U.S. patent application number 09/726667 was filed with the patent office on 2001-07-05 for gas bag module cover.
Invention is credited to Lorenz, Christian, Neupert, Ralph.
Application Number | 20010006286 09/726667 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 8083654 |
Filed Date | 2001-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010006286 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lorenz, Christian ; et
al. |
July 5, 2001 |
Gas bag module cover
Abstract
The invention relates to a gas bag module cover, comprising at
least one opening portion for closing an outlet opening, and a
predetermined tear line along which the cover is opened in a
restraint situation and which defines one opening portion of the
cover. The gas bag module further comprises at least one first
hinge portion provided on the cover, via which first hinge portion
the opening portion, when said cover is opened, remains connected
with the cover. The opening portion has at least one second hinge
portion which divides the opening portion into partial sections and
allows a movement of the partial sections relative to each other.
Further, the invention relates to a vehicle steering wheel which is
equipped with such a gas bag module cover.
Inventors: |
Lorenz, Christian;
(Leidersbach, DE) ; Neupert, Ralph;
(Kleinwallstadt, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TAROLLI, SUNDHEIM, COVELL, TUMMINO & SZABO L.L.P.
1111 LEADER BLDG.
526 SUPERIOR AVENUE
CLEVELAND
OH
44114-1400
US
|
Family ID: |
8083654 |
Appl. No.: |
09/726667 |
Filed: |
November 29, 2000 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
280/728.3 ;
280/731 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 21/2155 20130101;
B60R 21/21656 20130101; B60R 21/2165 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
280/728.3 ;
280/731 |
International
Class: |
B60R 021/20 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 30, 1999 |
DE |
299 22 988.2 |
Claims
1. A gas bag module cover, comprising at least one opening portion
for closing an outlet opening, a predetermined tear line along
which said cover is opened in a restraint situation and which
defines said opening portion of said cover, and at least one first
hinge portion provided on said cover, via which first hinge portion
said opening portion, when said cover is opened, remains connected
with said cover, said opening portion having at least one second
hinge portion which divides said opening portion into partial
sections and allows a movement of said partial sections relative to
each other when said cover is opened.
2. The gas bag module cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
second hinge portion extends parallel to said first hinge
portion.
3. The gas bag module cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least
one hinge portion is formed by a film hinge.
4. The gas bag module cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
cover has a front wall and a side wall and said first hinge portion
is provided in said side wall.
5. The gas bag module cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
second hinge portion defines a swivel axis and is formed such that,
in both opposite swiveling directions about said axis, it offers
different resistances to a swivel movement of said partial section
disposed further to the outside when said cover is opened.
6. The gas bag module cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
hinge portions define swivel axes and offer such resistances
against swiveling about said axes and said hinge portions are
disposed at such locations that said opening portion is swiveled in
a condition kinked about said second hinge portion.
7. The gas bag module cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
cover is part of a dashboard on a passenger side of a vehicle.
8. A vehicle steering wheel with a steering wheel rim, a gas bag
module and a gas bag module cover which comprises at least one
opening portion for closing an outlet opening, a predetermined tear
line along which said cover is opened in a restraint situation and
which defines said opening portion of said cover, and at least one
first hinge portion provided on said cover, via which first hinge
portion said opening portion, when said cover is opened, remains
connected with said cover, said opening portion having at least one
second hinge portion which divides said opening portion into
partial sections and allows a movement of said partial sections
relative to each other when said cover is opened, a position of
said hinge portions and a position of said tear line being
coordinated with respect to said steering wheel rim such that said
opening portion can swivel to axially behind said steering wheel
rim.
9. The steering wheel as claimed in claim 8, wherein said hinge
portions are coordinated with each other such that after having
swiveled to axially behind said steering wheel rim said opening
portion is prevented from swiveling back by said steering wheel rim
acting as a stop.
10. The steering wheel as claimed in claim 8, wherein said second
hinge portion extends parallel to said first hinge portion.
11. The steering wheel as claimed in claim 8, wherein at least one
hinge portion is formed by a film hinge.
12. The steering wheel as claimed in claim 8, wherein said cover
has a front wall and a side wall and said first hinge portion is
provided in said side wall.
13. The steering wheel as claimed in claim 8, wherein said second
hinge portion defines an axis and is formed such that, in both
opposite swiveling directions about said axis, it offers different
resistances to a swivel movement of said partial section disposed
further to the outside when said cover is opened.
