Inflating device for use with vehicle safety systems
AssigneeOlin Corporation
InventorsLester E. Smith, Dean R. Kilbourn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for use in connection with vehicle safety systems of the type including an inflatable confinement which is inflated by the combined energy of a stored fluid under pressure and gas generated by the burning of a propellant. Two distinct propellant charges are provided which are sequentially ignited. The outlet from the reservoir storing the fluid under pressure is opened in response to the ignition of the first propellant charge. The sequential ignition of the propellant charges reduces the peak pressure in the reservoir.
Claims5
An apparatus for use with a safety system of the type utilizing an inflatable member, a stored fluid under pressure, and a propellant charge for generating a hot gas, said apparatus comprising storage means for storing a fluid under pressure and including an outlet adapted to be attached to the inflatable member;
- means closing said outlet against fluid flow;
- propellant storage means including at least two propellant storage chambers for storing an ignitable propellant;
- a propellant charge in each of said propellant chambers;
- means sealing each of said propellant chambers from the interior of said storage means and operable upon development of a predetermined chamber pressure to unseal said chambers;
- condition responsive means for igniting all of said propellant charges sequentially;
- means operable upon the unsealing of the propellant chamber housing of the first ignited propellant charge and before the other propellant chamber is unsealed to disable said means closing said outlet to permit fluid and hot gas to flow through said outlet, said propellant storage means including an axially extending housing attached to said storage means;
- means in said housing dividing the interior thereof into a primary propellant chamber adjacent one end and a secondary propellant chamber adjacent the other end, means at said one end for sealing said primary chamber from the interior of said storage means and operable upon the development of a predetermined pressure in said primary chamber after ignition of the propellant charge therein to unseal said chamber, said means in said housing dividing the interior thereof including means operable upon development of a predetermined pressure in said secondary chamber after ignition of said propellant charge to provide communication between said secondary and said primary propellant chambers, said means for igniting said propellant charges in sequence igniting the propellant charge in said primary propellant chamber before igniting the propellant charge in said secondary propellant chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.