Assembly Consisting of an Elongate Housing and a Gas Generator Accommodated Therein

The invention relates to a vehicle occupant restraint system and in particular to an assembly comprising an elongate housing and a gas generator accommodated therein.

The fitting of a gas generator in the housing of a gas bag restraint system is usually effected by means of a flanged joint. Such a flange joint requires some components which must be mounted after the insertion of the gas generator.

The invention provides an assembly for a gas bag restraint system. This assembly comprises an elongate housing provided with open axial ends. Within the housing a gas generator is accomodated which is held axially between two covers closing said open ends of said housing. This design provides a an assembly which is distinguished by particularly simple mounting and the fact that there is no need for the usual fitting and mounting parts. Further, this design provides that the gas generator is merely inserted in the housing, with the option of having one of the two covers already mounted, and then the second cover is inserted which already fixes the gas generator axially. To compensate for tolerances, however, it is advisable to fit the cover located on the base side of the gas generator with a clamping screw whose end projecting into the housing is clamped against the base of the gas generator.

The main elongate body of the housing is preferably manufactured from a generally trough-shaped extruded profile part. Adaptation to the various lengths of gas generator is thus possible without any additional tool costs. In such an embodiment the gas generator is preferably secured radially in the housing by a holding plate partly encompassing the outer periphery of the gas generator and fixed to the housing.

Further advantages and characteristics of the invention follow from the description below and from the drawing.

In the drawing the only figure represents an advantageous embodiment of the assembly in an axial section shown in perspective.

The housing of the assembly, generally designated as 10, consists of a elongate main body 12 manufactured from a trough-shaped extruded profile part, and of two covers 14, 16 inserted in the open ends of the main body 12. Besides a radial wall 14a and 15a, each of these covers 14, 16 has a circumferential wall 14b and 16b in contact with the inside of the main body 12.

The gas generator 18 has the form of an elongate cylindrical bottle with a flat base and a narrowed neck. The narrowed neck 18a of the gas generator 18 protrudes through an opening in a part of the radial wall 14a of the cover 14 which is stepped by a bead.

The cover 16 is fitted with a clamping screw 20 whose inner end projects into the housing and is clamped against the base of the gas generator 18. Dimensional tolerances of the gas generator or of the housing are compensated for by means of this clamping screw 20.

Furthermore, in the region of its radial wall 16a, the cover 16 is furnished with imprints providing guiding and centering surfaces for the gas generator 18.

The open side of the trough-shaped main body 12 is secured by a holding plate 22 partly encompassing the outer periphery of the gas generator 18 and connected to the main body 12 along two lateral strips 22a, so that the gas generator 18 is also fixed radially in the housing 10.

For assembly purposes, the cover 16 is first placed in the main body 12 of the housing 10 and fixed to it. The holding plate 22 is then placed in position and fixed to the main body 12. The gas generator 18 can now be pushed in in the longitudinal direction of the housing, and is centered and radially aligned by the guiding and centering surfaces in the cover 16. The cover 14 is then inserted in the opposite end of the main body 12 and fixed to it. By means of the clamping screw 20, the gas generator 18 now only has to be secured in the axial direction and placed under a certain pretension, which concludes the assembly of the gas generator.