Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6290256?dq=6437692
Timestamp: 2017-12-14 17:41:44
Document Index: 683902524

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 30', 'art 40', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'arts 30']

Patent US6290256 - Air bag inflator with pressure regulation - Google Patents
An apparatus (10) for inflating an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device (14) comprises an inflator housing (20) including first and second end walls (32, 62). An inflation fluid source (140) in the inflator housing (20) is actuatable to provide inflation fluid under pressure. An igniter assembly...http://www.google.com/patents/US6290256?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6290256 - Air bag inflator with pressure regulation
Publication number US6290256 B1
Application number US 09/263,435
Publication number 09263435, 263435, US 6290256 B1, US 6290256B1, US-B1-6290256, US6290256 B1, US6290256B1
Inventors Eric R. McFarland, Lloyd G. Green, Jr., Thomas H. Deming
US 6290256 B1
An apparatus (10) for inflating an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device (14) comprises an inflator housing (20) including first and second end walls (32, 62). An inflation fluid source (140) in the inflator housing (20) is actuatable to provide inflation fluid under pressure. An igniter assembly (80) in the inflator housing (20), for actuating the inflation fluid source (140), includes an igniter housing (82) located between the first and second end walls (62, 32) of the inflator housing and an igniter (92) located in the igniter housing. The first and second end walls (62, 32) of the inflator housing (20) move away from each other upon actuation of the inflation fluid source (140). The igniter housing (82) moves with the second end wall (62) away from the first end wall (32). The igniter assembly (80) further includes a cap (100) on the igniter housing (82) for closing an open end of the igniter housing. The cap (100) bodily moves with the first end wall (32) away from the second end wall (62) and relative to the igniter housing (82) upon actuation of the inflation fluid source (140).
1. An apparatus for inflating an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device, comprising:
an inflator housing including first and second end walls;
an inflation fluid source in said inflator housing actuatable to provide inflation fluid under pressure;
an igniter assembly in said inflator housing for actuating said inflation fluid source, said igniter assembly including an igniter housing located between said first and second end walls of said inflator housing and an igniter located in said igniter housing for actuating said inflation fluid source;
a flow control member in said housing having openings which are movable upon actuation of said inflation fluid source to control flow of inflation fluid out of said housing;
said first and second end walls of said inflator housing moving away from each other upon actuation of said inflation fluid source, said igniter housing moving with said second end wall away from said first end wall, said flow control member moving with said first end wall away from said second end wall; and
said igniter assembly further including a cap on said igniter housing for closing an open end of said igniter housing, said cap contacting said flow control member and bodily moving with said flow control member and said first end wall away from said second end wall and relative to said igniter housing upon actuation of said inflation fluid source.
2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cap slides along said igniter housing upon actuation of said inflation fluid source.
3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said igniter comprises a combustible ignition material, said igniter cap blocking flow of combustion products of said ignition material out of said open end of said igniter housing upon actuation of said igniter.
4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said igniter cap remains in sealing engagement with said igniter housing upon actuation of said igniter.
5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said igniter cap has an end wall and a side wall, said side wall extending inside said igniter housing.
6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said igniter cap side wall slides along said igniter housing and remains in sealing engagement with said igniter housing upon actuation of said inflation fluid source.
7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said igniter comprises a combustible ignition material, said cap enclosing said combustible ignition material including an autoignition material in said igniter housing, said cap being in thermal contact with an exterior portion of said housing to enable transmission of heat from the exterior of said apparatus to said autoignition material.
The present invention is an apparatus for inflating an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device. The apparatus comprises an inflator housing including first and second end walls. An inflation fluid source in the inflator housing is actuatable to provide inflation fluid under pressure. An igniter assembly in the inflator housing, for actuating the inflation fluid source, includes an igniter housing located between the first and second end walls of the inflator housing and an igniter located in the igniter housing for actuating the inflation fluid source. The first and first end walls of the inflator housing move away from each other upon actuation of the inflation fluid source. The igniter housing moves with the second end wall away from the first end wall. The igniter assembly further includes a cap on the igniter housing for closing an open end of the igniter housing. The cap bodily moves with the first end wall away from the second end wall and relative to the igniter housing upon actuation of the inflation fluid source.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an igniter cap which forms part of the inflator of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the igniter cap of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the igniter cap of FIG. 4.
