Vehicular safety device

Claim 1

In a safety device for protecting an occupant of a vehicle of the type which includes an inflatable confinement having a collapsed inoperative position and an expanded operative position in which the inflatable confinement is operable to restrain movement of the occupant during a collision, a pressurized fluid reservoir provided with a discharge spout having an inner wall defining an axial cylindrical passage-way for fluid flow from the reservoir to the inflatable confinement; a cap member coaxially associated with the axial cylindrical passage-way of said reservoir, said cap member having an annular axial chamber which is open at one end thereof opposite to and in alignment with the axial cylindrical passage-way, and having an axial internal bore which is concentric with and internal of the annular chamber; a rupturable connector associated with said discharge spout and said cap member and located in the axial cylindrical passage-way and the annular axial chamber, said rupturable connector having a cylindrical portion connecting said cap member with said discharge spout in an axial tight relationship, the cylindrical portion consisting of a plurality of segments divided by axially extending slots formed therein, said rupturable connector having a rupturable disc portiOn interconnecting the segments at its outer periphery; a piston slidably received in the internal axial bore of said cap member in the vicinity of the disc portion of said rupturable connector; and a plug member received in the internal axial bore of said cap member in tightly sealed relationship therewith and provided with a detonation for urging said piston toward the disc portion of said rupturable connector when fired by triggering means during collision of the vehicle.