Airbag Insertion Portion Design for Bolt Fastening Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
In airbag modules, especially side airbags in vehicle seats, the fastening bolts projecting from the inflator create a wider insertion opening, leading to tensile stresses that can affect the airbag's positioning during inflation.
Innovation Solution
The airbag module design includes an insertion portion wider than the inflator's diameter, with holes for fastening bolts on the side remote from the cushion portion, allowing excess material to be gathered away from the cushion, preventing deformation and tensile forces, ensuring stable positioning during inflation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the insertion opening is widened to accommodate fastening bolts, then the fastening function is improved, but tensile stresses occur affecting airbag positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is divided into functionally distinct regions: the insertion portion with widened opening for fastening bolts, and the cushion portion for occupant protection. This segmentation allows the fastening function to be localized to the insertion portion without affecting the positioning stability of the cushion portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The insertion portion is designed with locally different geometric properties - it is angled and wider than the cushion portion, creating excess material specifically at the insertion opening. This local quality change allows the material to be gathered around fastening bolts without transmitting tensile stresses to the cushion portion boundaries.
2Reliability
If material is gathered around the insertion opening, then gas tightness is achieved, but the airbag geometry is deformed affecting positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag structure is segmented into the insertion portion and cushion portion, allowing material gathering to be confined to the insertion portion. This segmentation ensures that deformation from gathering material does not propagate to the cushion portion, maintaining its geometric integrity for proper positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of gathering material evenly around the entire insertion opening, the invention inverts the approach by providing excess material specifically at the insertion portion through angular design, allowing selective gathering only where needed for gas tightness without affecting overall airbag geometry.
Data Source
AI summary
An airbag module (10) comprises an airbag (14) and an elongate inflator (12) having at least one laterally projecting fastening bolt (36), wherein the airbag (14) comprises a cushion portion (24) and an insertion portion (26) for receiving the inflator (12) in an inserting direction (R), wherein the insertion portion (26) is arranged, with the airbag (14) being not inflated and flatly spread, on a side of the cushion portion (24) and includes one boundary (30) close to the cushion portion (24) and one boundary (32) remote from the cushion portion (24). The flatly spread airbag (14) has a front peripheral portion (20) and an opposed rear peripheral portion (22). The insertion portion (26) is wider than a diameter (d) of the inflator (12) and has at least one hole (38) for the fastening bolt (36) of the inflator (12) to pass through. The insertion portion (26) is angled toward the insertion opening (28) on the side remote from the cushion portion (24) opposed to the adjacent rear peripheral portion (22).