Arrangement for providing an air bag deployment opening
AssigneeTip Engineering Group, Inc.
InventorDavid J. Bauer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An arrangement and closure are disclosed for an air bag deployment opening to be formed in the interior trim structure of an automotive vehicle, the closure including a substrate section weakened in a pattern to form contiguous doors or subsections which split apart along an invisible seam or seams when an air bag is inflated to exert pressure on the inside, and hinge away from the adjacent trim structure to form the opening. A continuous foam plastic layer covers the seam or seams. A skin overlies the foam plastic layer, the skin preweakened in a matching pattern above the seam or seams by being partially cut along the inside surface to a controlled depth.
Claims17
A closure for covering an air bag deployment opening formed in the interior trim structure of an automotive vehicle, said closure including:
- a substrate member having upper and lower door panel portions, said portions having adjacent sides separated by a gap, with a frangible bridging portion connecting said upper and lower door panel portions extending across said gap;
- a skin smoothly overlying said substrate member, extending across said door panel portions, and said gap therebetween, said skin partially cut from the inside along said gap but smooth and uninterrupted on the outside;
- an uninterrupted foam plastic layer lying beneath said skin and atop said substrate member, extending across said seam and completely filling the space therebetween, whereby said bridging portion and said partially cut skin form a frangible seam between said upper and lower door panel portions.
A method of cutting a compressible plastic sheet layer along a line to a controlled, partial depth, including the steps of positioning said layer atop a support bed of material being more easily compressed than the material of said plastic sheet layer;
- drawing a cutting blade along the upper surface of said plastic sheet layer along said line at a predetermined depth in said layer, whereby any compression of said layer is relieved by deflection of said support bed material.
An arrangement for providing an air bag deployment opening to be formed in the interior trim structure of an automotive vehicle, said interior trim structure including a substrate section, said closure including:
- a generally rectangular door panel including a substrate section connected to said interior trim substrate member, said substrate section divided into a plurality of contiguous subsections, said subsections having adjacent sides separated by a line of weakening, with frangible bridging portions connecting said contiguous portions of said subsections;
- a flange portion on one side of each subsection connected to said interior trim substrate member to enable all of said subsections to hinge away from said substrate member and form an opening thereon;
- a skin overlying said trim structure substrate member, smoothly extending over said opening and said substrate member, said skin partially cut from the inside in a pattern matching and aligned with said pattern of lines of weakening in said substrate section, whereby;
- a continuous uninterrupted foam layer lying beneath said skin and stop both interior trim substrate member and said door panel substrate section, extending across said opening in an uninterrupted expanse smoothly contoured to the outside;
- said bridging portions and said partially cut skin form a pattern of frangible seams allowing said subsections to be split apart and forced out to form said opening and allow deployment of an air bag therethrough.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.