Seat-Mounted Airbag Strap Layout for Lateral Displacement Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fully wrapping airbag assemblies experience excessive lateral displacement during lateral impacts, leading to potential collisions with nearby occupants or vehicle interior components.
Innovation Solution
An airbag assembly with a strap system that includes pulleys on the vehicle seat to redirect and tighten the strap, constraining lateral movement of the airbag, thereby preventing excessive displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the air bag is designed to fully wrap around the occupant's head and torso, then the protective coverage is improved, but the lateral displacement during impact becomes excessively large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a strap as an intermediary component between the air bag and the vehicle seat. The strap connects the air bag to the seat structure and becomes tightened during deployment, acting as a mediator that constrains the air bag's lateral movement while allowing it to maintain its protective wrapping configuration around the occupant.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the lateral constraint function from the air bag structure itself and separates it into a dedicated strap system. This allows the air bag to focus on providing protective coverage while the strap specifically handles the constraint of lateral displacement, resolving the contradiction between coverage area and displacement control.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the strap is mounted to constrain the air bag, then the lateral displacement is reduced, but the strap complexity increases with multiple sections and pulleys
Solution Approach 1:
The strap is divided into multiple sections (first strap section and second strap section) that perform different functions. The first section provides the primary constraint function, while the second section extends at an angle to optimize the constraint geometry. This segmentation allows each part to be simpler while collectively achieving the desired constraint effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces angular orientation as an additional dimension for strap configuration. The second strap section extends at an angle with respect to the air bag's extension direction, creating a geometric constraint system that reduces lateral displacement more effectively without requiring increased strap tension or complex mechanical components.
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
Effectively suppresses lateral displacement of the airbag during impacts, preventing collisions with nearby occupants or vehicle interior components.
Implementation Method 1
the diverting component is a pulley rotatably mounted on the vehicle seat
Data Source
AI summary
An airbag assembly includes: an air bag, mounted to a vehicle seat and capable of inflating from an undeployed state to a deployed state, wherein in the deployed state, the air bag extends along the head and torso of an occupant in the vehicle seat, arranged to surround the head and torso of the occupant; and a strap, for mounting the air bag to the vehicle seat and having a first section and a second section, wherein in the deployed state, the strap is tightened, the first section being mounted to the air bag on an outer surface of the air bag in an extension direction of the air bag, and the second section extending on at least one outer side surface of the air bag in a direction at an angle with respect to the extension direction of the air bag.