Seatback Airbag Tether Structure for Smooth Cover Cutting
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Solution Overview
Problem
In omnidirectional airbags, excessive outward rotation of the lateral and front chambers during deployment creates a space that hinders safe passenger restraint, and existing tethers often fail to properly cut through the seat, leading to abnormal deployment of the airbag cushion.
Innovation Solution
An airbag device with a tether system where the tether is positioned between a foam pad and a covering, unfolding while cutting through the covering during deployment, with features like slits and position regulation grooves to facilitate smooth deployment without requiring high force, and connected to the seatback frame to regulate the deployment shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tether is positioned to cut through the seat covering during deployment, then the airbag cushion can be deployed normally, but a high force is required which may cause abnormal deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The tether is divided into multiple segments: a first tether extending from the airbag cushion to the seatback, and a second tether extending from the seatback to the foam pad. This segmentation allows the tether system to cut through the covering in stages, distributing the required force across different deployment phases rather than requiring high force all at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The seatback acts as an intermediary structure that the tether system utilizes to regulate deployment. The tether is connected to the seatback frame, which provides a stable anchoring point and helps control the cutting action through the covering, reducing the force burden on the tether itself.
2Volume of moving object
If the lateral chamber and front chamber are rotated outward and excessively separated during deployment, then the airbag cushion can expand fully, but a space is defined forward of the passenger which hinders safe restraint
Solution Approach 1:
The tether system acts as a counterbalancing mechanism that opposes excessive outward rotation of the chambers. By anchoring the tether to the seatback frame, it creates a restraining force that prevents the lateral and front chambers from separating too much, maintaining proper spatial relationship for effective passenger restraint.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether system provides dynamic regulation of chamber deployment. As the airbag cushion deploys, the tether gradually unfolds and cuts through the covering, allowing controlled expansion while continuously regulating the spatial relationship between chambers to maintain safety effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
An airbag device includes a tether having an improved folding position that enables the tether to unfold as it cuts through a covering. The airbag device may include a foam pad embedded in a seatback, an airbag cushion folded at a lateral side of the foam pad and configured to be deployed forward, a covering shaped to cover the foam pad and configured to cover the seatback, and a tether positioned between the foam pad and the covering and connected between the seatback and the airbag cushion. The tether is configured to unfold as it cuts through the covering when the airbag cushion is deployed.