ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED VARIABLE FORCE DEPLOYMENT AIRBAG AND INFLATION

摘要

The rate of combustion of an electrically operated propellant having self-sustaining threshold of at least 1,000 psi is controlled to produce chamber pressures that are sufficient to produce a desired pressure profile in the airbag to accommodate a range of human factors and crash conditions yet never exceeding the self-sustaining threshold. The combustion of the propellant is extinguished to control the total pressure impulse delivered to the airbag. Propellants formed with an ionic perchlorate-based oxidizer have demonstrated thresholds in excess of 1,500 psi and higher.

主权项

1. A method of deploying and inflating an airbag comprising:
providing a combustion chamber with an electrode structure configured for coupling with an electrical power source; providing an amount of electrically operated propellant within the combustion chamber, said propellant comprising an ionic perchlorate-based oxidizer such that the propellant has a self-sustaining threshold pressure of at least 1,000 psi at which the ignited propellant cannot be extinguished; coupling an airbag to the combustion chamber; igniting the electrically operated propellant in the chamber by applying an electrical input to the electrically operated propellant via the electrode structure; generating pressurized gas within the chamber from the combustion of the ignited electrically operated propellant, pressures in the chamber reaching more than 500 psi but never more than the self-sustaining threshold pressure of the propellant; exhausting pressurized gas from the chamber to inflate the airbag; varying the electrical input to the electrically operated propellant to vary the rate of combustion of the ignited electrically operated propellant, hence the pressure in the chamber at levels less than the self-sustaining threshold pressure, to control a pressure profile in the airbag; and extinguishing the electrically operated propellant with the interruption of the electrical input to burn less than all of said propellant to control a total pressure impulse delivered to the airbag.