circumscribing array with spaced-apart, opposed lateral edges between adjacent of the flaps interconnected by fluid seals in the form of webbing that is structurally less robust than the flaps. The ends of the flaps remote from the squib curl radially inwardly into a spaced-apart edge-to-edge disposition beyond the combustible material. The webbing and the flaps together enclose an interior space and the combustible material. Pressure from the ignition of the combustible material causes the fluid seals to burst and the flaps to pivot outwardly crushing the gas-generating tablets in the housing.

Tablet-breaking initiator for airbag inflator

An inflator including a housing with a first chamber that contains a quantity of gas generant. An initiator is operatively associated with the first chamber and in reaction initiating communication with at least a portion of the quantity of gas generant. The initiator, upon actuation, acts to ignite at least a portion of the quantity of gas generant to form gas. The housing further has a second chamber adjacently disposed to the first chamber. The second chamber contains a sealed storage reservoir and a piston assembly. The sealed storage reservoir includes a liner and a lid and contains a quantity of liquid. The piston assembly includes a piston. During deployment, the piston moves to unseal the storage reservoir to release at least a portion of the quantity of liquid such that the released liquid contacts and cools gas formed by the ignition of the gas generant. A discharge opening permits gas to exit the housing.

Liquid cooled inflator

A dual stage inflator device including a housing defining first and second chamber each containing a quantity of gas generant material ignitable to produce combustion products. A divider plate, separating the first chamber from the second chamber, is disposed and fixed within the housing. The divider plate includes an opening to allow gas flow communication from the second chamber to the first chamber. A removable plug element is normally disposed in the divider plate opening to prevent gas flow communication between the first chamber and the second chamber when in a static state.

Dual stage inflator

An airbag inflator that includes a pyrotechnic material capable of producing a quantity of gas during deployment. The inflator also includes a filter. The filter may be an expanded metal filter that is wrapped about the pyrotechnic material. When this filter is wrapped about the pyrotechnic material, the filter forms a plurality of layers having holes that are a different size. This filter also includes a first set of barriers and a second set of barriers that are positioned exterior of the first set of barriers, the second set of barriers being offset from the first set of barriers. Gas passing through the filter will encounter the first set of barriers, be re-directed, encounter the second set of barriers, be re-directed, and then flow out of the filter.

Filter for airbag inflator using variable expanded metal

A stored gas inflator having a chamber. The chamber houses a quantity of stored gas. The chamber is sealed by a burst disk. A frangible support is also added. The frangible support is designed to support the burst disk. The frangible support breaks during deployment of the inflator. The inflator is further constructed such that when the temperature of the inflator exceeds a threshold level, the gas is vented out of the chamber through the frangible member.

Inflator with frangible support

A new type of airbag inflator is described. The airbag inflator includes a chamber that houses a quantity of inflation gas. The inflation gas is capable of filling and deploying an airbag. The inflator also includes a membrane that seals the chamber. A sliding baffle is also added to the inflator. The sliding baffle is positioned proximate the membrane. The sliding baffle has a membrane rupture mechanism and a plurality of gas flow holes. Upon initiation of the inflator, the sliding baffle slides to cause the rupture mechanism to fail the membrane. The rupture mechanism fails the membrane by detaching a single piece from the membrane. The single piece is sufficiently large such that it remains within the inflator (or within the sliding baffle) and does not pass through one of the gas flow holes.

Airbag inflation with sliding baffle

An inflator device including a pressure vessel forming a gas storage chamber having contents including a supply of stored pressurized gas. The pressure vessel forms a gas exit opening at a first end of the pressure vessel. An initiator assembly includes an initiator cover that extends through a sidewall of the pressure vessel at a first end portion of the pressure vessel, such that at least a portion of the initiator cover extends radially inwardly into the gas storage chamber. An initiator is positioned within the initiator cover, and produces a discharge effective to rupture a rupturable closure element normally covering the gas exit opening to allow flow of at least a portion of the gas storage chamber contents through the gas exit opening. A first radial aperture formed in the initiator cover is positioned at a direct discharge distance with respect to the closure element to focus the initiator discharge at the closure element to rupture the closure element. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the inflator device also includes a supply of gas-generating pyrotechnic material contained within the gas storage chamber, wherein at least a portion of the supply of gas-generating pyrotechnic material is reactable to produce a product gas. A second aperture is formed in the initiator cover, and is in reaction initiation communication with the supply of gas-generating pyrotechnic material.

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Centerville, UT, United States of America

Scott Jackson