Gas Bag Limiting Strap for Impulse Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas bags for vehicle occupant restraint systems face challenges in ensuring effective restraint without becoming overly complex, particularly in scenarios involving infants in child safety seats, where the gas bag's high impulse can directly hit the seat or child, and in accommodating varying occupant sizes and positions.
Innovation Solution
A gas bag design featuring a limiting strap that is initially gathered and only deploys fully after exceeding a predetermined tensile force, with releasable holding elements and lugs on the gas bag wall to guide and secure the strap, ensuring a constricted initial deployment to absorb the impulse before fully expanding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the gas bag is configured to deploy freely for maximum protection, then the restraint effectiveness is improved, but the high velocity impulse directly hits the occupant or child safety seat causing harm
Solution Approach 1:
The limiting strap is pre-configured in a gathered, constricted state before deployment. This preliminary configuration restricts the gas bag's initial expansion velocity and impulse, allowing it to deploy in a controlled manner that protects occupants while preventing direct high-velocity impact on child safety seats or infants
2Adaptability or versatility
If the gas bag design is made complex to accommodate varying occupant sizes and positions, then the adaptability is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The limiting strap is divided into multiple gathered sections that can be sequentially released. This segmentation allows the gas bag to assume different constricted contours and deployment patterns, adapting to various occupant sizes and positions (including child safety seats and infants) while maintaining a relatively simple overall design structure
Solution Approach 2:
The limiting strap transitions from a static gathered state to a dynamic, extendable state through the release mechanism. This dynamic configuration allows the gas bag to adapt its deployment characteristics in real-time based on the deployment force, providing versatility without requiring multiple separate gas bag designs
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the limiting strap is held in gathered state with multiple holding elements, then the impulse absorption is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The limiting strap acts as an intermediary element between the gas bag and the occupant/child safety seat. It mediates the deployment process by absorbing impulse through its gathered sections while controlling the gas bag's expansion, thereby protecting occupants without requiring complex active control systems
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
This design effectively absorbs the high velocity impulse of the gas bag, preventing it from directly hitting the occupant or child safety seat, ensuring protection across various sizes and positions by stepwise deployment and maintaining manufacturing simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
the high velocity impulse of the gas bag is taken up by the limiting strap gathered in sections
Implementation Method 2
when the predetermined limiting strap tensile force is exceeded
Data Source
AI summary
A gas bag (10) for a vehicle occupant restraint system includes a limiting strap (12) which is guided along a wall (14) of the gas bag (10), the limiting strap (12) being shortened in an initial state by at least one gathered section such that the gas bag (10) is constricted and is not able to deploy freely, the at least one gathered section being extendable after a predetermined limiting strap tensile force is exceeded, so that the gas bag (10) may be deployed completely.