Protective Belt with Deployable Airbags for Fall Impact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aged individuals are at a higher risk of bone breakages due to increased brittleness and decreased muscular tone, leading to a higher likelihood of falls and subsequent injuries, which existing protective devices often fail to adequately address due to inconvenience, unattractiveness, and low usage rates.
Innovation Solution
A belt apparatus with deployable airbags integrated into a flexible belt element that expands in response to a falling event, triggered by sensors detecting acceleration and angular velocity, to cushion impact and potentially send emergency signals, while appearing and functioning like a conventional belt.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional protective devices are designed to protect against falls, then protection effectiveness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in use and inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the protective airbag system with a conventional belt structure, merging safety functionality into a familiar everyday item. The belt appears and functions like a normal trouser belt while containing deployable airbags, making protection accessible without requiring special equipment or complex operation procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective system automatically detects falls through sensors and deploys airbags without requiring user activation. The belt apparatus autonomously monitors acceleration and angular velocity, triggering protection only when needed, eliminating the need for users to manually operate complex safety mechanisms.
2Reliability
If protective devices are made noticeable or distinctive, then awareness of protection is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to unattractiveness and embarrassment
Solution Approach 1:
The belt is designed with conventional appearance and coloring that blends in with normal attire. Rather than using distinctive or alarming colors to indicate protection, the belt maintains a standard aesthetic that users feel comfortable wearing regularly, while still providing effective protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective technology is seamlessly integrated into the belt's structure, making the safety features invisible to the naked eye. The airbags and sensors are concealed within the belt element, allowing users to wear the device without feeling self-conscious about visible safety equipment.
3Reliability
If protective devices are designed with advanced features, then protection effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The belt is divided into functional segments: a belt element containing airbags, a fastener with control apparatus, and sensor modules. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while maintaining overall system simplicity and ease of manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex control and sensor systems are extracted and integrated into the fastener assembly, separating the computational complexity from the belt element itself. This extraction simplifies the main belt structure while concentrating advanced functionality in a manageable control unit.
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
The belt apparatus effectively reduces the risk of bone breakages by deploying airbags just before impact, providing protection without the need for special effort and encouraging regular wear due to its conventional appearance and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
sensors detecting acceleration and angular velocity
Implementation Method 2
sensors detecting acceleration and angular velocity
Implementation Method 3
cushion impact
Data Source
AI summary
A belt apparatus is configured to support the trousers worn by a person and to include a number of airbags that are deployable in a falling event to protect the person from bone breakages. The belt apparatus includes a flexible belt element and a fastener that appear and function in much the same way as an ordinary apparel trouser belt, i.e., fitting through belt loops in trousers and being fastenable to itself to support the pair of trousers at the waist of the person. Despite the ordinary appearance of the belt apparatus, it includes airbags internal thereto whose expansion is controlled by a control apparatus. Responsive to a falling event in a particular direction with respect to the person, the control apparatus triggers the rapid expansion of an airbag that is situated on the belt element in the particular direction with respect to the person and takes other actions.