Bulkhead Airbag With Head Depression For Angled Impact Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
During vehicle impacts, occupants often move unpredictably, risking injury from vehicle components due to uncontrolled kinematics, especially in angled impacts where traditional airbags fail to effectively manage head and knee positioning.
Innovation Solution
An airbag system with a vertex-supported, inflatable design featuring a head-impacting portion and a knee-impacting portion that extend in opposite directions, incorporating a head-receiving depression to maintain occupant alignment and control kinematics, thereby preventing sliding and maintaining upright posture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional airbag design is used, then the airbag can provide basic protection, but it fails to effectively control occupant kinematics in angled impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is divided into distinct functional portions: a head-impacting portion with a head-receiving depression and a knee-impacting portion. This segmentation allows each portion to independently address specific protection needs - the head portion controls head kinematics while the knee portion manages knee positioning, enabling effective protection in both frontal and angled impacts
Solution Approach 2:
The airbag extends in multiple dimensions with portions extending in opposite directions from the bulkhead. The head-impacting portion extends upward while the knee-impacting portion extends downward, creating a three-dimensional protection structure that can accommodate and control occupant movement in various impact directions, including angled impacts
2Stability of the object's composition
If the airbag is mounted on the bulkhead, then it can be securely positioned, but it may not effectively maintain upright occupant posture
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag features a head-receiving depression with specific local geometry designed to cradle and support the occupant's head. This localized structural feature creates a natural positioning effect that guides the head into an upright, centered position, thereby maintaining proper occupant posture without requiring additional active control mechanisms
3Reliability
If the airbag portions extend in opposite directions, then it can control both head and knee kinematics, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag structure serves multiple protection functions simultaneously - the head-impacting portion protects and positions the head, while the knee-impacting portion protects and positions the knees. This multi-functional design achieves comprehensive kinematics control in a single integrated airbag system rather than requiring separate airbags for different body regions
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 airbag system effectively controls the kinematics of occupants' heads and knees, ensuring they remain upright and centered, reducing the risk of injury from angled impacts by retaining the head on the airbag and aligning the torso for optimal protection.
Implementation Method 1
an airbag supported by the bulkhead and inflatable towards the seat to an inflated position
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a bulkhead, a seat spaced from the bulkhead, and an airbag supported by the bulkhead and inflatable towards the seat to an inflated position. The airbag in the inflated position includes a vertex spaced from the bulkhead, a knee-impacting portion tapering from the vertex downwardly and towards the bulkhead, and a head-impacting portion extending upwardly from the vertex. The head-impacting portion includes a head-receiving depression. The head-receiving depression is round.