Driver-side air bag module assembly

• Main Authors: SPARKMAN; JOHN P, STUKENBORG; STEVEN W, SCHENCK; DAVID P, GORDON; JOHN E, HUFFMAN; ROBERT E, BOWSER; ROBERT E
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 25.04.1995
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING; VEHICLES IN GENERAL; VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISEPROVIDED FOR

A driver-side air bag module is mounted to a steering wheel assembly mounting bracket having three mounting apertures. The module comprises a cover, an inflator and a base plate, which are assembled without using fasteners. The base plate has a plurality of arcuately-spaced mounting apertures and mounts three studs. The cover includes a plurality of mating flexible tangs having locking shoulders. The inflator has a peripheral mounting flange which includes three arcuately-spaced locking blades and a plurality of locking tabs projecting from its surface. The base plate has three mating openings each having an adjacent locking abutment. The studs are first staked to the base plate. The cover is assembled by inserting the tangs through the base plate mounting apertures so that the shoulders snap over to engage the base plate. The inflator locking blades are pushed through the base plate mating openings and twisted to pass them over the locking abutments. This traps the base plate between the blades and the mounting flange and abuts the locking tabs with the cover tangs, preventing their removal. Three inflator mounting flange slots receive the studs during assembly. The air bag module is installed by projecting the studs through the steering wheel assembly mounting bracket apertures, where the spring fingers snap into the stud grooves to prevent removal. The locking tangs, tabs and base plate apertures are unequally spaced, and the studs and apertures are unequally spaced to assure a predetermined orientation of the module when installed.