Driver Airbag Gas Rectifying Structure for 6 O'Clock Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airbag devices for vehicles, particularly driver airbags stored in steering wheels, face challenges in achieving effective deployment and restraining performance due to complex structures and insufficient control over deployment behavior and shape.
Innovation Solution
An airbag device with a gas generator and a gas rectifying member, formed from a bilaterally symmetrical flat panel with strategically positioned openings, controls the flow of expansion gas to rapidly deploy the airbag in the 6 o'clock direction, ensuring quick restraint between the occupant and the steering wheel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the airbag is designed to rapidly deploy toward the lower portion of the steering wheel, then the restraining performance of the occupant is improved, but the device structure becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The gas generator is divided into multiple gas discharge ports positioned at different locations and orientations. This segmentation allows the gas to be discharged in multiple directions simultaneously, enabling the airbag to rapidly deploy toward the lower portion of the steering wheel without requiring complex mechanical deployment mechanisms. The segmented gas discharge ports directly control the deployment direction through gas flow paths rather than mechanical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a vertical dimension to gas discharge by positioning gas discharge ports at different heights and orientations within the gas generator. This allows gas to be discharged not only horizontally but also in downward directions, enabling the airbag to deploy toward the lower portion of the steering wheel (6 o'clock direction) by utilizing three-dimensional gas flow rather than relying on complex mechanical deployment structures.
2Speed
If the airbag deploys quickly in the 6 o'clock direction, then the occupant restraint effectiveness is improved, but the deployment control precision is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Different gas discharge ports are positioned at specific locations with distinct orientations and discharge characteristics. The gas discharge ports are strategically positioned to create localized gas flow patterns that collectively achieve precise overall deployment control. Each port's local discharge direction and intensity is optimized to contribute to the overall 6 o'clock deployment direction, enabling precise control through distributed local gas discharge rather than a single large opening.
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 device achieves a favorable deployment behavior with a simple structure, enhancing occupant restraint by controlling gas flow through the gas rectifying member's designed openings, ensuring effective protection during vehicle accidents.
Implementation Method 1
a gas generator that generates expansion gas
Implementation Method 2
a gas rectifying member provided inside the airbag so as to cover the occupant side of the gas generator, and that controls the flow of the expansion gas
Data Source
AI summary
An airbag device, including: a gas generator that generates expansion gas; an airbag that expands and deploys by the expansion gas to restrain an occupant; and a gas rectifying member provided inside the airbag so as to cover the occupant side of the gas generator, and that controls the flow of the expansion gas. The gas rectifying member is formed from a flat panel including a portion bilaterally symmetrical to a line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock (X axis) when a plane parallel to a rim of the steering wheel is regarded as a clock face, and has a configuration where a lower opening portion for discharging the expansion gas in a 6 o'clock direction is formed by stitching left and right edge portions of the panel together, and the occupant side of the gas generator is covered.