Airbag Tethers for Shape Control and Deployment Restriction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inflatable airbag systems face challenges in achieving optimal deployment and cushioning performance due to variations in occupant size and shape, as existing airbag designs lack effective mechanisms to restrict longitudinal and lateral deployment distances, thereby affecting the airbag's ability to maintain a consistent shape and orientation during inflation.
Innovation Solution
The integration of longitudinal and lateral tethers made from woven nylon or webbing materials, which are strategically stitched to the airbag to restrict deployment distances and maintain a predetermined shape and orientation, ensuring consistent cushioning performance across different occupant sizes and shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If no tethers are used, then the airbag can inflate freely, but the airbag cannot maintain a consistent shape and orientation during inflation
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag structure is segmented by adding separate longitudinal and lateral tether components. These tethers divide the airbag into controlled sections, allowing each segment to maintain its intended shape while the overall structure achieves consistent orientation during inflation.
Solution Approach 2:
Tethers serve as intermediary elements between the airbag inflation force and the desired shape maintenance. The tethers mediate the inflation process by providing structural guidance, allowing the airbag to expand while maintaining predetermined shape and orientation through the tether constraints.
2Reliability
If tethers are added to restrict deployment distances, then the airbag maintains predetermined shape and orientation, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tethers perform multiple functions simultaneously: they restrict longitudinal deployment distance, restrict lateral deployment distance, maintain shape, and ensure consistent orientation. This multi-functionality improves reliability without requiring separate components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether design allows for adjustable parameters such as tether length, attachment point positions, and material properties. By changing these parameters, the airbag system can be optimized for different cushioning performance requirements while maintaining the basic tether structure, thus improving reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the airbag is designed without deployment restrictions, then the manufacturing is simpler, but the airbag cannot effectively cushion occupants of different sizes and shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The tether system provides dynamic adaptation through its mechanical properties. The tethers allow the airbag to deform and adapt to different occupant sizes and shapes during inflation, while still maintaining sufficient structural control to ensure effective cushioning. This dynamic behavior enables versatility without requiring complex adjustable mechanisms that would complicate manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
Lateral and longitudinal internal tethers can be used to restrict an inflatable airbag to a predetermined shape when inflated. A longitudinal tether extends from a rear portion or throat portion of the airbag to a front face. The portion of the front face that cushions an occupant can have a concave or planar shape, depending on the lengths of the lateral and/or longitudinal tethers.