FR2843578A1 - IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO A COVER FOR A SAFETY AIR CUSHION - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention describes a cover element for a safety air bag, the cover element in the form of an envelope (20). The casing includes two overlapping regions (21, 22) of sheet material which are mutually connected along their overlapping side edges to form a pocket. One of the regions of sheet material extends beyond the pocket to form a mounting flap (29) which is configured to engage engaging members (7, 8, 9) made on a housing. A portion of the pocket removed from the flap is cut to accommodate a gas generator (40) of a safety air bag (41) received within the cover member.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS TO A COVERING ELEMENT FOR

  SAFETY AIR CUSHION OR RELATING TO IT

  The present invention relates to a cover element for an air bag, and is

  relates, more particularly, to a covering element for use with a lateral air cushion for mounting in a door. The present invention relates to a combination of the cover member and the air bag.

  It has previously been proposed to produce a transport covering element for a safety air cushion. Document GB 2 281 259 describes a transport covering element for an air bag 15 in the form of two components which are articulated with respect to each other around a line of articulation and which can be brought into a closed position by a "grapple" action. The cover member provides protection to the air bag before it is installed in the vehicle. The cover element can be installed, with the safety air bag, in a vehicle, in order to keep the air bag in

a folded state.

  Document US 5,498,023 describes a conditioning flange for a safety air bag for the driver's side. The packaging strap initially has one end attached to a bar buckle mounted on the air bag, and the strap is wrapped around the folded air bag, the other end of the strap then being attached to the bar loop to maintain the air bag in its folded state during initial assembly and subsequent commissioning of the air bag module. The flange has notches at a point along its length, so that it breaks during

  deployment of the air bag.

  The object of the present invention is to provide an improved airbag cover element. It has been envisioned that a safety air cushion cover for use with a side safety air cushion for mounting in a door

  constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention.

  The invention provides a cover for an air bag, the cover in the form of an envelope, the envelope having two regions of sheet material which) are superimposed and which are connected mutually at least at their superimposed side edges to form a pocket, one of the 20 regions of sheet material extending beyond the pocket to form a mounting flap, the mounting flap being configured to engage engagement elements made on a housing, part of the pocket being

removed from the flap by cutting.

  Preferably, the envelope is formed from a single piece of sheet material having two regions, one region being folded around a fold line to cover the other region, the overlapping side edges of the two regions being linked mutually by said seams, the cut region being formed at

  level of one end of said fold line.

  Advantageously, the flap is provided with several openings for engagement by hooks

arranged on the housing.

  Preferably, the covering element comprises an adhesive serving to fix the covering element to: 3 housing. Preferably, the cushion covering member

  safety air is made of plastic.

  Advantageously, the plastic is polyethylene. Conveniently, the cover member is

  provided with a line of mechanical weakness.

  Preferably, a flange is provided adjacent to the

  cut region, in order to maintain the gas generator of an air bag.

  Advantageously, the air cushion cover element is produced in combination with

a safety air cushion.

  Conveniently, the combination mentioned above further includes a housing, the housing defining a substantially "U" shaped channel between a vertical support plate, a lower platform and an upper rim, the upper rim being provided with engagement elements, and the flap engaging the engagement elements to hold the envelope and the air cushion

  in position on the housing.

  Preferably, a free edge of the flap includes a

  adhesive which fixes the flap to a part of the case.

  Advantageously, the housing is provided with 25 mounting lugs for mounting the housing on a vehicle. In order to better understand the invention, and therefore to better appreciate its additional features, we will now describe it, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a casing of a safety air bag, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an envelope 35 intended to contain a safety air cushion, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the envelope 4 'containing a safety air cushion mounted on the housing, and Figure 4 is a sectional view of the combination of the envelope safety air cushion and the housing that 5 shows in Figure 3, the sectional view being taken according to the

line IV-IV.

