Staged Airbag Chamber Layout for Lower Passenger Restraint Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airbag devices face challenges in improving energy absorbing performance, as the tensile load applied to passengers increases significantly from the initial to the latter stages of restraint, leading to inadequate protection during vehicle collisions.
Innovation Solution
The airbag device inflates and deploys from the seat rear side to the front side, featuring a front-rear chamber with extending portions that pass by the passenger's head and a connecting portion, along with a main body that inflates and deploys laterally, compressing in the front-rear direction to absorb energy, and includes tethers and specific fabric structures to enhance deployment and load distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the airbag uses a conventional single-chamber structure that inflates uniformly, then the deployment speed is fast, but the energy absorbing performance is insufficient because tensile load on the passenger increases significantly from initial to latter stages of restraint
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag is divided into a front-rear chamber and a main body chamber that inflate at different times and in different directions. The front-rear chamber inflates first to provide initial restraint, while the main body chamber inflates later to provide sustained energy absorption, thereby reducing the tensile load increase during restraint stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The airbag employs dynamic inflation control where the front-rear chamber inflates first and the main body inflates subsequently. This staged inflation creates a dynamic restraint system that adapts to different phases of collision, providing optimal energy absorption while controlling the force applied to the passenger throughout the restraint process.
2Loss of energy
If the airbag main body inflates simultaneously with the front-rear chamber, then the restraint coverage is comprehensive, but the deployment control is poor and energy absorption is reduced due to uniform inflation
Solution Approach 1:
The front-rear chamber inflates in advance before the main body chamber. This preliminary inflation establishes initial restraint geometry and prepares the airbag structure to receive and control the subsequent main body inflation, enabling better deployment control and optimized energy absorption sequence.
Solution Approach 2:
The airbag inflation occurs in periodic stages: first the front-rear chamber inflates, then after a time delay, the main body chamber inflates. This periodic inflation pattern provides controlled deployment that optimizes both restraint coverage and energy absorption while maintaining good deployment control throughout the process.
3Loss of energy
If the airbag uses a structure without differentiated inflation timing, then the structural design is simple, but the energy absorbing performance is insufficient due to uniform load application
Solution Approach 1:
The airbag structure is segmented into distinct chambers (front-rear chamber and main body) with separate inflation control. This segmentation enables differentiated inflation timing and pressure control, significantly improving energy absorbing performance while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that builds upon conventional airbag designs.
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
This configuration improves energy absorption and reduces the load on passengers by compressive deformation of the airbag main body, ensuring effective restraint and preventing poor deployment through strategic gas flow and fabric design.
Implementation Method 1
an inflator that generates high-pressure gas at the time of input of an impact
Implementation Method 2
at a time when the passenger is restrained, is compressed in a seat front-rear direction
Implementation Method 3
a base fabric that structures the front-rear chamber and that includes a harder-to-stretch portion and an easier-to-stretch portion
Data Source
AI summary
An airbag device has an airbag. The airbag has a front-rear chamber and an airbag main body. The front-rear chamber has a left and right pair of front-rear extending portions that pass by respective left and right sides of a head of a passenger seated in a vehicle seat and inflate and deploy toward the seat front side, and a connecting portion connecting front end portions of the pair of front-rear extending portions in a seat left-right direction. The airbag main body inflates and deploys toward a side of the passenger at a seat rear side of the connecting portion, later than the front-rear chamber. At a time when the passenger is restrained, the airbag main body is compressed in a seat front-rear direction while stretching the front-rear chamber in the seat front-rear direction.