U.S. patent application number 09/847710 was filed with the patent office on 2002-01-17 for gas bag module.
This patent application is currently assigned to TRW Occupant Restraint Systems GmbH & Co. KG. Invention is credited to Alb, Manfred, Anders, Marcus, Saelzle, Geunther.
Application Number | 20020005634 09/847710 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 7940969 |
Filed Date | 2002-01-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020005634 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Alb, Manfred ; et
al. |
January 17, 2002 |
Gas bag module
Abstract
A gas bag module comprises a gas bag, a first ejection channel,
in which part of the gas bag is located, and a flexible cover
surrounding the gas bag in areas which are not located within the
ejection channel. The cover is provided with a tearing line which
allows the gas bag to emerge from the cover.
Inventors: |
Alb, Manfred; (Iggengen,
DE) ; Saelzle, Geunther; (Aspach, DE) ;
Anders, Marcus; (Deggingen, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TAROLLI, SUNDHEIM COVELL,
TUMMINO & SZABO L.L.P.
1111 Leader Building
Cleveland
OH
44114
US
|
Assignee: |
TRW Occupant Restraint Systems GmbH
& Co. KG
|
Family ID: |
7940969 |
Appl. No.: |
09/847710 |
Filed: |
May 2, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
280/730.2 ;
280/728.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 21/20 20130101;
B60R 21/213 20130101; B60R 21/201 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
280/730.2 ;
280/728.1 |
International
Class: |
B60R 021/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 3, 2000 |
DE |
200 07 930.1 |
Claims
1. A gab bag module comprising a gas bag, a first ejection channel,
in which part of said gas bag is located, and a flexible cover
surrounding said gas bag in areas which are not located within said
ejection channel, said cover being provided with a tearing line
which allows said gas bag to emerge from said cover.
2. The gas bag of claim 1, wherein a second ejection channel is
provided, said second ejection channel being separated from said
first ejection channel by a space, a part of said gas bag extending
in said space, said flexible cover being mounted at said first and
said second ejection channels and surrounding said part of said gas
bag extending in said space between said ejection channels.
3. The gas bag module of claim 1, wherein said cover is made of
Tyvek.
4. The gas bag module of claim 1, wherein said cover is made of a
plastic film.
5. The gas bag module of claim 1, wherein said cover is made of a
fabric.
6. The gas bag module of claim 1, wherein said ejection channel is
provided with an attachment means for said cover.
7. The gas bag module of claim 5, wherein said attachment means is
a projection and said cover is provided with an opening through
which said projection protrudes.
8. The gas bag module of claim 1, wherein said cover is glued to
said ejection channel.
9. The gas bag module of claim 1, wherein said tear line is formed
by a perforated line.
10. The gas bag module of claim 1, wherein warning statements are
printed onto said cover.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Conventional gas bag modules comprise a gas bag, at least a
first ejection channel, in which part of the gas bag is located,
and in some cases a second ejection channel, which is separated
from the first ejection channel by a space and in which another
part of the gas bag is located. The gas bag of such a gas bag
module serves to provide protection for a vehicle occupant,
especially in the case of a side-impact collision. For this
purpose, the gas bag is unfolded by means of compressed gas that
flows into the gas bag after a gas generator has been activated.
The ejection channel serves to receive the gas bag before its
activation and to influence the unfolding process and the unfolding
direction during the activation.
[0002] Conventional gas bag modules for a side-impact collision
extend from the A-column of the vehicle to the C-column In this
manner, the passengers in the front seat of the car as well as
those in the back seat can be protected in case of a side-impact
collision. As a consequence, the gas bag module itself is
relatively long, up to about 2.5 meters, so that handling problems
arise before the assembly. In order to facilitate the handling, two
separate ejection channels may be provided, one of which is mounted
later, for example, onto the A-column and the other onto the roof
edge of the vehicle. During the transportation of the gas bag
module, the two ejection channels, along with the gas bag that has
already been placed in them, can be folded together from their
fully extended arrangement, so that they lie on each other in a
space-saving manner. As an alternative to an embodiment with two
ejection channels, a single ejection channel may be used with a
length which is considerably smaller than the length of the gas
bag. The gas bag then protrudes from either one end or from both
ends of the ejection channel.
[0003] A problematic aspect here is that the gas bag, can be
damaged both during transportation as such and also by the folding
in areas outside the ejection channel or between the two ejection
channels.
[0004] The objective of the invention is to prevent damage to the
gas bag in the area between the two ejection channels.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0005] For this purpose, a gas bag module is provided which
comprises a gas bag, a first ejection channel, in which part of the
gas bag is located, and a flexible cover surrounding the gas bag in
areas which are not located within the ejection channel. The cover
is provided with a tearing line which allows the gas bag to emerge
from the cover. The invention is based on the general notion of
using a cover for the parts of the gas bag that are exposed during
transportation of the gas bag and assembly in the vehicle, for
example, because they protrude from a housing part of the gas bag
module and consequently can easily be damaged. The cover especially
offers mechanical protection for the gas bag that is exposed in the
area between the ejection channels in case two ejection channels
are used, so that damage during transportation or due to creasing
of the gas bag in this area can be reliably prevented. The material
for the cover can fundamentally be any flexible material that
offers an adequate mechanical protection for the gas bag. An
especially suited material is Tyvek.
[0006] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the
sub-claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention is described below with reference to a
preferred embodiment that is shown in the single appended drawing.
This drawing shows a gas bag module according to the invention in a
perspective view.
[0008] The gas bag module 5 has a gas bag that is folded up in two
ejection channels 12, 14. Each ejection channel has an outlet
opening 16 through which the gas bag can emerge from the ejection
channels when it is unfolded. In order to unfold, compressed gas
flows into it via a gas lance 18 that is shown here in schematic
form.
[0009] A cover 20 is provided that is attached to the two ejection
channels 12, 14 and that extends over the space located between
them so that the gas bag extending through the space from one
ejection channel to the other ejection channel is covered. The
cover consists of a generally square piece of material that is
folded in such a way as to form a tube. Each ejection channel 12,
14 is provided with a projection 22 that protrudes through the
corresponding openings of the cover 20. Moreover, adhesive sites 24
are provided on which the cover is glued together and attached to
the corresponding ejection channel.
[0010] On the cover 20, there is a tear line 16 in the form of a
perforated line that extends into the extension of the outlet
opening 16. The tear line 26 is configured in such a way that it is
destroyed when the gas bag unfolds, so that the gas bag can unfold
freely.
[0011] The term tear line is to be understood to designate any
arrangement which allows the gas bag to escape from the cover when
the gas bag is unfolded. Instead of a perforated line, the tear
line may be formed from a tearing seam, an adhesive connection or
any other suitable connection between two plies of the cover.
[0012] It is to be noted that the cover may be used also for
embodiments of the gas bag module in which a single ejection
channel is provided, from which the gas bag protrudes at one end or
at both ends. The cover is then attached at one of its ends only
and covers the gas bag in the areas outside the ejection
channel.
* * * * *