Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090267329 | Invisible Pre-Weakened Seam for an Air Bag Deployment Cover - A cover panel for the air bag in an automotive vehicle with a pre-weakened tear seam being formed by a series of voids formed in a predetermined repeat pattern of varying depths. The voids are formed by ablating the cover panel base substrate from its under side at varying depths to weaken both the base substrate and an outer finish layer. | 10-29-2009 |
20090283993 | Instrument panel having an airbag therein and method for forming thereof - Several embodiments take the form of an instrument panel having an airbag therein for a motor vehicle. The instrument panel includes a pre-constructed substrate that includes a mounting surface and a reference surface. The instrument panel also includes a cover including a cover skin layer and a woven layer. The cover skin layer has an outer surface that defines a stitched region for presentation to an occupant and an airbag region that is separate from the stitched region. The woven layer has an inner surface that is coupled to the mounting surface of the substrate and coupled to the mounting surface via an adhesive. The stitched region is configured to receive at least one stitch and the airbag region corresponds to at least part of an area where the airbag impacts the cover skin layer during a deployment of the airbag. Other embodiments relate forming an instrument panel. | 11-19-2009 |
20100147129 | Pre-Weakened Skin Seam for an Air Bag Deployment Cover - An outer cover layer, for a panel that defines a rupturable deployment door of an air bag deployment system in an automotive vehicle, is formed with an invisible pre-weakened tear seam prior to being overlaid onto the panel. The outer cover layer material is pre-weakened along a defined door opening pattern by a single step impression of a variable depth scoring knife into the under surface of cover layer material. The scoring knife contains a series of cutting edges of varying depth and length along its length that coincides with the seam pattern. The scoring may be performed during the conveyance of the cover layer material by making a single impression of the scoring knife into the lower surface thereof so that the maximum cut depth does not penetrate the outer surface of the material. | 06-17-2010 |
20100230938 | Interlocking One Piece Molded Passenger Air Bag Chute - An integrated air bag chute structure that provides means for providing automatic interlocking attachment of the chute to the substrate of an instrument panel. By inserting the air bag chute into a substrate aperture and utilizing slots, depressions and notches formed in the chute structure beneath a surrounding flange, the aperture edges are captured and retained to thereby lock the chute in place. | 09-16-2010 |
20120038133 | Invisible Tear Seam for an Air Bag Deployment Door - A cover panel for the air bag in an automotive vehicle with an invisible deployment door section defined by pre-weakened tear seam formed on the underside of the instrument panel base substrate during the base substrate molding process. Tear seams are formed into the underside of the base substrate by a continuous partial protrusion element and elongated and spaced apart full protrusion elements extending from a lower surface mold preform to define a continuous void path that extends into a portion of the substrate and a series of spaced apart and elongated voids that extend fully through only the base substrate of the laminated cover panel structure to form pre-weakened bridges of substrate material that is pre-weakened in both thickness and length dimensions along the defined tear path. | 02-16-2012 |
20120068441 | Air Bag Deployment System with Deflector Rib - An improved air bag deployment system that protects welds or other bonds that are made between the underside of an instrument panel substrate and the outer flange of an air bag deployment chute. A deflector element is located in the gap between the chute flange and the substrate to prevent the deploying air bag from expanding into the gap and potentially damaging the bond. | 03-22-2012 |
20120248741 | Active Bolster with Internal Tear Joints - An active bolster for passenger crash protection in a vehicle comprises a base wall and a front wall, the walls having first and second facing surfaces to form an inflatable bladder with an initial open space between the surfaces. The bladder includes a plurality of tear joints. Each tear joint is comprised of first and second upstanding ribs wherein the first upstanding rib extends from the first surface part way into the open space and extends end-to-end along a first direction. The second upstanding rib extends from the second surface part way into the open space to contact in the first upstanding rib and extends end-to-end substantially along a second direction that is substantially transverse to the first direction so that the first and second upstanding ribs contact at an intersection. At each intersection the first and second upstanding ribs comprise a welded joint that is substantially rigid against compression forces and that allows the tear joints to separate under tension during inflation of the bladder. | 10-04-2012 |
20120248742 | Active Bolster with Active Venting - An active bolster for an automotive vehicle includes a bladder that inflates an interior trim area of the vehicle to provide a cushion to an occupant during a crash. The bladder has a front panel and a back panel joined to the front panel defining an inflatable cavity. The back panel has a variable vent for venting inflation gas supplied into the cavity during a crash event. The vent has a first predetermined flow coefficient when a pressure difference across the vent is substantially zero and a greater flow coefficient when there is a predetermined pressure difference across the vent. Little gas is lost during an inflation phase while sufficient venting is obtained during an impact phase. | 10-04-2012 |
