DUAL-CHAMBERED AIRBAG ASSEMBLY HOUSINGS

Abstract

Airbag cushions and related assemblies configured to accept side-mounting of airbag inflators and/or otherwise accommodate narrowing of an airbag module width. In some embodiments, the assembly may comprise an inflator housing defining a first chamber and a second chamber. An airbag cushion may be fluidly coupled with the inflator housing. An inflator may be coupled to the housing in a side-mounted configuration such that inflation gases from the inflator are configured to enter the first chamber, diffuse the inflation gas into the second chamber, and direct the inflation gas into the airbag cushion.

Claims

1. An airbag cushion assembly, comprising: an inflator housing defining a first chamber and a second chamber; an airbag cushion fluidly coupled with the inflator housing; a disk inflator coupled to the housing in a side-mounted configuration such that inflation gases from the disk inflator are configured to enter the first chamber, diffuse the inflation gases into the second chamber, and direct the inflation gases into the airbag cushion.

2. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 1, wherein the airbag cushion assembly comprises a passenger airbag assembly.

3. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 1, wherein the first chamber comprises an upper chamber, and wherein the second chamber comprises a lower chamber.

4. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 3, wherein the lower chamber is configured to redirect at least substantially all of the inflation gases before entering the upper chamber.

5. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 3, wherein the airbag cushion is mounted to the inflator housing within the upper chamber.

6. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 1, wherein the disk inflator is mounted to the inflator housing in the lower chamber.

7. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 6, wherein the disk inflator is mounted to the inflator housing such that inflation gas from the disk inflator exits the disk inflator wholly within the lower chamber and about a full perimeter of the disk inflator.

8. An airbag cushion module, comprising: a housing comprising an upper housing chamber and a lower housing chamber; an inflator coupled with the housing, wherein the inflator is mounted to the housing in the lower housing chamber and fluidly coupled with the upper housing chamber such that inflation gas exits the inflator solely within the lower housing chamber and is deflected by the lower housing chamber before entering the upper housing chamber; and an inflatable cushion fluidly coupled with the upper housing chamber of the housing.

9. The airbag cushion module of claim 8, wherein the inflator comprises a disk inflator.

10. The airbag cushion module of claim 9, wherein the disk inflator is coupled to the housing in a side-mounted configuration.

11. The airbag cushion module of claim 9, wherein the disk inflator comprises a plurality of inflator ports extending about a perimeter of the disk inflator, and wherein the disk inflator is mounted to the housing such that inflation gas enters the lower chamber directly from every inflator port of the plurality of inflator ports about the perimeter of the disk inflator.

12. The airbag cushion module of claim 8, wherein a lower end of the disk inflator protrudes from an opening in the lower chamber.

13. The airbag cushion module of claim 12, wherein an upper end of the inflator also protrudes from an opening in the lower chamber.

14. An airbag cushion assembly, comprising: an inflator housing comprising an upper chamber and a lower chamber; an inflator mounted to the lower chamber and fluidly coupled with the upper chamber, wherein the inflator housing is configured to receive and diffuse inflation gas from the inflator within the lower chamber before delivering inflation gas to the upper chamber; and an inflatable cushion fluidly coupled with the inflator housing and configured to receive inflation gas from the inflator.

15. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 14, wherein the inflator comprises a disk inflator.

16. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 15, wherein the disk inflator comprises inflation ports encircling the disk inflator, and wherein the disk inflator is configured to deliver inflation gas into the lower chamber in each of the plurality of inflation ports encircling the disk inflator about a full perimeter of the disk inflator before inflation gas can enter the upper chamber.

17. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 15, wherein the lower chamber is configured to deflect at least substantially all inflation gas entering the lower chamber into the upper chamber.

18. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 15, wherein the disk inflator is coupled to the lower chamber in a side-mounted configuration.

19. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 14, wherein the lower chamber is fluidly coupled with the upper chamber so as to avoid any inflation gas from the inflator directly entering the upper chamber.

20. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 14, wherein the airbag cushion is mounted to the housing within the upper chamber.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the disclosure are described, including various embodiments of the disclosure with reference to the figures, in which:

[0043] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an airbag module having a side-mounted inflator according to some embodiments;

[0044] FIG. 2A is an elevation view of another airbag module according to other embodiments, shown following deployment;

[0045] FIG. 2B is an exploded view of the airbag module of FIG. 2A;

[0046] FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of the airbag module of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

[0047] FIG. 3 is an isometric view depicting the interior of the inflator housing of the airbag module of FIGS. 2A-3;

[0048] FIG. 4 is an overhead view of a vehicle with an airbag module mounted in the passenger dashboard;

[0049] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an airbag assembly having a side-mounted inflator according to other embodiments;

[0050] FIG. 6A is an upper isometric view of the housing of the airbag assembly of FIG. 5;

[0051] FIG. 6B is a lower isometric view of the housing of FIG. 6A;

[0052] FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view of the housing showing the upper and lower chambers of the housing;

[0053] FIG. 6D is a partial, cross-sectional view of the housing; and

[0054] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the airbag assembly of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] A detailed description of apparatus, systems, and methods consistent with

[0056] various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided below. While several embodiments are described, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to any of the specific embodiments disclosed, but instead encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. In addition, while numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, some embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these details. Moreover, for the purpose of clarity, certain technical material that is known in the related art has not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure.

[0057] As used herein, the term substantially refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result to function as indicated. For example, an object that is substantially cylindrical or substantially perpendicular would mean that the object/feature is either cylindrical/perpendicular or nearly cylindrical/perpendicular so as to result in the same or nearly the same function. The exact allowable degree of deviation provided by this term may depend on the specific context. The use of substantially is equally applicable when used in a negative connotation to refer to the complete or near complete lack of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, structure which is substantially free of a bottom would either completely lack a bottom or so nearly completely lack a bottom that the effect would be effectively the same as if it completely lacked a bottom.

[0058] Similarly, as used herein, the term about is used to provide flexibility to a numerical range endpoint by providing that a given value may be a little above or a little below the endpoint while still accomplishing the function associated with the range.

[0059] The embodiments of the disclosure may be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts may be designated by like numerals. It will be readily understood that the components of the disclosed embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the apparatus and methods of the disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of possible embodiments of the disclosure. In addition, the steps of a method do not necessarily need to be executed in any specific order, or even sequentially, nor need the steps be executed only once, unless otherwise specified. Additional details regarding certain preferred embodiments and implementations will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] FIG. 1 depicts an airbag cushion assembly 100 according to some embodiments. Airbag cushion assembly 100 comprises an inflator 110 coupled with a disk type inflator 110. In some preferred embodiments, assembly 100 may comprise a passenger airbag assembly, which may be configured, for example, to deploy from a dashboard of a vehicle.

[0061] Inflator 110, which may comprise a known, disk-type inflator, is shown mounted to a housing or module 120. However, in preferred embodiments, inflator 110 may be positioned in the assembly 100 in a novel configuration and using a novel housing 120. In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, inflator 110 is shown mounted to housing 120 in a side-mounted configuration. That is, inflator 110 has been rotated on its side such that the inflation ports 115, which in the depicted embodiment extend about a full perimeter of inflator 110 along an upper portion of inflator 110, are positioned in an unconventional manner relative to the housing 120. Indeed, the upper portion of the inflator 110 is positioned within housing 120, a lower portion of the inflator 110 protrudes from a side of housing 120, and the inflation ports 115 extend about a perimeter of the inflator 110 relative to the housing 120 such that some ports extend directly towards cushion 140, others extend towards a bottom wall of the housing 120, and still others towards opposing side walls of housing 120.

[0062] However, it is contemplated that other types of inflators may be used in alternative embodiments. Still, for purposes of this disclosure, it should be understood that the height of the inflators discussed herein should, unless otherwise stated, be considered less than their width such that positioning of the inflator along its side with its height extending perpendicular to an elongated direction of the airbag module and/or perpendicular to the primary direction of deployment of the associated airbag cushion positions the inflator with its largest dimension or width extending along the aforementioned elongated direction and/or primary deployment direction. Again, this direction typically corresponds with the direction of at least some of the inflation ports in a typical disk style inflator, but this need not be the case for all contemplated embodiments.

[0063] Housing 120 is also formed with an enlarged upper portion 124, a narrowed lower portion 122, and a transitional region therebetween in which the width of the housing 120 transitions between the narrow and wider/enlarged portion of the housing 120. The lower portion 122 of housing 120 is, in the depicted embodiment, less wide than the height D2 of the inflator 110 positioned on its side and therefore the bottom of inflator 110 protrudes from the side of narrowed portion 122 of housing 120. However, the width D1 (measured in the same direction as the height of the inflator 110) of the upper portion 124 may be the same as, at least substantially the same as, or only slightly greater than, the height D2 of the inflator 110.

[0064] In other words, in some embodiments, D1 may be at least substantially equal to D2. However, it should be understood that substantially equal may allow for some flexibility. For example, the rim 125 of housing 120 may be slightly wider than the height D2 of inflator 110.

