In a triggering system for activating a safety device, an acceleration sensor outputs a signal for a time duration in which an acceleration impulse exceeds an acceleration magnitude threshold. A first switching device receives the signal output by the acceleration sensor, and electrically connects a power supply to at least one safety response device for the time duration. A time delay device, upon completion of a delay time after receiving the signal output by the acceleration sensor, outputs a signal for the time duration. A second switching device receives the signal output by the time delay device, and electrically connects the power supply to the at least one safety response device for the time duration. When the time duration exceeds the delay time, the first switching device and the second switching device concurrently electrically connect the safety response device to the power supply, activating the safety response device.

A monument mounted airbag system for arresting passenger movement during a sudden acceleration/deceleration event of a moving vehicle includes an airbag assembly including at least one airbag on a first portion of a monument structure, the airbag assembly having a housing at least partially defined by a space between an external member and the monument structure.

Airbag systems for use in aircraft are described herein. In some embodiments, an occupant restraint system for use with a passenger seat on an aircraft includes an under-seat airbag having a leg restraint portion. The under-seat airbag can be stowed approximate to a seat pan prior to use. In operation, the under-seat airbag can inflate to reduce occupant forward head path excursion and/or forward extension of the occupant's legs during a crash or other rapid deceleration event.

Airbag systems for use in aircraft are described herein. In some embodiments, an occupant restraint system for use with a passenger seat on an aircraft includes an under-seat airbag and a lap belt airbag. The lap belt airbag can be operably positioned on a lap belt configured to be fastened around a seat occupant, and the under-seat airbag can be positioned proximate to a seat pan. In operation, the under-seat airbag and the lap belt airbag can inflate simultaneously, or at least approximately simultaneously, to reduce occupant forward head path excursion during a crash or other rapid deceleration event.

An external airbag safety system is provided. The airbag safety system embodied in the present invention is adapted to inflate externally around a vehicle or structure to lessen the impact of a collision. Each external airbag may be urged from a deflated stowed condition to an inflated deployed condition immediately prior the collision sensed by one or more of the sensors. In the stowed condition, the boundaries of the external airbags are mutually inclusive of the boundary of the associated vehicle or structure, while in the deployed condition the inflated airbag forms a shock-absorbing shape protruding operatively beyond the boundary of the associated vehicle or structure, thereby lessening the total destruction wrought from the imminent collision.

A method for controlling deployment of an airbag relative to ground contact includes retrieving a predicted ground contact time for an aircraft from a crash prediction module, retrieving seat position measurements and occupant data for a seat in the aircraft, and comparing the predicted ground contact time, the seat position measurements and the occupant data to pre-established data to determine a custom airbag deployment time with respect to the predicted ground contact time, for at least one airbag on the aircraft. The method includes sending a signal to deploy the at least one airbag based on the custom airbag deployment time.

This invention relates to any field where crafts (such as avionics) where inhabitants of volumes like passage compartments can be found where the area is subject to extreme conditions such as explosion, fire or other traumatic activity linked with a crash, and more specifically a pressurized dual-compartment canister or anti-trauma apparatus for the storage, mixing, and blast-release of a neutralizing chemical compound within the environment of the volume in a craft placed adjacent to the volume for the blast release of a quickly expanding and quickly retracting product.

Systems and methods are provided for inflatable air pads for aircraft. One embodiment is an apparatus that includes an air pad affixed to a mount within an interior of an aircraft. The air pad includes a front face, a bladder that is inflatable within the air pad, and sides that constrain the front face of the air pad to extend a uniform distance outward from the mount when the bladder is inflated. The apparatus also includes an inflator that is coupled with the air pad and is configured to inflate the bladder from an undeployed volume to a deployed volume.

Various embodiments of vehicle occupant safety systems having extendable restraints for use with, for example, airbags are described herein. In one embodiment, for example, the disclosed technology includes a 2-point occupant restraint that secures an occupant in an aircraft seat. In this embodiment, the aircraft seat is positioned in a seating area that includes a forward monument housing a stowed airbag. In the event of a crash or other significant dynamic event that causes, for example, a rapid deceleration of the aircraft above a preset magnitude, the airbag deploys between the occupant and the monument as the dynamic forces cause the occupant to pitch forward. The forward momentum of the occupant's body creates a significant tension load in the 2-point restraint, which causes the restraint to extend by a preset amount, thereby allowing the occupant to move forward in the seat more than the occupant would have moved had the occupant been wearing a conventional, non-extending 2-point restraint. Although the occupant is allowed to move forward, the occupant remains secured to the extended restraint by means of non-extending webbing that is secured around the waist of the occupant. Allowing the occupant to move forward in this manner enables the occupant's upper torso to impact the airbag at a reduced or otherwise more favorable angle. This can reduce both the speed and the angle at which the occupant's head impacts the airbag, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury.

An airbag assembly for leg flail protection and associated systems and methods are described herein. An airbag system configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology can include, for example, a housing having a cavity and an opening in communication with the cavity, an airbag stowed within the cavity, and an inflator operably coupled to the airbag. The airbag can be configured to deploy through the opening of the housing during a crash or other significant dynamic event. The airbag can deploy outwardly from the side-facing seat to reduce occupant leg rotation during the crash or other significant dynamic event. The airbag can be pushed out of the housing before it is fully inflated. The airbag can be stowed and include folded first and second opposing side portions such that when the airbag is deployed, the portion nearest the occupant unfurls toward the occupant prior to the other portion farthest from the occupant unfurling in a direction away from the occupant.