Front head / torso airbag of a vehicle occupant restraint system
The front head/torso airbag with protruding bulges and retaining straps addresses the issue of rotational head movement in oblique collisions by providing enhanced lateral support and deformation, improving protection for vehicle occupants.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ZF AUTOMOTIVE GERMANY GMBH
- Filing Date
- 2025-11-11
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-04
AI Technical Summary
Existing vehicle occupant restraint systems fail to provide comprehensive protection for the head and torso, particularly in frontal collisions with oblique impact angles, leading to rotational movement of the head and increased stress on the cervical spine.
A front head/torso airbag with protruding bulges and retaining straps that laterally secure the occupant's head, reducing rotational movement by allowing the bulge to deform under lateral forces and providing lateral support.
The airbag effectively reduces head rotational movement and stress on the cervical spine by using excess fabric to create a deformable bulge that captures and stabilizes the head, enhancing protection in oblique impacts.
Smart Images
Figure EP2025082631_04062026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001]
[0002] Front head / torso gasbag of a vehicle occupant restraint system
[0003] The invention relates to a front head / torso gasbag of a vehicle occupant restraint system.
[0004] The aim is to provide the most comprehensive protection possible for the head and torso, i.e. the upper body, of a vehicle occupant in different types of frontal collisions, including a partially offset frontal impact.
[0005] The object of the invention is to create a gasbag that offers improved protection for the head of the vehicle occupant, particularly in frontal collisions of passenger cars with an oblique impact angle.
[0006] This task is accomplished by a front head / torso airbag of a vehicle occupant restraint system, comprising a shell and a front section. The front section includes an impact surface forming a contact area for the vehicle occupant, and the front head / torso airbag, when fully inflated and installed, has at least one protruding bulge adjacent to the impact surface, projecting laterally from the impact surface, for the lateral securing of a vehicle occupant's head. A first retaining strap is fixed to the front section in the area of the bulge, running internally through the front head / torso airbag and attached to the shell, so that, when the front head / torso airbag is fully inflated, a pocket is formed in the side wall of the bulge adjacent to the impact surface, directed inwards towards the front head / torso airbag.
[0007] During lateral acceleration in a frontal collision, the bulge of the front head / torso airbag (hereinafter referred to simply as "airbag"), which extends towards the rear of the vehicle, catches the occupant's head and provides lateral support. This reduces rotational movement of the head and lowers the stress on the cervical spine. The airbag increases the flexibility of the bulge, allowing the impacting occupant's head to compress the side wall of the bulge facing the impact surface. The convex sections of the cut-out pieces typically have a greater excess of fabric than would be necessary for the bulge alone, so the airbag can simply be formed from this additional fabric. This extra fabric, which essentially acts as a tissue reservoir, also allows the airbag to deform under lateral forces.Higher lateral accelerations acting on the head, for example in a side impact at a larger angle, cause the head to press the bulge inwards laterally, further reducing rotational movement of the head. The side wall, together with the impact surface, defines the concave, arched shape of the airbag that "captures" the occupant.
[0008] The front part is connected to the coat part along the circumferential edge, for example by a seam.
[0009] When the gasbag is inflated, the bulge protrudes at least 50 mm from the adjacent impact surface.
[0010] The front part is, for example, composed of at least two blank parts, comprising an inner blank part and at least one outer blank part, wherein the inner blank part and the outer blank part are each bounded by a section of a circumferential edge of the front part and by an inner edge to which the inner and the respective outer blank part are attached to each other, and the mutually facing inner edges of the inner and the respective outer blank part each have a convex section that co-defines the bulge, and the first retaining band is fixed to the front part in the area of the convex sections.
[0011] The convex sections and their inner edges are designed to provide excess fabric compared to a cut where the inner edges form a flat, two-dimensional impact surface. This excess fabric is used to create the convexity. The first retaining strip can be attached to the inner edges of the convex sections of both the inner and outer cut pieces. This allows the inner edges to be joined and the first retaining strip to be fixed in a single step.
[0012] As a rule, all restraint straps remain attached to the airbag throughout the entire restraint situation. The inner edges also remain completely fixed to each other at all times.
[0013] For example, a depth of 20% to 150% of the length of the first tether strap has proven suitable for the pocket.
[0014] According to one aspect, the bulge is designed in such a way that when the vehicle occupant comes into contact with the impact surface, the bulge lies to the side of the vehicle occupant's head, so that in the event of a lateral movement the head hits the side wall of the bulge.
