Airbag Vent Orifice Patch with Tearable Seam
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airbag module manufacturing faces challenges in standardizing production due to the need for a variety of sealing patches with different diameters and thicknesses to achieve uniform breaking pressures, which is difficult to achieve with fabric and plastic patches, leading to inconsistent performance and increased complexity.
Innovation Solution
An airbag module design featuring a ventilation orifice sealed with an elastic membrane patch, where the patch is secured using a tearable seam that adds additional pressure to control the aperture pressure, allowing for standardization of sealing patches and varying ventilation orifice pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sealing patches with different diameters and thicknesses are used to achieve uniform breaking pressures, then aperture pressure control is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases and standardization becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the controlling parameter from patch geometry (diameter and thickness) to seam tear force. By making the seam tearable and controlling its tear force, the aperture pressure can be adjusted without changing the patch specifications, thus achieving uniform breaking pressure while maintaining standardization.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention separates the sealing function into two independent components: the patch (which provides the base sealing) and the seam (which provides the controlled failure mechanism). This segmentation allows the patch to be standardized while the seam controls the aperture pressure, resolving the contradiction between precision and complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If fabric patches are used for sealing, then manufacturing is easier, but breaking pressure uniformity cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces the seam as an intermediary element between the patch and the ventilation orifice. The seam acts as a controlled failure point that determines the actual aperture pressure, while the patch itself remains simple and easy to manufacture. This intermediary resolves the contradiction by transferring the precision requirement from the patch to the seam.
3Strength
If plastic patches are used for sealing, then structural integrity is improved, but breaking pressure control becomes difficult due to temperature variability
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the failure mechanism from material rupture (which is temperature-sensitive) to seam tearing (which can be controlled independently of temperature). The patch material can be strong and temperature-resistant, while the seam's tear force controls the aperture pressure, resolving the contradiction between strength and precision.
4Stability of the object's composition
If elastic membrane patches are used to control breaking pressure, then temperature stability is improved, but production standardization becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the pressure control function from the patch material properties to the seam tear force. This allows the use of standardized elastic membrane patches with stable temperature characteristics, while the aperture pressure is controlled by the seam design, thus achieving both stability and standardization.
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
This solution enables the use of standard sealing patches to achieve desired aperture pressures in airbag modules, simplifying manufacturing and improving the consistency of airbag performance by controlling the additional pressure through the tear force of the seam, thereby enhancing occupant protection and reducing production complexity.
Implementation Method 1
the ventilation orifice opens when the pressure inside the bag is greater than the breaking pressure of the membrane plus the additional pressure necessary to tear the seam
Implementation Method 2
a cover secured to the bag using, at least, a seam that can be torn; hence the ventilation orifice opens when the pressure inside the bag is greater than the breaking pressure of the membrane plus the additional pressure necessary to tear the seam
Data Source
AI summary
Airbag module to protect a vehicle occupant in the event of a collision comprising an expandable bag (11) with gas provided by a generator with, at least, one ventilation orifice (13) sealed with a patch that comprises an elastic membrane (25) destined to be broken as a result of pressure inside the bag (11) to allow gas discharge through the ventilation orifice (13), which is covered with a cover (21) secured to the bag (11) with, at least, one tearable seam (31); hence the opening of the ventilation orifice (13) occurs when the pressure inside the bag (11) is greater than the pressure required to break the membrane (25) plus the additional pressure necessary to tear the seam (31). The invention also comprises a procedure to manufacture the bag.