  Referring first to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, a housing 1 of an air bag is formed as a pressed or cut metal piece. The housing 1 comprises a substantially vertical rectangular rear plate 2. A horizontal platform 3 projects forward from the bottom edge of the support plate 2. Two spaced mounting tabs 4, 5 project from the most forward edge of the platform 3, which extend towards the front of the platform 3. The mounting lugs 4, 5 are bent so as to facilitate the mounting of the housing in position on a vehicle

motor.

  A forward-extending upper rim 6 is formed at the upper edge of the vertical support plate 2 of the housing. Press cut in the upper edge 6, at a position adjacent to the junction between the edge 6 and the support plate 2, there are three engagement elements 7, 8, 9 in the form of 25 hooks. A single mounting element 10 is also cut by press in the upper rim 6, the mounting element 10 being configured to facilitate the mounting of the

  housing 1 in position in a motor vehicle.

  A substantially vertical lateral rim extending forward 30 is produced at one end of the

  support plate 2. The lateral rim 11 effectively forms one end of a channel, or recess, in the shape of a "U" 12 delimited by the support plate 2, the lower platform 3, the upper rim 6 and by the 35 side edge 11.

  An axially extending bent mounting lug 13 provided with an opening 14 is formed at the other end of the support plate 2. The fixing lug 13 is spaced towards the front of the support plate.

support 2.

  Box 1 is configured to receive a cushion

  safety air mounted inside a flexible covering element consisting of an envelope 20, shown in FIG. 2, which can be produced from a sheet of plastic, such as polyethylene, 10 or the material sold under the registered trademark TYVEK.

  The envelope 20 is formed from a single sheet of material. A first region 21 is folded over to cover a larger region 22, thereby creating a fold line 23. The material of the fold line region 23 is configured to be mechanically more

  weak than the rest of the material sheet. For example, a line of mechanical weakness can be defined along the fold line 23, or substantially adjacent thereto. The superimposed lateral edges of the two regions 20 21, 22 are interconnected by seams 24, 25.

  The seams 24, 25 can be sewn seams or glued seams. Seams may include a

  gusset to allow deployment of the envelope.

  A cut-out region 26 is made at one end of the fold line 23, thereby allowing access to the space defined between the adjacent regions 21, 22. A flange 27 is provided connected to the envelope, at an adjacent location to the cut region 26. The flange 27 has a

  adhesive tape 28 disposed at its free end.

  The larger rear region 22 of the envelope extends upwards above the front region 21 to form a "flap" 29 which can be folded in the manner of a tab which closes an envelope. The flap 29 is provided with three openings 30, 31, 32, and has a region 35 cut 33 in its free upper edge. The free edge

  is provided with an adhesive tape 34 along its length.

  A safety air bag, in the folded state, must be located inside the "pocket" formed between two adjacent regions 21, 22 of the folded sheet, the gas generator of the safety air bag protruding through the cut corner region 26. The gas generator can be held in position by means of the flange 27, the adhesive tape 28 being fixed to a part of the front region 21 of the envelope 20. The combination of the safety air bag and the envelope 20 can then be mounted on the housing 1 of FIG. 1, to obtain the combination shown in FIG. 3. The openings 30, 31, 32 formed in the flap 29 of the envelope 20 are engaged by the hooks 7, 8, 9 supported by the upper rim 6 of the housing 1. The cut-out region 33 made in the free edge of the flap 29 receives the mounting element which extends towards the top of the upper rim 6 of the housing 1. The pocket defined between the two r folded regions 21, 22 of the envelope containing the safety air cushion is thus received inside the 20 "U" shaped channel defined between the lower platform 3, the support plate 2, the flange upper 6 and the side rim 11. The gas generator 40 of the air bag which projects through the cut region 26 and which is held by the flange 27 extends from the end of the channel 25 12, adjacent to the extending mounting tab

axially 13.

  As can be seen in FIG. 4, the adhesive tape 34 disposed along the free edge of the flap 29 is used to fix the free edge of the flap 29 to the upper region 30 of the rear face of the support plate 2. The smaller sheet region 21, which does not carry the flap 29, is located inside the U-shaped channel 12, and its upper edge is adjacent to the lower surface of the upper horizontal rim 6. The generator gas 40 is received in the lower part of the U-shaped channel 12, and the air bag 41 is protected by

envelope 20.

  When the combination of the housing 1, the casing 20 and the air bag 41 is to be mounted in position, the mounting lugs 4, 5 are hooked into the vehicle body, and the mounting 10 is both hooked and screwed to the vehicle body. The

  mounting bracket 13 is screwed to the door trim.

  In the event that the safety air bag 41 is to deploy, gas is delivered by the gas generator 40 to the safety air bag 41. The envelope 20 divides along the line of weakness mechanical in the open side region of the U-shaped channel, allowing the inflating safety air bag to emerge from

  the open front mouth of the U-shaped channel 12.

  In the present description, the terms "includes"

  means "includes or consists of" and "comprising"

  means "including or consisting of".

  The features described in the description which

  precedes, or in the following claims, or else represented in the appended drawings, expressed in their

  specific forms or in terms of the means serving the function described, or of a process or treatment aimed at obtaining the described result may be used, as appropriate, separately, or in any combination of these features, for realize the invention

in its various forms.

Claims (16)

  1. Cover element for an air bag, characterized in that the cover element has the form of an envelope (20), the envelope (20) comprising two regions of sheet material (21 , 22) which are stacked and which are interconnected at their stacked side edges to form a pocket, one of the regions of sheet material extending beyond the pocket to form a mounting flap (29) , the mounting flap 10 (29) being configured to engage engagement elements (7, 8, 9) made on a housing (1), part of the pocket being removed from the flap (29) by cutting. 2. Envelope (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed from a single element of sheet material comprising two regions (21, 22), a region (21) being folded around a fold line (23) to cover the other region (22), the overlapping side edges of the two regions (21, 22) being interconnected by said seams (24, 25), the cut region (26) being formed at one end of said line folding (23).   3. cover element for a safety air bag according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the flap (29) is provided with several openings (30, 31, 32) serving to engage hooks (7, 8, 9) made on the housing (1).   4. Cover element for an air cushion of   Security according to any one of the preceding claims 30, characterized in that the safety element   cover has an adhesive for fixing the element covering the housing (1).   5. Cover element for an air cushion of   Security according to any one of the preceding claims 35, characterized in that it is formed from plastic material.   6. Cover element for a safety air bag according to claim 5, characterized in that the plastic is polyethylene.   7. Cover element for an air bag according to any one of the claims   previous, characterized in that the covering element is provided with a line of mechanical weakness.   8. Cover element for an air cushion of   Safety according to any one of the preceding claims 10, characterized in that a flange (27) is   performed adjacent to the cut region (26) for the purpose of holding the gas generator (40) of a safety air bag. 9. Combination of a cover for a safety air bag according to any one of   previous claims and an air cushion (41).   10. The combination of claim 9, further including a housing (1), the housing (1) defining a substantially "U" shaped channel (12) between a vertical support plate (2), a platform lower (3) and a   upper edge (6), the upper edge (6) being provided with engagement elements (7, 8, 9), and the flap (29) engaging the engagement elements (7, 8, 9) to maintain the 'envelope (20) and the air cushion 25 (41) in position on the housing (1).   11. Combination according to claim 10, characterized in that a free edge of the flap (29) comprises an adhesive which fixes the flap (29) to a part of the housing (1). 12. Combination according to claim 10 or claim 11, characterized in that the housing (1) is provided with mounting lugs (4, 5) for mounting the housing (1) on a vehicle.   13. covering element for an air bag as substantially described here in connection with   the accompanying drawings and as shown therein.   14. Combination of a covering element and a safety air cushion as substantially described here in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and as in show these.   15. Combination of a covering element, a safety air cushion (41) and a housing (1), as substantially described here in conjunction with the drawings   attached, and as shown in these.   16. Any particular or combination of any new particulars as described herein.