[0065] Rim 125 of housing 120 may be used to mount the assembly 100 within a vehicle or, in some embodiments, to an extended housing portion (not shown) that may house the airbag cushion 140. In other words, it is contemplated that housing 120 may be used to enclose the entire airbag cushion 140 in some cases or may be coupled with another housing or housing part that is used to store the cushion 140 in other cases. Thus, it is contemplated that the upper/enlarged portion 124 of housing 120 may be used to store the cushion 140 prior to deployment or, alternatively, may be used to diffuse inflation gases that may then enter another portion of the housing/assembly thereafter. For example, in some embodiments, upper portion 124 may be used to deflect and/or cool inflation gases prior to entering the cushion 140.

[0066] Because of the standard width of typical disk-type inflators, which are typically equal to or greater than about 100 mm in width, it may be difficult to manufacture airbag modules/assemblies having a narrower width. For example, it may be desired to provide a module/assembly, particularly for certain passenger airbag modules/assemblies, which has a width (measured in a front to back direction of the vehicle) that is less than about 90 mm (measured in the direction of D1), or even more preferably less than or equal to about 85 mm. In some embodiments, the width of the entire module (again, as measured in the direction of D1 and/or in the direction of front to back of the vehicle) may be even less, such as less than or equal to about 75 mm, or even less than or equal to about 65 mm in other embodiments, depending upon the specific inflator used.

[0067] Thus, by installing inflator 110 in the depicted, side-mounted configuration, disk-type inflators, known and/or standard disk-type inflators may be used in connection with novel, narrower housings/modules, as disclosed herein, without requiring development of new inflators and/or use of other inflator types, such as tubular inflators.

[0068] FIGS. 2A-2C depict another airbag cushion assembly 200 according to other embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2A, which depicts assembly 200 following deployment, assembly 200 again comprises an inflator, a housing/module 220, and an airbag cushion 240. Inflator 210 may, once again, comprise a typical, disk-type inflator that is coupled with housing 220 in a side-oriented and/or side-mounted configuration.

[0069] Housing 220 comprises an upper portion 224 and a lower portion 222. In this embodiment, lower portion 222 comprises a circular slot 226 (see FIG. 2B) within which inflator 210 may be mounted. Lower portion 222 further comprises a protruding basin 223 such that inflator 210 can be mounted to lower portion 222 with the upper portion of the inflator 210 (the portion with ports 215) inserted into the protruding basin 223 and the lower portion of the inflator 210 protruding from the opposite end of the basin 223 uncovered. Inflator 210 may be mounted within this slot 226 and basin 223 by use of bolts or other fasteners that may be coupled with a skirt 212 or other rim and/or coupling feature of inflator 210.

[0070] Lower portion 222 of housing 220 may therefore comprise a narrowed rim portion with opposing sides that taper from the upper portion 224 of housing 220 to provide for gas distribution and/or diffusion into upper portion 224, as discussed in greater detail below.

[0071] As also shown in FIG. 2B, housing 220 may further comprise a retainer ring 230 that may be coupled within a lower end of upper portion 224 of housing 220. The functionality of this retainer ring 230 will also be discussed in greater detail below, but may be used, at least in part, to secure a throat region 245 of cushion 240 to the upper portion 224 of housing 220, as better shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2C.

[0072] As also shown in FIG. 2C, the retainer ring 230 may be mounted at a lower end of upper portion 224 of housing 220. In addition, cushion 240 along throat region 245 may be mounted, at least partially, underneath retainer ring 230. The upper end of upper portion 224 of housing 220 may comprise a protruding rim 225 to facilitate mounting of the assembly 200 within a vehicle. As used herein, the various chambers defined by housing 220, including the upper chamber of upper portion 224 and the lower chamber of lower portion 222, that ultimately diffuse, cool, and/or deliver inflation gases into cushion 240 may collectively be considered a plenum.

[0073] FIG. 3 is a perspective view depicting the inside of housing 220. As shown in this figure, the lower portion 222 of housing 220 comprises a pair of opposing, ramped diffusion chambers 235/237 that may be used to direct inflation gases from inflator ports 215 of inflator 210 into an upper chamber defined by upper portion 224 of housing 220. Diffusion chambers 235/237 are configured to redirect inflation gases, which may involve deflecting and cooling the inflation gases, from inflator 210.

[0074] Although one of the ramped diffusion chambers, namely, ramped diffusion chamber 235, is visible in FIG. 3, the shapes of the diffusion chambers 235/237 of lower portion 222 of housing 220 are better appreciated from the outside in the view of FIG. 2B. As shown in this figure, each chamber extends partially below the slot 226 along a flattened bottom shelf of lower portion 222. In addition, each of the diffusion chambers 235/237 is narrower than the width (measured along the direction of the height of the inflator 210, which, again, is positioned along its side within slot 226) of the upper portion 224 of housing 220, thereby resulting in the bottom of inflator 210 protruding from slot 226 and the upper portion being encased within basin 223.