14. The steering wheel as claimed in claim 8, wherein said hinge
portions define axes and offer such resistances against swiveling
about said axes and said hinge portions are disposed at such
locations that said opening portion is swiveled in a condition
kinked about said second hinge portion.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This invention relates to a gas bag module cover and to a
vehicle steering wheel provided with a gas bag module cover
according to the invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In a restraint situation, a cover of a gas bag module is
torn up by the deploying gas bag or by some other means and is
intended to release the initially closed outlet opening as quickly
as possible. The swiveling radius of the opening portion should be
rather small here, in order to minimize the risk for the occupant
to be hit by the opening portion swiveling towards outside. While
there is no risk for occupants having the ideal sitting position,
occupants might for instance lean against the dashboard or the
steering wheel and be hit by the opening portion swiveling towards
outside in the case of restraint.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The invention provides a gas bag module cover which
distinctly reduces the risk of injury originating with the opening
portion. This is achieved in a gas bag module cover which comprises
at least one opening portion for closing an outlet opening, and a
predetermined tear line along which the cover is opened in a
restraint situation and which defines the at least one opening
portion of the cover. The gas bag module further comprises at least
one first hinge portion provided on the cover, via which first
hinge portion the opening portion, when said cover is opened,
remains connected with the cover. The opening portion has at least
one second hinge portion which divides the opening portion into
partial sections and allows a relative movement of the partial
sections. By means of the second hinge portion, which divides the
opening portion, the stability of the opening portion is reduced
after the cover has been opened, as the second hinge portion allows
partial sections to move relative to each other, i.e. to preferably
be swiveled towards each other. Hence it is possible that the
radius of movement of the opening portion is reduced. The opening
portion can be kinked about the second hinge portion, which is for
instance caused by the deploying gas bag, the partial sections thus
swivel towards each other, and in this kinked or partly kinked
condition the opening portion will then move towards outside. A
further advantage of the invention consists in that the opening
portion, which forms a flap, may indeed partly be directed towards
the occupant upon deployment of the gas bag and possibly upon
deflation of the gas bag after the accident, but in the case of a
secondary impact, where the occupant gets in contact with the
opening portion, causes no injuries due to its low stability. The
stability, above all against kinking, is decreased by the second
hinge portion. Moreover, in the open condition of the opening
portion, the partial sections are not aligned parallel to each
other, so that a force exerted on the edge defining the outer end
of the opening portion can be very small in order to kink the
opening portion.
[0004] Preferably, the first and the second hinge portion extend
parallel to each other, so as not to exert any torsional forces on
the opening portion.
[0005] Hinge portions may be formed by film hinges, i.e. by
portions of the gas bag module cover with a reduced thickness,
which reduces the manufacturing costs.
[0006] In accordance with one aspect, the cover according to the
invention also has a front wall and a side wall, which is common
practice particularly with covers for steering wheel gas bag
modules. In this embodiment, the first hinge portion is provided in
the side wall. Due to this position of the first hinge portion, the
opening portion will move less far towards the occupant than in an
embodiment in which the first hinge portion is provided at the
front wall.
[0007] When the hinge portions offers different resistances to a
swivel movement of the portions of the cover pivotally mounted at
the same and/or different resistances in the possible opposite
swiveling directions, the path of movement of the individual
partial sections when the cover is opened can be influenced such
that for instance the opening portion is kinked in the first
opening phase, before the opening portion as a whole is completely
swiveled to the outside. The positions of the hinge portions and
possibly the opening behavior of the gas bag may also influence the
course of the opening process.
[0008] The cover according to the invention may be suitable for any
kind of module cover, either for side gas bag modules, passenger
modules, in which case the cover is part of the dashboard, or for
driver-side steering wheel modules.
[0009] The invention also relates to a vehicle steering wheel
comprising a steering wheel rim, a gas bag module as well as a
cover according to the invention. The position of the first and the
second hinge portions and the position of the tear line are
coordinated with the steering wheel rim such that the opening
portion can swivel to axially behind the steering wheel rim, so
that in the fully open condition of the cover the opening portion
is positioned as far away from the occupant as possible.
[0010] To prevent the opening portion from swiveling back, the
hinge portions are coordinated with each other such that upon
axially swiveling to behind the steering wheel rim, the opening
portion is prevented from swiveling back by the steering wheel rim
itself, which in this case acts as stop.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a vehicle
steering wheel according to the invention, with a cover according
to the invention; and
[0012] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the gas bag module cover
according to the invention, in a cross-sectional view, the cover
being integrated in the dashboard on the side of the passenger.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] FIG. 1 represents a vehicle steering wheel which in the
vicinity of the hub 3 has a gas bag module including a gas
generator 5 and a gas bag 7. Reference numeral 9 designates a
steering wheel rim. A pot-shaped gas bag module cover, subsequently
only briefly referred to as cover 11, closes the gas bag module
towards the front side. The cover 11 has a front wall 13 and a
surrounding side wall 15 integrally molded on the front wall 13. In
the region 17, the cover 11 is connected with a likewise pot-shaped
module container 19, which may also be a pot-shaped steering wheel
hub 3. The cover 11, which is made of plastic material, has a
plurality of predetermined tear lines which in a top view have the
shape of an "H", only the transverse web of the "H" being shown in
FIG. 1, which transverse web is provided with the reference numeral
21 and is subsequently referred to as tear line 21. The tear lines
define two opening portions 23, 25 forming two flaps, which close
the outlet opening (which has the extent for instance of the front
wall 13) for the gas bag 7 in the non-activated condition. Apart
from the tear lines 21, each opening portion 23, 25 is also defined
by an associated first hinge 27, subsequently referred to as hinge
portion 27, which forms the transition from the opening portions
23, 25 to the rest of the cover 11. The first hinge portions 27 are
produced by film hinges, i.e. recesses in the cover 11, and are
disposed in the vicinity of the side wall, i.e. as far away from
the occupant as possible. Moreover, each opening portion 23, 25 has
a second and a third hinge portion 29 and 31, respectively, the
second hinge portion 29 being disposed in the vicinity of the
transition from the end wall 15 to the front wall 13, and the third
hinge portions 31 being disposed between the second hinge portions
29 and the tear line 21. The second and third hinge portions 29, 31
are also formed by film hinges. Moreover, all hinge portions 27 to
31 are disposed parallel to each other and extend in a line-shaped
form. The second and third hinge portions divide each opening
portion 23, 25 into partial sections 41 to 45, which can be
swiveled towards each other by the hinge portions, as will be
explained below.
