摘要:
An airbag inflator that contains a first quantity of inflation gas. This gas may be housed in a chamber. A quantity of liquid fuel may also be added. This fuel may be housed within a liquid fuel chamber. The quantity of inflation gas may operate to pressurize the liquid fuel chamber. A piezo-valve is also added. The piezo-valve seals the liquid fuel chamber. The piezo-valve is capable of variably releasing liquid fuel from the chamber such that when this secondary liquid is ignited, the airbag inflation gas can be augmented as desired.
摘要:
A severing apparatus for use with a battery cable is provided. The severing apparatus includes a housing that holds an initiator and a severing element. The battery cable is located through a lateral bore formed in the housing. The severing element is disposed on one side of the battery cable. A deformable blocker can be disposed on the opposite side of the battery cable. When it is desired to sever the battery cable and thereby discontinue the supplying of electrical power by the battery, such as when a predetermined vehicle collision occurs, the initiator is triggered and causes the severing element to move. Movement of the severing element removes a severed battery cable segment. Movement of the severing element and the severed battery cable segment is stopped using the blocker when present. The blocker can be part of a shell that surrounds the housing. Alternatively, the blocker can be held in the housing.
摘要:
A hybrid inflator comprises an inflator housing which contains a pressurized medium and a gas generator housing. The gas generator housing is interconnected with the inflator housing. The gas generator housing comprises a first chamber which contains a propellant, a propellant ignition assembly, a second chamber which is fluidly interconnected with the first chamber and the inflator housing for combusting propellant gases generated by the ignited propellant with the pressurized medium, an outlet port which is arranged on the gas generator housing to provide the pressurized medium and propellant gasses from the second chamber to the air/safety bag, and a main closure disk which normally blocks the outlet port and is ruptured after ignition of the propellant. The first and second chambers and the main closure disk are arranged in that order on a common longitudinal axis of the inflator. The gas generator housing comprises at least one bleed port for substantially equally maintaining internal pressures of the inflator housing and the first chamber.
摘要:
An ignition assembly in a motor vehicle inflatable safety system is provided, preferably to be used with a projectile. In one embodiment, the ignition assembly includes an actuation piston and an activator, such as a percussion primer(s) and an ignition material, which are separated by a retention pin. When a sufficient force is exerted on the actuation piston, the retention pin fails such that the actuation piston moves and impacts the percussion primer(s) to ignite the propellant within the gas generator. The resulting propellant gases are thereafter provided in a predetermined direction(s). Advantageously, a check valve-like device is employed to substantially reduce the flow of propellant gases in a direction other than the predetermined direction(s). The preferred projectile also includes a body that has a smaller dimension than the projectile piercing head when the projectile is used to separate a closure disk to release stored, pressurized gases in addition to activating the gas generator. In this case, the preferred projectile facilitates the controlled separation of any closure disk used to retain pressurized, stored gases used by the . inflator in addition to the propellant gases.
摘要:
A novel active hood system is disclosed. The active hood system is designed such that in the event of a pedestrian/vehicle accident, the active hood system will soften the impact between the pedestrian and the vehicle by moving the vehicle hood into an elevated position. In some embodiments, the active hood system is constructed such that during a pedestrian/vehicle collision, the active hood system will raise the vehicle hood into an elevated position by having the hood move through a first travel distance and a second travel distance. The active hood system includes an actuator and a hinge. The actuator may be attached to the hinge. The actuator is designed such that if it is deployed, the actuator will raise the hood into the elevated position. Additional embodiments may also be made in which the actuator is vented during deployment. A dampener is also added to the active hood system. The dampener is designed to dampen the movement of the hood as the hood is moved through the second travel distance.
摘要:
A hybrid inflator comprises an inflator housing, a pressurized medium contained within the inflator housing, and a propellant contained within the inflator housing ranging from about 0.5 grams to about 20 grams. The pressurized medium is released from the inflator housing and the propellant is ignited to produce propellant gases.
摘要:
A projectile for releasing a gas or other suitable fluid to initiate operation of an inflator in a motor vehicle inflatable safety system. In one embodiment, the projectile has a plurality of intersecting, concave, and inclined faces which taper to a point at the tip of the projectile. This projectile is positioned on the convex side of a dome-shaped disk which isolates the inflator from an expandable confinement. When a condition is detected requiring operation of the inflator, the projectile is freely propelled toward the disk to controllably separate the disk along lines coinciding with the edges defined by the intersecting faces of the projectile to reduce the potential for portions thereof breaking or tearing off and entering the flow from the inflator to the confinement.
摘要:
A stored gas inflator having a chamber. The chamber houses a quantity of stored gas. The chamber is sealed by a burst disk. A frangible support is also added. The frangible support is designed to support the burst disk. The frangible support breaks during deployment of the inflator. The inflator is further constructed such that when the temperature of the inflator exceeds a threshold level, the gas is vented out of the chamber through the frangible member.
摘要:
An inflator that includes a quantity of gas generant housed within a chamber. A liquid and a piston are also housed within another chamber. This chamber is sealed by a burst disk. The piston includes an opening. During deployment of the inflator, the burst disk is ruptured and the piston moves towards the distal end of the inflator. The movement of the piston hydraulically expels the liquid through the opening in the piston such that the liquid cools and contacts the gas formed by combustion of the gas generant.
摘要:
The present invention relates to a new type of safety system that is designed to protect a vehicle occupant during a rollover crash. The safety system will generally include a vehicle seat and a sensor. The sensor is designed to sense the occurrence of a rollover crash. The safety system also includes a support member that has an undeployed mode and a deployed mode. The support member converts from the undeployed mode into the deployed mode when a signal is received from the sensor indicating a rollover. The support member will generally be housed within the vehicle seat when the support member is in the undeployed mode. The support member is also anchored to the floor pan of the vehicle. When the support member is deployed into the deployed mode, the support member is disposed in effective engagement with the vehicle roof to limit movement of the roof toward the vehicle seat during rollover conditions. Accordingly, the likelihood that the vehicle roof will be collapsed onto the vehicle occupant during a crash is significantly reduced.