Protection for the occupants of a vehicle in the event of a side impact

US5979932A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Saint-Gobain Vitrage · FR

Inventors

• Loic Jourdaine · Compiègne, FR
• Franz Kraemling · Aachen, DE
• Stefan Immershitt · Herzogenrath, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 13, 1997
• Grant date: Nov 9, 1999
• Expiry date: Aug 13, 2017

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T428/31507
• WIPO field: Transport
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A device for protection of the occupants of a vehicle in the event of a side impact includes an inflatable bag (airbag (9)) placed in the side wall beneath a window in such a way that, in the activated state, it deploys in the direction extending between the occupant's head and the surface of the window. The window pane (15) is a compound glass pane which includes at least one glass sheet (16,17) and at least one intermediate layer (18) and which has an increased flexural strength because of the fact that: a) the layer (18) consists of a laminate composed of a core layer of an impact-resistant polymer, and of two thermoplastic adhesive layers, of polyvinyl butyral or of polyurethane, which are placed on both sides of the PET layer, or b) the layer (18) is made of a plastic having a Young's modulus at least equal to 20 MPa.