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. 13, 1995
Filed:
Dec. 17, 1993
Laura A Hawthorn, Vandalia, OH (US);
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
A vehicle air bag assembly has a housing mounted beneath an opening in a vehicle panel and holding an inflator for discharging gas to inflate an air bag for deployment through the opening. A door normally closes the opening and is forcibly moved out of the opening from a closed position to an open position by the deploying air bag. The housing also includes a plurality of apertures communicable with ambient air. A flap closes the apertures to prevent communication with ambient air so that discharging inflator gas is blocked from escaping out through the apertures and is fully utilized for initial air bag inflation to open the door. A positioning device positions the flap for closing the apertures in the housing. The flap is operatively connected to the door, such as by having an end secured thereto, and is pulled by the opening movement of the door to open the apertures. Upon opening movement of the door by the deploying air bag, ambient air is aspirated in through the apertures to augment the volume of inflator gas delivered to the air bag, and subsequently inflator gas and ambient air may be vented out through the apertures.