Patent Application
20220032870
The present disclosure relates to apparatuses, systems, and methods for supportably deploying an occupant restraint airbag in a vehicle.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
The inclusion and deployment of airbags or other supplemental restraint systems in vehicles may help contribute to preventing injuries and may even help contribute to saving lives in vehicle collisions. In a typical vehicle collision, there may actually be two collisions. The first collision occurs when a vehicle strikes another vehicle or object. The second collision occurs when a body of an occupant of the vehicle impacts upon one or more interior surfaces within the vehicle. It is the second collision that frequently results in the greater injuries.
Airbags help contribute to mitigating or preventing injuries by helping to prevent or alleviate the second collision. When a vehicle is equipped with one or more airbags, upon detecting the first collision, the one or more airbags are rapidly inflated to form a protective cushion between an occupant's body and an interior surface. Airbags generally are somewhat flexible to be able to absorb and distribute the energy of a bodily impact in order to help prevent more serious injuries that could result if the body impacted upon a rigid vehicle interior surface such as a dashboard, steering column, window, or another hard surface.
For an airbag to successfully help reduce the severity of or seek to prevent the second collision, the airbag should be positioned properly to help prevent the occupant's body from impacting upon one or more rigid interior surfaces. For example, referring to Prior Art
A body 130 of an occupant 131 is positioned in a seat 120 behind a forward structure 104 (such as a dashboard or console) within the vehicle interior 102. The body 130 is depicted as including a head 132, a torso 134, and a lower body 136. As a result of the collision, an airbag 110 is deployed from a forward structure 105 within the vehicle interior 102 to shield the body 130, thereby helping contribute to preventing the body 130 from impacting against the forward structure 105 and/or the windshield 104.
Referring to Prior Art
Referring to Prior Art
Disclosed embodiments include apparatuses, systems, and methods for supporting an occupant restraint airbag.
In an illustrative embodiment, an apparatus includes an occupant restraint airbag configured to be deployable between an occupant of a vehicle and a forward structure of an interior of the vehicle. The occupant restraint airbag is configured to present an occupant surface to engage at least a portion of a body of the occupant and a back surface on an opposing side of the occupant restraint airbag responsive to inflation thereof. A reaction surface airbag is configured to be deployable between the occupant restraint airbag and an interior surface of the vehicle responsive to inflation thereof. The reaction surface airbag is configured to present a first surface configured to engage the back surface of the occupant restraint airbag and a second surface configured to engage the interior surface. The reaction surface airbag is further configured to resist movement of the occupant restraint airbag toward the interior surface responsive to inflation of the reaction surface airbag.
In another illustrative embodiment, a vehicle includes a vehicle interior configured to accommodate at least one occupant. An occupant supplemental restraint system includes an occupant restraint airbag configured to be deployable between the occupant of the vehicle and a forward structure of the vehicle interior. The occupant restraint is configured to present an occupant surface to engage at least a portion of a body of the occupant and a back surface on an opposing side of the occupant restraint airbag responsive to inflation thereof. A reaction surface airbag is configured to be deployable between the occupant restraint airbag and an interior surface of the vehicle responsive to inflation thereof. The reaction surface airbag is further configured to present a first surface to engage the back surface of the occupant restraint airbag and a second surface configured to engage the interior surface. The reaction surface airbag is further configured to resist movement of the occupant restraint airbag toward the interior surface responsive to inflation of the reaction surface airbag. A triggering system is configured to sense an impact of the vehicle with another object and to initiate inflation of the occupant restraint airbag and the reaction surface airbag responsive.
In another illustrative embodiment, in an illustrative method an occupant restraint airbag is caused to be inflatably deployed between an occupant of a vehicle and a forward structure of an interior of the vehicle. The inflated occupant restraint airbag presents an occupant surface configured to engage at least a portion of a body of the occupant and a back surface on an opposing side of the occupant restraint airbag. A reaction surface airbag is caused to be inflatably deployed between the occupant restraint airbag and an interior surface. The inflated reaction surface airbag presents a first surface configured to engage the back side of the occupant restraint airbag and a second surface configured to engage the interior surface. The inflated reaction surface airbag engages the back surface of the inflated occupant restraint airbag to resist movement of the occupant restraint airbag toward the interior surface.
Further features, advantages, and areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It will be appreciated that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings:
The following description explains, by way of illustration only and not of limitation, various embodiments of apparatuses, systems, and methods for supportably deploying an occupant restraint airbag in a vehicle. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be noted that the first digit of three-digit reference numbers and the first two digits of four-digit reference numbers correspond to the figure number in which the element first appears.
By way of a non-limiting introduction and overview, in various embodiments an apparatus includes an occupant restraint airbag configured to be deployable between an occupant of a vehicle and a forward structure in an interior of the vehicle. In an inflated state, the occupant restraint airbag is configured to present an occupant surface to engage a body of the occupant when the occupant restraint airbag is deployed. The occupant restraint airbag also includes a back surface on an opposing side of the occupant restraint airbag. In various embodiments, a reaction surface airbag is configured to be deployable between the occupant restraint airbag and an interior surface of the vehicle, such as a dashboard, interior surface of a windshield, or another structure. In an inflated state, the reaction surface airbag is configured to present a first surface that is configured to engage the back surface of the occupant restraint airbag and a second surface configured to engage the interior surface. Being positioned between the interior surface and the occupant restraint airbag, the reaction surface airbag is further configured to resist movement of the occupant restraint airbag toward the interior surface responsive. The reaction surface airbag thereby helps provides support to the occupant restraint airbag to help prevent deformation and/or displacement of the occupant restraint airbag that may undermine the full ability of the occupant restraint airbag to seek to contribute to helping protect the occupant's body from impacting upon interior surfaces within the vehicle.
Now that an overview has been given, details of various embodiments will be explained by way of non-limiting examples given by way of illustration only and not of limitation.
Referring to
Referring additionally to
In various embodiments, the vehicle 200 includes airbag modules, including an occupant restraint airbag module 212 and a reaction surface airbag module 252, which are shown in their undeployed, uninflated configurations. As further described below, the airbag modules 212 and 252 will be activated to deploy airbags (not shown in
The airbag modules 212 and 252 may be activated by a triggering system 290 incorporated in the vehicle 200. In various embodiments, the triggering system 290 may include a collision sensor that, for example, includes an accelerometer that is configured to detect the instantaneous deceleration of the vehicle 200 that is caused by a collision and/or other sensors that may detect a frontal impact of the vehicle 200. Upon detecting a collision, the triggering system 290 activates inflation devices (not separately shown) incorporated in the airbag modules 212 and 252. The inflation devices typically include a combustible agent that is electrically ignited upon being triggered by the inflation device. The combustion of the combustible agent rapidly fills the airbags (not shown in
Referring to
The vehicle interior 302 is partially bounded at a forward end by a windshield 304 having an interior surface 307. The vehicle interior 302 also includes a forward structure 305 (such as a dashboard or console) within the vehicle interior 302 positioned in front of the body 330 of the occupant 331. The forward structure 305 may support control devices for the vehicle 300 as well as comfort and convenience features such as climate controls and entertainment systems. The forward structure 305 also may present a potential impact surface that the body 330 may strike in a second collision if the vehicle 300 collides with another object.
Seeking to help mitigate or help prevent a second collision, an occupant restraint airbag module 312 and a reaction surface airbag module 352 are deployed in or on the forward structure 305. As described in detail below, in the event of a collision, the occupant restraint airbag module 312 deploys an occupant restraint airbag (not shown in
To support the occupant restraint airbag deployed by the occupant restraint airbag module 310, the reaction surface airbag module 350 is configured to deploy a reaction surface airbag (not shown in
Referring to
The reaction surface airbag 450 is deployed between the occupant restraint airbag 410 and the interior surface 307 of the windshield 304 and/or other interior surfaces of the vehicle 300. The reaction surface airbag 450 includes one or more first surfaces 454 that are configured to engage the one or more back surfaces 416 of the occupant restraint airbag 410. The reaction surface airbag 450 also includes one or more second surfaces 456 that are configured to engage the interior surface 307 of the windshield 304 and/or other interior surfaces of the vehicle interior 302. As is further described below, the reaction surface airbag 450 is configured to support the back surface 416 of the occupant restraint airbag 410 to help prevent deformation and/or displacement of the occupant restraint airbag 410.
Referring to
The impact of the body 330 on the occupant surface 414 of the occupant restraint airbag 410 deforms and displaces the occupant restraint airbag 410 from its previous configuration 410′ of
At this point, however, the second surface 456 of the reaction surface airbag 450 abuts the interior surface 307 of the windshield 304. Additionally, other parts of the reaction surface airbag 450 may abut other interior surfaces of the vehicle 300, such as an upper surface 509 of the forward structure 305. Engagement of the second surface 456 of the reaction surface airbag 450 with interior surfaces of the vehicle 300 at least partially arrests the deformation and/or displacement of the reaction surface airbag 450. Consequently, the first surface 454 of the reaction surface airbag 450 pushes back against the back surface 416 of the occupant restraint airbag 410, thereby at least partially arresting further deformation and/or displacement of the reaction surface airbag 450. Thus, the reaction surface airbag 450 may help support the occupant control airbag 410 in a position and shape to help protect the body 330 from impacting on interior vehicle surfaces.
Referring to
In sum, upon occurrence of a collision, the occupant restraint airbag 410 will receive the body 330 of the occupant 331. The occupant restraint airbag 410 may be deformed and/or displaced due to the energy of the second collision of the body 330 with the occupant restraint airbag 410 being absorbed and/or dispersed. As the occupant restraint airbag 410 is deformed and/or displaced, the occupant restraint airbag 410 abuts the reaction surface airbag 450. The reaction surface airbag 450 may be deformed and/or displaced due to helping absorb and/or disperse energy of the second collision imparted by the occupant restraint airbag 410. However, the reaction surface airbag 450 may engage interior vehicle surfaces that arrest deformation and/or displacement of the reaction surface airbag 450 which, in turn, can help contribute to further resisting deformation and/or displacement of the occupant restraint airbag 410. Supporting the occupant restraint airbag thus helps prevent the occupant restraint airbag 410 from being distorted in order to protect the occupant.
Referring to
It will be appreciated that one or more reaction surface airbags may be situated in any location where an occupant restraint airbag is used but may be positioned in a location in a vehicle's interior where there is a void into which the occupant restraint airbag may be deformed and/or displaced. For example, in a passenger van with rear bucket seats or a passenger van with multiple rows of rear seats may include an aisle or a large lateral space between adjacent seats. An occupant restraint airbag may be deployed from the back of a front seat and a reaction surface airbag may be deployed from another location on the back of the front seat, from a floorboard, or from a rear console to support the occupant restraint airbag from being deformed or displaced into the aisle or other large lateral space. In addition, in a wide vehicle, an occupant restraint airbag may be a side curtain airbag deployable from adjacent a window that is relatively far from an occupant. The reaction control airbag may be deployable from a side surface adjacent to the occupant restraint airbag to present the occupant restraint airbag from being deformed or displaced so that the occupant's body cannot slide past or around the side curtain airbag.
The reaction surface airbag may be configured with additional properties to help enhance its support of an occupant restraint airbag. Referring to
It also may be desirable to make the reaction surface airbag 950 more rigid and, thus, less deformable, than the occupant restraint airbag 910. It is desirable for the occupant restraint airbag 910 to be somewhat flexible to absorb and/or disperse energy from the second collision between the body 930 and the occupant restraint airbag 910. If the occupant restraint airbag 910 is very rigid, then severity of injuries to the body 930 due to impact with a very rigid occupant restraint airbag may possibly begin to approach severity of injuries to the body 930 due to impact with one of the vehicle interior surfaces. Thus, it is desirable for the occupant restraint airbag 910 to be somewhat deformable. By contrast, the reaction surface airbag 950, which generally does not come into contact with the body 930 of an occupant, may be more rigid. In various embodiments, it may be desirable for the reaction surface airbag to more rigidly support the occupant restraint airbag 910.
Referring additionally to
Referring to
It should be understood that as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Finally, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meanings of “and” and “or” include both the conjunctive and disjunctive and may be used interchangeably unless the context expressly dictates otherwise; the phrase “exclusive or” may be used to indicate situation where only the disjunctive meaning may apply. In addition, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “about” and/or “approximately” refers to ±10% of the quantity indicated, unless otherwise indicated.
It will be appreciated that the detailed description set forth above is merely illustrative in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist and/or spirit of the claimed subject matter are intended to be within the scope of the claims. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter.
