Airbag Device Between Seats for Side Collision Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional side airbag devices fail to effectively restrain occupant movement in the vehicle width direction during a side collision, particularly when seats are positioned apart, leading to potential collisions between occupants and inadequate support for deployed airbags, which also obstructs the use of center consoles due to inflation with small items.
Innovation Solution
An airbag device with inflatable airbags deployed between adjacent seats, featuring tethers to regulate shape and ensure contact between airbags, allowing simultaneous inflation and deployment to form a planar surface for enhanced support and reaction force, even with adjustable seat positions and angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an airbag is housed in a center console and inflates to restrain occupant movement, then the airbag can provide reaction force to prevent collision between occupants, but small articles and drinks placed on the center console are bounded up causing danger and the center console cannot be effectively used
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the airbag system into multiple independent airbags, each housed in separate airbag housings located in the seat backrests rather than in the center console. This segmentation allows the airbags to deploy from their respective seats without interfering with the center console space, eliminating the hazard of trapping small articles while maintaining occupant protection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The airbag system is extracted from the center console location and relocated to the seat backrests. By taking out the airbags from the center console housing, the harmful effect of trapping small articles is completely eliminated, as the deployment location no longer involves the center console surface where articles are placed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If seats are disposed apart with independent adjustability, then seat positioning flexibility is improved, but the inflated airbag may not come into contact with the passenger and may not be supported in the vehicle width direction
Solution Approach 1:
Each airbag is equipped with its own inflator and control unit, allowing independent operation and inflation. This self-service capability ensures that each airbag can deploy and function autonomously regardless of seat position or occupancy, maintaining reliable support functionality even when seats are adjusted to various positions or when only one seat is occupied.
Solution Approach 2:
The airbag inflation pressure and volume can be dynamically adjusted based on detected seat position and occupancy parameters. By changing these parameters, the system ensures optimal airbag deployment characteristics for different seating configurations, maintaining effective support and contact even when seats are disposed apart or adjusted to non-standard positions.
3Reliability
If an airbag inflates upward in the center console to prevent collision between occupants, then occupant restraint is improved, but the center console cannot be used for placing items and the space between seats is obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag protection function is segmented from the center console structure and relocated to the seat backrests. This separation allows the center console to remain fully accessible and usable for placing items, while the airbags in the seat backrests continue to provide collision prevention functionality between occupants.
Solution Approach 2:
The airbag system is extracted from the center console and repositioned in the seat backrests. This extraction eliminates the conflict between airbag deployment and center console usability, allowing both functions to operate independently without obstruction or interference.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively restrains occupant movement in the vehicle width direction during side collisions by increasing the reaction force of airbags, allowing for safe use of center consoles without obstructing them, even with non-aligned seats and varying backrest angles.
Implementation Method 1
an airbag that is disposed in each of at least one pair of adjacent seats, the airbags of the at least one pair of adjacent seats being inflatable and deployable substantially simultaneously between the adjacent seats
Implementation Method 2
featuring tethers to regulate shape and ensure contact between airbags, allowing simultaneous inflation and deployment to form a planar surface for enhanced support and reaction force
Implementation Method 3
the inflated airbag is able to provide a reaction force for receiving an impact force in the vehicle width direction
Data Source
AI summary
Airbag housings that each house an airbag are respectively provided beneath the lateral face of the driver's seat backrest and the lateral face of a front passenger seat backrest inward in a vehicle width direction. The airbags are inflatable and deployable inwardly in the vehicle width direction as well as in a fore-and-aft direction and a vertical direction of the vehicle.