The inflator 10 (FIGS. 2-3) includes a generally cylindrical housing or shell 20. The inflator 10 has a circular configuration as seen from above in FIGS. 2 and 3. The housing 20 includes a first or upper (as viewed in the drawings) housing part 30, referred to herein as a diffuser, and a second or lower (as viewed in the drawings) housing part 40, referred to herein as a closure.
The side wall 64 of the closure 40 has a cylindrical configuration centered on the axis 50. The outer diameter of the side wall 64 of the closure 40 is approximately equal to the inner diameter of the side wall 44 of the diffuser 30. The closure 40 is nested inside the upper housing part 30, as. seen in FIG. 2. The side wall 64 of the closure 40 is welded to the side wall 44 of the upper housing part 30 with a single, continuous weld 72.
The igniter housing 82 has an ignition chamber 90 radially inward of the side wall. A circular array of ports or passages 87 is formed in the side wall 84. The passages 87 extend between the ignition chamber 90 and the exterior of the igniter housing 82. The radially outer ends of the passages 87 are covered by adhesive foil 89. The end portion 86 of the igniter housing 82 is disposed at one end of the side wall 84 and extends into the central opening. 68 in the end wall 62 of the closure 40.
The ignition material 98 also includes an autoignition material for actuating the inflator 10 in the event of excessive ambient temperature. The autoignition material in the ignition material 98 is preferably provided in a powder form, commingled with the ignition material itself. The autoignition material is a known autoignition material which autoignites when exposed to a predetermined temperature. The autoignition material in the ignition material 98 autoignites at a lower temperature than the ignition material itself.
The upper end surface 120 of the combustion cup side wall 114 and the inner side surface 46 of the upper housing part 30 define a fluid passage 130 (FIGS. 2-3) in the inflator 10. Because the combustion cup side wall 114 is cylindrical, the fluid passage 130 has an annular configuration extending around and centered on the axis 50. The fluid passage 130 is located between the combustion chamber 116 and the fluid outlets 52. The fluid passage 130, which is normally closed, opens upon actuation of the inflator 10 as described below.
The inflator 10 includes an actuatable inflation fluid source 140 in the form of a solid propellant. The propellant 140 is located in the combustion chamber 116 in the combustion cup 110. The propellant 140 is a known material which is ignitable by the igniter assembly 80 and which, when ignited, produces inflation fluid in the form of gas under pressure for inflating the air bag 14. The propellant 140 is illustrated as being provided in the form of discs. (For clarity in FIG. 2, the propellant discs 140 are not shown in some areas of the combustion chamber 116.) The propellant 140 could, alternatively, be provided in the form of pellets or tablets, or as large discs encircling the igniter housing 82.
The igniter cap serves to conduct heat between the exterior of the inflator and the autoignition material in the ignition material 98. The central wall of the metal igniter cap is in direct thermal contact with the central wall of the metal threshold cap. The central wall of the threshold cap is in direct thermal contact with the metal diffuser. As a result, heat from the exterior of the diffuser is transmitted into the igniter cap. This heat is conducted into the ignition material 98 inside the igniter cap, which includes autoignition material. This heat is also conducted through the side wall of the igniter cap into the side wall of the igniter housing and thence into the ignition material 98 which includes autoignition material.
As a result of the deformation of the end walls 42 and 62 of the housing parts 30 and 40, the distance between the end wall of the diffuser and the end wall of the closure increases. The force of the combustion products of the ignition material 98 causes the side wall 102 of the igniter cap 100 to slide axially along the side wall 84 of the igniter housing 82, with the threshold cap 180 and the diffuser, in a direction away from the closure 40. The side wall 102 of the igniter cap 100 remains in sealing engagement with the side wall 84 of the igniter housing 82.
