Abstract: The present invention relates to an inflator for a vehicle airbag employing non-azide gas generants. The invention also relates to a new filter system for airbag inflators. The filter is a metal ribbon coiled within the inflator house. The metal ribbon comprises at least one segment of apertures and a segment of expanded metal.

Abstract: A new filtration system for gas generators, especially side impact airbag inflators for use in automobiles, has a sheet of expanded metal formed into a tube, cylinder or other geometric form and a bed of expanded metal chips. The interior of the geometric form is filled with chips of expanded metal and this configuration has been found extremely effective in cooling and filtering the gases produced during the combustion of a gas generant. The filtration system disposed between the gas generant bed and the gas exit apertures of the inflator housing. The weight of the filtration system should be at least four times the weight of the gas generant placed in the inflator housing.

Abstract: The present invention relates to improved non-azide gas generants and methods for their manufacture for use in an automobile gas bag system. This discovery overcomes the problems of moisture and thermal cycling in a non-azide gas generant pellet through the use of at least two fuels selected from guanidine nitrate, nitroguanidine, triaminoguanidine nitrate, diaminoguanidine nitrate and monoguanidine nitrate and an oxidizer system comprising mixtures of strontium nitrate, sodium nitrate and ammonium perchlorate.