Integrated fastener / reinforcement for airbag installation

Abstract

A mounting plate (110) for mounting an inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) to a vehicle using a fastener (107), wherein the mounting plate (110) comprises: a plate (120) configured to couple to a tab (105) of the inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100), the plate (120) having a rigidity greater than a rigidity of the tab (105); an opening (115) formed in the plate (120), the opening (115) configured to receive the fastener (107) therethrough; and a non-threaded fastener (140) fixedly coupled with the plate (120) and extending from the plate (120).

Description

Summary of the Invention

[0001] Airbag cushions (such as inflatable curtain airbag cushion modules) are typically mounted using two fasteners, both of which extend through relatively flexible or non-rigid materials, such as tabs or stacked tabs, often made of fabric. It is also common for reinforcing elements to be separate from the fasteners when used, and these elements frequently interfere with the fasteners during use.

[0002] This current configuration has several drawbacks. For example, providing separate tacks or other fasteners and reinforcements, or having no reinforcements at all, leads to sagging during installation, difficulty in aligning the various openings used to install the airbag module, and fixing problems that often arise due to overlapping tack / fastener heads and adjacent bolts or other fasteners.

[0003] Therefore, the inventors have determined that it is desirable to provide devices, systems, and methods that overcome one or more of the aforementioned limitations and / or other constraints of the prior art. In some embodiments, the inventive concepts disclosed herein can thus provide an integral tack or other fastener that is a unit together with a reinforcing element, and in some embodiments, the reinforcing element may be in the form of a plate.

[0004] In a more specific example of a mounting element (such as a mounting plate) for installing an inflatable curtain airbag assembly into a vehicle, the mounting element / plate may include a rigid plate configured to engage with a flexible tab of the inflatable curtain airbag assembly or another airbag module / assembly. An opening may be formed in the plate, configured to receive fasteners, such as bolts or other threaded fasteners, passing through it. Non-threaded fasteners may be securely attached to the plate and may extend from one side of the plate.

[0005] In some embodiments, the non-threaded fastener may include a tack or another self-locking insertable retaining device. In some such embodiments, at least a portion of the tack may be resilient and flexible, such that the tack is configured to allow partial deformation as it extends through an opening in the vehicle and to return to its initial shape after extending through the opening, in order to temporarily secure the inflatable curtain airbag assembly to the vehicle during assembly. In some such embodiments, the tack may include a plurality of resilient and flexible concentric flaps.

[0006] In some embodiments, the multiple blades may include a first set of adjacent semicircular blades and a second set of adjacent semicircular blades. The first set of blades may be spaced apart from the second set of blades by opposing slits.

[0007] In some implementations, the non-threaded fastener may be spaced apart from the opening to allow a portion of the bolted washer to be positioned between the non-threaded fastener and the opening without overlapping.

[0008] In an example of an inflatable curtain airbag assembly according to some embodiments, the assembly may include an airbag module comprising an inflatable curtain airbag cushion. The assembly may also include mounting elements, such as a mounting plate, configured to attach the airbag module to a vehicle. The mounting plate may include at least one opening and a non-threaded fastener, such as a tack, securely attached to and extending from one side of the mounting plate.

[0009] Some implementations may also include mounting tabs extending from the airbag module, such as fabric mounting tabs in some implementations. Mounting plates may be attached to the mounting tabs and may have greater rigidity than the mounting tabs.

[0010] In some embodiments and implementations, the mounting plate may be sewn to the mounting tab. In some such embodiments and implementations, the mounting plate may include a plurality of adjacent openings, and the mounting plate may be sewn to the mounting tab along a line that extends along one or more of the plurality of adjacent openings and between the plurality of adjacent openings.

[0011] In some implementations, at least one opening includes an opening that is at least generally centered, and the opening may be configured to receive fasteners, such as bolts, passing through it to permanently mount the airbag module to the vehicle.

[0012] In some embodiments, at least one opening may further include a plurality of adjacent openings extending around at least a portion of the periphery of an opening that is at least generally centrally located. In some such embodiments, a mounting plate may be stitched to a portion of the airbag module along a line that runs along at least one subgroup of the plurality of adjacent openings and extends between at least one subgroup of the plurality of adjacent openings.

[0013] In some implementations, the non-threaded fastener may be spaced apart from an opening that is at least substantially centered, so that a portion of the washer that is bolted to the fastener may be positioned between the non-threaded fastener and the opening that is at least substantially centered without overlapping.

[0014] In some implementations, non-threaded fasteners may include resilient tacks. In some implementations, the tacks may be securely attached to the mounting plate, or in some such implementations, the overall terrain becomes part of the mounting plate.

