External automobile safety air bag capable of being expanded and installed
By designing an expandable external car airbag, the problem of existing car airbags being unable to protect people outside the vehicle, being unable to be retrofitted, and having poor compliance with modification regulations has been solved. It achieves flexible installation, strong environmental adaptability, and high triggering accuracy, and is suitable for a variety of car models.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2026-02-28
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-07
AI Technical Summary
Existing car airbags cannot effectively protect people outside the vehicle, cannot be retrofitted, have poor compliance with modification regulations, and lack environmental adaptability, thus failing to meet the protection needs of different usage scenarios.
An expandable external automotive airbag has been designed, including an expansion dock base, an external airbag module, and a trigger control unit. It connects to the original vehicle system through a standardized interface, is environmentally adaptable and compliant, and adopts graded inflation and multi-sensor trigger control to achieve modular and rapid installation and removal.
It enables flexible installation and quick removal of external airbags, significantly improving protection performance, reducing collision impact, enhancing triggering accuracy and environmental adaptability, meeting the needs of various vehicle models, passing regulatory certification, and reducing modification costs.
Smart Images
Figure CN121799327A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of automotive passive safety technology, and in particular to an expandable external automotive airbag. Background Technology
[0002] Car airbags are typically installed using a factory-installed, integrated design, which has several inherent drawbacks: 1. Limited protection: Existing airbags are mainly designed for vehicle occupants and are installed inside the vehicle body. They have limited buffering effect on external collisions and cannot effectively compensate for blind spots in pedestrian protection, side pole impacts, and rear-end collisions. In the event of a collision, they are likely to cause serious injury to pedestrians or third-party vehicles.
[0003] 2. Lack of expandability: Airbags are deeply integrated with the vehicle body structure and the original passive safety system. They cannot be retrofitted to meet user needs after leaving the factory. Existing vehicles cannot have their protection level improved by adding airbags. If users have different protection needs in different scenarios (such as pedestrian protection in urban roads and collision buffering in rural roads), the protection configuration cannot be flexibly adjusted.
[0004] 3. Poor compliance with modification regulations: Currently, mainstream global regulations strictly prohibit unauthorized modification of vehicle passive safety systems. Most existing aftermarket safety devices are non-standard designs that cannot be connected to the original vehicle safety system, resulting in issues such as false triggering and poor load compatibility. This not only prevents vehicles from passing annual inspections but also easily leads to secondary safety hazards.
[0005] 4. Insufficient environmental adaptability: If a simple external airbag design is adopted, its storage and protective structure cannot adapt to outdoor environments such as rain, snow, dust, extreme temperatures, and ultraviolet radiation, which can easily lead to aging of the gas generator, failure of the sensor, and degradation of the airbag fabric, thus failing to meet the long-term service life requirements of automotive safety components.
[0006] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technologies, there is currently no external car airbag device that can be standardized, modularly expanded and installed, and takes into account compliance, triggering accuracy, environmental adaptability and vehicle load adaptation. Therefore, developing an expandable external car airbag device has become the key to solving the shortcomings of the existing technologies. Summary of the Invention
[0007] In view of this, the purpose of this invention is to provide an expandable external automotive airbag, which solves the problems in the background art.
[0008] Based on the above objectives, the present invention provides an expandable external automotive airbag, including an expansion dock base, on which an external airbag module and a connecting mechanism are provided. The external airbag module is electrically connected to a trigger control unit, and the expansion dock base is connected to the original vehicle through the connecting mechanism. The external airbag module includes an airbag body and a staged inflation gas generator, with the airbag body and gas generator encased in a protective shell. The trigger control unit is electrically connected to a data acquisition module. The data acquisition module collects collision and driving data and sends it to the trigger control unit. The trigger control unit performs data processing on the collected data. When the collision signal is detected to reach a preset threshold, the gas generator of the external airbag module is triggered to inflate and deploy the airbag. The trigger control unit is electrically connected to a status monitoring module.
[0009] Preferably, the expansion dock base is a factory-pre-installed expansion dock base or a retrofitted non-destructive expansion dock base; The original factory-reserved expansion dock base integrates a standardized CAN / LIN bus interface, a dedicated power supply interface, and a trigger signal interface; The retrofit non-destructive expansion dock base is equipped with an independent power supply interface and an independent trigger signal interface.
[0010] Preferably, the trigger control unit is the original vehicle airbag ECU, and the data acquisition module is the original vehicle sensor group, which includes an acceleration sensor, millimeter-wave radar, and a vision camera.
[0011] Preferably, when the original vehicle airbag ECU detects a collision signal that reaches a preset threshold, it also triggers the gas generator of the in-vehicle airbag to start and deploy the in-vehicle airbag.
[0012] Preferably, the preset threshold is a frontal collision acceleration ≥15g and a side collision acceleration ≥10g.
