Airbag Safety SRS Steering Airbags
Airbags and Safety Steering. S.R.S. (SRS stands for “supplemental resistant system”).The European style airbag is a head and face bag, which means in effect that it is designed to protect the head and face during an upfront collision. It is of importance to know that the Safety Steering S.R.S. is designed to supplement the existing seats belts in a vehicle and not to replace them. The system is not designed to replace factory-installed air bags that have been deployed in the accident.
It is shown in various tests that seat belts do a good job for protecting the driver’s body in a frontal collision, but unfortunately they do not always keep the driver’s head from colliding with the steering wheel, which can result in serious injury and in some cases death. The air bag is designed for more protection in addition to the original seatbelts and is adding an extra margin of safety. When the bag deploys during a crash, it “fills the gap” between the driver and the steering wheel. A cushion necessary to to absorb the force of the impact and prevent the driver’s head or face from striking the steering wheel is provided by the inflated airbag.
The mechanical impact sensor is an impotrtant feature of the Safety Steering Airbag which is a simple but extremely reliable type of triggering mechanism. Unlike most original equipment air bag systems that rely on a complex web of crash sensors, wiring and an electronic control module, safety sensors, the mechanical impact sensor is so to say fail-safe. The crash sensor, which is self-contained within the steering wheel air bag module, consists of a steel ball within a tube. When a frontal impact of sufficient force occurs, the ball is dislodged and slides down the tube, and triggers a firing pin that ignites the inflator. The bag is ejected and air filled in 30 to 55 milliseconds which is just as fast as an original equipment air bag.
Before the bag will deploy, the crash sensor has to experience an impact force of about 20 G’s which is seven times the force of gravity. This would be the same as driving into a solid object at the speed of 20-40 km/h or driving into another vehicle at a speed of 40 km/h. The collision speed at which the bag will be ignited and deploy, depends on many variables such as the angle of impact, the stiffness of the body, the stiffness of the chassis, the mass of the vehicle or truck, etc., What can be said with certainty is that the airbag will activated when needed.
An advantage of airbags with a mechanical crash sensors is that it does eliminate the need for expensive electronics and wiring .Crash sensors can therefore be packed with the inflator in the air bag module, which greatly simplifies replacement and installation. The system functions independent of the vehicle’s electrical system. The airbag’s mechanical crash sensor can be packed as a self-contained unitand therefore it can be easily installed on a variety ofvehicles as long as there is a steering wheel for the vehicle to accept the air bag unit and that the crash testing has been done to make sure the sensor has the correct level of sensitivity for the vehicle to ignite at the right time.
It is relatively simple to replace a steering wheel and bolt on one with an air bag, however, the safety steering wheel does not fit all size airbags. The bag has to fit the application. Different size inflators and crash sensors are required for different vehicle applications. When a light-weight Chana LDV is fitted with an air bag with a crash sensor that’s set for this specific vehicle, it may not deploy at the right speed if used in a biiger vehicle such as a Landcruiser. At this stage, five inflator assemblies make up the air bag unit.
With ann upfron collision at a speed of less than 8 km/h, the bag will activate and not be deployed. At the speed of 8 to 25 km/h the possibility for the air bag to deploy is then relatively higher. When the speed is over 25 km/h the air bag will definitely deploy on impact. The angle of impact (not more than 30degrees with frontal collision with another vehicle), the speed on impact and solidness of the object, as well as various other factors has a direct influence on the deployment of these airbags.
The air bag will not detonate at instances when overturning or collision from behind. To install the air bag, an approved technician selects the appropriate module for the application, removes the stock steering wheel and installs a new steering wheel that contains the airbag.This new advanced technology not only create opportunity for our customers to comply with safety requirements of various installations and people, but they have the advantage to sell their products on markets which was not reachable before. The Safety Steering also saves lives and injuries.
Filed under: Computers & Technology