[0015] The bulge is located, for example, in a central area of a vertical longitudinal extension of the impact surface, relative to the inflated state of the gasbag in its installed position.
[0016] One possible design involves two protrusions positioned on opposite sides of the impact surface, facing each other. This protects the head in any angled impact.
[0017] However, it is also possible to provide only a single bulge; in the installed position of the gasbag, this is optionally located on its side facing the vehicle interior.
[0018] In one version, the front part is composed of an inner cutout and two outer cutouts. The inner cutout is, for example, mirror-symmetrical about an imaginary center line, while both outer cutouts are mirror-symmetrical to each other. This simply creates a gas bag with two bulges on either side of the impact surface.
[0019] The coat section can be made from a single cut piece. Each of the cut pieces, for both the front and the coat section, can be laid flat on its own; it does not need to be three-dimensionally woven or have darts.
[0020] The convex sections of the cut pieces, which are connected along their inner edges, should be designed as mirror images so that the inner edges can be joined precisely.
[0021] According to one theory, a second retaining band, which attaches at the transition between the impact surface and the bulge, runs between the impact surface and the mantle section through the interior of the airbag. This second retaining band can stabilize the bulge in shape and position.
[0022] If the first and second retaining straps are fixed to the coat section at the same attachment point, only a single step is required to attach both retaining straps.
[0023] The shape of the bulge and the depth of the pocket also depend on the length of the first and second retaining straps. Therefore, in addition to the design of the convex sections of the front panel's cut-out parts, the length of the retaining straps is a parameter that can be adjusted by a specialist for each individual gas bag.
[0024] For example, it has been found that the first retaining strap can be shorter than the second retaining strap in order to achieve a sufficiently deep pocket and at the same time a sufficiently high thickness of the bulge in the transverse direction of the gas bag.
[0025] The angle between the first and second retention straps of the fully inflated front head / torso airbag can be, for example, between 3° and 30°. This angle, among other things, influences the penetration depth of the head into the airbag at different impact angles.
[0026] The gasbag is suitable for use as a passenger gasbag, but can also be used as a driver's gasbag or elsewhere in the vehicle.
[0027] The invention is described in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment and the accompanying drawings. The drawings show: Figure 1 a schematic sectional view of a front head / torso gasbag according to the invention in a fully inflated state installed in the vehicle, during the impact of a vehicle occupant's head at an oblique impact angle of 15°;
[0028] Figure 2 shows a schematic sectional view of a front head / torso gasbag according to the invention in a fully inflated state installed in the vehicle, during the impact of a vehicle occupant's head at an oblique impact angle of 30°;
[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic perspective representation of a bulge in the front head / torso gasbag from Figures 1 and 2;
[0030] Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of the cut parts of a front part of the front head / fuselage gasbag of Figures 1 and 2;
[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic representation of the cut of a shell part of the front head / fuselage gasbag from Figures 1 and 2; and
[0032] Figures 6 to 7 show schematic manufacturing steps of the front head / fuselage gasbag of Figures 1 and 2.
[0033] For the sake of clarity, not all identical components are always labelled with reference symbols.
[0034] Figures 1 and 2 show a front head / torso gasbag 10 (hereinafter also referred to as "gasbag") of a vehicle occupant restraint system 11 (not shown in detail) in a fully inflated state. Each figure depicts the movement of the head 12 of a vehicle occupant 13 (indicated in Figure 1) as the occupant 13 is immersed in the gasbag 10.
[0035] The Gasbag 10, for example, is designed as a passenger gasbag.
[0036] Figure 1 shows the impact of the vehicle occupant in a side impact with a force F acting at an angle of 15° to an imaginary center line M of the airbag 10. This is, for example, a frontal collision with low overlap.
[0037] Figure 2 shows the same situation with a force angle F of 30°. The gas bag 10 is cut out here and consists of a shell section 14 and a front section 16. The shell section 14 and the front section 16 are connected to each other at their circumferential edges 18, 20 (see Figures 4 and 5) so that a closed gas bag interior 22 is formed. The center line M of the gas bag 10 also corresponds here to an imaginary center line of the front section 16.
[0038] The front part 16 includes an impact surface 24, which forms a contact surface for the vehicle occupant 13 and accordingly, in the installed and fully inflated state shown in Figures 1 and 2, is oriented towards the occupant 13.
