Motor vehicle air bag and fabric for use in same
View Patent ↗A vehicle air bag for use with an on-board inflator mechanism. The air bag is formed from a base fabric that has been dipped in an aqueous solution. As a result, a finish is applied to the base fabric to achieve a desired low permeability.
1. A vehicle air bag for use with an on-board inflator mechanism, said vehicle air bag having at least one panel of air bag fabric, said fabric comprising:
a fabric substrate; and
a residue formed on said fabric substrate by dipping said fabric substrate in an aqueous solution so as to achieve a desired low permeability, the aqueous solution comprising a water-based finish comprising an aliphatic urethane formulation, a flame retardant, or a halogenated polymer, wherein the polymer that is halogenated comprises an acrylic polymer, an acrylic copolymer, a polyurethane, or a polyvinyl acetate.
2. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 1 , wherein said residue bonds with said fabric substrate.
3. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 1 , wherein said fabric substrate is dipped multiple times in said aqueous solution to lower permeability.
4. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 1 , wherein the permeability of said fabric substrate is adjusted by varying the concentration of said aqueous solution.
5. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 1 , wherein said fabric substrate is a multifilament yarn having a size of between 210 and 840 denier.
6. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 5 , wherein said fabric substrate has a size of approximately 210 denier and a thread count range of between 64 and 74.
7. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 5 , wherein said fabric substrate has a size of approximately 315 denier and a thread count range of between 55 and 65.
8. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 5 , wherein said fabric substrate has a size of approximately 420 denier and a thread count range of between 42 and 52.
9. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 5 , wherein said fabric substrate has a size of approximately 525 denier and a thread count range of between 36 and 46.
10. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 5 , wherein said fabric substrate has a size of approximately 630 denier and a thread count range of between 33 and 43.
11. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 5 , wherein said fabric substrate has a size of approximately 840 denier and a thread count range of between 15 and 25.
12. A vehicle air bag for use with an on-board inflator mechanism, said vehicle air bag having at least one panel of air bag fabric, said fabric comprising:
a fabric substrate; and
a residue formed on said fabric substrate by application of an aqueous solution to said fabric substrate so as to achieve a desired low permeability, the aqueous solution comprising a water-based finish comprising a halogenated acrylic polymer or copolymer.
13. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 12 , wherein said residue bonds with said fabric substrate.
14. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 12 , wherein the permeability of said fabric substrate is adjusted by varying the concentration of said aqueous solution.
15. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 12 , wherein said fabric substrate comprises multifilament yarns having a size of between 210 and 840 denier.
16. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 15 , wherein said fabric substrate has yarns have a size of approximately 210 denier and a thread count range of between 64 and 74.
17. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 15 , wherein said yarns have a size of approximately 315 denier and a thread count range of between 55 and 65.
18. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 15 , wherein said yarns have a size of approximately 420 denier and a thread count range of between 42 and 52.
19. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 15 , wherein said yarns have a size of approximately 525 denier and a thread count range of between 36 and 46.
20. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 15 , wherein said yarns have a size of approximately 630 denier and a thread count range of between 33 and 43.
21. The vehicle air bag as recited in claim 15 , wherein said yarns have a size of approximately 840 denier and a thread count range of between 15 and 25.
22. A vehicle air bag as defined in claim 1 , wherein the aqueous solution further comprises a plasticizer.
23. A vehicle air bag as defined in claim 22 , wherein the aqueous solution further comprises a surfactant.
24. A vehicle air bag as defined in claim 12 , wherein the aqueous solution further comprises a plasticizer.
25. A vehicle air bag as defined in claim 24 , wherein the aqueous solution further comprises a surfactant.
26. A vehicle air bag as defined in claim 1 , wherein the aqueous solution contains the flame retardant, the flame retardant comprising a phosphorous or sulfur compound.
27. A vehicle air bag as defined in claim 12 , wherein the aqueous solution further contains a flame retardant, the flame retardant comprising a phosphorous or sulfur compound.