Seat Backrest Airbag Deployment for Side Collision Protection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional side airbag devices fail to effectively restrain the movement of an occupant's upper half body during a side collision, as they do not prevent inward movement in the vehicle width direction, and their deployment can be hindered by objects on the center console, limiting the space's usability and delaying protection of the head and neck.
Innovation Solution
An airbag device that inflates and deploys from the inner side of the backrest of each seat, extending upward and forward, with a tether for added stiffness, allowing it to efficiently restrain the head and upper body during a side collision, while being designed to deploy quickly and effectively utilize the space between seats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the airbag is housed in the center console and expands upward, then the space between seats is utilized, but small articles and drink placed on the center console are bounded up when the airbag deploys, causing danger and limiting the center console's usability
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is extracted from the center console housing and relocated to the backrest of the seat. This separates the airbag deployment space from the center console storage area, allowing small articles and drink to remain on the center console without being bounded up during airbag deployment, thus eliminating the safety hazard while preserving center console functionality.
2Volume of moving object
If the airbag is housed in the center console, then the space between seats is utilized, but there is a certain vertical distance from the center console housing the airbag to the head of an occupant, causing inflation and expansion to be delayed before the start of movement of the head and upper half body
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is pre-positioned in the backrest of the seat, which is already in close proximity to the occupant's head and upper body. This preliminary positioning eliminates the vertical distance issue and ensures that when the airbag inflates during a side collision, it immediately reaches the occupant's head and upper body without delay, providing timely protection.
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 airbag device provides rapid and effective protection for the head and upper body by deploying upward and forward from the seat backrests, reducing the risk of collision with other occupants and maintaining the center console's functionality, even in vehicles with limited space between seats.
Implementation Method 1
an airbag that inflates and deploys from an inner side of a backrest of a corresponding one of the seats in a vehicle width direction, and that inflates and deploys upward, and then inflates and deploys at least in a forward direction of the vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
An airbag device has an airbag housing that is provided in inward lateral faces of a driver's seat backrest and a passenger seat backrest in a vehicle width direction. An upper portion of the airbag housing is provided with a cover portion through which the airbag supplied with gas moves upward from the airbag housing.