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Hi. Sorry if something like this has been done, this is my first post here.
After some deaths from car airbags child safety devices became manditory. They are based on weight though, and not proximity. Most people killed by airbags are killed because they are right on top of it when it goes
off - if they are far enough away the airbag will never even hit them; they go into it. Modern car airbags only turn on if there is more than 100lbs on the front seat. This method is problematic because sudden manuevering before an accident can lift a person off of the seat, thus deactivating the airbag right when it is most needed. Also some adults are only ~100 or so pounds yet still need an airbag. So my idea is for airbags to be controlled by a proximity sensor on the dashboard. This would be extremely simple to implement, and if somebody came too close to the dashboard the airbag would not be able to go off, causing injury. However if somebody lighter than 100lbs, like a child, was sitting on the seat but at a safe distance it would still go off. The actual sensor could be ultrasonic or infrared, either way works.
Scroll to "Variable-Force Deployment" section
http://en.wikipedia...le-force_deployment
[21 Quest, Mar 28 2009]
[link]
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//Most people killed by airbags are killed because they are right on top of it //
So, maybe in such cases, better to have an airbag that deploys from the headrest, a smidgin before the dashboard airbag, thereby safely sandwiching the hapless, un-belted passenger. [-] |
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BTW, would an ultrasonic sensor be able to react quickly enough? |
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hello and welcome DIYM. AWOL is probably having a bad hair day or something ... |
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I am however in no position to judge this idea at all - airbags scare me and I wish you hadn't reminded me that I have one. |
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//AWOL is probably having a bad hair day //
Now, it's funny you should say that. |
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Don't put your baby any place that isn't explicitly allowed in the owners manual. Don't lie down on the wheel while driving. Always wear your seatbelt. If you pass out while driving you do so at your own peril. If you are too obese to be compatible with the safety devices in a car those devices should be disabled by the dealer and you drive at your own peril. |
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Jeezus, why is everyone so anti this idea? What a
miserable lot! |
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It makes perfect sense to me, if it's true that proximity to
the airbag is the main risk factor. In response to AWOL's
question about response times for an ultrasonic sensor, it's
not relevant. The sensor would monitor the position of
the occupant continually, and would de-activate the
airbag if they were too close; it doesn't have to do
anything at the time of impact, and it wouldn't really
matter if its response time were measured in seconds. |
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I haven't really got anything negative to say about this idea... except that I'd prefer not to over-complicate airbags. You're just asking for inopportune malfunctions. What I think would be better than your idea, if you want to make airbags safer, would be regulating the force of deployment depending on the weight of the passenger. A 90-lb child doesn't need the same force as a 200-lb adult. Ideally, the deployment control computer would calculate the safest force of deployment by comparing data from the weight of the passenger, proximity to the airbag, and force of the impact that triggered the deployment. It's not necessarily safe to completely deativate the airbags based on proximity. |
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Even if you're too close to the airbag for maximum safety, it's still safer for the airbag to deploy than letting the passenger slam into the steering column, dashboard, or windshield. Airbags have an undeserved reputation. While it's true that they may cause certain injuries, it's also true that those injuries are usually less severe than what would have been suffered had they not deployed. I've heard of whiplash, bruised faces, imprinted retinas, and other neck injuries. But I've never heard of an airbag killing somebody. I will do some research on that, however. |
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Edit: Research has been done. The following is an excerpt from WIkipedia (I will post a link): |
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//Advanced airbag technologies are being developed to tailor airbag deployment to the severity of the crash, the size and posture of the vehicle occupant, belt usage, and how close that person is to the actual airbag. Many of these systems use multi-stage inflators that deploy less forcefully in stages in moderate crashes than in very severe crashes. Occupant sensing devices let the airbag control unit know if someone is occupying a seat adjacent to an airbag, the mass/weight of the person, whether a seat belt or child restraint is being used, and whether the person is forward in the seat and close to the airbag. Based on this information and crash severity information, the airbag is deployed at either a high force level, a less forceful level, or not at all.// |
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It would appear that this idea is quite baked. It would also appear that I was wrong about the fatalities. Sorry, Matt. But don't let this discourage you, ok? Just do a little more searching online before you post your next idea. Prior art is one of my biggest pet peeves, even though I make the mistake myself occasionally. Welcome to the Halfbakery! |
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Hello, nice to meet you.
It sounds OK to me. Simplicity and robustness are key. I think a series of sensors would have the advantage of being unlikely to fail at the same time. I'm thinking of a grid of near-infrared LEDs which reflect off the seat. The distance can be determined by the brightness of the reflection and the cross-sectional area of the object on the front seat by the fraction of light reflected back at greater intensity than the reflection from the seat. Add these intensities by analogue means and use the resulting intensity to determine (hand-waving now ensues) the force of the airbag.
I would prefer a car interior filled with transparent "custard", but it would probably be quite heavy. |
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89turtle, I agree with you about the harness. It is without a doubt the safest method of crash prevention. The reasons few people would buy vehicles with harnesses is that a harness takes longer to get into, and people want more freedom of movement to do the things they really shouldn't be doing while driving, such as twisting around and taking their eyes off the road to pick up their poor infant's dropped bottle, or leaning over to pick up the cellphone they dropped but should not have been using in the first place, or turning to look at their buddy in the passenger seat while conversing, instead of keeping their eyes on the road while speaking. But, if you're going to use airbags, they should be the best damned airbags technology can produce. |
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There's supposedly some kind of utility fog solution, theoretically, where motes join together on impact and make the volume in front of the occupants springy, but we can't use that here because it's effectively a nanotech solution. |
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Maybe this should be a seperate topic, but in response to 21 it seems that it would be better, instead of having an airbag that deploys with varying force, to have an airbag with a varying force limiter. Now you hit the airbag, and it will resist your force until a plug pops out and releases the air, which it releases at a set rate. What if you changed the number of plugs that opened up for the speed of the crash? So nomatter what the speed was the airbag would always provide just the right amount of force to slow you to a stop at the dashboard. Whether the occupant had a seatbelt on could also be factored in. |
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