GB2405840A

GB2405840A - Seat-belt airbag

Info

Publication number: GB2405840A
Application number: GB0321189A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jan Huibert Valkenburg
Original assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Current assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Priority date: 2003-09-10
Filing date: 2003-09-10
Publication date: 2005-03-16
Also published as: GB0321189D0

Abstract

An air-bag arrangement comprises an air bag housed in a buckle 20 of a three point seat-belt 24. Upon deployment the air-bag inflates two lobes 52,53 which are interconnected by webbing 55,54 and form a funnel shaped structure extending upwards around the seat belt. The lobes extend longitudinally along the diagonal 56 and lap 57 portions of the seat-belt and provide cushioning between the belt and occupant. During deployment two inflatable gas supply tubes 58,59 are used to inflate the two lobes 52,53 by venting gas through holes 60. A further embodiment includes a cushioning region which interconnects the distal ends of the two lobes.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

"IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO AN AIR-BAG ARRANGEMENT" THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to an air-bag arrangement, and more particularly relates to an air-bag arrangement to be provided in a motor vehicle to provide protection for an occupant of the vehicle in the event that an accident should occur.

There have been many prior proposals relating to the provision of airbags in motor vehicles to provide protection for vehicle occupants in the event that an accident should occur. In many of these proposals an airbag is mounted in position within the steering-wheel or dashboard of the motor vehicle. One problem with air-bags of this type is that when the air-bag is deployed, a substantial amount of damage is effected to the steering-wheel and/or the dashboard, necessitating expensive repairs to the steering-wheel or dashboard if the vehicle is to be re-used. There are, it is to be understood, other problems associated with steeringwheel and dashboard-mounted air-bags.

It has been proposed previously to provide an air-bag on a seat-belt.

Arrangements of this type also have problems, including the provision of an arrangement to provide a control signal and/or gas to the air-bag to inflate the air-bag in the event that an accident should arise. EP-0-908 358 A discloses an air-bag mounted on a seat-belt, and shows a complicated buckle arrangement which incorporates a connection between a gas supply pipe which is connected to the air-bag and a further gas supply pipe which is connected to a gas generator.

A further problem with air-bags mounted on seat-belts is that the air-bag tends to interfere with the ordinary use of a seat-belt in that the part of the seat- belt carrying the air-bag cannot readily pass through a guide-loop and cannot be wound on to a retractor.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved air-bag arrangement.

According to the present invention, there is provided an air-bag arrangement, the air-bag arrangement having a unit, the unit incorporating a buckle to receive a tongue provided on a safety-belt and also incorporating an air-bag to be inflated in the event that an accident should occur.

Preferably the air-bag is configured so that, on deployment thereof, the air-bag will be guided by a seat-belt engaged with the buckle.

Advantageously the air-bag has part thereof wrapped around the buckle within the unit.

Conveniently the air-bag is effectively of funnel-like form, with part of the funnel-like form extending around the buckle.

Preferably the air-bag comprises two diverging inflatable regions of elongate form, the inflatable regions being interconnected by two spacedapart webs or sets of straps.

Advantageously the air-bag comprises an inflatable element, the inflatable element defining a throat to be connected to a gas generator; and two elongate inflatable regions extending away from the throat and diverging; a first web being connected to one side of the diverging inflatable regions and another web being connected to the other side of the diverging inflatable regions.

Conveniently the webs are of generally triangular form.

Preferably a further inflatable region is provided extending above the upper-most of the two diverging inflatable regions.

Conveniently, the arrangement further comprises a pair of diverging inflatable gas supply tubes, each said gas supply tube having at least one vent aperture for fluid communication with a respective said inflatable region.

