Flexible Curtain Airbag Deployment Aid with Color-Coded Retainers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Curtain airbags often face deployment issues due to obstruction, particularly in vehicles with long airbags that can twist during assembly, leading to incomplete deployment and increased assembly complexity and cost, as existing rigid and flexible deployment aids are vehicle-specific and may obscure the airbag, making it difficult to detect twists.
Innovation Solution
A flexible deployment aid comprising a sheet of material with retaining means, securely attached to the vehicle body and releasably attached to the airbag, allowing for adjustable positioning and visual identification to prevent incorrect fitting, enabling common parts usage across different vehicle platforms without compromising performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wrap is tightly wrapped around the curtain airbag to prevent trapping and maintain correct folding, then the airbag is protected from damage and kept correctly folded, but the wrap obscures the airbag making it difficult to detect twists during assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color-coding to the wrap and/or airbag components to enable visual identification of the correct assembly orientation. Different colors indicate different sides or positions, allowing assembly workers to quickly verify correct installation without removing the wrap, thus maintaining both reliability and detectability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces visual indicators (color codes, markings) as an intermediary layer between the wrap and the airbag twist detection requirement. These indicators provide information about the assembly state without requiring removal of the protective wrap
2Reliability
If rigid deployment aids such as ramps are used to guide airbag deployment, then deployment kinematics are controlled and hanging is prevented, but the size, shape and positioning must be tuned to specific vehicle applications reducing part commonality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the deployment aid from rigid to flexible material, changing its physical parameters. The flexible deployment aid can be stretched and conform to different vehicle geometries while maintaining its guiding function, enabling part commonality across different vehicle platforms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from static rigid ramps to dynamic flexible deployment aids that can adapt their shape and position. The flexible material allows the deployment aid to be positioned differently for various vehicle applications while maintaining the same physical component
3Reliability
If the curtain airbag is supplied with vehicle-specific deployment aids to optimize performance for each platform, then deployment performance is optimized, but assembly complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal flexible deployment aid that can serve multiple vehicle platforms. The same basic component can be adapted to different vehicles through positioning and configuration rather than requiring completely different parts, reducing assembly complexity and cost
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
A flexible deployment aid (200) for a vehicle-mounted curtain airbag assembly comprising a sheet (220) of flexible material and first (34a,34b) and second retainers (250). The first and second retainers are arranged to attach the sheet (220) of flexible material to the vehicle. The first retainer (34a,34b) secures the sheet (220) to the vehicle body (12) between the vehicle body (12) and the curtain airbag (22) and the second retainer (250) is configured to provide a releasable attachment of the sheet (220) to the vehicle and to release the sheet (220) during deployment of the curtain airbag (22).