WO2003059699A1 - Leak resistant airbag insert - Google Patents

Leak resistant airbag insert Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2003059699A1
WO2003059699A1 PCT/EP2003/000346 EP0300346W WO03059699A1 WO 2003059699 A1 WO2003059699 A1 WO 2003059699A1 EP 0300346 W EP0300346 W EP 0300346W WO 03059699 A1 WO03059699 A1 WO 03059699A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
airbag
gas
balloon
balloons
inflated
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2003/000346
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Gavin Hall
Roy Farrington
Original Assignee
Dalphimetal Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Dalphimetal Ltd. filed Critical Dalphimetal Ltd.
Priority to AU2003202565A priority Critical patent/AU2003202565A1/en
Publication of WO2003059699A1 publication Critical patent/WO2003059699A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/231—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/231—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
    • B60R21/233—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration comprising a plurality of individual compartments; comprising two or more bag-like members, one within the other
    • B60R2021/23324—Inner walls crating separate compartments, e.g. communicating with vents
    • B60R2021/23332—Inner walls crating separate compartments, e.g. communicating with vents using independent bags, one within the other

Definitions

  • the present invention is generally related to airbags that are intended for use in vehicles.
  • the airbag protects occupants from injuries that may result from a collision or other type of accident in which the vehicle is involved. More specifically, the invention relates to airbags that can remain inflated for an extended duration and therefore maintaining the airbag function of absorbing impact.
  • Airbags are constructed in one or more chambers that are usually made by sewing fabric panels.
  • the fabric panels are normally coated with silicon to make the fabric airtight.
  • An inflator produces or supplies pressurised inflation gas to the airbag, which may leak through the sewn seams between the panels. Leakage is a result of both breaking the fabric coating when two separately cut panels are joined and by puncturing the coating membrane by the action of sewing.
  • GB 1057444 “Thermo-chemical joining of nylon yarns” describes a method to join nylon to nylon using a thermochemical fusion process.
  • the bonding solution is an aqueous solution of chloral hydrate.
  • WO9946110 “Ultrasonic seam bonding method and apparatus” describes an apparatus and method for joining fabric ultrasonically, particularly for joining separate pieces of layered fabric, by means of a waterproof seam in a single operation. The bond formed is both strong and flexible.
  • EP0962363 Airbag describes a method for sealing the airbags to resist leakage through seams by sewing by yarn and bonding by silicone adhesive.
  • This invention is intended to provide an alternative solution to seam sealing that will address the problem of keeping the airbag inflated for an extended duration.
  • a long duration or permanent inflated portion of the airbag can be used to offer occupant protection is maintained during long duration accidents such as a vehicle rollover.
  • an airbag according to this invention is an airbag provided with one or more leak resistant inflatable inserts within the airbag.
  • a first zone consisting of conventional air chambers formed by sewn fabric panels in which some gas leakage may take place.
  • a second zone, within the first zone consisting of one or more leak resistant chambers.
  • the volume of the second zone may occupy the whole or part of the first zone dimensions covering both surface area and depth.
  • the leak resistant chambers are balloons made from an airtight material that expands on inflation to fill the area available inside the fabric airbag.
  • the balloon material may have an elastic property so that it expands to fill the area constrained within the first zone, or alternatively the balloon material may have a fixed volume property so that it constrains its own area within the first zone.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a known curtain airbag.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a curtain airbag according to this invention.
  • Figure 1 illustrates schematically a known curtain airbag device comprising an airbag 10 of rectangular shape in deployed state, structured in a front part 11 and a rear part 12, an inflator 13 and a gas feeder tube 14 with several openings or vents 15 for supplying gas inside the airbag 10.
  • this known airbag some parts like parts 17, 18, 19 may be bonded or sewn shut so that it will not be inflated.
  • the airbag 20 includes two inflatable balloons 22, 23 attached to some of the vents 15 on such a gas feeder tube 14. Mechanical one- way valves 24, 25 at the entrance of the balloons will act to keep the gas in the balloon once the inflator has finished delivering gas. While balloons 22, 23 are leak resistant, the rest of airbag 20 has no special means for preventing gas leakage.
  • the balloon inserts 22, 23 are made of an elastic type material it will stretch to fill the correct portion of the airbag. Under impact the balloon will absorb occupant loading by being constrained in volume by either the airbag pressure surrounding it or the dimensions of the airbag material surrounding it. Constraints on the balloon due to airbag pressure are a result of maintaining the airbag pressure above the pressure that is inside the balloon. There will be some contribution to occupant load absorption from the elastic energy in the balloon. Constraining the balloon with the material of the airbag 20 will act to hold the permanently inflated portion in the correct position and transfer loading on impact into the airbag material by fixing its maximum volume and preventing further stretch of the balloon.
  • the balloon inserts 22, 23 may cover the whole volume of the airbag or selective portions that vary in depth or area relative to the impact zones on the airbag. These selective portions may be predetermined as airbag chambers 28, 29 by seam lines 30, 31 and 32, 33.
  • the present invention is not limited to curtain airbags with two balloon inserts. It may be applied to other types of airbags, particularly thorax airbags that may include a single balloon insert in the preferred embodiment.
  • a balloon insert is capable of maintaining inflation for an extended duration. Maintaining inflation improves the injury protection given to the occupant of a vehicle during a crash event that involves vehicle rollover.
  • the possibility of conserving and controlling the energy stored in the balloon gas pressure is also used to make the airbag device more adaptive to different types of crash and occupant conditions. In the first place, optimising energy use is made possible by conserving any energy that otherwise will be lost through leakage from the airbag. In the second place, the gas flow delivered to the balloon, and consequently its restraining force can be controlled depending on the crash conditions.

