Knee Airbag Guide Member Stabilizes Inflation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passenger protection apparatuses for vehicles face instability in the inflation and expansion of knee airbags due to gaps between the article storage box and adjacent members, leading to direct contact and potential malfunction during impacts.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a guide member, such as a guide cloth, that covers the gap between the article storage box and adjacent members, ensuring the airbag inflates and expands stably by preventing direct contact with the storage box, and serving as a restraining member to reduce component count and enhance stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the knee air bag apparatus is disposed below the article storage box, then the space utilization is improved, but the inflation stability deteriorates due to gap contact
Solution Approach 1:
A guide member is introduced as an intermediary element between the article storage box and the bag body. This guide member fills the gap and prevents direct contact between the storage box and the inflating bag body, thereby maintaining space utilization while ensuring inflation stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide member is divided into multiple sections including a first guide section and a second guide section. This segmentation allows the guide member to adapt to different spatial constraints and provide effective guidance throughout the inflation process, resolving the contradiction between compact space utilization and stable inflation.
2Reliability
If the guide member is added to cover the gap, then the inflation stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member serves multiple functions simultaneously: it guides the inflation direction of the bag body, fills the gap between components, prevents contact between the storage box and bag body, and provides structural support. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide member is integrated with the accommodation case structure, combining the guidance function with the existing housing. This merging approach adds the necessary inflation stability without requiring a completely separate complex subsystem.
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 guide member effectively stabilizes the inflation and expansion of the airbag, ensuring it expands smoothly towards the passenger's knee area, reducing the risk of malfunction and enhancing the overall protection apparatus design.
Implementation Method 1
an airbag unit (for example, a bag body 11 and an inflator 12 of an embodiment of the present disclosure) causing a bag body (for example, the bag body 11 of an embodiment of the present disclosure) to inflate and expand in the front seat direction when an impact is input
Data Source
AI summary
A passenger protection apparatus allows a bag body of an airbag unit to inflate and expand in a stable manner when an impact is input. The passenger protection apparatus includes an airbag unit that is arranged below an article storage box and that causes a bag body to inflate and expand in a direction of a front seat when an impact is input. The passenger protection apparatus further includes a guide member that covers a gap between a lower end of the article storage box and an adjacent member adjacent to the lower end when bag body inflates and expands.