Airbag Inflatable Sections for Pelvic Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional occupant protection systems fail to adequately protect the pelvic area of vehicle occupants during partial overlap frontal collisions, as the airbag does not extend sufficiently to arrest the impact force acting from the front of the buckle section.
Innovation Solution
An occupant protection system featuring a seatbelt device and an airbag device with a front inflatable section that extends forward and a rear inflatable section that extends rearward and upward from the fastening area, allowing the rear section to contact and be supported by the front section, thereby increasing the airbag's thickness and preventing the occupant from moving diagonally forward and slipping out of the shoulder belt.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the airbag is designed to protect the pelvic area mainly from the buckle section, then the airbag can protect against standard frontal collisions, but the airbag does not extend sufficiently to protect against partial overlap frontal collisions where impact force acts from the front of the buckle section
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is divided into multiple inflatable sections (first inflatable section, second inflatable section, and third inflatable section) with different deployment directions. The first inflatable section extends in the vehicle width direction, the second extends in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the third extends upward. This segmentation allows each section to address specific protection needs in partial overlap frontal collisions without requiring a completely complex redesign of the entire airbag system.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the airbag are designed with different inflatable characteristics to provide localized protection. The first inflatable section provides lateral protection, the second provides forward extension protection, and the third provides upward extension protection. This local quality approach ensures that each part of the airbag structure serves a specific protective function, improving overall reliability without uniformly increasing complexity throughout the entire device.
2Reliability
If the airbag extends forward and rearward from the fastening area to protect against diagonal impact, then the airbag can adequately arrest the pelvic area, but the airbag may slip out of the fastening area during deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is pre-configured with multiple inflatable sections oriented in different directions before deployment. The first inflatable section is prepared to extend forward, the second to extend rearward, and the third to extend upward. This preliminary configuration ensures that when deployment occurs, the airbag immediately assumes the correct shape to arrest the pelvic area while maintaining positional stability through the coordinated inflation of all sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The airbag utilizes a composite structure combining multiple inflatable sections with different geometric configurations. This composite design allows the airbag to simultaneously achieve forward extension for pelvic arrest, rearward extension for position anchoring, and upward extension for additional protection, thereby maintaining both protection effectiveness and positional stability during deployment.
3Area of stationary object
If the airbag is designed to cover a wide area for lateral collision protection, then the airbag provides comprehensive protection, but the airbag deployment time and inflation gas requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is segmented into three distinct inflatable sections that can inflate in a coordinated sequence. The first inflatable section (vehicle width direction), second inflatable section (vehicle front-rear direction), and third inflatable section (upward direction) are designed to deploy simultaneously or in a optimized sequence, reducing the overall deployment time while achieving comprehensive coverage area for both lateral and frontal collision protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-section airbag design provides universal protection against multiple collision types (lateral collisions, frontal collisions, and partial overlap frontal collisions) through a single integrated device. By configuring the airbag to extend in multiple directions from the fastening area, the system achieves wide coverage area for comprehensive protection without requiring separate airbag systems for different collision scenarios, thereby optimizing deployment time efficiency.
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
The system effectively arrests the pelvic area of the occupant during partial overlap frontal collisions, preventing further forward movement and ensuring the airbag remains in place to provide comprehensive protection, while also covering a wider area for lateral collisions.
Implementation Method 1
an airbag of the airbag device inflatable with an inflation gas fed from an inflator
Data Source
AI summary
An occupant protection system includes a seatbelt device mountable on a vehicle seat and an airbag device mountable in a vicinity of a fastening area of the seatbelt device where a buckle section of the seatbelt device buckles a tongue. The airbag device includes an airbag inflatable between a lap belt, a shoulder belt and an occupant seated in the seat. The airbag includes a front inflatable section extending forward and a rear inflatable section extending rear- and upwardly. The rear inflatable section is so configured as to ride over a vicinity of the fastening area and contact the front inflatable section when an occupant of the vehicle moves forward and pushes the rear inflatable section at an impact on a vehicle from the front of the buckle section.