[0075] Because inflation ports 215 extend about a full perimeter of an upper portion of inflator 210, ramped chambers 235/237 may therefore extend below inflator ports 215 at the bottom end of the housing 220, as best seen in FIG. 2C, along the aforementioned bottom shelf of lower portion 222 in order to redirect the downwardly directed inflation gas. In addition, to prevent inflation gases from directly entering the upper chamber defined by upper portion 224 of housing 220, a deflection plate 232 may be provided in between the two openings leading to diffusion and/or deflection chambers 235/237 in the opposite direction vis--vis the direction of the aforementioned bottom shelf of lower portion 222. Deflection plate 232, which may be integrally part of retainer ring 230 in some embodiments or may be coupleable thereto in other embodiments, may be positioned centrally above inflator 210 such that inflation gases from the inflator ports 215 that are positioned thereabove are deflected into the opposing, ramped chambers 235/237. Similarly, inflation gases from inflator ports 215 adjacent to the bottom shelf may also be directed to the opposing, ramped chambers 235/237 for delivery into upper portion 224 and, ultimately, into the airbag cushion.

[0076] As can be seen in FIGS. 2A-2C and FIG. 3, assembly 200 is configured to avoid any inflation gases, or at least substantially any inflation gases, from inflator 210 directly entering airbag cushion 240. In some embodiments, including assembly 200, the inflator and/or inflator housing may be configured to avoid any inflation gases, or at least substantially any inflation gases, from the inflator directly entering a chamber immediately adjacent to the airbag cushion. For example, in the depicted embodiment, inflator housing 220 comprises two portions and/or chambersnamely, respective chambers defined within upper portion 224 and lower portion 222, the chamber in lower portion 224 of which is configured with various features and/or components for deflecting inflation gases before they are allowed to enter the chamber defined within upper portion 224, as previously discussed, such as deflection plate 232 and deflection chambers 235/237.

[0077] FIG. 4 illustrates a vehicle 50 with airbag assembly 200 positioned therein prior to deployment. Airbag assembly 200 is positioned in the passenger dashboard 60 of vehicle 50 and therefore is considered a passenger airbag assembly or module. As previously mentioned, module 200 is positioned within vehicle 50 with its inflator 210 positioned in a side-mounted configuration. In other words, the height D2 of the inflatorwhich is measured in a direction perpendicular, or at least substantially perpendicular, in the depicted embodiment to the direction with which the inflation ports direct inflation gases about a perimeter of the inflator 210extends in a front-to-rear direction of the vehicle 50, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0078] As previously mentioned, by mounting the inflator 210 on its side in this manner, disk-type inflators may be used in passenger airbag modules, or other modules that may benefit from placement in relatively narrow locations. Thus, in some embodiments, airbag modules may be configured with a width D1 that is about the same or only slightly greater than the height D2 of the inflator that is used in the module/assembly. In some cases, this width may be the maximum width of the assembly, given, for example, that some modules may have narrower portions along the width direction (consider lower portion 222 of assembly 200, for example).

[0079] For example, in some embodiments, the width D1 of the module may be less than or equal to about 85 mm or, even more preferably, less than or equal to about 70 mm, or in some such embodiments less than or equal to about 65 mm, or even less than or equal to about 60 mm in some embodiments. In one or more of the foregoing examples, the disk inflator used, such as an APPS4.5 inflator, may have a height (again, measured in the direction of D2) of about 60 mm.

[0080] FIGS. 5-7 depict another airbag cushion assembly 300 according to other embodiments. As shown in FIG. 5, assembly 300 comprises an inflator 310, a housing 320, and an airbag cushion 340. Inflator 310 may, in some embodiments, comprise a disk-type inflator that may be, as shown in FIG. 5, coupled with housing 320 in a side-oriented and/or side-mounted configuration.

[0081] Housing 320 comprises a lower portion 322 and an upper portion 324. In some embodiments, including the depicted embodiment, the lower portion 322 may comprise a separate lower housing piece. Similarly, in some embodiments, including the depicted embodiment, the upper portion 324 may comprise a separate upper housing piece that may be mounted or otherwise coupled to the lower housing portion/piece 322.

[0082] In this embodiment, lower portion/piece 322 comprises a circular slot 326 (see FIG. 7) within which inflator 310 may be mounted. As shown in FIG. 7 and described in greater detail below, slot 326 may extend all the way through lower portion 322 of housing 320 to allow both an upper end and a lower end of inflator 310 to protrude from the housing 320.

