Air bag inflator mounting

An apparatus for protecting an operator of a vehicle having a steering wheel connected to a steering shaft, said apparatus comprising:

• an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device which when inflated is positionable between the steering wheel and the operator of the vehicle;
• an actuatable inflator which provides inflation fluid to inflate said protection device, said inflator including a base having a surface defining a slot and a surface defining a passage in said base of said inflator, the passage communicating with the slot;
• and
• means for attaching said base of said inflator to the steering wheel, said attaching means comprising:
• a mounting plate connectable with a vehicle steering wheel, said protection device being attachable to said mounting plate;
• a post fixed to said mounting plate and located in the slot in said base of said inflator, said post having an opening;
• and
• a pin extendable through the passage in said base of said inflator and into the opening in said post to inhibit movement of said inflator relative to said post.

An apparatus for inflating a vehicle occupant protection device mounted on a vehicle steering wheel attached to a vehicle steering shaft, said apparatus comprising:

• a plate connectable with the steering wheel;
• a pair of parallel posts extending from said plate, at least one of said posts including an opening;
• an actuatable dual stage inflator including a container having an elongate cylindrical shape and a base, said container defining a chamber for holding an inflation fluid, said container having an opening through which inflation fluid can flow to inflate the vehicle occupant protection device;
• a rupturable first closure blocking fluid flow through the opening in said container and rupturing when pressure of the inflation fluid in the chamber increases to a predetermined pressure;
• said base defining a pair of combustion chambers, ignitable material and a respective one of a pair of igniters being located in each combustion chamber, said base having flow openings, at least one flow opening communicating a respective combustion chamber with the inflation fluid chamber;
• second and third closures blocking the flow openings in said base;
• said base of said inflator including a pair of slots for receiving said pair of posts of said plate to attach said inflator to said plate and inhibit movement of said inflator relative to said plate in a direction normal to said posts, said base of said inflator further including surface means defining a passage which extends into one of the slots;
• a pin extendable through the passage in said base of said inflator and into the opening in said at least one post of said plate to inhibit movement of said inflator relative to said plate in a direction parallel to said posts;
• a first one of said igniters being actuated to ignite said ignitable material in a first one of said combustion chambers to rupture said second closure which blocks the flow opening communicating with the first combustion chamber to allow combustion products from ignition of said ignitable material to flow into the inflation fluid holding chamber and heat the inflation fluid to increase the pressure in the inflation fluid holding chamber to the predetermined pressure and rupture said first closure to permit fluid flow through the opening in said container;
• and
• a second one of said igniters being actuated to ignite said ignitable material in a second one of said combustion chambers to rupture said third closure blocks the flow opening communicating with the second combustion chamber to allow combustion products from ignition of said ignitable material to flow into the inflation fluid holding chamber to further heat the inflation fluid.