Airbag with irregularly shaped panels and segments
AssigneeMilliken & Company
InventorRamesh Keshavaraj
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An airbag and a method for making an airbag of the type that includes an irregularly-shaped panel, such as the side panels of a passenger airbag. The irregularly-shaped side panel is first divided into two segments with a single straight line to define an inflation segment and an impact segment. The straight line drawn to define the largest polygon that can be defined by any single straight line without coming too close to the inflation module hole. By segmenting the larger, irregularly shaped panel into two smaller ones with one of those being polygonal, better nesting of the segments can be obtained, which significantly improves fabric utilization to offset the labor cost from sewing the two segments together when making the irregularly shaped side panel required for the airbag.
Claims10
An airbag, comprising an inflatable structure made of a woven fabric, said airbag comprising a first side panel and a second side panel of substantially mirror image geometry to the first side panel, wherein each of said side panels is irregular in shape characterized by a lack of bilateral symmetry, said first and second side panels each consisting essentially of a first segment and a second segment, the first segment of the first side panel comprising a boundary edge adjoined to the second segment of the first side panel along a first seam line and the first segment of the second side panel comprising a boundary edge adjoined to the second segment of the second side panel along a second seam line such that the first segments of the first and second side panels extend away from the seam lines to define a gas inlet inflation portion of the airbag, and the second segments of the first and second side panels extend away from the seam lines to define an impact portion of the airbag, wherein the first segment of the first side panel has a fabric orientation which is different from the fabric orientation of the second segment of the first side panel and the first segment of the second side panel has a fabric orientation which Is different from the fabric orientation of the second segment of the second side panel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.