Side Airbag Device with Tethered Upper Chamber and Restraint Belt
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicle collisions, side airbags fail to adequately protect passengers from side impacts and restrain their movement, leading to potential injuries due to body rotation and collision with seat or armrests, especially when safety belts are not worn.
Innovation Solution
A side airbag device with a dual-chamber cushion system, where a lower chamber is deployed on the passenger's body and an upper chamber extends to the head, connected by a tether that bends towards the head, and a restraint belt forms an inserting space to restrain the passenger's shoulder, preventing forward movement and neck twisting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional single-chamber airbag is used, then the structure is simple, but the airbag cannot adequately restrain passenger movement and prevent body rotation during side collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag cushion is divided into a lower chamber and an upper chamber that are selectively deployable. The lower chamber deploys first to provide initial protection, while the upper chamber deploys subsequently to restrain upper body movement and prevent neck twisting. This segmentation allows the system to provide comprehensive protection while maintaining manageable structural complexity through controlled deployment sequences.
2Reliability
If the upper chamber is deployed without bending control, then the neck protection is insufficient, but adding complex tether mechanisms increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
A tether mechanism serves as an intermediary element connecting the upper chamber to the seat frame. The tether includes a tethering portion that connects to the upper chamber and a non-tethering portion that connects to the seat frame, with a controlled release mechanism that allows the upper chamber to bend toward the passenger's head during deployment. This intermediary tether structure enables controlled bending and neck protection without requiring overly complex direct mechanical linkages.
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 device effectively protects passengers from side impacts by stabilizing the neck and restraining the body, minimizing injuries by preventing forward movement and twisting, while ensuring the passenger is securely seated during collisions.
Implementation Method 1
a lower chamber provided on a side of a seat and disposed on a side of a passenger's body when the lower chamber is inflated by gas supplied from an inflator
Implementation Method 2
The connecting tether pulls the upper chamber when the cushion is inflated, thus causing the upper chamber to be bent towards the passenger's head
Implementation Method 3
a restraint belt provided to be connected to the upper chamber and the connecting tether and defines an inserting space in conjunction with the cushion if the upper chamber is bent by the connecting tether when the cushion is inflated. When the passenger's body is moved forwards in the event of a vehicle collision, a shoulder region of the passenger is inserted into the inserting space between the cushion and the restraint belt to restrain a forward movement of the passenger
Data Source
AI summary
A side airbag device for a vehicle includes a lower chamber and an upper chamber to protect a passenger from a side impact in the event of a vehicle collision. The upper chamber is bent towards the passenger by a connecting tether to support a passenger's neck region and prevent the neck from being twisted. The restraint belt forms an inserting space in front of a passenger when the upper chamber is bent so that a passenger's shoulder region is inserted into the inserting space when the passenger is moved forwards by collision inertia. The passenger's shoulder region is surrounded and supported by the restraint belt so that the passenger's body is restrained by a seat. A passenger is protected from impact and simultaneously the passenger is restrained by the seat to minimize an injury.