Advantageously the air-bag comprises two inflatable chambers, two overlying peripheral edges of the inflatable chambers being interconnected.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the invention in which a unit incorporating a seat-belt buckle and an air-bag is illustrated together with part of the conventional "three-point" seat-belt, FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the air-bag present within the unit of Figure 1 when in the inflated form, FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view through the unit of Figure 1 illustrating the air-bag and the seat-belt buckle, FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of part of one embodiment of the invention in ordinary use, FIGURE 5 is a view corresponding to Figure 4 illustrating the situation when the air-bag begins to deploy, FIGURE 6 is a view corresponding to Figure 5 showing the situation as the air-bag deploys, FIGURE 7 is a view corresponding to Figure 6 illustrating the position as the air-bag approaches full deployment, FIGURE 8 is a view corresponding to Figure 7 showing the air-bag fully deployed, FIGURE 9 is an exploded view of an air-bag illustrating the fabrication of the airbag, FIGURE 10 is a view illustrating an air-bag similar to that of Figure 9, but with a modification, in combination with a seat-belt, FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic view of an alternative embodiment of the invention, FIGURE 12 is a diagrammatic view of another embodiment of the invention, FIGURE 13 is a diagrammatic view of a further modified embodiment of the invention, and FIGURE 14 is a diagrammatic view of a further modified embodiment of the invention, FIGURE 15 is a schematic view illustrating a preferred inflation characteristic for an air-bag forming part of the invention; and FIGURE 16 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one embodiment of the invention in use.

It is to be understood that in embodiments of the invention a single unit is provided which incorporates not only the buckle for a safety-belt, but also an air-bag and, in the described embodiments, an inflator for the air-bag. The air bag is configured so that, in use, deployment of the airbag is guided by a seat belt which is connected to the buckle. The airbag, as it inflates, thus "follows" the seat-belt, and consequently becomes positioned at a location in front of the torso of a seat occupant. The air-bag thus becomes positioned appropriately without undue problems arising.

Because the air-bag is initially contained within a unit that incorporates the buckle, should the air-bag be deployed, it will only be necessary to replace the unit that incorporates the air-bag, and it will not be necessary to effect repairs to a steering-wheel or dashboard.

Turning now to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a unit I (which will be described with greater detail with reference to Figure 3), which incorporates a seat-belt buckle having a conventional operating mechanism, the seat-belt buckle receiving a tongue 2 which is mounted on a seat-belt 3 which is a seat-belt of the conventional "three-point" design. It is to be appreciated that the tongue 2 may be released from the unit 1 in a conventional manner.

The unit l incorporates, in addition to the buckle, an air-bag, which is associated with an appropriate sensor so that the air-bag will be deployed in the event that an accident should occur.

Figure 2 is a perspective view illustrating the air-bag 4 that is present within the unit 1. The air-bag 4 incorporates two separate elongate inflatable regions 5, 6 which extend from a common throat 7. The inflatable regions 5, 6 can be seen to resemble slightly separated fingers. Extending between the inflatable regions 5, 6 are a pair of webs 8, 9, each web, as illustrated, being of substantially triangular form.

It is to be understood that when the air-bag is packed within the unit 1, the buckle that receives the tongue 2 is effectively contained between the webs 8, 9, so that as the air-bag becomes inflated, the seat-belt 3 which is connected to the buckle will be retained between the webs 8, 9 and thus the seat-belt 3 will guide the air-bag 4 as it becomes inflated.

Referring now to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings, the unit 1 incorporates a buckle 10 adapted to receive the tongue 2 of the seat-belt 3. The buckle 10 may be of conventional design. The buckle 10 is provided with a strap 11 which may be a metal strap which extends to an anchoring lug 12 which may be connected to a suitable anchoring point within a vehicle, for example, by means of a bolt. Contained within the unit 1 is an air-bag such as the air-bag 4. The air-bag 4 is initially in a folded condition. A gas generator 13 is provided, the gas generator being connected to the throat 7 of the air-bag 4 such that gas from the gas generator will cause the air-bag 4 to inflate. One web 8 of the air-bag is wrapped around the buckle 10, so that the buckle 10 is effectively retained between the spaced-apart webs 8, 9.

Figure 4 illustrates a unit 20 which is equivalent to the unit 1 of Figure 1, in a condition where it is ready to be actuated. The unit 20 comprises a housing 21 with an upper cover 22, the upper cover being provided with a pre-defined split-line 23. The unit 20 is shown associated with a seat-belt 24 of the conventional "three-point" design, the seat-belt 24 having a tongue 25, the tongue 25 being engaged within the buckle that forms part of the unit 20.

Should the air-bag within the unit 20 be deployed, initially gas is supplied from the gas generator to the air-bag causing the volume of the air-bag to increase, thus causing the cover 22 to begin to split along the split-line 23 as shown in Figure 5. Subsequently the cover 22 will totally split, forming two "doors" 26, 27 (as shown in Figure 6), as the air-bag 28 contained within the housing 21 begins to emerge. Here it is to be observed that the air- bag is embracing the seat-belt 24, because part of the air-bag was wrapped around the buckle within the unit 20.