Abstract

An airbag device having leak resistant inflatable balloons (22, 23) within one or more conventional air chambers (28, 29). The balloons are inflated by the same gas delivered to the air chambers (28, 29) and have an one-way valve (24, 25) to keep the gas into it after completion of the gas delivery. The balloons remain inflated during long duration accidents such as a vehicle rollover.The device, which particularly applies to curtain and thorax airbags improves the injury protection given to the occupant of a vehicle during a crash event that involves vehicle rollover.

Description

LEAK RESISTANT AIRBAG INSERT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is generally related to airbags that are intended for use in vehicles. The airbag protects occupants from injuries that may result from a collision or other type of accident in which the vehicle is involved. More specifically, the invention relates to airbags that can remain inflated for an extended duration and therefore maintaining the airbag function of absorbing impact.
BACKGROUND
Airbags are constructed in one or more chambers that are usually made by sewing fabric panels. The fabric panels are normally coated with silicon to make the fabric airtight. An inflator produces or supplies pressurised inflation gas to the airbag, which may leak through the sewn seams between the panels. Leakage is a result of both breaking the fabric coating when two separately cut panels are joined and by puncturing the coating membrane by the action of sewing.
The need to inflate airbags for a long period of time in relation to the inflator output has arisen from the use of airbags to protect against both side impact crash events, that can typically last for up to one tenth of a second, and a rollover crash event, that can typically last for several seconds. Known proposals satisfying that need include several methods of sealing airbags so that they can remain inflated for an extended duration. Seam sealing prevents gas leakage, allowing the inflated airbag to retain its internal pressure.
Some methods of sealing that apply to the general area of a seam have been published. GB 1057444 "Thermo-chemical joining of nylon yarns" describes a method to join nylon to nylon using a thermochemical fusion process. The bonding solution is an aqueous solution of chloral hydrate. WO9946110 "Ultrasonic seam bonding method and apparatus" describes an apparatus and method for joining fabric ultrasonically, particularly for joining separate pieces of layered fabric, by means of a waterproof seam in a single operation. The bond formed is both strong and flexible.
EP0962363 "Airbag" describes a method for sealing the airbags to resist leakage through seams by sewing by yarn and bonding by silicone adhesive.
This invention is intended to provide an alternative solution to seam sealing that will address the problem of keeping the airbag inflated for an extended duration.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide an airbag device in which different portions of the airbag remain inflated for an extended duration. A long duration or permanent inflated portion of the airbag can be used to offer occupant protection is maintained during long duration accidents such as a vehicle rollover.
To accomplish these and other objects, an airbag according to this invention is an airbag provided with one or more leak resistant inflatable inserts within the airbag.
Consequently, two different zones can be distinguished in the airbag: a) A first zone consisting of conventional air chambers formed by sewn fabric panels in which some gas leakage may take place. b) A second zone, within the first zone, consisting of one or more leak resistant chambers. The volume of the second zone may occupy the whole or part of the first zone dimensions covering both surface area and depth.
The leak resistant chambers are balloons made from an airtight material that expands on inflation to fill the area available inside the fabric airbag. The balloon material may have an elastic property so that it expands to fill the area constrained within the first zone, or alternatively the balloon material may have a fixed volume property so that it constrains its own area within the first zone. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reading this description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a known curtain airbag.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a curtain airbag according to this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 illustrates schematically a known curtain airbag device comprising an airbag 10 of rectangular shape in deployed state, structured in a front part 11 and a rear part 12, an inflator 13 and a gas feeder tube 14 with several openings or vents 15 for supplying gas inside the airbag 10. In this known airbag, some parts like parts 17, 18, 19 may be bonded or sewn shut so that it will not be inflated.
Following Figure 2, it can be seen that the airbag 20 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention includes two inflatable balloons 22, 23 attached to some of the vents 15 on such a gas feeder tube 14. Mechanical one- way valves 24, 25 at the entrance of the balloons will act to keep the gas in the balloon once the inflator has finished delivering gas. While balloons 22, 23 are leak resistant, the rest of airbag 20 has no special means for preventing gas leakage.
If the balloon inserts 22, 23 are made of an elastic type material it will stretch to fill the correct portion of the airbag. Under impact the balloon will absorb occupant loading by being constrained in volume by either the airbag pressure surrounding it or the dimensions of the airbag material surrounding it. Constraints on the balloon due to airbag pressure are a result of maintaining the airbag pressure above the pressure that is inside the balloon. There will be some contribution to occupant load absorption from the elastic energy in the balloon. Constraining the balloon with the material of the airbag 20 will act to hold the permanently inflated portion in the correct position and transfer loading on impact into the airbag material by fixing its maximum volume and preventing further stretch of the balloon.
The balloon inserts 22, 23 may cover the whole volume of the airbag or selective portions that vary in depth or area relative to the impact zones on the airbag. These selective portions may be predetermined as airbag chambers 28, 29 by seam lines 30, 31 and 32, 33.
It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to curtain airbags with two balloon inserts. It may be applied to other types of airbags, particularly thorax airbags that may include a single balloon insert in the preferred embodiment.
A balloon insert is capable of maintaining inflation for an extended duration. Maintaining inflation improves the injury protection given to the occupant of a vehicle during a crash event that involves vehicle rollover. The possibility of conserving and controlling the energy stored in the balloon gas pressure is also used to make the airbag device more adaptive to different types of crash and occupant conditions. In the first place, optimising energy use is made possible by conserving any energy that otherwise will be lost through leakage from the airbag. In the second place, the gas flow delivered to the balloon, and consequently its restraining force can be controlled depending on the crash conditions.
Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with preferred embodiments, it is evident that modifications may be introduced within the scope thereof, not considering this as limited by these embodiments, but by the contents of the following claims.

