Lower Leg Airbag Modules for Occupant Restraint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current occupant protection devices, such as seatbelt modules and airbag modules, while effective, still allow for movement of lower legs during collisions due to unaddressed space at the feet and potential dropping of the upper body position, indicating a need for enhanced restraint mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
An occupant protection device comprising multiple airbag modules, including a below-knee airbag module, a front airbag module, and a rear airbag module, controlled by a sensor module that detects the occupant's lower leg positions and adjusts the airbag expansion to restrain the below-knee portions, preventing forward or backward movement and maintaining the upper body's seated position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single airbag module for lower legs expands from the instrument panel, then the below-knee portions are protected from forward movement, but there remains space at the feet where lower legs can still move forward and the upper body position can drop
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag system is divided into multiple independent airbag modules: a front airbag module that expands backward to protect the lower legs from forward movement, and a rear airbag module that expands forward to prevent the upper body from dropping. This segmentation allows each module to address specific protection needs, eliminating the space gap left by a single airbag module while maintaining overall system reliability.
2Reliability
If the airbag module expands to cover the entire lower leg area, then complete restraint is achieved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large airbag module that would cover the entire lower leg area, the system employs multiple smaller airbag modules positioned at specific locations. The front airbag module targets the below-knee portions, while the rear airbag module targets the upper leg area. This local quality approach provides effective restraint at critical areas without the complexity and cost of a comprehensive full-coverage system.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller of an occupant protection device identifies the positions of the lower legs of an occupant seated in a seat based on detection signals of sensor modules, and controls the expansion states of airbag modules for lower legs as to the identified positions of the lower legs to support the lower legs of the occupant in the identified positions of the lower legs using the expanded airbag modules for lower legs.