20120267878 | Active Bolster with Hermetic Seal - An active bolster for an automotive vehicle has base wall for mounting against a rigid structure of the vehicle. A front wall overlies the base wall and forms an interior trim piece of the vehicle. The base wall has a first surface facing the front wall, and the front wall has a second surface facing the base wall. The base wall and front wall are joined around a closed perimeter to form an inflatable bladder with an initial open space between the first and second surfaces. The base wall includes a wide rib projecting from the first surface continuously along the closed perimeter, the wide rib having a minimum radial width along the closed perimeter equal to a first predetermined radial width. The front wall includes a plurality of narrow ribs projecting concentrically from the second surface continuously along the closed perimeter. Each narrow rib is welded to the wide rib, and each narrow rib has a respective radial width at each respective location along the closed perimeter less than half the radial width of the wide rib at the respective location. | 10-25-2012 |
20130015647 | Active Bolster with Double-Hinged Tether TabsAANM Kalisz; Raymond E.AACI LivoniaAAST MIAACO USAAGP Kalisz; Raymond E. Livonia MI US - An active bolster for an automotive vehicle has an inflatable bladder formed by a reaction wall for mounting against a rigid structure of the vehicle and an expansion wall overlying the base wall. The base wall and expansion wall are comprised of molded plastic components. At least one of the reaction wall and the expansion wall includes a plurality of tether tabs, each tether tab having a contoured edge defining a movable flap. The contoured edge has first and second ends defining a first hinge axis and a pair of complementary undulations defining a second hinge axis substantially parallel to the first hinge axis. The movable flap has an attachment region joined to the other one of the reaction wall and the expansion wall, and the second hinge axis extends between the attachment region and the first hinge axis. | 01-17-2013 |
20130093169 | BLOW-MOLDED ACTIVE SIDE BOLSTER WITH TEAR TABS - An active bolster for a door of a transportation vehicle comprises a sheet metal door frame with a plurality of brackets. A door cover panel is mounted to the door frame. The cover panel has a bolster aperture, a living hinge disposed around the perimeter of the bolster aperture, and a plurality of mounting bosses. A blow-molded bladder is arranged to fit within the bolster aperture having a front surface substantially co-planar with the cover panel, having a pleated back surface, and having a plurality of side mounting tabs extending laterally from the sides of the bladder. Each side mounting tab is attached to a respective mounting boss and includes a respective tear seam configured to pull away from the respective mounting boss during inflation of the bladder. A plurality of capture pins are insert molded into the back surface. Each pin is captured by a respective bracket. | 04-18-2013 |
20130300093 | ACTIVE BOLSTER WITH GAS DIRECTING CHANNELS - An active bolster has an expandable inner wall including a bay having first and second opposing ends and a central bowl. An expandable outer wall overlies the inner wall to provide a main cavity therebetween. An inflator is mounted within the bay having an outlet nozzle with a plurality of outlet passages for radially discharging an inflation gas against the bay and the outer wall in response to inflate the main cavity during a crash. The inner wall of the central bowl includes a plurality of first dispersion ribs substantially parallel with one another and following arcuate paths to provide at least one gas channel with opposite ends emptying from the central bowl into the main cavity. The outer wall includes a plurality of second dispersion ribs oriented to channel inflation gas from the central bowl toward the outer peripheral edges. | 11-14-2013 |
20140001799 | ACTIVE BOLSTER DEPLOYED FROM VEHICLE SEAT | 01-02-2014 |
20150035260 | FOAM-IN-PLACE INTERIOR PANELS HAVING INTEGRATED AIRBAG DOORS INCLUDING SUBSTRATES WITH AIRBAG CHUTE-DOOR ASSEMBLIES FOR MOTOR VEHICLES - Interior panels having integrated airbag doors for motor vehicles are provided. In one example, an interior panel comprises a substrate having outer and inner surfaces and an opening extending therethrough. An airbag chute-door assembly is mounted to the substrate and comprises a chute wall that at least partially surrounds an interior space. The chute wall is configured for stowing an airbag module. The chute wall defines an expansion feature that facilitates moving sections of the chute wall for assembling the airbag module to the chute wall. A door flap portion is pivotally connected to the chute wall and at least partially covers the opening. A perimeter flange extends from the chute wall and has a flange section that overlies the outer surface of the substrate. A skin covering extends over the substrate and a foam is disposed between the skin covering and the substrate. | 02-05-2015 |
20150035261 | FOAM-IN-PLACE INTERIOR PANELS HAVING INTEGRATED AIRBAG DOORS INCLUDING SUBSTRATES WITH AIRBAG CHUTE-DOOR ASSEMBLIES FOR MOTOR VEHICLES - Interior panels having integrated airbag doors for motor vehicles are provided. In one example, an interior panel comprises a substrate having an opening. A skin covering and foam cover the substrate. An airbag chute-door assembly is mounted to the substrate. The airbag chute-door assembly comprises a chute wall that at least partially surrounds an interior space. The chute wall is configured to direct passage of an airbag through the interior space towards the opening. A door flap portion is pivotally connected to the chute wall via a hinge section and at least partially covers the opening. A gusset hinge feature extends from the hinge section between and operatively coupled to the door flap portion and the chute wall. A perimeter flange extends from the chute wall away from the interior space and has a flange section that overlies the outer surface of the substrate. | 02-05-2015 |