Vehicle Air Belt Webbing Guide Ribs
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air belt systems for vehicles face challenges in accommodating various body types, as the airbag device is fixed on the webbing, leading to biased webbing during inflation, which can apply concentrated loads to occupants and restrict upper body movement, thereby reducing the perceived quality and safety of the safety belt.
Innovation Solution
An air belt apparatus with a sleeve that allows the webbing to pass through, featuring a hinge structure and guide ribs with webbing strikers, which prevents webbing bias and allows the webbing to be raised from the shoulder portion, ensuring proper fit and reduced chest deformation during collisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the airbag device is fixed on the webbing, then the air belt can be deployed, but the webbing becomes biased to one side during inflation, applying concentrated loads to the occupant
Solution Approach 1:
A guide rib is introduced as an intermediary component between the airbag device and the webbing. The guide rib extends from the airbag device toward the webbing and guides the webbing during inflation, preventing the webbing from becoming biased to one side and distributing the load more evenly across the occupant's chest.
2Device complexity
If the airbag device is fixed on the webbing, then the air belt structure is simplified, but the webbing cannot be smoothly placed on the curved surface of the occupant's chest
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rib is designed with a curved shape that matches the contour of the occupant's chest. This curvature allows the webbing to be smoothly guided onto the curved surface of the chest during inflation, improving comfort and effectiveness without adding complex adjustment mechanisms.
3Volume of moving object
If the retractor is disposed close to the inflator, then the air belt system is compact, but the occupant cannot easily move the upper body while wearing the safety belt
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into distinct functional components: the retractor assembly positioned at one location and the inflator assembly positioned at another location on the seat back. This spatial segmentation allows the webbing to have sufficient length and flexibility for upper body movement while keeping the overall system compact through optimized component placement.
Data Source
AI summary
An air belt apparatus for a vehicle may include an air belt coupled to an inflator formed at a predetermined position in a seat back, the air belt being configured to be placed on a shoulder portion of a driver, and a seat belt including a webbing passing through the air belt, the webbing being extracted from a retractor spaced from the inflator with a predetermined distance.