Pedestrian Airbag Guide Tether for Inflator Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pedestrian airbag devices face challenges in achieving satisfactory assembly workability due to the risk of erroneous insertion of the inflator into the airbag, particularly when the vehicle body and pedestrian side walls are folded multiple times, which complicates the assembly process.
Innovation Solution
The pedestrian airbag device incorporates a guide tether that is inserted into the airbag, with one end joined to the pedestrian side wall and the other end to a region separated from the insertion hole, which helps to stabilize the inflator's insertion and prevent erroneous placement by forming a partial closure of the insertion slit's peripheral edge, ensuring the inflator is correctly aligned and assembled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the inflator is inserted into the completely folded airbag through the insertion slit, then the airbag can be accommodated inside the accommodation site, but erroneous insertion occurs due to multiple folds of the vehicle body and pedestrian side walls
Solution Approach 1:
A guide tether is introduced as an intermediary element between the insertion slit and the insertion hole. The guide tether extends from the insertion slit toward the insertion hole, providing a physical guide that directs the inflator along the correct insertion path. This mediator prevents erroneous insertion by constraining the inflator's movement to the proper trajectory through the folded airbag structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tether is pre-positioned within the folded airbag structure before insertion. By establishing the correct insertion path in advance through the tether's placement, the system prepares the insertion route beforehand, ensuring that when the inflator is inserted, it follows the predetermined correct path rather than potentially inserting erroneously due to the complex folded configuration.
2Ease of manufacture
If the insertion slit is formed to allow inflator insertion, then assembly is enabled, but gas leakage occurs through the slit during inflation
Solution Approach 1:
The insertion opening is segmented into two distinct components: the insertion slit for the inflator body and the insertion hole for the mounting bolt. This segmentation allows the slit to remain open for easy inflator insertion while the separate hole provides a dedicated sealed path for the mounting bolt, preventing gas leakage through the insertion opening during inflation.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tether acts as a mediator that spans across the insertion slit. By extending from the insertion slit toward the insertion hole, the tether effectively bridges the gap, preventing gas from leaking through the slit while still allowing the inflator to be inserted along the guided path. The tether becomes a functional barrier that maintains gas sealing without obstructing assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A pedestrian airbag device includes an airbag and an inflator that supplies an inflating gas to the airbag. In the airbag, an insertion opening portion for inserting the inflator into the airbag is disposed on the vehicle body side wall portion side. The insertion opening portion includes an insertion slit for inserting the main body portion of the inflator, and an insertion hole for causing the mounting bolt of the inflator to protrude. A guide tether for guiding when the inflator is inserted is disposed inside the airbag so that one end side is joined to the pedestrian side wall portion side, and the other end side is joined to a region on a side from the insertion hole in a peripheral edge of the insertion slit on the vehicle body side wall portion side.