U.S. patent number 3,722,528 [Application Number 05/182,490] was granted by the patent office on 1973-03-27 for arrangement for quietly inflating safety gas bags in motor vehicles.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Wolf-Dieter Klink. Invention is credited to Ernst Fiala.
United States Patent |
3,722,528 |
Fiala |
March 27, 1973 |
ARRANGEMENT FOR QUIETLY INFLATING SAFETY GAS BAGS IN MOTOR
VEHICLES
Abstract
An arrangement for quietly inflating safety gas bags in motor
vehicles from a source of compressed gas. The source has at least
two pressure vessels separated from each other and each of the
vessels has a discharge outlet. A valve is mounted at each of the
discharge outlets for controlling the passage of gas therethrough
respectively. A release mechanism is mounted at the vessels for
opening the valve of one of the vessels after the valve of the
other vessel opens.
Inventors: |
Fiala; Ernst
(Braunschweig-Querum, DT) |
Assignee: |
Wolf-Dieter Klink (Danziger
Weg, DT)
|
Family
ID: |
5782999 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/182,490 |
Filed: |
September 21, 1971 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 21, 1970 [DT] |
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P 20 46 515.0 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
137/255; 137/265;
280/736 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R
21/268 (20130101); Y10T 137/4673 (20150401); Y10T
137/4841 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
B60R
21/26 (20060101); F16k 031/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;137/255,256,263,265,572,576 ;280/15AB |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Klinksiek; Henry T.
Assistant Examiner: Miller; Robert J.
Claims
I claim:
1. Arrangement for quietly inflating safety gas bags in motor
vehicles from a source of compressed gas, said source comprising at
least two pressure vessels separated from each other, each of said
vessels having a discharge outlet, a valve mounted at each of said
discharge outlets for controlling the passage of gas therethrough
respectively, and release means mounted at said vessels for opening
the valve of one of said vessels after the valve of the other one
of said vessels opens.
2. Arrangement according to claim 1, said release means comprising
a hollow cylinder member connecting the interior of said one vessel
with the interior of said other vessel, a piston disposed in said
cylinder member so as to be slidable therein, said piston being
connected to said valve of said one vessel for opening said last
mentioned valve after said valve of said other vessel opens.
3. Arrangement according to claim 2 said valve of said one vessel
being a flap valve having a pivoted flap, said release means
comprising a mechanical linkage for connecting said piston with
said flap.
4. Arrangement according to claim 2, said release means comprising
a spring braced against said piston for applying a force to one end
thereof.
Description
My invention relates to an arrangement for quiet inflating gas bags
in motor vehicles with compressed gas which is contained in a
compressed gas vessel.
When the valves of this vessel are opened, detonation-like noises
occur due to the decompression of the compressed gas and the sudden
inflation of the gas bags, which under some circumstances can
produce shock-like effects on the passengers of the vehicle.
It is an object of my invention to provide an arrangement for
reducing considerably the noise associated with the filling of air
bags.
According to a feature of the invention, the noises accompanying
the filling of the gas bags can be reduced considerably if the
compressed gas, for example, air is contained in at least two
physically separated air spaces. The discharge outlets of these
spaces are closed by valves which in the event of danger are opened
sequentially with a short time delay between openings. This time
delay can also be utilized to predetermine the course of the
unfolding process of several air bags; furthermore, the product of
pressure and volume per tank need thereby not be kept within
critical limits.
Particularly advantageous configurations are obtained if the
individual pressure spaces are connected with each other by a
hollow cylinder member in which a piston is guided in a movable
manner which in turn controls the valve that opens later in time.
The piston is preferably coupled mechanically with a flap of this
valve and is, in addition, acted upon by the pressure or force of a
spring at one side thereof.
It is particularly of advantage, if several pressure spaces are
provided having respective valves which are opened sequentially in
time, to provide a small control vessel filled with gas under
pressure ahead of the space which opens first; this control vessel
is equipped with a valve which can be opened with little
expenditure of energy. The time delay before the opening of the
valve of the first space back of the control vessel is
approximately 2 to 5 milliseconds and can be determined by the mass
and effective working area of the piston.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as an
arrangement for quietly inflating safety gas bags in motor
vehicles, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the
details shown, since various modifications may be made therein
within the scope and the range of the claims. The invention,
however, together with additional objects and advantages will be
best understood from the following description and in connection
with the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partially in section, of the
arrangement of the invention for quietly inflating safety gas bags
wherein two pressure vessels are disposed side by side, only the
pertinent portions thereof being illustrated; and
FIG. 2 shows a sectional view taken along the line II--II in FIG.
1.
Reference numeral 1 designates the interior space of the pressure
vessel 2. The valve 20 of vessel 2 is controlled, for example, by a
release holding means such as disclosed in my copending
application, Ser. No. 188,324 (F-5467), filed on Sept., 1971 and
entitled: COMPRESSED GAS VESSEL FOR SAFETY GAS BAGS IN MOTOR
VEHICLES. The interior space 1 is connected via a hollow cylinder
member 3 with the interior space 4 of a further pressure vessel 5.
The discharge outlet 6 of vessel 5 is closed by a valve flap 7. The
valve flap 7 is supported in a knife-edge bearing 8 and is secured
in the closed condition by a securing pin 9.
A piston 11 is guided in a movable manner in the hollow cylinder
member 3. An extension 12 is connected with the piston 11 and is
rigidly joined with the valve flap 7. The piston 11 is furthermore
loaded in the direction toward the interior space 1 of the vessel 2
via a pressure spring 13, whose pressure, however, is transmitted,
in the rest position via the extension 12 to the valve flap 7 and
is taken up by the securing pin 9.
As soon as the valve 20 of the pressure vessel 2 is opened, the gas
pressure in its interior space drops. Because of the pressure
difference between the interior spaces 1 and 4 caused thereby, the
piston 11 is displaced and the valve flap 7 is opened. The securing
pin 9 is bent in the process.
In lieu of the securing pin 9, the knife-edge bearing 8 can also be
arranged eccentrically so that upon the opening of the valve lid 7
by the piston 11, only the static moment resulting from the
eccentric arrangement must be overcome.
It is possible and within the scope of the invention to connect the
pressure vessel 5 with additional vessels which are controlled in a
similar manner.
In an extreme situation the interior space 1 can be made very
small. So for instance, it is possible within the scope of the
invention to configure the hollow cylinder member 3 as a control
pressure space and to equip it with a suitable controllable valve
of low energy consumption.
* * * * *