Vehicle Side Airbag with Sub-Cushion and Tether for Rotated Seats
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional side airbags are inadequate for protecting passengers in autonomous vehicles, as they are designed to protect only the side of a passenger facing forward and fail to account for collisions in various directions when the seat is rotated or reclined, leading to potential injuries from upper body movement and collisions with interior objects.
Innovation Solution
A side airbag system featuring a main cushion and sub-cushion that unfold from the seat, connected by a support tether and surrounded by a cushion cover with a tear line and tether slit, allowing for quick deployment and protection of both side and front portions of the passenger during collisions, with the support tether restraining the passenger to prevent injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional side airbag is designed to protect only the side of a passenger, then the structure is simple and cost-effective, but it cannot protect the passenger against collisions in various directions when the seat is rotated or reclined
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is divided into a main cushion and a sub-cushion that can deploy independently in different directions. The main cushion protects the side of the passenger while the sub-cushion extends to protect the front portion, allowing the airbag system to adapt to various seating positions and collision directions without requiring a completely different structure for each scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The airbag deployment transitions from a single-dimensional side protection to a two-dimensional coverage area by adding the sub-cushion that extends forward. This dimensional expansion allows the airbag to cover both side and front collision zones, effectively protecting passengers in autonomous vehicles with rotated or reclined seats.
2Speed
If the cushion cover is completely sealed to maintain structural integrity, then the airbag can be stored compactly, but it cannot deploy quickly when a collision occurs
Solution Approach 1:
Tear lines are pre-formed on the cushion cover at strategic locations during manufacturing. These pre-defined weak points allow the cushion cover to tear open rapidly and predictably when the airbag deploys, eliminating the need to break through sealed material during the emergency deployment moment. This preliminary preparation ensures both quick deployment and maintains the sealed structure during storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushion cover is designed with extracted or removed sections along the tear lines, creating predetermined opening paths. When deployment is triggered, these extracted portions separate easily, allowing the airbag to exit the cover rapidly without requiring the entire cover to be broken open, thus maintaining structural integrity while enabling fast deployment.
3Strength
If the support tether is rigid to effectively restrain the passenger, then the restraint function is strong, but it may cause injury to the passenger during deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The support tether is designed with variable stiffness characteristics, being rigid when needed for effective restraint but flexible enough to avoid injury. The tether material and structure are selected to provide appropriate force during normal operation while allowing controlled deformation during collision events, changing the mechanical parameters dynamically based on the situation.
Solution Approach 2:
The support tether utilizes composite material construction that combines rigid and flexible properties. This allows the tether to maintain structural strength for effective passenger restraint while incorporating energy-absorbing elements or flexible sections that prevent injury during deployment and collision, achieving both restraint strength and safety.
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 side airbag system effectively protects passengers by quickly unfolding to cover side and front areas, reducing injuries through symmetrical deployment and restraint of the passenger during vehicle collisions in various directions, including lateral and forward impacts.
Implementation Method 1
a gas injector located at the seat of the vehicle and connected to the main cushion or the sub-cushion, and configured to inject the gas into the main cushion or the sub-cushion
Data Source
AI summary
A side airbag for a vehicle includes: a main cushion located at a seat of the vehicle and configured to be unfolded at a front side of a passenger to a front of the vehicle when gas is injected into the main cushion; a sub cushion connected to a front-end portion of the main cushion and configured to be unfolded from the front-end portion of the main cushion toward the passenger when gas is injected into the sub cushion; a support tether having a first end connected to the seat and a second end connected to the sub cushion so as to support the sub cushion; and a cushion cover surrounding both the main cushion and the sub cushion, and having a tether slit through which the support tether passes.