Side Airbag Bracket and Soft Cover Housing Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current side airbag apparatuses face challenges in enhancing passenger restraining performance and maintaining the airbag cushion's housing form, particularly due to the lack of adequate support and the need for devices that can hold the housing form during vehicle travel and assembly.
Innovation Solution
A side airbag apparatus configuration featuring a frame-side plate portion with a bracket and inflator, where the airbag cushion is fixed to the bracket, and a soft cover with a bolt anchoring hole and hook, allowing the airbag cushion to receive a reaction force from the bracket for improved restraining performance and maintaining the housing form through the use of a frangible portion that breaks upon inflation to open the airbag cushion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the airbag cushion is provided at the end of the backrest with only a soft member for support, then the structure is simple, but the passenger restraining performance is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into multiple functional components: a rigid bracket fixed to the frame-side plate, a soft cover with specific opening portions, and strategic positioning of the airbag cushion. This segmentation allows each component to fulfill its specific function - the bracket provides structural support and reaction force, while the soft cover allows controlled deployment
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket is pre-positioned and fixed to the frame-side plate portion before airbag deployment. This preliminary action ensures that the reaction force structure is already in place and properly positioned to provide optimal support during the airbag inflation and passenger restraining process
2Reliability
If a rigid bracket is added to provide reaction force support, then the passenger restraining performance is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides reaction force support during airbag deployment, maintains the housing form of the airbag cushion, and is integrated with the frame-side plate portion as a unified structure. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket is merged with the frame-side plate portion through direct fixing, creating an integrated support structure. The soft cover is also merged with the bracket and airbag cushion assembly, forming a unified housing that simplifies the overall device structure while maintaining functional complexity
3Shape
If the soft cover is wrapped around the bracket and airbag cushion, then the housing form is maintained, but the deployment mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The soft cover is made from a flexible nonwoven fabric that can be wrapped around the bracket and airbag cushion to maintain the housing form during normal conditions. The flexibility of this thin film material allows it to conform to the underlying structure while enabling easy deployment when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The soft cover is designed with specific opening portions that are extracted or removed from the continuous wrap, allowing the airbag cushion to deploy through these predetermined openings while the rest of the cover maintains the housing form. This selective extraction simplifies the deployment mechanism
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 configuration enhances passenger restraining performance by providing a reaction force to the airbag cushion and maintaining the housing form during both vehicle travel and assembly, ensuring effective deployment and protection.
Implementation Method 1
An airbag device is a safety device that is actuated in the event of an emergency such as a vehicle collision to receive and protect a passenger by inflating and deploying a bag-shaped airbag cushion with gas pressure
Implementation Method 2
the soft cover includes a frangible portion that breaks upon receiving an inflation pressure of the airbag cushion
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
[Problem] To provide a side airbag apparatus that improves passenger restraining performance and maintains a form at the time of housing. [Solution] A side airbag apparatus 100 includes a frame-side plate portion 114 of a seat 102, and an airbag module 106 attached to the frame-side plate portion 114. The airbag module 106 includes a bracket 112, an inflator 110, an airbag cushion 108, and a soft cover 116 that is wrapped around the bracket 112 and the airbag cushion 108 in a housing form. The bracket 112 includes a through-hole 128 through which a stud bolt 118 extending from the inflator 110 passes, and a hook 130 provided at predetermined location on the front side of the frame-side plate portion 114. The soft cover 116 includes a bolt anchoring hole 120 to which the stud bolt 118 is hooked, and a hook anchoring hole 122 to which the hook 130 of the bracket 112 is hooked.