[0013] Preferably, the trigger control unit is an independent control module separate from the original vehicle airbag ECU, and the data acquisition module is an independent sensor fusion unit, which includes a speed sensor, millimeter-wave radar and a vision camera. The independent control module is electrically connected to the backup power supply or the original vehicle battery, and is also electrically connected to the manual shut-off switch.
[0014] Preferably, the original factory-reserved expansion dock base is made of high-strength steel or aluminum alloy and is integrally formed with the vehicle body longitudinal beam, anti-collision beam, and sill beam or fixed by standardized flanges. The aftermarket non-destructive expansion dock base is made of high-strength aluminum alloy through one-piece stamping and is clamped and fixed to the original structural reinforcement point of the vehicle body. Non-destructive clamping and fixing is achieved through high-strength bolts.
[0015] Preferably, the airbag body is made of weather-resistant modified nylon fabric and has been treated to be waterproof, dustproof, UV resistant, and resistant to high and low temperatures; The gas generator is a staged inflation type with a built-in dual-stage ignition component and gas-generating agent. The gas generator is encapsulated with high-temperature and corrosion-resistant materials and integrates a pressure sensor to monitor the internal pressure of the airbag in real time, ensuring a stable inflation process. The protective shell is made of streamlined engineering plastic and is wrapped around the airbag and gas generator. The surface of the shell is equipped with heat dissipation holes and dust cover.
[0016] Preferably, the status monitoring module is integrated into the trigger control unit to monitor the working status of the external airbag module, the expansion dock base, and the data acquisition module in real time, and issue alarm prompts through the vehicle display screen or mobile APP to facilitate timely maintenance by users.
[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are: 1. The innovative modular expansion and standardized expansion dock base design breaks the limitations of existing airbags that cannot be retrofitted or expanded, enabling quick disassembly and flexible installation of external airbag modules. It is suitable for different vehicle models and different protection needs. Existing vehicles can upgrade their protection level through retrofitted non-destructive expansion docks, while new vehicles can achieve personalized optional installations through factory-reserved expansion docks, making it extremely practical.
[0018] 2. Significantly improved protective performance: Through the multi-position arrangement and staged inflation design of external airbags, the blind spots of existing safety systems are effectively made up for. During a collision, the airbags can extend the collision time by deploying. According to the momentum theorem mv=Ft, the collision time is extended to about 0.5 seconds, and the impact force can be reduced to one-fifth of the original, reducing the impact force on the vehicle body, occupants, pedestrians and third-party vehicles.
[0019] 3. High triggering accuracy and strong safety: It adopts the original vehicle linkage triggering or multi-sensor fusion independent triggering mode, and the triggering delay is controlled at the millisecond level. Combined with the false triggering prevention algorithm, the risk of false triggering is greatly reduced. The probability of false triggering at high speed is ≤0.01%, avoiding safety hazards such as loss of vehicle control caused by false triggering. At the same time, the graded inflation design can avoid the instantaneous impact force when the airbag is deployed from accidentally injuring pedestrians or occupants.
[0020] 4. Strong environmental adaptability: The airbag module and expansion dock base have undergone professional weather-resistant treatment and can work normally in an extreme temperature range of -40℃ to 80℃. They have IP67 waterproof and dustproof capabilities and a UV aging resistance life of ≥5 years, which can meet the long-term use requirements of automotive safety components.
[0021] 5. Balancing compliance and economy: The original factory-installed expansion dock can pass mandatory safety certifications such as national standards, EU ECE, and US FMVSS along with the vehicle, fully complying with regulatory requirements; the aftermarket non-destructive expansion dock adopts a non-destructive installation design, avoiding the regulatory risks of unauthorized modification, and the installation cost is lower than that of original factory modification; the modular design allows for the individual replacement of faulty parts, reducing later maintenance costs.
[0022] 6. Wide compatibility: The standardized expansion dock base and airbag module interface can be adapted to most passenger cars and low-speed special vehicles, eliminating the need for separate design for a single model, reducing R&D and production costs, and facilitating large-scale promotion. Attached Figure Description
[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only for this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0024] Figure 1 This is a control logic block diagram of Embodiment 1 of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a control logic block diagram of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments.
[0026] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in this invention should have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar terms used in this invention do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are used only to indicate relative positional relationships; when the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.
[0027] This embodiment applies to new vehicle platforms of car manufacturers, such as Figure 1 As shown, the specific implementation steps are as follows: 1. Installation of the expansion dock base: During the vehicle development stage, the original factory-reserved expansion dock base is integrated with the vehicle body longitudinal beams and anti-collision beams. The mechanical base is made of high-strength aluminum alloy with a thickness of 8-10mm, and is equipped with standardized flanges and reinforcing plates to ensure load-bearing capacity. The electrical interface integrates a CAN bus interface and a 12V power supply interface, which directly connects to the original vehicle airbag ECU. The locking mechanism adopts a snap-on anti-loosening self-locking structure and is equipped with a special unlocking tool.
