Airbag Fabric Structure With Offset Tether Regions for Curved Inflation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airbags often fail to achieve a desired curved shape upon inflation, which limits their protective performance in various applications such as vehicle safety and personal protection systems.
Innovation Solution
An airbag design featuring first and second fabric layers interconnected by tether yarns, with specific connection regions and offsets, to induce curvature during inflation, allowing for controlled bending and enhanced protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If traditional airbag designs without tether arrangements are used, then the airbag can be simpler in structure and easier to manufacture, but the airbag fails to achieve the desired curved shape upon inflation, limiting protective performance
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is segmented into multiple fabric layers (first and second layers) interconnected by tether yarns. The tether yarns are implicated in the structure of each layer within specific connection regions, creating distinct structural zones that control curvature during inflation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the airbag have different structural properties. The connection regions where tether yarns are implicated in the fabric layer structure provide localized structural characteristics that induce curvature, while other regions maintain different properties for optimal protective performance.
Solution Approach 3:
The first connection regions are wider than the second connection regions in the length-direction of the tether yarns, and the second connection regions are offset relative to the first connection regions. This asymmetric arrangement creates differential structural constraints that induce controlled curvature in the inflated airbag.
2Reliability
If airbags are designed to adopt a curved inflated shape to improve protective performance, then coverage and positioning are optimized, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The tether yarns serve dual functions: they interconnect the first and second fabric layers to define the inflatable chamber, and simultaneously induce the desired curved shape upon inflation. This merging of structural and functional roles simplifies the overall design compared to adding separate curvature-inducing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether yarns perform multiple functions within the airbag structure: providing structural support between layers, controlling inflation geometry, and inducing curvature for optimal protective positioning. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components.
3Shape
If offset connection regions are used to induce curvature, then the airbag achieves better positioning and coverage, but the structural design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The offset arrangement of connection regions is pre-planned and built into the airbag structure during manufacturing. The first connection regions are positioned at specific locations on the first layer, and the second connection regions are positioned at corresponding offset locations on the second layer, ensuring that when inflated, the asymmetric tether arrangement automatically induces the desired curvature without requiring complex real-time adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
An airbag configured to be inflated by a source of gas, the airbag being formed from first and second layers of fabric arranged in superimposition to define an inflatable chamber between the layers for the receipt of inflating gas. Each layer of fabric has a structure (e.g. a weave) comprising at least one yarn, and the two layers are interconnected by at least one tether yarn extending between the layers within the inflatable chamber. The or each tether yarn is implicated in the structure of the first layer at a plurality of first connection regions, and is implicated in the structure of the second layer at a plurality of second connection regions. Each said first connection region is wider in a length-direction of the, or each, tether yarn than each said second connection region, and said second connection regions are offset relative to said first connection regions.