Patent ID: 7427082

Claim:
A gas generator ( 10 ) for use in a safety arrangement for vehicles, comprising a combustion chamber ( 12 ) and a gas-generating propellant ( 14 , 14 ′) contained in the combustion chamber ( 12 ), the propellant ( 14 , 14 ′) having an auto-ignition temperature of more than about 200 degrees C., and the gas generator ( 10 ) further comprising an outer wall ( 16 , 30 ; 50 ) having a wall section ( 45 ; 52 ) directly adjoining the propellant ( 14 ), wherein the wall section ( 45 ; 52 ) has a smaller wall thickness than the outer wall ( 16 , 30 ; 50 ) adjacent to the wall section ( 45 ; 52 ) and wherein the wall section ( 45 ; 52 ) is arranged with respect to the propellant ( 14 ) so that a portion ( 14 ′) of the propellant ( 14 ) adjoining the wall section ( 45 ; 52 ) heats up to the auto-ignition temperature under bonfire conditions faster than the propellant ( 14 ) in the rest of the combustion chamber ( 12 ).