[0014] When the gas generator 5 is activated and the gas bag 7 is
inflated, the gas bag 7 causes the cover 11 to burst along the tear
lines, for instance along the tear line 21, so that the opening
portions 23, 25 are separated from the remainder of the cover and
remain fixed at the rest of the cover 11 only via the first hinge
portions 27. The movements of the opening portions 23, 25 while the
cover is opened are represented in broken lines in various phases
of the movement. The final position, when both opening portions 23,
25 are completely swiveled to the outside, is finally shown in
continuous lines.
[0015] The hinge portions 29, 31 offer different resistances to the
partial sections being swiveled about the axes formed by them. The
hinge portions 29 for instance offer a smaller resistance to being
swiveled than the hinge portions 31, which can for instance be
achieved by the reduced thickness of the cover in the vicinity of
the second hinge portions 29. By means of the different resistances
offered by the hinge portions to a swivel movement, and by means of
the points at which the deploying gas bag 27 contacts the opening
portions in the initial phase of the opening movement, it can be
achieved that both opening portions 23, 25 first of all kink in the
vicinity of the second hinge portions 29, before a similar kinking
movement occurs in the vicinity of the third hinge portions 31.
[0016] Due to the fact that by means of the two hinge portions 29
the two partial sections 43, 51 are first of all swiveled towards
the partial section 41 and a distinct swivel movement of the
partial section 45 towards the partial section 43 is effected only
later, both opening portions 23, 25 are hardly swiveled in the
direction X towards the driver. The opening movement rather is a
kinking of the opening portions 23, 25 and a movement of these
kinked opening portions towards outside and to the rear. Such
kinking on the whole results in a smaller swiveling radius of both
opening portions 23, 25 about the hinge portions 27, which leads to
a smaller hazard potential of the moving opening portions 23, 25.
During the swivel movement of these flap-like opening portions 23,
25, the same move past the steering wheel rim 9 at a distance from
it, as is represented in broken lines, to axially behind the
steering wheel rim 9. The two opening portions 23, 25, which were
folded together almost to form a "U", will be folded apart again at
the end of the swivel movement, as is represented in continuous
lines. Folding back is, however, no longer possible since, as can
be seen in FIG. 1, after being folded apart both opening portions
23, 25 are folded apart to such an extent that they can strike
against the steering wheel rim 9. The geometry of the opening
portions 23, 25 is thus adjusted to the position of the steering
wheel rim 9 such that the latter acts as a stop for the two opening
portions 23, 25 fully swiveled to the outside. In the case of a
secondary impact, the opening portions 23, 25 by no means protrude
in the direction of the occupant.
[0017] FIG. 2 represents a second embodiment of the gas bag module
cover according to the invention. The cover is, however, integrally
mounted in the dashboard 51 on the passenger side. However, the
mode of function of the cover when it is opened is the same as in
the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, so that for explanation purposes
reference may be made to the description of FIG. 1. The parts
having the same function are also provided with the same reference
numerals, increased by 100.
[0018] It should, however, be mentioned that the cover only
consists of a front wall and has no side walls. Moreover, only two
hinge portions are provided, namely first hinge portions 127, which
form the transition from the opening portions 123, 125 to the rest
of the dashboard 51, and second hinge portions 129, which divide
each opening portion 123, 125 into partial sections 141 and
143.
[0019] In this embodiment, too, a kinking of the opening portions
123, 125 when the cover 111 is opened is achieved by the second
hinge portion 29. The swiveling radii of both opening portions 123,
125 can thereby be reduced. Even for the case that the two opening
portions 123, 125 can swivel back again, after they have completely
swiveled towards outside and the gas bag has been deflated, they
will not protrude towards the occupant as a rigid, large-surface
flap. The second hinge portions 129 provide for the two flap-like
opening portions 123, 125 kinking again when the occupant hits the
latter.
* * * * *