Ulllted States Patent [19]
`Daniel
`
`lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
`USOO5540459A
`[11] Patent Number:
`5,540,459
`[45] Date of Patent:
`Jul. 30, 1996
`
`[54] ROOF RAIL MOUNTED AIRBAG ASSEMBLY
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`.
`-
`-
`[75] Inventor. Roger P. Daniel, Dearborn, MlCh.
`
`2628815 5/1978 Germany .
`9211423 8/1992 Germany I
`
`.
`_
`[73] Asslgnee' F9“! M°t°r Cmpany’ Dearbom’
`Mlch-
`
`3-258636 11/1991 Japan ............................... .. 280/730A
`3-276844 12/1991 Japan ............... ..
`280/730 A
`2191450 12/1987 United Kingdom ............. .. 280/730 R
`
`_
`[21] APPI- N°-- 318404
`[22] Filed:
`Oct. 5, 1994
`
`Int. (:1-6 ................................................... ..
`[52] US. Cl. ................................................ .. 280/730.2
`[58] Field of Search .......................... .. 280/728 R, 730 A,
`280/730 R, 728.1, 730.2, 730.1
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`
`-
`
`us‘ PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5/1973 Stephenson ....................... .. 280/730 R
`3,733,088
`3,917,023 11/1975 De Rosa .
`5,265,903 11/1993 Kuretake et al. ..................... .. 280/730
`
`5,333,899
`
`8/1994 Witte . . . . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 280/73OA
`
`5,362,097 11/1994 Barske .............................. .. 280/730 A
`
`Primary Examiner—Karin L. Tyson
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Daniel M. Stock; Roger L. May
`[57]
`ABSTRACT
`
`restraint device is provided for an automotive
`An
`vehicle for operation between the upper portion of the
`vehicle occupant and the vehicle side. The device 32 is an
`airbag assembly carried within and forming a structural part
`of the roof side rail 30 of the vehicle. The airbag assembly
`32 includes an in?ator housing 46 positioned within the roof
`side rail 30 and a trim cover 66 overlies the roof side rail and
`de?nes a downward facing passage 70 so that in?ation of an
`airbag 66 effects downward opening of the airbag 60
`between the occupant seat 26, the door 16 and window 17
`of the, vehic1e_
`
`7 Claims, 1 Drawing Sheet
`
`IPR2016-01872
`AVS
`Exhibit 2014
`
`