[0039] In this example, an inflated bulge 26 borders the impact surface 24 on both sides in a transverse direction Q of the gasbag 10, which runs perpendicular to the center line M along the longitudinal direction of the front part 16. The bulge 26 projects forward from the impact surface 24 in the direction of the vehicle occupant 13, i.e., it is directed into the vehicle interior.
[0040] In this example, two protrusions 26 are formed on the gasbag 10 on both sides of the impact surface 24, but variants with only a single protrusion 26 on only one side of the impact surface 24 would also be conceivable.
[0041] The protrusions 26 extend more than 50 mm into the vehicle interior from the impact surface 24.
[0042] Each of the protrusions 26 includes a side wall 28 which adjoins the impact surface 24 and, for example, points obliquely outwards from the impact surface 24.
[0043] The protrusions 26 each have an excess of tissue.
[0044] Inside the gasbag 22, for each bulge 26, a first retaining strap 32 with a first end 33 is firmly and permanently fixed at an attachment point 30 located on the side wall 28. A second end 36 of the first retaining strap 32 is firmly and permanently fixed at a further attachment point 38 on the outer shell 14. The length h of the first retaining strap 32 is chosen to be short enough that, due to the excess fabric of the bulge 26, the side wall 28 is drawn into the interior of the gasbag 22, forming a pocket 34 in the side wall 28 that extends into the gasbag 10. When the gasbag 10 is fully inflated and unloaded, the depth t of the pocket 34 is chosen to be approximately half or more than half the extension of the bulge 26 towards the vehicle occupant. In another example, the depth is 120% to 150% of the length h of the first tether 32.
[0045] In this example, a second retaining strap 42 is present in the area of the bulge 26, which also extends through the interior of the gas bag 22. The second retaining strap 42 is permanently fixed at one end 44 to the attachment point 38 of the first retaining strap 32 on the outer shell part 14. A second end 46 of the second retaining strap 42 is permanently fixed at an attachment point 48 at a transition from the impact surface 24 to the side wall 28 of the bulge 26.
[0046] In this example, the two catching straps 32, 42 run at an angle α to each other, which here is approximately 1° to 60°, preferably 3° to 30°.
[0047] The second catching strap 42 has a length l2, which is greater than the length h of the first catching strap 32.
[0048] In a restraint situation, the vehicle occupant 13 immerses his head 12 and chest area in the impact surface 24. In this contact situation, the two protrusions 26 lie to the right and left of the head 12 and secure it against lateral movement by supporting the head 12 and thus also reducing rotation of the head 12.
[0049] In the event of an impact by the vehicle occupant 13 at different angles, the pocket 34 acts as a kind of tissue storage device, ensuring that the side wall 28 is relatively soft, especially at larger angles of force F to the center line M, and can deform when the occupant's head 12 enters the airbag (see Figure 2). This significantly reduces rotational movement of the head 12. This is illustrated by arrow 40 in Figures 1 and 2, which shows the movement of the head 12 as it enters the airbag 10.
[0050] Figure 4 shows the cut of the front part 16. The front part 16 is composed of three initially separate cut parts 50, 52, 54, which form an inner cut part 50 and two outer cut parts 52, 54. Each of these cut parts 50, 52, 54 can be flattened two-dimensionally on its own. The inner cut part 50 comprises the majority of the front part 16, including the entire impact surface 24. The two outer cut parts 52, 54 contribute to the excess fabric that forms the respective bulge 26 and pocket 34.
[0051] The inner cut-out part 50 is mirror-symmetrical with respect to the center line M of the front part 16.
[0052] The majority of the inner cutout part 50 is bounded to the outside by the circumferential edge 20 of the front part 16. In the area of the bulges 26, however, the boundary of the inner cutout part 50 forms an inner edge 56, which limits an outwardly directed convex section 58 of the inner cutout part 50.
[0053] The outer cut-out part 52 comprises a convex section 60, which is a mirror image of the convex section 58 and terminates in an inner edge 62. The remaining outer boundary of the outer cut-out part 52 forms part of the circumferential edge 20 of the front part 16 in the fully assembled front part 16.
[0054] The opposite convex section 58 of the inner blank part 50 is accordingly formed in a mirror image, and the outer blank part 54 is formed in a mirror image of the outer blank part 52.
