Airbag - Deutsches Museum

Arriving safely
Airbag Development of the airbag Air for safety
The airbag is an inflatable cushion made
of tough close-woven plastic fabric, built
into the steering wheel or dashboard, or the
doors. In the event of an impact, it inflates
in 20 – 25 milliseconds.
The triggering device must be able to distinguish
between a crash and lesser jolts. In
a serious accident, a precisely timed pulse
is transmitted to the gas generator. There,
a solid-fuel charge is ignited to produce a
harmless gas (95 % nitrogen).
This flows into the airbag under high pressure,
inflating it to a predefined volume (in
this case 60 litres).
In conjunction with the seatbelt, the airbag
protects a car occupant’s head and chest
from injury.
More information:
Media Station next to the exhibit
www.deutsches-museum-bonn.de
The airbag idea was patented by Walter
Linderer in 1953. The first attempts to put
it into practice were made in the USA in
the 1950s. Experiments with compressedair
bottles failed, because the air did not
fill the bag fast enough. The bottle was also
too large and heavy to build into a steering
wheel.
Mercedes-Benz, formerly named Daimler-
Benz, began developing the airbag in 1967.
The technical implementation was patented
in 1971. Experts from Mercedes-Benz,
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), and
Bayern-Chemie cooperated in the research
and development. The airbag was ready
for series production in 1980 and cars then
began to be fitted with them.
Three problems had to be solved before
the new safety system could be put into
practice: inflation, the bag itself, and the
triggering mechanism.
The crash sensors developed jointly by
Mercedes-Benz and MBB measure and
analyse the deceleration of the car
electronically.
In the event of an impact a pyrotechnical
gas generator is triggered and generates the
necessary quantity of gas within 10 – 40
milliseconds.
Experts at Bayern-Chemie developed the
explosive charge, which is compressed into
tablets.
So that the bag does not become detached
under pressure, Mercedes-Benz designed
one with retaining straps.
Caption
Mercedes-Benz airbag patent
(application in 1971).
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