Back to results
US 2009/0243263 A1Published application
Vehicle seat assembly with two-part, clipped air bag guide retainer
AssigneeLear Corporation
InventorRodger G. Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In at least certain embodiments, the vehicle seat assembly comprises an air bag guide including a first inner panel, a second inner panel, and an outer panel, with each of the panels being made of flexible material and having forward and rearward extremities, and a rigid plastic connector assembly for releasably securing the first and second inner panels to each other adjacent the air bag assembly, with the rigid connector comprising at least two releasably connected members, and with at least one of the connected members having at least one stop for inhibiting relative lateral movement of the connected members.
Claims20
A vehicle seat assembly, comprising:
- a frame;
- a seat pad adjacent the frame;
- a trim cover extending over the seat pad and including a release seam adjacent the seat pad;
- an air bag assembly mounted on the frame within the trim cover in a spaced relationship from the release seam, the air bag assembly including an inflator and a folded air bag that is inflated by the inflator to unfold and project outwardly from the seat though the release seam of the trim cover;
- and
- an air bag guide including a first inner panel, a second inner panel, and an outer panel, each of the panels being made of flexible material and having forward and rearward extremities, the rearward extremity of the first inner panel being secured to the air bag assembly, the forward extremity of the second inner panel being secured to the release seam, the forward extremity of the outer panel being secured to the release seam, and the rearward extremity of the outer panel being secured to the trim cover;
- and
- a rigid plastic connector assembly for releasably securing the first and second inner panels to each other adjacent the air bag assembly, the rigid connector comprising at least two releasably connected members, at least one of the connected members having at least one stop for inhibiting relative lateral movement of the connected members.
5 more elements
A vehicle seat assembly, comprising:
- a frame;
- a seat pad adjacent the frame;
- a trim cover extending over the seat pad and including a release seam adjacent the seat pad, the trim cover having an outer surface and an inner surface;
- an air bag assembly within the trim cover in a spaced relationship from the release seam, the air bag assembly including an inflator and a folded air bag that is inflated by the inflator to unfold and project outwardly from the seat through the release seam of the trim cover;
- and
- an air bag guide including a first inner panel, a second inner panel, and an outer panel, each of the panels being made of flexible material and having forward and rearward extremities, the rearward extremity of the first inner panel being secured to the air bag assembly, the forward extremity of the second inner panel being secured to the release seam, the forward extremity of the outer panel being secured to the release seam, and the rearward extremity of the outer panel being secured to the trim cover;
- and
- a multi-piece rigid plastic connector assembly for releasably securing the first and second inner panels to each other adjacent the air bag assembly, the rigid plastic connector comprising at least two releasably connected members, at least one of the connected members having at least one stop for inhibiting relative lateral movement of the connected members.
5 more elements
A vehicle seat assembly, comprising:
- a frame;
- a seat pad mounted on the frame;
- a trim cover extending over the seat pad and including a first end joined to a second end to form a release seam adjacent the seat pad;
- an air bag assembly mounted on the frame within the trim, the air bag assembly including an inflator and an air bag that is inflated by the inflator to project outwardly from the seat through the air bag release seam of the trim cover;
- an air bag guide including a first inner panel, a second inner panel, and an outer panel, each of the panels being made of flexible material and having forward and rearward extremities, the rearward extremity of the first inner panel being secured to the air bag assembly, the forward extremity of the second inner panel being secured to the first end of the release seam, the forward extremity of the outer panel being secured to the second end of the release seam, and the rearward extremity of the outer panel being secured to the trim cover;
- and
- a rigid plastic connector assembly for releasably securing the first and second inner panels to each other adjacent the air bag assembly;
- wherein the connector assembly comprises a first connector member secured to the first inner panel and a second connector member secured to the second inner panel;
- wherein the first and second connector members interlocking engage each other, at least one of the connector members having spaced apart deformed sections acting as stops to inhibit relative movement of the connector members.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.