Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Occupant restraint systems having extending restraints, and associated systems and methods
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Application No.: US15406412Application Date: 2017-01-13
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Publication No.: US10604259B2Publication Date: 2020-03-31
- Inventor: Matthew James Browning , William Joseph Gehret , Todd Humbert , Richard Patterson
- Applicant: AmSafe, Inc.
- Applicant Address: US AZ Phoenix
- Assignee: AmSafe, Inc.
- Current Assignee: AmSafe, Inc.
- Current Assignee Address: US AZ Phoenix
- Agency: Perkins Coie LLP
- Main IPC: B60R21/16
- IPC: B60R21/16 ; B64D11/06 ; B60R22/12 ; B60R22/26 ; B60R22/16 ; B60R21/015 ; B60R21/00 ; B60R22/18 ; B60R21/207

Abstract:
Various embodiments of vehicle occupant safety systems having extendable restraints for use with, for example, airbags are described herein. In one embodiment, for example, the disclosed technology includes a 2-point occupant restraint that secures an occupant in an aircraft seat. In this embodiment, the aircraft seat is positioned in a seating area that includes a forward monument housing a stowed airbag. In the event of a crash or other significant dynamic event that causes, for example, a rapid deceleration of the aircraft above a preset magnitude, the airbag deploys between the occupant and the monument as the dynamic forces cause the occupant to pitch forward. The forward momentum of the occupant's body creates a significant tension load in the 2-point restraint, which causes the restraint to extend by a preset amount, thereby allowing the occupant to move forward in the seat more than the occupant would have moved had the occupant been wearing a conventional, non-extending 2-point restraint. Although the occupant is allowed to move forward, the occupant remains secured to the extended restraint by means of non-extending webbing that is secured around the waist of the occupant. Allowing the occupant to move forward in this manner enables the occupant's upper torso to impact the airbag at a reduced or otherwise more favorable angle. This can reduce both the speed and the angle at which the occupant's head impacts the airbag, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury.
Public/Granted literature
- US20200055602A9 OCCUPANT RESTRAINT SYSTEMS HAVING EXTENDING RESTRAINTS, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS Public/Granted day:2020-02-20
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