Suspended Gas Generator Absorber for Airbag Thermal Fixation

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing vehicle safety systems face complications in production due to the absorber being preassembled with the housing or retaining plate, making it difficult to thermally fix the airbag and complicating maintenance and repair, as the absorber cannot withstand oven temperatures required for this process.

Innovation Solution

The system features a gas generator connected to the absorber in a suspended manner, allowing for easy assembly and damping of vibrations, with the absorber not preassembled to the generator support or airbag retaining plate, enabling thermal fixation of the airbag without damaging the absorber and facilitating separate maintenance and replacement of components.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the absorber is firmly preassembled with the housing or retaining plate, then the absorber can effectively dampen vibrations, but the production process becomes complicated and the airbag cannot be thermally fixed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevibration damping effectivenessVSAvoidproduction process simplicity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The system is divided into separate functional modules: the absorber is detached from the retaining plate, allowing independent assembly of the airbag-retaining plate unit and the absorber-gas generator unit. This segmentation enables the airbag to be thermally fixed to the retaining plate without the absorber being in the oven, while still achieving effective vibration damping when assembled together.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The airbag is thermally fixed to the retaining plate in advance before the absorber is attached. This preliminary action allows the thermal bonding process to occur without the absorber present, avoiding damage to the absorber from oven exposure while ensuring the airbag is securely attached before final assembly with the absorber.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If the absorber is firmly preassembled with the housing or retaining plate, then vibration damping is effective, but maintenance and repair become difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevibration damping effectivenessVSAvoidcomponent replacement simplicity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The absorber is designed as a separate detachable component from the retaining plate, allowing individual replacement of the absorber, gas generator, or airbag as needed. This modular segmentation enables maintenance personnel to replace only the faulty component without disassembling the entire system, significantly improving ease of repair while maintaining vibration damping effectiveness when assembled.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Ease of manufacture

If the absorber is not preassembled with the retaining plate, then thermal fixation of the airbag is enabled, but the absorber must be attached in a subsequent step

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvethermal fixation feasibilityVSAvoidassembly steps
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The airbag is thermally fixed to the retaining plate in a preliminary step before the absorber is attached. This preliminary action simplifies the manufacturing process by enabling thermal fixation without the absorber present, avoiding damage to the absorber from high temperatures while maintaining a streamlined assembly process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

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 design simplifies the assembly and maintenance of the vehicle safety system by allowing optimal damping of vibrations and enabling thermal fixation of the airbag without damaging the absorber, while allowing for easy replacement and checking of individual components like the gas generator and absorber.

Implementation Method 1

The absorber is arranged between a housing or a retaining plate and the gas generator in order to dampen vibrations and oscillations that can arise when operating a motor vehicle

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectVibration damping: Damping

Data Source

PatentEP3383710B1Vehicle safety system and method of manufacture of a vehicle safety system
Publication Date: 2019.09.18 ZF AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY GERMANY GMBH
  • EP3383710B1 patent drawingFigure 1

AI summary

The invention relates to a vehicle safety system, in particular an airbag system, comprising a retaining plate (1) and an airbag (2) that can be fastened by the retaining plate (1). The system further comprises a generator support (3) and an absorber (4) which is located between the retaining plate (1) and the generator support (3). The system finally comprises a gas generator (5) which can be fastened to the absorber (4) in a suspended manner.