[0083] Cushion 340 may be mounted along a throat region within the upper portion 324 of housing 320. The upper end of upper portion 324 of housing 320 may comprise a protruding rim 325 to facilitate mounting of the assembly 300 within a vehicle.

[0084] Housing 320 further comprises a lower portion 322 within which the inflator 320 may be mounted. As described below in greater detail in connection with FIGS. 6A-6D, the lower portion 322 of housing 320 may define a lower chamber 321, otherwise referred to herein as a diffusion chamber, that may be configured and used to collect, diffuse, cool, and/or deliver inflation gases into cushion 340 through an upper chamber 328, which, as mentioned above, may also be used to mount and/or contain the cushion 340.

[0085] FIG. 6A depicts the housing 320 of assembly 300 with inflator 310 mounted therein but with the cushion 340 removed. As shown in this figure, disk inflator 310 is mounted within lower portion 322 of housing 320. A pair of openings 335 and 337 fluidly couple the lower or diffusion housing chamber 321 defined by lower portion 322 into the upper housing chamber 328 defined by upper portion 324 of housing 320.

[0086] A deflection plate 332, which in the depicted embodiment is an integral portion of housing 320, may be used to prevent inflation gases from directly entering the upper chamber 328 defined by upper portion 324 of housing 320. As better shown in FIGS. 6C and 6D, deflection plate 332 may be positioned centrally above inflator 310 such that inflation gases from the inflator ports 315 that are positioned thereabove are deflected laterally and ultimately through openings 335/337 and into the upper chamber 328.

[0087] Similarly, inflation gases from inflator ports 315 on the opposite sidei.e., below inflator 310may be deflected and redirected through the same openings 335/337, into the upper chamber 328 and, ultimately, into the airbag cushion 340. The inflator ports 315 on the two lateral sides of the inflator 310 also provide for delivery of inflation gas directly into the lower chamber 321. Again, ultimately, such inflation gas will be directed through openings 335/337, into the upper chamber 328 and into the cushion 340. Thus, housing 320 is configured to mount inflator 310 in such a manner that inflation gas from inflator 310 is delivered about a full periphery of inflator 310, encircling the inflator 310 about this portion of the periphery, and exclusively into the lower chamber 321 before being delivered into the upper chamber 328, which allows for the inflation gas from inflator 310 to be diffused and/or cooled prior to entry into the upper chamber 328 and prior to entry into the airbag cushion 340 mounted therein.

[0088] Thus, assembly 300 is configured to avoid any inflation gases, or at least substantially any inflation gases, from inflator 310 directly entering airbag cushion 340. In some embodiments, including assembly 300, the inflator 310 and/or inflator housing 320 is further configured to avoid any inflation gases, or at least substantially any inflation gases, directly entering a chamber (e.g., upper chamber 328) to which the airbag cushion is directly mounted, which may allow for inflation gas from inflator 310 to be thoroughly diffused and/or cooled prior to entering the airbag cushion 340 and/or making contact with the inner walls of the airbag cushion 340.

[0089] FIG. 6D provides a partial, cross-sectional view of housing 320 to further illustrate how the relationship between the upper chamber 328 and the lower chamber 321 precludes any direct paths from the ports 315 of inflator 310 to the upper chamber 328. In addition, this figure further illustrates how the ports 315 encircle a portion of a full periphery of the inflator 310 and allow for inflation gas to exit the inflator 310 about this full periphery within the lower chamber 321.

[0090] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of assembly 300. As shown in this figure, the upper portion 324 of the housing 320 may be coupled with the lower portion 322 of the housing 320 using a pair of mounting plates 323. Bolts or other fasteners may be used to mount the upper portion 324 onto the lower portion 322.

[0091] FIG. 7 further illustrates how the slot 326 formed in lower portion 322 extends all the way through lower portion 322 to allow both an upper end and a lower end of inflator 310 to protrude from opposite sides of the housing 320, again, preferably in a side-mounted configuration.

[0092] The foregoing specification has been described with reference to various embodiments and implementations. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, various operational steps, as well as components for carrying out operational steps, may be implemented in various ways depending upon the particular application or in consideration of any number of cost functions associated with the operation of the system. Accordingly, any one or more of the steps may be deleted, modified, or combined with other steps. Further, this disclosure is to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope thereof. Likewise, benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to various embodiments. However, benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced, are not to be construed as a critical, a required, or an essential feature or element.

[0093] Those having skill in the art will appreciate that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.