The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 24, 1980
Filed:
Jan. 11, 1978
Donald R St Clair, Peru, IL (US);
Gerald W Ogden, Elgin, IL (US);
General Time Corporation, Thomaston, CT (US);
Abstract
A sensing apparatus is responsive to the relative velocity of a vehicle and an impacted object in a crash environment to provide an output when a predetermined pressure is developed in a sensing chamber resulting in deployment of an air bag within the vehicle compartment. The purpose of the air bag is to restrain movement of the occupant relative to the vehicle in the event of a 'high speed' crash. The sensing apparatus utilizes in operation the characteristics of flow of a fluid through an orifice. The sensing apparatus includes a sealed chamber formed by a cylinder and an expandable reservoir for receiving the fluid and absorbing surges as the fluid flows through the orifice. A piston movable in the cylinder against a biasing force imparts movement to the fluid thereby to attain some velocity of flow. When the velocity shall equal a threshold velocity, the flow of fluid which theretofore was laminar, with little or no pressure differential across the orifice, becomes turbulent resulting in a build-up of pressure in the cylinder which rapidly increases as the velocity of the flow increases. A pressure transmitting member is reponsive to cylinder pressure thereby to provide the output when a predetermined pressure is reached.