Flexible Airbag Regulating Member for Smooth Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airbag apparatuses face challenges in smoothly regulating the deployment and inflation of airbags, often resulting in excessive suppression that hinders the desired inflating shape and requires consideration of bond strength between the airbag and regulating member.
Innovation Solution
The airbag apparatus incorporates a flexible regulating member with a temporary holding portion, attachment portion, and connecting piece portion, allowing for controlled release of the folded airbag portion through a non-connected release edge, ensuring smooth deployment and inflation while avoiding excessive suppression and bond strength concerns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the circumferential wall of the holding portion is fixed to a rigid attachment portion, then the folded portion can be smoothly released, but the deployment and inflation of the airbag is excessively regulated (suppressed)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the circumferential wall flexible rather than rigid, allowing it to dynamically change its regulatory function during airbag deployment. The flexible circumferential wall can adapt its degree of suppression based on the deployment stage, providing smooth release when needed while maintaining regulation when required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the circumferential wall from rigid to flexible, fundamentally altering its mechanical properties. This parameter change enables the wall to transition between different states of regulation and release, resolving the contradiction between smooth release and deployment speed.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a box-shaped holding member with shape holding properties is used, then the folded shape of the airbag is maintained, but the deployment and inflation is excessively suppressed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the rigid box-shaped holding member with a flexible holding portion formed from flexible sheet material. This flexible shell structure maintains the folded shape through its conformability while allowing controlled deployment through its flexibility, eliminating the excessive suppression problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the structural parameter of the holding member from rigid box-shaped to flexible sheet-based, fundamentally altering its mechanical behavior. This parameter change enables simultaneous shape maintenance and smooth deployment regulation.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the regulating member is made rigid to maintain shape, then the folded shape is preserved, but the regulating member may break under tension
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible sheet material to form the regulating member, replacing rigid structures with flexible membranes. This flexible shell maintains shape through elasticity while inherently resisting breakage under tension, simultaneously improving both shape holding capability and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible sheet material that combines the properties of shape maintainability and tensile resistance. This composite material approach allows the regulating member to exhibit both rigidity for shape holding and flexibility for tension resistance.
Data Source
AI summary
An airbag apparatus includes an airbag that deploys and inflates while being unfolded from an accommodating portion, when inflating gas flows into the airbag; and a regulating member that is able to regulate the deployment and inflation of an airbag. The regulating member is flexible, and includes a temporary holding portion that releasably and temporarily holds a folded portion that is a part of the airbag; an attachment portion that is attached to the accommodating portion; and a connecting piece portion that connects the attachment portion and the temporary holding portion. The temporary holding portion includes a base portion that is continuous with the connecting piece portion, and a cover portion that forms a holding concave portion for temporarily holding the folded portion, and is connected to the base portion. An opening for releasing the folded portion is provided at an inner circumference of a non-connected release edge.