[0015] In an example of a method for installing an inflatable curtain airbag module within a vehicle, the method may include aligning a first opening of a reinforcement of the inflatable curtain airbag module with a first opening of the vehicle and inserting a first fastener into a second opening of the vehicle. The first fastener may be securely connected to the reinforcement, and / or the first fastener may be unthreaded. The first fastener may be configured to temporarily hold the inflatable curtain airbag module in place without requiring any additional fasteners or connecting structures. The method may also include inserting a second fastener into the first opening of the reinforcement and the second opening of the vehicle to more permanently install the inflatable curtain airbag module into the vehicle.

[0016] Some implementations may also include stitching reinforcements to tabs, such as fabric tabs, of the inflatable curtain airbag module.

[0017] In some embodiments, the reinforcement may include a plurality of adjacent openings extending around a first opening of the reinforcement. In some such embodiments, the step of sewing the reinforcement to the fabric tab may include sewing the reinforcement tab to the fabric tab along a portion of the reinforcement extending between adjacent openings of the plurality of adjacent openings.

[0018] In some implementations, the first fastener may include a resilient tack, and the step of inserting the first fastener into a second opening in the vehicle may include pushing the resilient tack into a first opening in the vehicle.

[0019] In some embodiments, the second fastener may include a threaded bolt, and the step of inserting the second fastener into the first opening of the reinforcement and the second opening of the vehicle to mount the inflatable curtain airbag module to the vehicle may include inserting the threaded bolt through a washer, through the first opening of the reinforcement, and through the second opening of the vehicle.

[0020] The features, structures, steps, or characteristics disclosed in this document in connection with one implementation scheme may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more alternative implementation schemes. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of this disclosure are described, including various embodiments of this disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0022] Figure 1 is a front perspective view of an integrated fastening plate for mounting an airbag module according to some embodiments;

[0023] Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the integrated fastening plate in Figure 1;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a front view of the integrated fastening plate shown in Figures 1 and 2;

[0025] Figure 4 Figure 1 to Figure 3 Side front view of the integrated fastening plate;

[0026] Figure 5 Figure 1 to Figure 4 Top view of the integrated fastening plate;

[0027] Figure 6 is a summary of Figures 1 to 6. Figure 5 Rear front view of the integrated fastening plate;

[0028] Figure 7 shows the route along Figure 3 The sectional view taken by line 7-7 in the figure; and

[0029] Figure 8 This is a perspective view of an inflatable curtain airbag assembly according to some implementation schemes;

[0030] Figure 9 yes Figure 8 An enlarged view of a portion shows the integrated fastening plate used for mounting the inflatable curtain airbag assembly; and

[0031] Figure 10 This is a cross-sectional view of the integrated fastening plate and the adjacent inflatable curtain airbag assembly after installation. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The following provides a detailed description of apparatus, systems, and methods consistent with various embodiments of this disclosure. While several embodiments are described, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to any particular embodiment disclosed, but covers many alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. Furthermore, although numerous specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, some embodiments may be implemented without some or all of these details. In addition, for clarity, certain technical materials known in the relevant art have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring this disclosure.

[0033] As used herein, the term "substantially" refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action, feature, property, state, structure, item, or result to achieve the indicated function. For example, a "substantially" cylindrical or "substantially" vertical object would mean that the object / feature is cylindrical / vertical or approximately cylindrical / vertical, thus producing the same or nearly the same function. The exact permissible degree of deviation provided by this term can depend on the specific context. When used in a negative sense, the use of "substantially" also applies to referring to the complete or nearly complete absence of an action, feature, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, a structure "substantially without" a bottom either has no bottom at all or has almost no bottom at all, the latter having virtually the same effect as having no bottom at all.

[0034] Similarly, as used in this paper, the term “about” is used to provide flexibility for the endpoints of a numerical range by specifying that a given value can be “slightly above” or “slightly below” the endpoints while still achieving the functionality associated with that range.

