Vehicle airbag assembly and associated method of forming

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11091112-B2
Application number	US-202016773127-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 27, 2020
Priority date	Jan 28, 2019
Publication date	Aug 17, 2021
Grant date	Aug 17, 2021

Abstract

A vehicle airbag assembly includes a vehicle trim panel including at least one door having an outer surface facing a vehicle cabin and an inner surface facing an airbag prior to deployment, In a pre-deployed state the door extends across an opening and is movably coupled to a rim to open upon deployment of the airbag to permit passage of the airbag through the opening. At least one edge of the door has a tear seam that couples the door to the vehicle trim panel. A bridging member is adjacent the inner surface of the door. The bridging member is configured to contact the inner surface at a location away from the rim and support the door in the pre-deployed state. The bridging member extends at least partially across the opening and is movable upon deployment of the airbag such that the airbag is permitted to pass through the opening.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle airbag assembly comprising:
a vehicle trim panel including at least one door having an outer surface configured to face a vehicle cabin and an inner surface configured to face an airbag prior to deployment, wherein in a pre-deployed state the door extends across an opening, and wherein the door is movably coupled to a rim of the vehicle trim panel such that the door is configured to open upon deployment of the airbag to permit passage of the airbag through the opening, at least one edge of the door having a tear seam that couples the door to a corresponding edge of the vehicle trim panel and breaks upon deployment of the airbag;
a bridging member provided adjacent to the inner surface of the door, the bridging member configured to contact the inner surface at a location away from the rim and support the door in the pre-deployed state, wherein the bridging member extends at least partially across the opening and is movable upon deployment of the airbag such that the airbag is permitted to pass through the opening,
a side wall, wherein the bridging member is rotatably coupled to one of the side wall and the door; and
a projection projecting from the other of the side wall and door, such that during assembly the bridging member resiliently snaps into place with respect to the projection when the bridging member is rotated into engagement with the other of the side wall and door.

2. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle trim panel includes a perimeter wall extending from an inner surface of the vehicle trim panel and substantially surrounding the opening, and wherein the perimeter wall is configured to receive an airbag canister in which the airbag is provided.

3. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 1 , wherein the perimeter wall forms the side wall to which the bridging member is coupled.

4. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 1 , further comprising an airbag canister in which the airbag is provided.

5. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 4 , wherein the airbag canister includes a housing wall and the housing wall forms the side wall to which the bridging member is coupled.

6. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bridging member extends across a width of the opening.

7. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 6 , wherein the bridging member spans the width of the opening.

8. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 6 , wherein the bridging member extends across a portion of the width of the opening.

9. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 6 , further comprising a pair of bridging members extending from opposite sides of the opening and that together extend across at least a portion of the width of the opening.

10. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 6 , further comprising a plurality of bridging members spaced apart in a lengthwise direction of the opening.

11. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 6 , wherein the bridging member includes a frangible portion that is configured to break upon deployment of the airbag.

12. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bridging member includes at least one strut that supports the inner surface of the door.

13. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bridging member is formed integral to the vehicle trim panel.

14. The vehicle airbag assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bridging member is pre-stressed such that the bridging member is biased towards the inner surface of the door.

15. A vehicle comprising the vehicle airbag assembly of claim 1 .

16. A method of forming a vehicle airbag assembly, the method comprising:
providing a vehicle trim panel including at least one door having an outer surface configured to face a vehicle cabin and an inner surface configured to face an airbag prior to deployment, wherein in a pre-deployed state the door extends across an opening, and wherein the door is movably coupled to a rim of the vehicle trim panel such that the door is configured to open upon deployment of the airbag to permit passage of the airbag through the opening, at least one edge of the door having a tear seam that couples the door to a corresponding edge of the vehicle trim panel and breaks upon deployment of the airbag;
deploying a bridging member so as to be adjacent to the inner surface of the door, the bridging member configured to contact the inner surface at a location away from the rim and support the door in its pre-deployed state, wherein the bridging member extends at least partially across the opening and is movable upon deployment of the airbag such that the airbag is permitted to pass through the opening, wherein the bridging member is rotatably coupled to one of a side wall of the vehicle airbag assembly and the door; and
during assembly resiliently snapping the bridging member into place with respect to a projection projecting from the other of the side wall and door when the bridging member is rotated into engagement with the other of the side wall and door.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc
• Ford Global Tech Lld

Inventors

• Swiniarski Michal Jan
• Scott Timothy

Classifications

• B60R2021/21506

  comprising tearing tabs, legs or the like for holding the lid before deployment · CPC title

• B60R2021/21652

  the tearing being done or assisted by cutters · CPC title

• B60R21/2165 Primary

  characterised by a tear line for defining a deployment opening · CPC title

• B60R21/205

  in dashboards · CPC title

• B60R21/2171

  specially adapted for elongated cylindrical or bottle-like inflators with a symmetry axis perpendicular to the main direction of bag deployment, e.g. extruded reaction canisters (B60R21/2176 takes precedence) · CPC title