The inflation fluid flows out of the combustion chamber 110, through the slots 200 in the threshold cap 180, and toward the fluid passage 130. Inflation fluid flows through the fluid passage 130, through a final filter 220, and toward the inflation fluid outlets 52. The inflation fluid flows out of the combustion chamber 116 along the entire 360° extent of the fluid passage 130. The fluid outlets 52 direct the inflation fluid to flow out of the housing 20 to the inflatable device 14.
The flow area of the fluid passage 130 in the housing 20 varies in accordance with the pressure of inflation fluid in the housing 20. Specifically, the higher the pressure in the housing 20, the more the end walls 42 and 62 deflect or deform outward. The more the end walls 42 and 62 deflect outward, the more the end surface 120 of the combustion cup 110 moves away from the end wall of the diffuser 30, and the bigger the fluid passage 130 becomes. In one embodiment, the fluid passage 130 is typically about one-half millimeter in axial extent when the inflator 10 is actuated. Under extreme pressure conditions, the fluid passage 130 could have an axial extent of as much as two to three millimeters.
US5236675 Apr 8, 1992 Aug 17, 1993 Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd. Gas generator with circumferential joints
US5437472 Dec 15, 1993 Aug 1, 1995 Takata Corporation Inflator and air bag device for driver
WO1994025315A1 Apr 7, 1994 Nov 10, 1994 Automotive Systems Laboratory, Inc. Inflator having a rupturable igniter tube
1 TRW Presentation to Chrysler Jan. 28, 1997.
2 TRW Presentation to General Motors Dec. 8, 1997.
US6983956 * Aug 14, 2003 Jan 10, 2006 Key Safety Systems, Inc. Dual stage pyrotechnic inflator
US7516701 * Mar 29, 2005 Apr 14, 2009 Nippon Kayaku Kabushiki Kaisha Gas generator
US7806954 * Oct 31, 2006 Oct 5, 2010 Automotive Systems Laboratory Inc. Gas generator
US7850201 * Jan 20, 2006 Dec 14, 2010 Nippon Kayaku Kabushiki Kaisha Gas generator and method of manufacturing the same
US8276521 Mar 25, 2010 Oct 2, 2012 Takata AG Gas generator for an airbag module
US8444179 * Dec 6, 2006 May 21, 2013 Trw Vehicle Safety Systems Inc. Dual stage air bag inflator
US20070186797 * Mar 29, 2005 Aug 16, 2007 Nippon Kayaku Kabushike Kaisha Gas generator
US20080143089 * Jan 20, 2006 Jun 19, 2008 Nippon Dayaku Dabushiki Kaisha Gas Generator and Method of Manufacturing the Same
US20100186616 * Mar 25, 2010 Jul 29, 2010 Takata-Petri Ag Gas generator for an airbag module
US20100275430 * Jul 16, 2010 Nov 4, 2010 Nippon Kayaku Kabushiki Kaisha Gas generator and method for manufacturing the same
CN100497048C Mar 29, 2005 Jun 10, 2009 日本化药株式会社 Gas generator
CN101873953B Sep 15, 2008 Nov 28, 2012 高田-彼得里公开股份有限公司 Gas generator for an air bag module
EP1731384A1 * Mar 29, 2005 Dec 13, 2006 Nippon Kayaku Kabushiki Kaisha Gas generator
EP1731384A4 * Mar 29, 2005 Jan 2, 2008 Nippon Kayaku Kk Gas generator
WO2005095162A1 Mar 29, 2005 Oct 13, 2005 Nippon Kayaku Kabushiki Kaisha Gas generator
WO2009047086A1 * Sep 15, 2008 Apr 16, 2009 Takata-Petri Ag Gas generator for an air bag module
U.S. Classification 280/736, 280/735, 280/741, 280/742
Cooperative Classification B60R2021/26094, B60R21/2644
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MCFARLAND, ERIC R.;GREEN, LLOYD G., JR.;DEMING, THOMAS H.;REEL/FRAME:009819/0366