Inflatable seat belts may protect passengers

Inflatable seat belts may protect passengers


(NaturalNews) Two major auto companies have begun rolling out a new
safety feature known as inflatable seat belts to help compensate for the
inability to install frontal airbags in the back seat of cars. Already
featured in the Ford 2011 Explorer, the seat belts are slated to be
included in other Ford models soon, as well as a still-unspecified
Mercedes luxury vehicle.

Normal seat belts are designed to
stretch forward in the event of a collision in order to not only prevent
the passenger from smashing into the interior of the car or other
passengers, but also to lessen the force experienced due to slamming
against the seat belt instead. Inflatable seat belts operate by a
slightly different principle of physics. When a severe frontal collision
is detected, inflatable seat belts fill with gas - much like airbags -
and expand horizontally, thus spreading the impact out over a larger
area of the passenger's chest and thereby decreasing the pressure of the
impact and the damage that goes along with it. The inflatable seat belt
also helps minimize and control motion of the head and neck.

The
seat belt is used, looks and feels just like a normal seat belt. In
fact, 90 percent of people surveyed in Ford's research reported that the
inflatable belt was either as comfortable or more comfortable than a
conventional seat belt. Velcro seams connect many thin layers of fabric
that compress the belt down to its normal size; in a collision, the
expanding gas causes the Velcro to tear apart. Several seconds after
inflating, the seat belt expels the gas through pores in its fabric and
deflates to allow the passenger to exit the vehicle.

Unlike
airbags, these seat belts do not inflate by means of a rapid, heat-fired
chemical reaction. Indeed, such a reaction might cause the seat belt to
heat uncomfortably in a collision, even dangerously. Instead, the seat
belt inflates by means of cold, compressed gas that flows into it from a
cylinder underneath the seat. The cold gas also allows the seat belt to
fill more gently and slowly than an airbag, since the belt does not
need to expand rapidly enough to fill the space between the passenger
and the front of the car.

Innovations in auto safety

Since front seats already come equipped with air bags, the inflatable seat belts
will be installed only in rear seats, perhaps along with side air bags
and, in Mercedes vehicles, the company's new "active seat-belt buckle."

The
active buckle, also slated for inclusion in forthcoming Mercedes luxury
cars, is programmed to raise itself up 70 mm (1.2 inches) out of the
seat whenever the rear doors are opened. The buckle's insertion slot
also lights up. The idea is that this moving, glowing buckle will be
easier to find and use, particularly for children or in the dark, and
that it will make passengers
more likely to use it by drawing attention to itself. The same effect
will occur even if the seat belt is already buckled, to make it easier
for safety personnel to rescue passengers in case of a crash.

The
buckle is also programmed to sink up to four centimeters (1.6 inches)
back into the seat after being buckled, to take out slack and customize
seat belt tightness to the individual passenger.

Both inflatable
seat belts and active seat-belt buckles were tested using virtual human
models rather than crash test dummies, which are not designed for the
type of innovative safety
measures that many auto companies are now experimenting with. Both
features were originally showcased in an experimental safety vehicle
dubbed ESF2009.


Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/036759_inflatable_seat_belts_autos_passengers.html