Vehicle Seat Airbag Buffer Member for Stay Cloth Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicle seats with airbag units, the stay cloth may come into contact with sharp edges of the back frame during airbag deployment, leading to potential damage and inadequate function.
Innovation Solution
A buffer member is attached to a fabric member that is difficult to stretch, positioned between the break portion of the back cover and the back frame, preventing direct contact and damage from sharp edges, allowing the airbag to expand and deploy reliably without additional protective components on the back frame.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the stay cloth is directly attached to the back frame, then the structure is simplified and assembly is easier, but the stay cloth may come into contact with sharp edge portions of the back frame and be damaged during airbag deployment
Solution Approach 1:
A buffer member is introduced as an intermediary element between the stay cloth and the back frame. This buffer member prevents direct contact between the stay cloth and sharp edge portions of the back frame, thereby protecting the stay cloth from damage while maintaining the simplified structure and ease of assembly. The buffer member acts as a mediator that eliminates the harmful interaction without adding complex assembly procedures.
2Reliability
If additional protective components are added to the back frame to protect the stay cloth, then the stay cloth is protected from damage, but the device complexity and assembly workability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer member is designed as a simple, inexpensive protective element that can be easily attached to the back frame. Rather than using complex protective mechanisms, a straightforward buffer component is employed that provides adequate protection for the stay cloth without adding significant structural complexity or assembly difficulty.
3Shape
If the fabric member is positioned close to the back frame to maintain compact structure, then the overall structure is more compact, but the fabric member may contact sharp edges and suffer damage
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer member is pre-positioned between the fabric member and the back frame to provide cushioning protection before any potential contact occurs. This beforehand cushioning ensures that even when the structure is compact and the fabric member is close to the back frame, the sharp edges cannot directly contact and damage the fabric member during airbag deployment.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle seat including: a back frame that forms a framework of a seat back; a back pad including a cushion material attached to a seated person side of the back frame; a back cover that covers a seated person side of the back pad; and an airbag unit that is attached to the back frame, the airbag unit including an airbag, wherein a break portion that allows the airbag to expand and deploy is formed to the back cover, wherein a fabric member that is difficult to stretch than the back cover is disposed between the break portion and the back frame, and wherein a buffer member that prevents damage due to abutment is attached to a portion of the fabric member which may abut with a part of the back frame in a process in which the airbag is expanded and deployed.