Passenger airbag with extended base

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9969349-B2
Application number	US-201414260601-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 24, 2014
Priority date	Apr 24, 2014
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

An airbag module for a vehicle includes an inflator disposed behind an instrument panel and an airbag arrangement. The airbag arrangement includes a cushion section configured to receive an occupant during impact and a balloon section disposed proximate a base of the cushion section and adjacent the instrument panel such that, upon inflation, the balloon section contacts and pushes against the instrument panel. This forms a swell on the cushion section adjacent to the balloon section configured to hinder movement of the occupant toward the balloon section.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
an instrument panel; and
an airbag module including a passenger side frontal airbag and an inflator disposed behind the instrument panel, the airbag defining, when inflated, a cushion section configured to receive an occupant torso during driver side oblique impacts and a balloon section configured to, during inflation, press against the instrument panel to propel the cushion section in a direction away from a passenger side to shift a position of the cushion section toward a driver side.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein a volume defined by the balloon section is less than a volume defined by the cushion section.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein the volume defined by the balloon section is approximately one third the volume defined by the cushion section.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the balloon section is positioned proximate the inflator.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the balloon section, when inflated, is positioned proximate a base of the cushion section.

6. An airbag module for a vehicle comprising:
an inflator disposed behind an instrument panel; and
a passenger side frontal airbag arrangement including a cushion section configured to receive an occupant torso during driver side oblique impacts and a balloon section disposed proximate a base of the cushion section and adjacent the instrument panel such that, upon inflation, the balloon section contacts and pushes against the instrument panel to propel the cushion section in a direction away from a passenger side to form a swell on the cushion section adjacent to the balloon section configured to hinder movement of the occupant toward a driver side.

7. The airbag module of claim 6 wherein the balloon section is partitioned from the cushion section via a panel configured such that upon an oblique impact by the vehicle, the panel vents inflation gas to the balloon section.

8. The airbag module of claim 6 wherein the balloon section is disposed proximate the inflator.

9. The airbag module of claim 6 wherein the cushion section is made of a material different than a material of the balloon section.

10. The airbag module of claim 6 further comprising a tether arranged to at least partially define the balloon section.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Cheng James Chih
• Cho Jaeho
• Belwafa Jamel E
• Faruque Mohammed Omar
• Abramoski Edward Joseph
• Jindal Pardeep Kumar
• Midoun Diamal Eddine

Classifications

• B60R2021/23504

  characterised by material · CPC title

• B60R21/205 Primary

  in dashboards · CPC title

• B60R2021/23308

  the individual compartments defining the external shape of the bag · CPC title

• B60R2021/23382

  Internal tether means · CPC title

• B60R2021/161

  characterised by additional means for controlling deployment trajectory · CPC title