Abstract: An active bolster for mounting at an interior trim surface of an automotive vehicle has a plastic-molded, expandable inner wall having a welding flange disposed at an outer perimeter and a pleated region bending inward from the welding flange. A plastic-molded outer wall overlies the inner wall, wherein the welding flange is hot welded to the outer wall to form an inflatable bladder for receiving an inflation gas. The inner wall further includes a blocking rib extending from between the welding flange and the pleated region into abutment with the outer wall to restrict flow of the inflation gas against the welding flange.

Abstract: An active bolster for mounting at an interior trim surface of an automotive vehicle has a plastic-molded, expandable inner wall having a welding flange disposed at an outer perimeter and a pleated region bending inward from the welding flange. A plastic-molded outer wall overlies the inner wall, wherein the welding flange is hot welded to the outer wall to form an inflatable bladder for receiving an inflation gas. The inner wall further includes a blocking rib extending from between the welding flange and the pleated region into abutment with the outer wall to restrict flow of the inflation gas against the welding flange.

Abstract: An active bolster for automotive crash protection has front and back walls with their outer peripheral edges sealed together to provide a bladder chamber therebetween. A gas source supplies an expansion gas to inflate the bladder chamber during a crash. The back wall has a pleated section comprising a plurality of generally-parallel rows of generally-circumferential pleats that unfold during inflation. The unfolding of the pleats controls a deployment trajectory of the front wall, and the pleats have an undulating transverse curve length corresponding to a maximum trajectory of the front wall. The pleated section further comprises a plurality of transverse ribs joining adjacent pleats in selected locations to reduced the unfolding during inflation to provide a modified deployment trajectory.

Abstract: An active bolster for an automotive vehicle has an inner wall and an outer wall joined around a substantially closed perimeter to form an inflatable bladder. An inflator couples an inflation gas into the inflatable bladder in response to a crash event of the vehicle. The inner wall has an inner vessel region with a substantially-planar portion and an outer pleated region with a plurality of circumferential pleats, wherein each pleat has an inward edge and an outward edge. Adjacent pleats are continuous so that the inward edge of an outer pleat is shared as the outward edge of an inner pleat. The pleat edges have a stepped spacing from the outer wall that progressively decreases from an innermost edge to an outermost outward edge, whereby adjacent pleats unfold during inflation such that an inner pleat is unfolding with a substantially uniform pressure when an outer pleat begins to unfold.

Abstract: An air bag deployment apparatus is provided for use in an air bag deployment system of an automotive vehicle. The apparatus has a support base for attachment to a rear surface of an occupant facing substrate. A door support panel has upper and lower surfaces and four side edges for attachment to the rear surface of the substrate within the area of an air bag deployment door. An air bag chute extends downward from the support base and contains a plurality of skirt walls for defining a path for deployment of an air bag from beneath the substrate. A hinge element extends from one of the skirt walls to one edge of the door support panel wherein the hinge element has upper and lower surfaces joined by a left side surface and a right side surface. At least one of the side surfaces protruding from the skirt wall includes an undercut so that a lower corner of the hinge element forms an obtuse angle, resulting in better transfer of deployment forces through the hinge element.

Abstract: An air bag deployment apparatus is provided for use in an air bag deployment system of an automotive vehicle. The apparatus has a support base for attachment to a rear surface of an occupant facing substrate. A door support panel has upper and lower surfaces and four side edges for attachment to the rear surface of the substrate within the area of an air bag deployment door. An air bag chute extends downward from the support base and contains a plurality of skirt walls for defining a path for deployment of an air bag from beneath the substrate. A hinge element extends from one of the skirt walls to one edge of the door support panel wherein the hinge element has upper and lower surfaces joined by a left side surface and a right side surface. At least one of the side surfaces protruding from the skirt wall includes an undercut so that a lower corner of the hinge element forms an obtuse angle, resulting in better transfer of deployment forces through the hinge element.

Abstract: An integrated air bag chute structure that provides means for providing automatic interlocking attachment of the chute to the substrate of an instrument panel. By inserting the air bag chute into a substrate aperture and utilizing slots, depressions and notches formed in the chute structure beneath a surrounding flange, the aperture edges are captured and retained to thereby lock the chute in place.

Abstract: An integrated air bag support structure that functions to dissipate excessive energy from a door panel during air bag deployment includes a support base configured to surround a door support panel. An air bag chute tube extends downward from the support base and contains a plurality of skirt walls. The door support panel separated from the support base by a gap on all four sides. A hinge element extends between one of the skirt walls of the air bag chute tube and one edge of the door support panel, and includes a plurality of pivoting elements and an arm extension to absorb energy during deployment.

