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:
Dec. 02, 1997
Filed:
Apr. 08, 1996
Kevin J Boxey, Columbiaville, MI (US);
Andrew J Smydra, Rochester, MI (US);
TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc., Lyndhurst, OH (US);
Abstract
A vehicle occupant protection apparatus (10) comprises an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device, such as an air bag (12), a reaction canister (20), and a rectangular retainer frame (74). The reaction canister (20) has four walls (50, 52, 54, 56) in a rectangular configuration surrounding an inlet portion (72) of the air bag (12). The retainer frame (74) is enclosed within the inlet portion (72) of the air bag (12). The length and width of the retainer frame (74) are defined by first, second, third, and fourth retainer strips (100, 102, 104, 106) which are separate parts. Fasteners (76) press each of the retainer strips (100-106) against a corresponding one of the four walls (50-56) so as to clamp the inlet portion (72) of the air bag (12) between the retainer frame (74) and the reaction canister (20). The first and second strips (100, 102) support the third and fourth strips (104, 106) for limited movement along the length and across the width of the retainer frame (74) under the influence of the fasteners (76) when the fasteners (76) are pressing the strips (100-106) against the walls (50-56).