[0035] The embodiments of this disclosure can be best understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein like parts may be indicated by like reference numerals. It will be readily understood that the components of the disclosed embodiments, as generally described and shown in the accompanying drawings, can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Therefore, the detailed description of embodiments of the apparatus and methods of this disclosure below is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure as claimed, but is merely representative of possible embodiments of this disclosure. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the steps of the method do not necessarily need to be performed in any particular order or even sequentially, nor do they need to be performed only once. Additional details regarding certain preferred embodiments and specific implementations will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] Figures 1 through 7 depict various views of the integrated fastener / reinforcement 110 used for mounting airbag modules, such as in preferred embodiments and implementations, inflatable curtain airbag modules, as further shown and described in conjunction with the following figures. In the depicted embodiments, component 110 includes a reinforcement or plate portion 120 and a fastener 140 for fixed connection, the reinforcement or plate portion being preferably flat but may have another shape in alternative embodiments. As described throughout this disclosure, in some embodiments, the plate / reinforcement portion 120 may be coupled to elements of the airbag module having less rigidity, such as fabric tabs or stacked fabric tabs, and the fastener 140 may be configured to insert into an opening in a portion of the vehicle for easy assembly. For example, the fastener 140 may be used for temporary mounting of the airbag module and alignment with one or more openings formed in the plate / reinforcement portion 120 for a more durable installation of the module, which may be done, for example, by bolts and / or washers or another suitable auxiliary fastener.

[0037] Because in the preferred embodiment, the fastener 140 is rigidly connected to the plate portion 120, such as by being integrally formed therewith in some such embodiments, the fastener 140 preferably comprises a non-threaded fastener. Therefore, in the depicted embodiment, the fastener 140 includes a set of concentric flaps that can be configured to deform upon entry through a suitable fastener opening and then return to their previous shape to hold the integral fastener / reinforcement 110 together with the accompanying airbag module in a stable, fixed position, allowing for a more durable connection.

[0038] In the depicted embodiment, the fastener 140 includes a tack partially defined by two sets of semicircular flaps that define the aforementioned concentric flaps. Thus, an upper flap 145A is provided and spaced apart from a lower flap 145B. Opposing slits 147 are formed to provide this spacing, which allows for additional resilient bending during insertion. More specifically, as... Figure 3 As shown, a first slit 147A is formed on a first side of the fastener 140, and a second slit 147B is formed on a second side of the fastener 140 opposite to the first side. Both slits can extend through each of the adjacent flaps 145.

[0039] The fastener / tack 140 also includes a pointed nose 142. As best seen in Figure 1, each tab 145 can be tilted toward the plate portion 120 if desired, which facilitates easy access of the fastener 140 through the opening and prevents movement in the opposite direction after such access. The nose 142 can be tilted in the same or similar manner as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, the use of multiple tabs 145 may be desirable for some embodiments, as this can facilitate stable positioning of the component 110 through openings / holes of more than one depth.

[0040] Multiple openings may also be formed in the plate portion 120 of the integral fastener / reinforcement 110. In the depicted embodiment, these openings may consist of a first set of openings 112, which may be positioned adjacent to each other and have a space in between around at least a portion of the periphery of the plate portion 120 or, in some cases, around the entire periphery. As will be shown in the following figures, these openings 112 may be used to facilitate the connection of the component 110 with a less rigid element from the airbag module, such as a fabric tab or a stack of fabric tabs.

[0041] For example, in some embodiments, the reinforcement 110 may be sewn to such a component, and the opening 112 may serve as a release aid during the sewing process. More specifically, the opening 112 may serve as a path for the suture thread to travel. Due to the nature of the material of the constituent plate portion 120—which may include, for example, relatively hard thermoplastic materials, carbon fibers, polymer composites, etc. (in a more specific example, polyamide PA6)—the suture needle or other attachment device may heat up and potentially fail during use. Therefore, the opening 112 may also provide relief during the sewing process to prevent or at least inhibit such an outcome during the sewing process.

[0042] In some implementations, the openings 112 may also provide other functions. For example, the airbag module tabs to which they can be attached are typically classified as non-dimensionally stable materials, so the presence of the openings 112 allows the material to stretch, expand, and contract in response to forces encountered during attachment and throughout the lifespan of the accompanying airbag module.

[0043] Another opening, namely opening 115, may be located more centrally relative to the peripheral opening group 112. Opening 115 may be configured to receive more durable, rigid, and / or secure fasteners, such as bolts, passing through it, for example, in some cases along with suitable washers. Thus, fastener 140 preferably comprises non-threaded fasteners (although in alternative embodiments it may comprise threaded fasteners rotatable relative to plate portion 120), and fasteners received through opening 115 include threaded fasteners (although in alternative embodiments non-threaded fasteners such as rivets may be used).

[0044] Figure 8 and Figure 9 An inflatable curtain airbag assembly 100 utilizing an integrated reinforcing member / tack 110 is depicted according to some embodiments. As shown in these figures, and as... Figure 9 As best seen in the image, the inflatable curtain airbag module 100 includes an airbag module 102, which may include an airbag pad, an inflator, and various other elements that will be understood by those skilled in the art. Additionally, one or more tabs 105 extend from the airbag module 102, which can be used to facilitate the suspension / installation of the airbag module 102 within the vehicle.

