Oblique impact airbag mitts and related systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10336283-B2
Application number	US-201715590734-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 9, 2017
Priority date	May 9, 2017
Publication date	Jul 2, 2019
Grant date	Jul 2, 2019

Abstract

Airbag cushions and airbag cushion assemblies comprising mitts or bends for mitigating injuries during oblique impacts. In some embodiments, the cushions may be configured to deploy so as to extend adjacent to an occupant in a vehicle laterally of the occupant and form a mitt configured to receive the occupant's head and/or thorax during an oblique impact event. The airbag cushion may comprise a first portion configured to, upon deployment, extend laterally of the occupant towards a front portion of the vehicle and a second portion configured to, upon deployment, extend at an angle relative to the first portion so as to form the mitt.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An airbag cushion assembly, comprising:
an airbag cushion configured to deploy so as to extend adjacent to an occupant in a vehicle laterally of the occupant and form a mitt configured to receive at least one of the occupant's head the occupant's thorax during an oblique impact event, wherein the airbag cushion comprises:
a first portion configured to, upon deployment, extend laterally of the occupant towards a front portion of the vehicle; and
a second portion configured to, upon deployment, extend at an angle relative to the first portion so as to form the mitt;

at least one external tether coupled with the airbag cushion; and
a pretensioner coupled with the at least one external tether.

2. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 1 , wherein the airbag cushion further comprises a plurality of elongated chambers.

3. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of elongated chambers is defined by a pair of opposing internal panels, and wherein each of the opposing internal panels extends from a first side of the airbag cushion to a second side of the airbag cushion opposite from the first side.

4. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 3 , wherein the mitt is defined at least in part by a subset of the plurality of elongated chambers.

5. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 4 , wherein each of the elongated chambers in the subset is defined by:
a first internal panel extending between the first side of the airbag cushion and the second side of the airbag cushion; and
a second internal panel extending between the first side of the airbag cushion and the second side of the airbag cushion, wherein a first distance between the first internal panel and the second internal panel at the first side is greater than a second distance between the first internal panel and the second internal panel at the second side such that, upon deployment, the positioning of the internal panels in the subset causes the airbag cushion to bend and form the mitt.

6. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pretensioner is configured to maintain tension on the airbag cushion during deployment so as to maintain a shape of the mitt upon contact with the occupant's head.

7. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 1 , wherein the angle is between about 20 degrees and about 130 degrees.

8. An airbag cushion assembly, comprising:
an airbag cushion configured to be positioned for deployment from a vehicle seat; and
means for bending the airbag cushion during deployment to form a mitt for receipt of at least one of a head of an occupant and a thorax of the occupant within the vehicle seat, wherein the means for bending the airbag cushion during deployment comprises an external patch coupled to an exterior surface of the airbag cushion at or adjacent to a first end of the mitt and coupled to the exterior surface of the airbag cushion at or adjacent to a second end of the mitt opposite from the first end, and wherein the external patch comprises:
a first sew line extending along or adjacent to the first end of the mitt from an upper portion of the airbag cushion to a lower portion of the airbag cushion;
a second sew line extending along or adjacent to the second end of the mitt from the upper portion of the airbag cushion to the lower portion of the airbag cushion; and
a third sew line extending in between the first sew line and the second sew line from the upper portion of the airbag cushion to the lower portion of the airbag cushion.

9. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 8 , wherein the means for bending the airbag cushion during deployment further comprises:
at least one elongated chamber defined by a pair of opposing internal panels, wherein each of the opposing internal panels extends from a first side of the airbag cushion to a second side of the airbag cushion opposite from the first side, and wherein each pair of opposing internal panels comprises:
a first internal panel extending between the first side of the airbag cushion and the second side of the airbag cushion; and
a second internal panel extending between the first side of the airbag cushion and the second side of the airbag cushion, wherein a first distance between the first internal panel and the second internal panel at the first side is greater than a second distance between the first internal panel and the second internal panel at the second side such that, upon deployment, the positioning of the opposing internal panels causes the airbag cushion to form the mitt.

10. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 8 , wherein the means for bending the airbag cushion during deployment further comprises at least one external tether coupled to an exterior surface of the airbag cushion.

11. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 8 , further comprising:
at least one tether coupled to the airbag cushion; and
a pretensioner coupled to the tether, wherein the pretensioner is configured to, upon deployment, apply tension to the tether to maintain a desired shape of the mitt.

12. The airbag cushion assembly of claim 11 , wherein the pretensioner is coupled to a lower portion of a vehicle seat, wherein the at least one tether is coupled to the mitt, and wherein the airbag cushion is configured to deploy such that the at least one tether extends in a downward direction to the pretensioner such that the at least one tether anchors the airbag cushion to the lower portion of the vehicle seat during deployment.

13. An airbag cushion, comprising:
a plurality of elongated chambers positioned adjacent to one another and extending from a lower end of the airbag cushion to an upper end of the airbag cushion;
a mitt defined at least in part by a subset of the plurality of elongated chambers, wherein the airbag cushion is configured to deploy by extending in a first direction, bending the airbag cushion to form the mitt, and extending in a second direction at an angle relative to the first direction;
at least one external tether coupled with the airbag cushion; and
a pretensioner coupled with the at least one external tether.

14. The airbag cushion of claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of elongated chambers is defined by a pair of opposing internal panels, and wherein each of the opposing internal panels extends from a first side of the airbag cushion to a second side of the airbag cushion opposite from the first side.

15. The airbag cushion of claim 14 , wherein each of the elongated chambers in the subset is defined by:
a first internal panel extending between the first side of the airbag cushion and the second side of the airbag cushion opposite from the first side; and
a second internal panel extending between the first side of the airbag cushion and the second side of the airbag cushion, wherein a first distance between the first internal panel and the second internal panel at the first side is greater than a second distance between the first internal panel and the second internal panel at the second side such that, upon deployment, the positioning of the internal panels in the subset causes the airbag cushion to bend and form the mitt.

16. The airbag cushion of claim 13 , wherein a first section of the plurality of elongated chambers comprises a first maximum height extending between the upper end of the airbag cushion and the lower end of the airbag cushion, wherein a second section of the plurality of elongated chambers comprises a second maximum height extending between the upper end of the airbag cushion and the lower end of the airbag cushion, and wherein the first maximum height is greater than the

Assignees

• Autoliv Asp Inc

Inventors

• Rickenbach Roger Dean
• Parker Don Larry
• Wheelwright Terry Alan
• Wiscombe Derek John
• Devey Christine Elizabeth
• Holliday Andrew Lawrence

Classifications

• B60R21/233 Primary

  comprising a plurality of individual compartments; comprising two or more bag-like members, one within the other (B60R21/232 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B60R2021/23388

  having ends which are movable or detachable during deployment · CPC title

• B60R21/231

  characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration · CPC title

• B60R21/2338

  Tethers · CPC title

• B60R2021/0009

  Oblique collision · CPC title