Figure 7 illustrates the air-bag 28 at a subsequent stage in its deployment. It can be seen that the volume of the air-bag is increasing, but, as the air-bag deploys, it is guided away from the housing 21 by the seat-belt 24.

Figure 7 also shows that the air-bag effectively has a funnel-like form. Part of the funnel-like form extends around the buckle.

Figure 8 illustrates the air-bag 28 in a fully inflated condition. Here it can be seen that the air-bag 28 has a throat 29, which is actually connected to a gas generator within the unit 20. Extending from the throat 29 are two diverging elongate inflatable regions 30, 31 resembling two elongate fingers.

The inflatable regions 30, 31 are interconnected by two spaced-apart webs 32, 33.

It can be seen that each inflatable element 30, 31 lies adjacent a respective part of the safety-belt 24. It is envisaged that as the airbag inflates, so the air-bag will insinuate itself between the parts of the safety-belt 24 and a seat occupant (not shown), thus reaching a position as illustrated in Figure 8 in which the inflatable regions 30, 31 of the air-bag 28 extend across the lap and torso of the seat occupant.

Figure 9 illustrates the air-bag 28 at a stage during its manufacture. It can be seen that the air-bag 28 effectively comprises an inflatable element 34 which defines the throat 29 connected to the gas generator and which also defines the two elongate inflatable regions 30, 31. Figure 9 illustrates that a first web 32 has been connected to the parts of the inflatable regions 30, 31 which are furthest from the viewer, for example by using stitching. A further web 33 is shown in position, ready to be secured to the inflatable regions 30, 31, by further stitching.

Figure 10 shows a fully inflated air-bag 35, the air-bag being associated with a "three-point" safety-belt 24, the air-bag 35 being of a design similar to that shown in Figure 9, but incorporating an additional inflatable region 36 extending upwardly above the inflatable region 30. The additional inflatable region 36 is to provide additional cushioning located in front of the upper torso and possibly head of a vehicle occupant who is to be protected by the described arrangement.

As can be seen, the above-described embodiment of the air-bag 35 incorporates two separate elongate inflatable regions 30, 31 which only communicate with one another via the throat 29, each of which lies adjacent a respective part of the safety-belt 24. However, a variant of this arrangement is illustrated in Figure 11, in which the two elongate inflatable regions 30, 31 are also interconnected by an inflatable region 37. In this arrangement, the inflatable regions 30, 37 and 31 are all part of a single inflatable passage configured to be generally triangular in shape, the two ends of which receive gas from the gas generator.

Whilst, in the described embodiments of the invention, the two inflatable regions of each air-bag have been interconnected by means of webs, as shown in Figure 12 separate straps may be used as an alternative. Thus, in the embodiment of Figure 12, a unit 38 is provided, which is illustrated in use with a "three-point" safety-belt 39. Contained within the unit 38 is an air-bag 40 which incorporates a first elongate inflatable region 41 and a second elongate inflatable region 42, the inflatable regions being interconnected, on each side, by a plurality of spaced-apart straps 43, 44, 45.

Figure 13 illustrates another modified embodiment of the invention in which a unit 46 is provided, the unit 46 being associated with an air-bag 47 which includes two separate inflatable chambers 48, 49. Each chamber is of generally flat and generally triangular form, and two outer edges of the chambers are interconnected. A safety-belt 50 is provided, the safety-belt 50 extending between the two chambers to a buckle present within the unit 46.

Figure 14 illustrates a further modified embodiment of the invention. In this arrangement, the air-bag 51 again comprises two diverging elongate inflatable regions 52, 53 which resemble elongate fingers and which are interconnected by a pair of spaced-apart webs 54, 55. The two inflatable regions 52, 53 are again configured to insinuate themselves in respective parts 56, 57 of the safety belt and a seat occupant (not shown). However, in this arrangement, the air-bag 51 also comprises a pair of inflatable elongate gas supply tubes 58, 59, each of which is associated with a respective inflatable region 52, 53. The two gas supply tubes 58, 59 are arranged so as to inflate and extend along the outer face of the respective parts 56, 57 of the safety-belt.

It will be seen from Figure 14 that the two gas supply tubes 58, 59 have a significantly smaller diameter than the respective inflatable regions 52, 53.

One or more vent holes 60 are provided at the end of each gas supply tube 58, 59, the vent holes 60 providing fluid communication between the two gas supply tubes 58, 59 and the respective larger inflatable regions 52, 53 of the air- bag. Therefore, upon actuation of the gas generator (not shown) gas is supplied to the gas supply tubes 58, 59 which, because of their relatively small size, inflate swiftly and extend along respective parts 56, 57 of the safety-belt. As the gas supply tubes 58, 59 inflate swiftly in this manner, the air-bag 51 is opened up quickly, and when the two gas supply tubes 58, 59 are fully inflated, the gas within them is allowed to vent through the vent aperture 60 into the two larger inflatable regions 52, 53, which are located between the safety-belt and the seat occupant. It will therefore be seen that in this arrangement, the two gas supply ducts 58, 59 serve to pull the larger inflatable regions 52, 53 (which provide most of the cushioning effect in an accident situation) swiftly into position with the use of only a relatively small volume of gas because of the reduced size of the inflatable gas supply tubes 58, 59. This enables a smaller and more compact gas generator to be used.

Figure 15 illustrates in schematic form, an air-bag 61 in accordance with the present invention being inflated and unfolding between a seat occupant 62 and a safety-belt 63 in a preferred manner. It will be seen that the air-bag 62 has been packed within the unit (not shown) in such a manner that, as it inflates towards the seat occupant 62, between the seat occupant 62 and the safety belt 63, the air-bag 61 unrolls or "unfurls" in an outward manner with respect to the seat occupant 62.

Figure 16 is provided merely for purposes of explanation and shows in a very diagrammatic manner how an air-bag 63 in accordance with the invention may be positioned to lie in front of the major part of the torso 64 of a seat occupant 65. In the illustrated embodiment the seat occupant is a 50% percentile male dummy, and it can be seen that the air- bag 63 extends across the lap portion of the dummy and the lower torso of the dummy.

It is to be understood that in preferred embodiments of the invention the air-bag may be configured so that, on inflation, the inflatable regions of the air- bag insinuate themselves between the safety-belt and the torso of the seat- occupant. In this way, inflation of the air-bag will tend to tension the seat-belt in a desirable manner. Also, the interposition of the inflatable region of the air bag between the seat-belt and the seat occupant will tend to minimise the risk that the seat-belt itself will injure the seat occupant.

In the present Specification "comprises" means "includes or consists of" and "comprising" means "including or consisting of".

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following Claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. An air-bag arrangement, the air-bag arrangement having a unit,

the unit incorporating a buckle to receive a tongue provided on a safety-belt and also incorporating an air-bag to be inflated in the event that an accident should occur.
2. An arrangement according to Claim 1 wherein the air-bag is configured so that, on deployment thereof, the air-bag will be guided by a seat-belt engaged with the buckle.
3. An arrangement according to Claim 2 wherein the air-bag has part thereof wrapped around the buckle within the unit.
4. An arrangement according to Claim 3 wherein the air-bag is effectively of funnel-like form, with part of the funnel-like form extending around the i buckle.
5. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the air-bag comprises two diverging inflatable regions of elongate form, the inflatable regions being interconnected by two spaced-apart webs or sets of straps.
6. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the air bag comprises an inflatable element, the inflatable element defining a throat to be connected to a gas generator; and two elongate inflatable regions extending away from the throat and diverging; a first web being connected to one side of the diverging inflatable regions and another web being connected to the other side of the diverging inflatable regions.
7. An arrangement according to Claim 6 wherein the webs are of generally triangular form.
8. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 5 to 7, wherein a further inflatable region is provided extending above the upper-most of the two diverging inflatable regions.
9. An arrangement according to any one of claims 5 to 8, further comprising a pair of diverging inflatable gas supply tubes, each said gas supply tube having at least one vent aperture for fluid communication with a respective said inflatable region.
10. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the air bag comprises two inflatable chambers, two overlying peripheral edges of the I inflatable chambers being interconnected.
11. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.
12. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference I to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings as modified by Figures 4 to 8.
13. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 as modified by Figure 9 of the accompanying drawings.
14. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 as modified by Figure 10 of the accompanying drawings.
15. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 as modified by Figure 11 of the accompanying drawings.
16. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 12 of the accompanying drawings.
17. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 13 of the accompanying drawings.
18. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 14 ofthe accompanying drawings.
19. An air-bag arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 16 of the accompanying drawings.
20. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.