Vehicle air bag structural device
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorJimmie A. RUFFNER, II
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle air bag device can include an air bag retainer that has at least one clip located adjacent an opening at an outer periphery of the air bag retainer. An air bag chute can be located adjacent the air bag retainer and configured to guide the air bag along a deployment axis during deployment from the air bag retainer. The air bag chute can include a wall including a clip aperture opening located therein. The at least one clip can have an upper surface facing an upper surface of the clip aperture opening, and the upper surface of the at least one clip can be at an acute angle with respect to the deployment axis. The acute angle upper surface can extend from an interior of the air bag chute through the clip aperture and to an exterior of the air bag chute.
Claims20
A vehicle air bag structural device, comprising:
- an air bag retainer configured to hold a vehicle air bag before deployment, the air bag retainer defining an opening through which the air bag passes during deployment, and at least one clip located adjacent the opening at an outer periphery of the air bag retainer;
- an air bag chute located adjacent the air bag retainer and configured to guide the air bag along a deployment axis and at least partially out of an upper opening in the air bag chute during deployment from the air bag retainer, the air bag chute having a wall including a clip aperture opening located therein, the clip aperture opening having an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface located closer to the upper opening in the air bag chute than the lower surface of the clip aperture opening, the at least one clip having an upper surface facing the upper surface of the clip aperture opening, the upper surface of the at least one clip being at an acute angle with respect to the deployment axis and the acute angle upper surface extending from an interior of the air bag chute through the clip aperture and to an exterior of the air bag chute, such that if the air bag chute is moved downward towards the air bag retainer along the deployment axis a pre-set distance, the upper surface of the clip aperture contacts the upper surface of the at least one clip to cause the wall of the air bag chute to continue moving outward and downward along the acute angle upper surface of the at least one clip.
A structure for retaining and deploying a vehicle air bag, comprising:
- an air bag chute configured as a tubular structure having an upper exit aperture configured for the air bag to exit along a deployment axis during deployment, and a lower aperture, the chute including a side wall extending from the upper exit aperture to the lower aperture, the side wall of the chute including at least one opening extending therethrough with the side wall defining a peripheral surface of the opening;
- an air bag retainer located adjacent the lower aperture of the air bag chute and configured to store the air bag when in an undeployed state;
- a hook attached to the air bag retainer and including an upward extending portion, and an outward and downward sloped portion extending from an apex of the upward extending portion, wherein the apex of the upward extending portion is located within the air bag chute such that the outward and downward sloped portion extends from a location within the side wall of the air bag chute, through the opening in the side wall, and to a location outside the side wall of the air bag chute.
A structure for retaining and deploying a vehicle air bag, comprising:
- an air bag retainer configured as a tubular structure with an upper opening at an upper portion of the tubular structure and a closed bottom at a lower portion of the tubular structure;
- an air bag chute configured as a tubular structure having an upper exit opening configured for the air bag to exit along a deployment axis during deployment, and a lower opening aligned with the upper opening of the air bag retainer tubular structure, the air bag chute including a side wall extending from the upper exit opening to the lower opening, the side wall of the air bag chute including at least one opening extending therethrough, the tubular structure of the air bag retainer being telescopically located within the tubular structure of the air bag chute such that the air bag chute is movable with respect to the air bag retainer along a telescoping axis direction if a predetermined force is applied to the air bag chute in the telescoping axis direction;
- and
- a hook extending from the tubular structure of the air bag retainer through the at least one opening in the side wall of the tubular structure of the air bag chute, the hook including an upper surface that is at an acute angle greater than zero with respect to the telescoping axis direction, and the upper surface of the hook faces upwards towards the upper exit opening of the air bag chute.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.