[0028] 2. External Airbag Module Installation: Based on vehicle protection requirements, one external airbag module is installed at the front bumper grille and one at the door sill. The airbag body is made of modified nylon 66 fabric, treated with waterproof and UV resistant materials. The front airbag body has a volume of 80-100L, and the side airbag body has a volume of 50-60L. The gas generator adopts a two-stage inflation system, with an inflation speed of 15-20m / s for minor collisions and 30-35m / s for severe collisions. The protective shell is made of ABS engineering plastic with a streamlined design that conforms to the vehicle body contours and does not affect the vehicle's aerodynamic layout.
[0029] 3. Trigger control unit debugging: Integrate the trigger control unit into the original vehicle airbag ECU, share data from the original vehicle's acceleration sensor and millimeter-wave radar via the CAN bus interface, set collision trigger thresholds, trigger when frontal collision acceleration ≥15g and side collision acceleration ≥10g, debug the trigger delay to ensure synchronous triggering of internal and external airbags with a delay ≤10ms; debug the false trigger prevention algorithm, and avoid false triggering during high-speed driving through multi-sensor cross-verification.
[0030] 4. Overall Assembly and Testing: Connect the external airbag module to the expansion dock base through a standardized interface, lock the locking mechanism, and complete the mechanical and electrical connections; conduct environmental reliability tests on the device, including high and low temperature, waterproof and dustproof, ultraviolet aging, collision simulation tests, frontal 100km / h collision, side 60km / h pole collision and false triggering tests, high-speed driving, bumpy road surface, rain and snow weather, to ensure that the device works stably, provides effective protection, and does not trigger falsely.
[0031] This embodiment applies to existing passenger vehicles, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the specific implementation steps are as follows: 1. Installation of the expansion dock base: Select the original structural reinforcement points at the front and rear of the vehicle's longitudinal beams, and fix the aftermarket non-destructive expansion dock base with adjustable clamping components and high-strength bolts. Buffer pads are installed at the contact points between the clamping components and the vehicle body to prevent damage. The mechanical base is made of high-strength aluminum alloy with a thickness of 6-8mm, and the clamping range can be adjusted according to the vehicle's dimensions. The electrical interface connects to the original vehicle battery, and a backup power supply is connected in parallel. The backup power supply is a small lithium battery to ensure stable power supply. The locking mechanism adopts a snap-on anti-loosening self-locking structure for easy subsequent disassembly and assembly.
[0032] 2. External airbag module assembly: One external airbag module is installed on each of the front and rear bumpers. The airbag body is made of modified nylon fabric consistent with that in Example 1. The front airbag body is streamlined and the rear airbag body is flat, with a volume of 70-90L. The gas generator adopts a staged inflation type, and the trigger threshold is set to a frontal collision acceleration ≥12g and a rear collision acceleration ≥8g. The protective shell is made of lightweight engineering plastic, and a dust cover is set on the surface to avoid the accumulation of mud and sand.
[0033] 3. Trigger Control Unit Debugging: Install the independent trigger control module inside the expansion dock base, connect it to the multi-sensor fusion unit, install the millimeter-wave radar on the outside of the bumper, and install the acceleration sensor on the expansion dock base. Debug the collision prediction algorithm to ensure accurate identification of collision risks, with a trigger latency of ≤15ms; set a manual shut-off switch so that users can turn off the trigger function when driving at low speeds ≤30km / h to reduce the risk of false triggering; debug the status monitoring module to ensure real-time monitoring of component operating status and timely alarm in case of malfunction.
[0034] 4. Overall Assembly and Testing: Connect and lock the external airbag module to the expansion dock base, complete the electrical connection, and check the installation firmness; perform non-destructive testing on the device to ensure no damage to the vehicle body, environmental reliability testing, and collision simulation testing, including low-speed collision at 40km / h and high-speed collision at 80km / h. The test results show that the device can effectively buffer the collision impact force, has no false triggering phenomenon, is firmly installed, and does not affect the normal driving of the vehicle.
[0035] This embodiment is applicable to vehicles in low-speed, enclosed scenarios such as park inspection vehicles and on-site engineering vehicles. The specific implementation steps are as follows: 1. Expansion dock base installation: A retrofitted, non-destructive expansion dock base is used, which is fixed to the structural reinforcement points at the front and sides of the vehicle. The mechanical base is made of high-strength steel and is suitable for the load requirements of low-speed vehicles. The electrical interface connects to the vehicle's own power supply, eliminating the need for a backup power supply.
