An active bolster is provided for an interior trim surface of an automotive vehicle. A plastic-molded outer trim panel has a welding track on an inside surface. A plastic-molded expandable bladder member has a central attachment section configured to attach to a support structure of the vehicle, a welding flange along a peripheral edge with a first surface facing the trim panel inside surface and a second opposed surface, and a pleated region between the central attachment section and the welding flange. The welding track and the welding flange are joined by a closed-loop hot weld seam to form a sealed chamber. The welding track and welding flange comprise complementary surfaces having a plurality of corrugations making the weld seam at least partially shaped as an undulating ribbon. As a result, a majority of the forces on the weld seam during inflation are in shear instead of peel.
Corrugated weld seam for active bolster
2016-05-03
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | B29D PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE , Herstellen besonderer Gegenstände aus Kunststoff oder aus Stoffen in plastischem Zustand / B60R Fahrzeuge, Fahrzeugausstattung oder Fahrzeugteile, soweit nicht anderweitig vorgesehen , VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR / B29K Index-Schema für Formmassen oder Materialien für Verstärkungen, Füllstoffe oder vorgeformte Teile, z.B. Einlagen in Verbindung mit den Unterklassen B29B, B29C oder B29D , INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS |