Crash statistics indicate the risk of significant injury to occupants is greater in side-impact crashes than any other planar crash mode. Deployment timing of a side airbag is a critical factor for occupant protection in these crash events. Currently, deployment timing of side airbags is principally determined by such design factors as airbag configuration, distance of the inflator from the airbag and the inflator mass flow characteristics. While these design options provide minimal improvements in deployment timing, other performance factors, such as system integrity and out-of-position (OOP) risks increase disproportionately. This study describes an innovation designed to reduce the deployment timing of a roof-rail-airbag (RRAB) by approximately 30%, without the trade-offs typically associated with conventional attempts to reduce deployment time. This approach consists of inflating a RRAB by means of a linear charge inside of the airbag that is distributed along its length. The study examines the reduced deployment time of this distributed charge inflator approach and demonstrates acceptable out-of-position (OOP) injury risks results per industry-sanctioned procedures for OOP testing. Test results show no increased injury risk with faster deployment time as would be expected through more conventional inflation techniques. Implications from this study are the opportunities for greater crash sensor discrimination and enhanced occupant protection for more severe crashes. Additional benefits of the distributed charge inflator system include approximately 50% reduced inflator mass with a 25% smaller cross-sectional package size when compared to several hybrid gas generators. This inflation approach also provides a simplified installation scheme for the overall restraint system. For the covering abstract see ITRD E126782.
Samenvatting