[0036] 2. External airbag module assembly: The airbag body is made of thickened modified nylon fabric with a volume of 60-80L. The protective shell is made of impact-resistant engineering plastic, which can withstand the impact of gravel and debris in the park. The gas generator adopts a single-stage inflation type with an inflation speed of 20-25m / s, which is suitable for the buffering requirements of low-speed collisions ≤50km / h.
[0037] 3. Trigger control unit debugging: adopts independent trigger mode, sets a low trigger threshold, collision acceleration ≥8g, simplifies the prediction algorithm, and focuses on preventing personal injury during low-speed collisions; the status monitoring module is simplified into a fault alarm indicator light, installed in the vehicle's cockpit for easy observation by the driver.
[0038] 4. Overall Testing: After assembly, conduct low-speed collision tests at 20-50 km / h and environmental adaptability tests, as well as sand and rain environment tests within the park, to ensure that the device can effectively buffer collisions in low-speed scenarios and protect the safety of personnel and vehicles.
[0039] Those skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely exemplary and is not intended to imply that the scope of the invention is limited to these examples; within the framework of the invention, the technical features of the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and many other variations of different aspects of the invention as described above exist, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity. Any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the invention should be included within the scope of protection of the invention.
Claims
1. An expandable external automotive airbag, comprising an expansion dock base, characterized in that, The expansion dock base is equipped with an external airbag module and a connecting mechanism. The external airbag module is electrically connected to a trigger control unit, and the expansion dock base is connected to the original vehicle through the connecting mechanism. The external airbag module includes an airbag body and a staged inflation gas generator, with the airbag body and gas generator encased in a protective shell. The trigger control unit is electrically connected to a data acquisition module. The data acquisition module collects collision and driving data and sends it to the trigger control unit. The trigger control unit performs data processing on the collected data. When the collision signal is detected to reach a preset threshold, the gas generator of the external airbag module is triggered to inflate and deploy the airbag. The trigger control unit is electrically connected to a status monitoring module.
2. The expandable external automotive airbag according to claim 1, characterized in that, The expansion dock base is either a factory-reserved expansion dock base or a retrofitted non-destructive expansion dock base; The original factory-reserved expansion dock base integrates a standardized CAN / LIN bus interface, a dedicated power supply interface, and a trigger signal interface; The retrofit non-destructive expansion dock base is equipped with an independent power supply interface and an independent trigger signal interface.
3. The expandable external automotive airbag according to claim 2, characterized in that, The trigger control unit is the original vehicle airbag ECU, and the data acquisition module is the original vehicle sensor group, which includes an acceleration sensor, millimeter-wave radar, and a vision camera.
4. The expandable external automotive airbag according to claim 3, characterized in that, When the original vehicle airbag ECU detects a collision signal that reaches a preset threshold, it also triggers the gas generator of the in-vehicle airbag to start and deploy the in-vehicle airbag.
5. The expandable external automotive airbag according to claim 4, characterized in that, The preset thresholds are frontal collision acceleration ≥15g and side collision acceleration ≥10g.
6. The expandable external automotive airbag according to claim 2, characterized in that, The trigger control unit is an independent control module separate from the original vehicle airbag ECU, and the data acquisition module is an independent sensor fusion unit, which includes a speed sensor, millimeter-wave radar and a vision camera. The independent control module is electrically connected to the backup power supply or the original vehicle battery, and is also electrically connected to the manual shut-off switch.
7. The expandable external automotive airbag according to claim 2, characterized in that, The original factory-reserved expansion dock base is made of high-strength steel or aluminum alloy and is integrally formed with the vehicle's longitudinal beams, anti-collision beams, and sill beams or fixed by standardized flanges. The aftermarket non-destructive expansion dock base is made of high-strength aluminum alloy through one-piece stamping and is clamped and fixed to the original structural reinforcement point of the vehicle body. Non-destructive clamping and fixing is achieved through high-strength bolts.
8. The expandable external automotive airbag according to claim 2, characterized in that, The airbag body is made of weather-resistant modified nylon fabric and has been treated to be waterproof, dustproof, UV resistant, and resistant to high and low temperatures. The gas generator is a staged inflation type with a built-in dual-stage ignition component and gas-generating agent. The gas generator is encapsulated with high-temperature and corrosion-resistant materials and integrates a pressure sensor to monitor the internal pressure of the airbag in real time, ensuring a stable inflation process. The protective shell is made of streamlined engineering plastic and is wrapped around the airbag and gas generator. The surface of the shell is equipped with heat dissipation holes and dust cover.
9. The expandable external automotive airbag according to claim 1, characterized in that, The status monitoring module is integrated into the trigger control unit, which monitors the working status of the external airbag module, the expansion dock base, and the data acquisition module in real time, and issues alarm prompts through the vehicle display screen or mobile APP to facilitate timely maintenance by users.