US 5,211,421 A · Air bag cover door retainer

Abstract

A vehicle air bag installation includes an inflatable air bag mounted in an instrument panel recess for deployment through a rectangular opening. A rectangular cover door engages a recessed abutment around the opening when closed. The abutment includes two apertures which mount rubber fasteners adjacent its rear corners. The fasteners comprise enlarged heads at one end, an intermediate shaft, a shaft enlargement spaced from the head and a mounting shank at the other end received in the abutment apertures. Bifurcated engagement flanges on the door releasably engage the fastener shafts between the heads and the enlargements to mount the door rear edge in the panel opening. Interengageable surfaces on the door and panel have an interference fit to retain the door front edge mounted to the panel. Each fastener has a conical mounting shank having a nipple extending from its end. The nipple extends through and beyond the apertures to enable it to be grasped to deform and pull the shanks through the apertures to secure the fasteners against removal. Air bag inflation applies an upward force to the door which initially disengages the interengageable surfaces which frees the front door edge. This causes the door and the engagement flanges to move upward and forward to stretch and bend the fasteners until the flanges disengage the fastener heads, thus freeing the door rear edge, enabling the entire door to move out of the path of the deploying air bag.

Claims15

Dependent claims

In an air bag installation in a vehicle in which an inflatable air bag is mounted in a recess in the instrument panel for deployment through a rectangular panel opening, having a recessed abutment at its rearward edge, which is closed by a rectangular cover door that engages the abutment when installed and is secured to the instrument panel at its forward edge, retaining mean for releasably maintaining the door installed in the panel opening, comprising

a pair of rubber fasteners mounted at spaced points on the abutment, each fastener having an enlarged head at one end, an intermediate shaft, and a mounting shank at its other end mounted on the abutment, and
a pair of engagement flanges mounted on the door, each having a bifurcated free end releasably embracing the fastener shaft beneath the fastener head to secure the door rear edge against inadvertent upward movement,
whereby inflation of the air bag causes the engagement flanges to move initially forwardly and upwardly against the fastener heads, simultaneously stretching the fasteners and bending the fastener shanks rearwardly to enable the engagement flanges to disengage the fastener heads, thus freeing the rearward edge of the door to enable door opening.

In an air bag installation in a vehicle in which an inflatable air bag is mounted in a recess in the instrument panel for deployment through a rectangular panel opening, having a recessed peripheral abutment, which is closed by a rectangular cover door that engages the abutment when installed, retaining means for releasably maintaining the door installed in the panel opening, comprising

a plurality of spaced apertures in the instrument panel abutment,
a plurality of resilient fasteners mounted along the periphery of the abutment, each fastener having an enlarged head at one end, an intermediate shaft, and a mounting shank at its other end mounted to the abutment through an aperture, and
a plurality of spaced engagement flanges mounted on the door, each having a bifurcated free end releasably embracing the fastener shaft beneath the fastener head to secure the door rear edge against inadvertent upward movement, whereby
inflation of the air bag causes the engagement flanges to move initially forwardly and upwardly against the fastener heads, simultaneously stretching the fasteners and bending the fastener shanks rearwardly to enable disengagement of the engagement flanges from the fastener heads, thus freeing the rearward edge of the door to enable door opening.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Air bag cover door retainer

Life of this patent

Air bag cover door retainer

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15