Gas Generator for an Airbag

This invention relates to a gas generator for an airbag with a substantially cylindrical pressure reservoir filled with gas-releasing materials, the pressure reservoir having an igniter element on a front side and being equipped with gas outlet openings and a filter. Similar gas generators have been known from DE 3,443,325 Al and DE 3,742,656 Al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,897).

The gas generator in accordance with DE 3,742,656 Al does meet certain imposed objectives but requires a relatively large amount of space for installation in the steering wheel. Furthermore, the surface of the gas generator becomes relatively hot; a collapsing airbag can fuse to the wall of the pressure reservoir and can thereby be damaged; also, the passenger may incur injuries by the hot surface.

Many countries have laws requiring the driver and the front seat passenger to apply safety belts. Therefore, a buckled-in driver usually need not be restrained and caught solely by the airbag in case of a collision.

The invention is based on the object of further simplifying the gas generator for an airbag and making it more economical, with the added consideration that the airbag be made of a smaller size with the driver being buckled into the seat by a belt.

This object has been attained by an airbag characterized in that a filter is accommodated in an annular chamber externally around a jacket or casing of the pressure reservoir containing gas releasing material, that an igniter element is provided at one end of the pressure reservoir; that gas passage openings are provided in a wall of the pressure reservoir on a side facing away from an igniter element, and that gas outlet openings from the chamber are located in a zone proximate to the igniter element.

The gas generator has substantially a cylindrical shape and can be housed in the steering column of a vehicle; the gas generator axis is congruent with the steering wheel axis. The generated gas is conducted in such a way that the gas route through the filter becomes maximally long. The pressure reservoir contains only the gas-releasing materials and has the openings only at one end. (In case of a pressure reservoir that is installed in the steering wheel, the igniter element faces the driver, and the openings in the pressure reservoir are located on the side facing away from the driver.) A chamber is arranged around the pressure reservoir; although this chamber must also withstand a certain excess pressure, this is by far not the peak stress to which the actual pressure reservoir is exposed, and the chamber is required only for the rerouting of the gas and for accommodating a filter. The gas outlet openings are located in a zone proximate to the igniter element. In this way, the object is obtained that the exiting gases have already cooled down somewhat, and the entrained hot slag particles are very extensively separated and do not pass into the airbag. Such a compact, very efficient gas generator can be housed in practically any steering column of a vehicle or also, for example, in the backrests of mass transit conveyances, such as a bus, an airplane, etc. The total area of the gas outlet openings from the chamber is preferably about twice to three times as large as the total area of the gas passage openings from the pressure reservoir into the chamber.

The invention is illustrated by way of preferred embodiments or examples in the accompanying drawings and is hereinafter described in greater detail with reference thereto; wherein in the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a gas generator wherein the filter-containing chamber is attached to the pressure reservoir on one end at a flange; and

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through a gas generator wherein the filter-containing chamber is attached on one end at the support for the igniter element.

The gas releasing material comprises a propellant charge in the form of a tablet column of ring pellets 2 and is housed in a cylindrical pressure reservoir 1. An igniter element 3 on the front end of the generator abuts the bottom of the pellet column in the middle. An electrical section with a sensor system for actuating the igniter element is not illustrated; this feature of the gas generator pertains to the state of the art. A support 4 for the igniter element 3 constitutes the front side or end for the pressure reservoir. The gas passage openings 5 are provided in the cylinder wall of the pressure jacket or casing defining the pressure reservoir 1 on the side facing away from the igniter element 3. These passages lead into a chamber 6 annularly surrounding the pressure reservoir 1. The chamber 6 serves for the accommodation of a filter 7 (e.g. wire gauze or mesh) necessary for filtering the slag particles, resulting from ignition of the propellant charge, out of the generated gas. The gas is also cooled down while flowing through the filter 7. On the side of the chamber 6 proximate to the igniter element 3, the gas outlet openings 8 are arranged; the ratio of the surface areas of the gas passage openings 5 to the surface areas of the gas outlet openings 8 ranges on the order of 1:3. The gas outlet openings 8 permit efflux of the gas, in a cylindrical shape in FIG. 1, and in a conical shape in FIG. 2, into a folded airbag, not illustrated, which airbag is arranged to surround the front side of the gas generator.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, a wall portion of the chamber 6 is provided by a flange 9 attached to the casing of the pressure reservoir 1; a wall of the chamber defining an outer housing of the gas generator is folded over this flange, and the gas outlet openings 8 from the chamber 6 are provided in this flange. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the chamber 6 is welded onto the periphery of the support 4, and the gas outlet openings 8 are constituted or formed by bores in the wall or flange region of the support 4. In both figures, the pellets 2 are combined into a pellet column and surrounded by a wire mesh 10 whereby an all-around uniform spacing of the pellets 2 from the inner wall of the pressure reservoir 1 is obtained.

The gas generator is especially suited for inflating small airbags (volume about 30-35 liters), and fits into practically any steering column. On account of the laws in many countries requiring the wearing of safety belts, the additional airbag safety system is designed, above all, for mitigating the impact of the driver's head against the steering wheel, and this can be achieved even by a small-size airbag. Previous airbags have a volume on the order of 60-70 liters. The proposed gas generator can be manufactured in a very economical way; this should lead to a more rapid adoption of the airbag even for compact cars.