[0045] The one-piece reinforcement / tack 110 is shown attached to the tab 105 via a stitch 109, which, as described above, may comprise a fabric tab or another material lacking the rigidity of the one-piece reinforcement / tack 110. The stitch extends between adjacent openings 112 and within the openings 112 themselves. By attaching a component with greater rigidity than the tab 105, sagging of the tab 105 is prevented. This reduces or eliminates the need for manually lifting the tab 105 and positioning the fastener 107, as the one-piece fastener / tack 110 keeps the tab 105 extending upwards, allowing the installer to easily align the fastener 107 with the correct opening / position within the vehicle, which may have been presented as direct access using the fastener / tack 110.

[0046] Figure 9Fasteners / tacks 110 are also shown. As previously described, in preferred embodiments and implementations, fasteners / tacks 110 are configured to be non-rotatably pushed into openings formed within the vehicle, such as openings within the vehicle's metal panels. This allows the airbag module 100 to be temporarily installed within the vehicle to allow for further, more permanent installation.

[0047] For example, some implementations may include another fastener (such as bolt 107) or be used in conjunction with another fastener. If desired, a retaining washer 108 may also be provided, which in some cases can be used to retain bolt 107 within tab 105 and reinforcing member / tack 110 for ease of installation / assembly. Preferably, the spacing between opening 115 and fastener 140 is such that fastener 107 is positioned to be installed in the vehicle opening, maintaining a precise distance from the hole through which fastener 140 extends, and that washer 108 does not interfere with fastener 140, as in... Figure 10 It is best seen in the sectional view.

[0048] The foregoing description has been described with reference to various embodiments and specific implementations. However, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. For example, various operational steps and components performing operational steps can be implemented in various ways, depending on a particular application or considering any number of cost functions associated with the operation of the system. Therefore, any one or more steps can be deleted, modified, or combined with other steps. Furthermore, this disclosure should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and all such modifications are intended to be included within its scope. Similarly, benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with reference to various embodiments. However, benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more significant should not be construed as critical, necessary, or essential features or elements.

[0049] Those skilled in the art will understand that many changes can be made to the details of the above embodiments without departing from the basic principles of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be defined only by the following claims.

Claims

1. An inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100), comprising: An airbag module, the airbag module including an inflatable airbag cushion; A tab (105) extends from the airbag module; as well as Mounting plate (110), configured to connect the airbag module to the vehicle, the mounting plate (110) comprising: A plate (120) configured to be connected to the tab (105), the plate (120) having a stiffness greater than that of the tab (105); An opening (115) formed in the plate (120) is configured to receive a fastener (107) passing through it; and A non-threaded fastener (140) extending from one side of the plate (120), the non-threaded fastener (140) including a self-locking insertable retaining device configured to temporarily hold the inflatable curtain airbag in place without requiring any additional fasteners or connecting structures, the non-threaded fastener (140) being formed by an integral extension of the plate (120); and The plate (120) includes a plurality of adjacent openings (112) through which the tab (105) is sewn to the plate (120); wherein the tab (105) is sewn to the opposite side of the non-threaded fastener (140) of the plate (120).

2. The inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) of claim 1, wherein the self-locking insertable retaining device comprises a tack (140), and wherein at least a portion of the tack (140) is elastically flexible such that the tack (140) is configured to allow partial deformation when the tack (140) extends through an opening in the vehicle, and to return to its initial shape after extending through the opening in the vehicle, so as to temporarily secure the inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) to the vehicle during assembly.

3. The inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) according to claim 2, wherein, The tack (140) includes a plurality of elastic and flexible concentric flaps (145A; 145B).

4. The inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of flaps includes a first set of adjacent semicircular flaps (145A) and a second set of adjacent semicircular flaps (145B), wherein the first set of flaps (145A) is spaced apart from the second set of flaps (145B) by opposing slits (147).

5. The inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein the non-threaded fastener (140) is spaced apart from the opening (115) of the plate (120) to allow a portion of a washer (108) coupled to the fastener (107) to be positioned between the non-threaded fastener (140) and the opening (115).

6. The inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein the tab (105) comprises a fabric-mounted tab.

7. The inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) of claim 6, wherein the plate (120) is stitched to the tab (105) along a line extending along at least one subgroup of the plurality of adjacent openings (112) or between at least one subgroup of the plurality of adjacent openings.

8. The inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of adjacent openings (112) extend around at least a portion of the periphery of the opening (115) of the plate.

9. The inflatable curtain airbag assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the non-threaded fastener (140) comprises a resilient tack, and wherein the tack is integrally formed as part of the plate (120).

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