Vehicle Passenger Seat Airbag Flap Width Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passenger seat airbag apparatuses face challenges in guiding the deployed direction of the airbag cushion due to resistance, leading to incomplete deployment and interference with vehicle structures, which degrades deployment performance and fails to effectively protect occupants during various collision scenarios.
Innovation Solution
The passenger seat airbag apparatus incorporates a flap with expansion parts and slits on both sides, allowing the flap to widen and disperse deployment pressure, effectively guiding the airbag cushion's direction and preventing interference with vehicle structures during inflation and deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the flap width is increased to prevent interference with vehicle structures, then the deployment reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flap is divided into multiple sections with different widths along its length. The first flap section has a first width and the second flap section has a second width that is greater than the first width. This segmentation allows the flap to provide sufficient coverage to prevent interference with vehicle structures while maintaining a compact folded profile, resolving the contradiction between deployment reliability and device complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the flap width is increased to guide deployment direction, then the deployment precision is improved, but the manufacturing difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flap is segmented into two sections with different widths, where the first flap section has a first width and the second flap section has a second width greater than the first width. This segmentation provides directional guidance during deployment while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through a simple two-section design.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the flap have different widths tailored to their specific functions. The narrower first flap section provides guidance in the initial deployment phase, while the wider second flap section ensures complete coverage and prevents interference with vehicle structures. This local differentiation of quality resolves the contradiction between deployment precision and manufacturing ease.
3Speed
If the airbag cushion deployment speed is increased to protect occupants, then the protection effectiveness is improved, but the interference with vehicle structures increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flap is positioned and configured before airbag cushion deployment to create a guided path. The different width sections of the flap are pre-arranged to control the deployment direction, allowing the rapidly deploying airbag cushion to follow a predetermined trajectory that avoids vehicle structures. This preliminary action resolves the contradiction between deployment speed and interference prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The flap acts as an intermediary element between the airbag cushion and vehicle structures. By positioning the flap with different width sections, it mediates the deployment process, guiding the fast-moving airbag cushion along a safe path and preventing direct contact with vehicle structures, thus resolving the contradiction between deployment speed and interference prevention.
Data Source
AI summary
A passenger seat airbag apparatus for a vehicle, including a housing installed in a structure inside the vehicle, an airbag cushion accommodated in a folded state inside the housing, and inflated and deployed between the structure inside the vehicle and an occupant to restrain and protect the occupant when the vehicle collides, and a flap having one end connected to a wrapper for wrapping the folded airbag cushion to guide a deployed direction of the airbag cushion while the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed. The flap is formed on both sides thereof with expansion parts for expanding a width of the flap wider than a width of an inner space of the housing. This invention further includes a structure inside the vehicle when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed, which stably guides a deployed direction of the flap and the airbag cushion, enhancing deployment shape and performance.