Claims

1. An airbag device comprising an inflatable airbag (12) having one or more air chambers (28, 29) formed by sewn fabric panels which are inflated in the event of an accident by a gas provided from a gas generator (13) through a conduit (14), characterized in that further comprises at least one leak resistant inflatable balloon (22, 23) within at least one of said air chambers (28, 29), said balloon (22, 23) being inflated by the same gas delivered to said air chambers (28, 29), said balloon having an one-way valve (24, 25) to keep the gas into it after completion of the gas delivery.
2. An airbag device according to claim 1 wherein said balloons (22, 23) are made of an airtight elastic type material that will expand to fill the whole air chamber (28, 29) in which it is inserted.
3. An airbag device according to claim 1 wherein said balloons (22, 23) are made of a material having a fixed volume property.
PCT/EP2003/000346 2002-01-17 2003-01-15 Leak resistant airbag insert WO2003059699A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2003202565A AU2003202565A1 (en) 2002-01-17 2003-01-15 Leak resistant airbag insert

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0201072A GB0201072D0 (en) 2002-01-17 2002-01-17 Leak resistant airbag insert
GB0201072.6 2002-01-17

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2003059699A1 true WO2003059699A1 (en) 2003-07-24

Family

ID=9929273

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/EP2003/000346 WO2003059699A1 (en) 2002-01-17 2003-01-15 Leak resistant airbag insert

Country Status (3)

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AU (1) AU2003202565A1 (en)
GB (1) GB0201072D0 (en)
WO (1) WO2003059699A1 (en)

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1057444A (en) 1963-04-19 1967-02-01 Monsanto Co Thermo-chemical joining of nylon yarns
JPH01314646A (en) * 1988-06-13 1989-12-19 Mazda Motor Corp Air bag device for vehicle
JPH05246296A (en) * 1992-03-05 1993-09-24 Nissan Motor Co Ltd Air bag device
US5468013A (en) * 1993-12-03 1995-11-21 Trw Inc. Dual air bag system for occupant restraint
WO1999046110A1 (en) 1998-03-12 1999-09-16 Rosslyn Precision Limited Ultrasonic seam bonding method and apparatus
US5957485A (en) * 1996-06-26 1999-09-28 Takata Corporation Dual air bag structure with an elastomer inner air bag and a method of forming thereof
JPH11310097A (en) * 1998-04-28 1999-11-09 Toyoda Spinning & Weaving Co Ltd Air bag
EP0962363A1 (en) 1998-06-01 1999-12-08 Takata Corporation Airbag

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1057444A (en) 1963-04-19 1967-02-01 Monsanto Co Thermo-chemical joining of nylon yarns
JPH01314646A (en) * 1988-06-13 1989-12-19 Mazda Motor Corp Air bag device for vehicle
JPH05246296A (en) * 1992-03-05 1993-09-24 Nissan Motor Co Ltd Air bag device
US5468013A (en) * 1993-12-03 1995-11-21 Trw Inc. Dual air bag system for occupant restraint
US5957485A (en) * 1996-06-26 1999-09-28 Takata Corporation Dual air bag structure with an elastomer inner air bag and a method of forming thereof
WO1999046110A1 (en) 1998-03-12 1999-09-16 Rosslyn Precision Limited Ultrasonic seam bonding method and apparatus
JPH11310097A (en) * 1998-04-28 1999-11-09 Toyoda Spinning & Weaving Co Ltd Air bag
EP0962363A1 (en) 1998-06-01 1999-12-08 Takata Corporation Airbag

Non-Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 014, no. 113 (M - 0944) 2 March 1990 (1990-03-02) *
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 017, no. 709 (M - 1535) 24 December 1993 (1993-12-24) *
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 2000, no. 02 29 February 2000 (2000-02-29) *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU2003202565A1 (en) 2003-07-30
GB0201072D0 (en) 2002-03-06

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