Vehicle Seat Airbag Deployment Timing Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air bag deployment systems in vehicles do not adequately account for the orientation of the seat with respect to the collision direction, leading to inappropriate timing of air bag inflation and deployment, which can result in inadequate protection for the occupant's head during collisions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat equipped with a multidirectional air bag that inflates and deploys to the front and both sides of the occupant's head, featuring a control device that detects or predicts collisions and adjusts the inflation timing based on the seat's orientation relative to the collision direction, delaying inflation when the seat is facing away from the collision to ensure appropriate protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the air bag deployment timing is fixed regardless of seat orientation, then the system is simple to control, but the head protection timing becomes inappropriate when the seat is facing away from the collision direction
Solution Approach 1:
The control system dynamically adjusts the air bag deployment timing based on the detected seat orientation relative to the collision direction. When the seat is detected to be facing away from the collision direction, the system delays deployment to account for the occupant's rebound motion, ensuring appropriate protection timing without requiring complex mechanical structures
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to detect the seat orientation and collision direction, then feeds this information back to the control unit which adjusts the deployment timing accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures the air bag deploys at the optimal moment while maintaining relatively simple system architecture
2Speed
If the air bag deploys immediately upon collision detection, then the response time is fast, but the occupant's head may not be in the correct position due to rebound motion when the seat is facing away from the collision direction
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs preliminary detection of seat orientation and collision direction before triggering air bag deployment. Based on this preliminary information, the system calculates the optimal deployment timing, delaying activation when necessary to ensure the occupant's head is in the correct position for effective protection
Solution Approach 2:
The deployment timing is dynamically adjusted based on real-time detection of seat orientation. When the seat is facing away from the collision direction, the system extends the deployment time to account for the occupant's rebound motion, maintaining fast response when appropriate while ensuring protection effectiveness when needed
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 system ensures the air bag inflates and deploys at the optimal time to protect the occupant's head by matching the inflation timing with the occupant's movement, providing effective protection regardless of the seat's orientation during a collision, and can also manage the internal pressure to prevent sudden rises in the vehicle cabin.
Implementation Method 1
a gas supply pipe projecting upwardly of a seat back is fixed to the seat back. A bag (air bag) is attached to this gas supply pipe. This air bag is supplied with a gas via the gas supply pipe during a collision and inflates and deploys
Data Source
AI summary
An occupant protecting device including: a seat provided in a vehicle, the seat including a seat cushion, a seat back, and a headrest, and the seat being provided with an air bag that inflates and deploys at least to a front and both of left and right sides of a head of a seated occupant; and a control device that in the case of having detected or predicted a collision of the vehicle, causes the air bag to inflate and deploy, and in the case that the seat is facing an opposite side to a collision side when the collision has been detected or predicted, delays a timing of causing the air bag to inflate and deploy more compared to in the case that the seat is facing the collision side.