Anthropomorphic Dummy Pressure Sensor with Fluid Chambers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intra-abdominal pressure sensors for anthropomorphic dummies fail to optimally discriminate pressure forces on different abdominal organs and are unstable during accidents, affecting the accuracy of injury risk assessments in vehicle collisions.
Innovation Solution
A pressure sensor system with multiple flexible, incompressible fluid-filled chambers on either side of the sagittal plane, each equipped with pressure measurement cells, allowing for sensitive detection of forces in various directions and orientations, and featuring a support block with adjustable stiffness and reinforcement for enhanced stability and adaptability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single rigid pressure sensor is fixed in the abdominal part of the dummy, then the sensor provides stable positioning, but it cannot optimally discriminate pressure forces on different abdominal organs and lacks sensitivity to shock orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the abdominal cavity into multiple independent chambers (at least two), each filled with incompressible fluid and equipped with its own pressure sensor. This segmentation allows each chamber to independently measure pressure forces on specific abdominal organs, enabling discrimination of pressure forces according to organ location and shock orientation, while maintaining stable positioning through the dummy's abdominal structure.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the pressure sensor is rigidly fixed in the abdominal part, then positioning stability is improved, but the sensor does not react faithfully during shocks near the attachment point
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible membranes or diaphragms that separate the fluid-filled chambers from the dummy's abdominal wall. These flexible elements allow the chambers to move and deform faithfully during shocks near the attachment point, accurately capturing local pressure variations, while the chambers remain stably positioned within the abdominal cavity through their structural integration with the dummy.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the pressure sensor is freely arranged without fixing in channels, then mobility is increased, but the sensor becomes more mobile than real organs and can be expelled during shocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent nests the fluid-filled pressure chambers within dedicated cavities or channels in the dummy's abdominal structure. This nested arrangement allows the chambers to move adaptively during shocks, following the motion of real abdominal organs, while the cavity walls prevent expulsion by providing mechanical constraints that retain the chambers within the abdominal cavity throughout the shock event.
4Measurement precision
If multiple pressure measurement chambers are used to improve discrimination accuracy, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple pressure measurement chambers into a single integrated sensor assembly that is pre-filled with incompressible fluid and sealed as one unit. This merged design allows the multiple chambers to be manufactured and tested together, reducing assembly complexity compared to installing separate sensors in separate chambers, while maintaining the measurement precision benefits of having multiple independently measurable pressure zones.
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 system provides reliable and accurate pressure measurements, enabling precise estimation of abdominal injury risks during accidents, improving the fidelity and sensitivity of biomechanical assessments.
Implementation Method 1
at least two pressure measurement chambers (4) arranged in the abdominal section of the trunk (22) of the dummy on either side of a median sagittal plane (P), which are filled with an incompressible fluid (6) and each comprises at least one pressure measurement cell (5)
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a pressure sensor for measuring the pressures experienced by an anthropomorphic dummy in an abdominal or thoracic section of the trunk of said dummy. This sensor comprises at least two fluid-tight flexible pressure-measurement chambers (4) arranged in the abdominal or thoracic section of the trunk of said dummy on each side of a sagittal median plane of said abdominal or thoracic section, said pressure-measurement chambers (4) being filled with an incompressible fluid and each comprising at least one pressure-measurement cell (5) able at output thereof to deliver an electric signal indicative of the pressure of said fluid in said pressure-measurement chambers.