`
`

`
`1
`ROOF RAIL MOUNTED AIRBAG ASSEMBLY
`
`5,540,459
`
`2
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Technical Field
`The present invention relates generally to in?atable occu
`pant restraints for automotive vehicles, and more particu
`larly to such restraints deployed on the sides of the vehicles.
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`The use of in?atable occupant restraints or airbags in
`automotive vehicles has become common in the automotive
`industry. Almost all in?atable occupant restraint systems
`presently available are con?gured to respond to frontal
`impacts. In response to changing governmental regulations
`and, more importantly, in order to enhance the energy
`absorbing capability of their products, the automotive indus
`try has turned its attention to developing energy absorbing
`restraints responsive to excessive loading laterally of
`vehicles.
`One of the areas of the vehicle under consideration for
`possible use of in?atable occupant restraints is the area
`between the upper portion of an occupant and the vehicle
`side glass. Japanese patent application 3-276844 to Mazda
`Motor Corporation is exemplary of one approach to provid
`ing airbags in the space adjacent the upper portion of a
`vehicle occupant in the front seat of a vehicle. It disadvan
`tageously uses two airbags, one carried adjacent the roof of
`the vehicle and one carried in the center B-pillar of the
`vehicle, and both positioned on the outside of the adjacent
`body structure under a trim cover.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The disadvantages of the prior art devices are overcome
`in the present invention in?atable restraint device in which
`an airbag assembly is ?xedly secured to the roof side rail of
`a vehicle and closes an aperture formed in the side rail to
`structurally complete it.
`According to the present invention, a trim cover is posi
`tioned adjacent the side rail and overlies the in?atable airbag
`of the airbag assembly and de?nes a downwardly facing
`passage for directing the airbag between the occupant and
`the side of the vehicle.
`It is a further advantage of the present invention that the
`single airbag assembly carried with the roof side rail is
`operative to deploy an airbag along the entire longitudinal
`extent of the passenger compartment, that is, the space
`occupied by the adjacent occupant.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The foregoing and other advantages of the present inven
`tion may occur to those skilled in the vehicle occupant
`restraint arts upon reading the following description with
`reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
`FIG. 1 is an interior view of an automotive vehicle in
`which the in?atable restraint device of the present invention
`is installed.
`FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of
`FIG. 1.
`FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the
`in?atable restraint device of the present invention in a
`deployed position.
`
`Turning now to the drawings, in particular to FIG. 1
`thereof, an automotive vehicle 10 is illustrated as including
`a body 12 having a side wall 14. A door 16 with a window
`17 acts as a closure panel with respect to the side wall 14 and
`is bounded on the forward end by an A-pillar 18 and on the
`rearward end by a B-pillar 20. The portion of the interior of
`the vehicle 10 in which a driver occupant is seated is
`illustrated in FIG. 1 as the passenger compartment indicated
`generally at 22 bounded generally by a steering wheel 24
`and a seat 26. The passenger compartment 22 is vertically
`bounded on its top by a roof 28 as is conventional in vehicle
`body construction. A roof side rail 30 is ?xedly secured to
`the roof 28 and to the body side 14, as is well-known in
`modern unibody construction. To provide an energy absorb
`ing cushion between the passenger compartment 22 and the
`body side 14 and roof 28, an in?atable restraint device 32 is
`canied with the roof side rail 30.
`Turning next to FIG. 2, the roof side rail 30 is illustrated
`as comprising an outer panel 34 and inner panel 36 which
`are preferably conventionally secured together, as by weld
`ing, at ?anges 38, 40. The outer panel 34 is con?gured to be
`concave outward as best seen in FIG. 2, and the inner panel
`36 is concave inward to de?ne between the panels 34, 36 a
`chamber 42 which, in conventional construction, would
`de?ne a box section.
`According to the present invention, however, an elon
`gated aperture 44 is provided through the inner panel 36 and
`the airbag assembly 32 overlies the aperture 44 to de?ne a
`box section.
`The airbag assembly 32 preferably includes an in?ator
`housing 46 having mounting ?anges 48, 50 which receive
`fasteners, such as the fasteners indicated typically at 52, to
`permit ?xed securement of the in?ator housing 46 to the
`inner panel 36. The in?ator housing 46 includes a propellant
`boss 54 housing stored gas or a gas generant as indicated
`diagrammatically at 56. The boss 54 advantageously
`projects outwardly with respect to the inner panel 36 within
`the box section between the panels 34, 36 of the roof side rail
`30. Secured to an outer face 58 of the in?ator housing 46 is
`a conventional airbag, indicated generally at 60, which is
`secured in known fashion as by fasteners 62 to the housing
`46.
`The airbag 60 assumes a stored position in which it is
`folded concentrically about a discharge passage 64 from the
`in?ator housing 46. Laterally inwardly of the airbag 60, a
`trim cover 66 is ?xedly secured in a known manner, not
`shown, to a portion of the vehicle body 12 and is preferably
`formed of a ?exible, resilient material such as a plastic. The
`trim panel 66 includes a lower edge 68 arranged in laterally
`spaced relationship with respect to the ?ange 40 to de?ne a
`downwardly facing passage 70.
`During an event in which operation of the airbag assem
`bly 32 is effected, gases are generated or stored gases
`released through the discharge passage 64 into the airbag 60
`to expand the airbag 60 from the stored condition shown in
`FIG. 2 to its in?ated condition as shown in FIG. 3. During
`this in?ation, the trim panel 66 ?exes laterally inwardly,
`away from the roof side rail 30 to expand the passage 70 and
`permit the downward expansion of the airbag 60 substan
`tially vertically spanning the window 17 adjacent the seat 26
`and, because of the longitudinal dimensioning of the aper
`ture 44, substantially ?lling the longitudinal extent of the
`passenger compartment 22 between the steering wheel 24
`and the seat 26.
`
`10
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`20
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`35
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`40
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`45
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`50
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`55
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`65
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`

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`5,540,459
`
`3
`While only one embodiment of the in?atable restraint
`device of the present invention has been described or
`referred to herein, others may occur to those skilled in the
`automotive vehicle occupant restraint arts which do not
`depart from the scope of the following claims.
`I claim:
`1. In an automotive vehicle having a body including a
`passenger compartment extending longitudinally of the
`vehicle with an upper end bounded by a roof and a side
`bounded by a body side panel and having a longitudinally
`extending roof side rail having an inner wall and an outer
`wall together de?ning a box section and being ?xedly
`secured to the roof and the body side panels, an in?atable
`restraint device, comprising:
`means de?ning an elongated aperture through said side
`rail inner wall and into said box section, the aperture
`facing said passenger compartment; and
`an airbag assembly comprising a rigid housing having
`mounting ?anges ?xedly secured to said inner wall of
`said roof side rail adjacent said elongated aperture
`thereby e?ecting closure of said box section.
`2. An in?atable restraint device as de?ned in claim 1,
`wherein said housing comprises an in?ator portion received
`through said aperture and carried within said box section.
`
`4
`3. An in?atable restraint device as de?ned in claim 2, and
`further comprising a trim panel positioned between said roof
`side rail and said passenger compartment and having a lower
`edge.
`4. An in?atable restraint device as de?ned in claim 3, and
`further comprising means de?ning a downwardly facing
`elongated passage between said trim panel lower edge and
`said roof side rail.
`5. An in?atable restraint device as de?ned in claim 4, and
`further comprising an airbag folded in place in a stored
`position between said trim panel and said roof side rail
`adjacent said passage and expandable downwardly through
`said passage to an in?ated position.
`6. An in?atable restraint device as de?ned in claim 5,
`wherein said trim panel is formed as a resilient member
`operative to de?ect away at its lower edge from said roof
`side rail as said airbag expands to said in?ated position.
`7. An in?atable restraint device as de?ned in claim 6,
`wherein said airbag covers said longitudinal extent of said
`passenger compartment when said airbag is in said in?ated
`position.
`
`10
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`15