Injuries in side impact collisions constitute one fourth of the serious-to-fatal injuries sustained by occupants in ordinary passenger cars. The Side Impact Protection System (SIPS), introduced in the latest Volvo models, provides a substantially enhanced protection for car occupants in side collisions.
Further protection can be achieved by adding a quick-deploying side airbag which will help reduce and mitigate injuries in car-to-car side impacts as well as in collisions with trucks and poles. Sensing time and bag inflation time must be extremely short due to the short deformation distance available.
Several locations and sensing possibilities have been evaluated. The system described has the sensor, the gas-generator, and the bag in one closed unit, making the function simple and reliable. The system is completely non-electric — the function is a mechanically triggered pyrotechnic device, safe against unwanted trigging from minor exterior violence.