| abstract |
A vehicle air bag installation comprises an air bag mounted in a unitary container comprising a molded plastic substrate having an I-shaped slot defining a pair of doors with integral hinges, and a continuous self-skinned polyurethane foam covering adhered thereto during the formation of the covering. The covering has predetermined weakened sections formed along a tear line defined by the slot which rupture during air bag deployment to facilitate door opening. The covering material is an aliphatic or aromatic isocyanate cured low density polyurethane foam having a durometer of 35-60 Shore A. The unitary container is formed by providing a molded plastic container substrate having slots defining the doors, placing the substrate in a mold having a cover, placing a core within the mold to support the substrate. The core has a plurality of upstanding spaced blades projecting into the slots into spaced relation to the mold cover. Urethane foam is injected into the mold and the cover is closed. The foam is cured to form a container cover integral with the substrate and having a notched tear line along the slot. |