Horizontally inflating passenger front air bag system
AssigneeCanoo Technologies Inc.
InventorsVidyadhar V. Katkar, Sangjoon Han, Sohel Merchant
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicular airbag deployment system includes an airbag storage chamber, the airbag storage chamber disposed at a location within a vehicle. The vehicular airbag deployment system also includes an airbag configured to be stored within the airbag storage chamber when the airbag is in a deflated state. The airbag is further configured to be inflated in response to a collision detection event and deploy from the airbag storage chamber. In an inflated state, the airbag extends in a generally horizontal direction between a passenger seating location and a reaction surface at a front interior surface of the vehicle and the airbag contacts the reaction surface in the inflated state.
Claims16
A vehicular airbag deployment system for a vehicle having a cross car beam and a bullhorn beam connected to the cross car beam, comprising:
- an airbag storage chamber configured to be connected to the cross car beam;
- a launch pad configured to be connected to the bullhorn beam;
- and
- an airbag comprising a first volume and a second volume configured to be stored within the airbag storage chamber when the airbag is in a deflated state, the airbag having an internal vertical separator extending vertically from an interior bottom portion to an interior top portion and defining the first volume and second volume,
- wherein, the airbag is further configured to be inflated in response to a collision detection event and deploy from the airbag storage chamber, and
- wherein, in an inflated state, the second volume of the airbag extends in a generally horizontal direction from the internal vertical separator towards a passenger seating location and the first volume of the airbag extends horizontally from the internal vertical separator and downwardly towards the launch pad and contacts the launch pad, wherein the launch pad supports the first volume and acts as reaction surface for the second volume during deployment.
A method comprising:
- detecting a vehicular collision and triggering a collision detection event;
- and
- deploying, in response to the collision detection event, an airbag having a first volume and a second volume stored in a deflated state in an airbag storage chamber connected to a cross car beam within a vehicle, including inflating the airbag to an inflated state, the airbag having an internal vertical separator extending vertically from an interior bottom portion to an interior top portion and defining the first volume and second volume,
- wherein, in the inflated state, the second volume of the airbag extends generally in a horizontal direction from the internal vertical separator towards a passenger seating location, and
- wherein, in the inflated state, the first volume of the airbag extends horizontally from the internal vertical separator and downwardly towards a launch pad and contacts the launch pad, wherein the launch pad supports the first volume and acts as a reaction surface for the second volume during deployment, and wherein the launch pad is connected to a bullhorn beam connected to the cross car beam within the vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.