Abstract: An integrated air bag support structure that includes a support base for attachment to the rear side of a substrate. The support base is configured to surround a door support panel and both are configured for attachment to the rear side of a substrate in an area that is pre-weakened to define an air bag deployment door in a vehicle instrument panel or a steering wheel air bag module. The upper surfaces of the support base and door support panel are attached to the rear surface of the substrate, and a test tab extends from the base that is attached to the rear surface of the substrate in the same manner as the support base and the door support panel. The test tab has an unattached extension portion for the purpose of gripping and pulling to test the integrity of the attachment without affecting the attachment of the support panel.

Abstract: An integrated air bag support structure that includes a support base for attachment to the rear side of a substrate. The support base is configured to surround a door support panel and both are configured for attachment to the rear side of a substrate in an area that is pre-weakened to define an air bag deployment door in a vehicle instrument panel or a steering wheel air bag module. The upper surfaces of the support base and door support panel are attached to the rear surface of the substrate, and a test tab extends from the base that is attached to the rear surface of the substrate in the same manner as the support base and the door support panel. The test tab has an unattached extension portion for the purpose of gripping and pulling to test the integrity of the attachment without affecting the attachment of the support panel.

Abstract: An integrated air bag chute structure that provides sealing of an air bag aperture in an instrument panel substrate during a foam-in-place process. The structure provides an extended flange with flexible tapered edges that surround the aperture. The tapered edges are compressed against the upper surface of the substrate to seal and surround the substrate aperture when the chute structure is inserted into and retained in the substrate aperture. The air bag chute structure further defines a door support panel with pre-weakened molded edges and a hinge which are all integrally connected to the structure and flange without gaps that would allow for leakage during the foam-in-place process.

Abstract: An integrated air bag chute structure that provides means for providing automatic interlocking attachment of the chute to the substrate of an instrument panel. By inserting the air bag chute into a substrate aperture and utilizing slots, depressions and notches formed in the chute structure beneath a surrounding flange, the aperture edges are captured and retained to thereby lock the chute in place.

Abstract: An integrated air bag support structure that includes a support base for attachment to the rear side of a substrate. The support base is configured to surround a door support panel and both are configured for attachment to the rear side of a substrate in an area that is pre-weakened to define an air bag deployment door in a vehicle instrument panel or a steering wheel air bag module. The upper surfaces of the support base and door support panel are attached to the rear surface of a substrate and a test tab extends from the base that is attached to the rear surface of the substrate in the same manner as the support base and the door support panel. The test tab has an unattached extension portion for the purpose of gripping and pulling to sample test that the attachment of the test tab without affecting the attachment of the support panel.

Abstract: An integrated air bag support structure that functions to dissipate excessive energy from a door panel during air bag deployment. The air bag support structure includes a support base for attachment to the rear side of a substrate. The support base is configured to surround a door support panel and both are configured for attachment to the rear side of a substrate in an area that is pre-weakened to define an air bag deployment door in a vehicle instrument panel or a steering wheel air bag module. An air bag chute tube extends downward from the support base and contains a plurality of skirt walls that surround an air bag container to define the path for deployment of the air bag from beneath the substrate. The door support panel is generally co-planar with the support base when attached to the substrate, but is separated from the support base by a gap on all four sides.

Abstract: An integrated air bag support structure that functions to dissipate excessive energy from a door panel during air bag deployment. The air bag support structure includes a support base for attachment to the rear side of a substrate. The support base is configured to surround a door support panel and both are configured for attachment to the rear side of a substrate in an area that is pre-weakened to define an air bag deployment door in a vehicle instrument panel or a steering wheel air bag module. An air bag chute tube extends downward from the support base and contains a plurality of skirt walls that surround an air bag container to define the path for deployment of the air bag from beneath the substrate. The door support panel is generally co-planar with the support base when attached to the substrate, but is separated from the support base by a gap on all four sides.

Abstract: A cover panel for the air bag in an automotive vehicle with an invisible deployment door section defined by pre-weakened hinge and tear seam formed on the underside of the instrument panel base substrate during the base substrate molding process. The hinge and tear seams are formed into the underside of the base substrate by projections extending from a lower surface mold preform and are differently proportioned in size to provide sequentially operating functions during air bag deployment. Flowing the liquid substrate material into opposing sides of the mold allow for more even cooling and smooth upper surface over the reduced thicknesses of the invisible door hinge and seams.