[0055] The convex sections 58, 60 of the inner cut-out part 50 and of the respective outer cut-out part 52, 54 are dimensioned in their area so that a sufficient excess of tissue is created as a tissue reservoir to realize both the bulge 26 and the pocket 34.
[0056] As shown in Figure 6, the outer cut-out parts 52, 54 are connected on opposite sides of the impact surface 24 with the inner edge 62 of their convex section 60 to the corresponding inner edge 56 of the convex section 58 of the inner cut-out part 50, for example by sewing.
[0057] In this example, when the inner edges 56, 62 are joined, the first retaining strap 32 is also fixed to the inner edges 56, 62 with its first end 33.
[0058] The completed front part 16, with its circumferential edge 20 now surrounding the entire front part 16, is permanently and securely attached to the outer part 14 shown in Figure 5 at its circumferential edge 18, for example by sewing. At the attachment points 38 on the outer part 14, the second end 36 of the first retaining strap 32 is permanently and securely fixed. Simultaneously, the end 44 of the second retaining strap 42 is also permanently and securely fixed at the attachment point 38 (see Figure 7). Furthermore, the end 46 of the second retaining strap 42 is also permanently and securely fixed at the attachment point 48 at the transition between the impact surface 24 and the side wall 28 of the protrusion 26.
[0059] The casing section 14 features a conventional connection 64 for a gas generator and a gas bag module, which is not described in detail. Furthermore, the casing section 14 has two conventional vent openings 66, which may optionally be equipped with an actively and / or passively actuated closing flap (not shown).
Claims
Patent claims 1. Front head / torso gasbag (10) of a vehicle occupant restraint system (11), comprising a shell part (14) and a front part (16), wherein the front part (16) includes an impact surface (24) forming a contact surface for a vehicle occupant (13), and the front head / torso gasbag (10), in its fully inflated state and installed position, has at least one projection (26) extending laterally from the impact surface (24) to secure the head (12) of the vehicle occupant (13) laterally, wherein a first retaining strap (32) is fixed to the front part (16) in the area of the projection (26), which extends through an interior gasbag chamber (22) of the front head / torso gasbag (10) and is fixed to the shell part (14), such that the impact surface (24) is secured in a side wall (28) adjacent to the impact surface (24). In the fully inflated state, the bulge (26) forms a pocket (34) directed into the front head / torso gas bag (10).
2. Front head / torso gasbag (10) according to claim 1, wherein the front part (16) is composed of at least two blank parts (50, 52, 54) comprising an inner blank part (50) and at least one outer blank part (52, 54), and the inner blank part (50) and the outer blank part (52, 54) are each bounded by a section of a circumferential edge (20) of the front part and by an inner edge (56, 62) to which the inner blank part (50) and the respective outer blank part (50, 52, 54) are attached to one another, and the mutually facing inner edges (56, 62) of the inner blank part (50) and of the respective outer blank part (52, 54) each have a convex section (58, 60) which forms the bulge (26) is defined, and the first retaining strap (32) is fixed in the area of the convex sections (58, 60) on the front part (16).
3. Front head / torso gasbag (10) according to claim 2, wherein the first retaining strap (32) is fixed to a fastening of the inner edges (56, 62) of the convex sections (58, 60) of the inner blank part (50) and of the respective outer blank part (52, 54).
4. Front head / fuselage gas bag (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bag (34) has a depth (t) which is 20% to 150% of a length (h) of the first retaining strap (32).
5. Front head / torso gasbag (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the bulge (26) is designed such that, in the event of contact between the vehicle occupant (13) and the impact surface (24), the bulge (26) is located laterally to the head (12) of the vehicle occupant (13).
6. Front head / fuselage gasbag (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein two protrusions (26) are provided which are arranged on opposite sides of the impact surface (24) and which are opposite each other.
7. Front-head / torso gasbag (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a second retaining strap (42), which attaches at a transition of the impact surface (24) into the bulge (26), runs between the impact surface (24) and the shell part (14) through the interior of the gasbag (22).
8. Front head / torso gasbag (10) according to claim 7, wherein the first and second retaining straps (32, 42) are fixed to the mantle part (14) at the same attachment point (38).
9. Front head / torso gasbag (10) according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the first retaining strap (32) is shorter than the second retaining strap (42).
10. Front head / fuselage gasbag (10) according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein an angle (a) between the first and the second retaining strap (32, 42) in the fully inflated state of the front head / fuselage gasbag (10) is between 3° and 30°.