Fords innovative airbag design for the 2015 Mustang

Ford Motor Company will be introducing a new inflatable airbag restraint design in the upcoming 2015 Mustang. The system provides the front passenger with a knee airbag protection while also reducing the size and weight of the system. The reduced size allows engineers to create a roomier interior for added comfort. This first passenger knee airbag system will be packaged inside the glove box. This makes the all-new Mustang to have twice as many airbags, twice the number of peripheral crash sensors and additional pre-tensioning safety belts than the outgoing model. Ford’s engineers worked on the development of new materials and construction techniques to create this knee airbag. Unlike a conventional fabric airbag system, this new system comprises of a pliable, injection-moulded plastic bladder sandwiched between the inner and outer panels of the glove box. As the glove box integrated airbag extends straight out from the instrument panel, it does not have to travel as far as a traditional airbag which actually deploys toward the floor before curving upwards.

“We provide a high level of safety, quality and design for our customers and their passengers,” said Sean West, Ford restraints manager. “With this innovative airbag design, we have developed technology that provides protection for vehicle occupants while also reducing weight and enabling greater design flexibility.” The final design is 65 percent lighter, with an inflator that is nearly 75 percent smaller in size than the traditional knee airbag inflator, with the advantage of comparable protection to the passenger. When an impact is detected by the crash sensors, an inflator fills the bladder thus extending the entire glove box’s outer door panel towards the front passenger’s legs. As the glove box door distributes the impact load across a larger surface area, it requires a lower inflation pressure for operation.

“The new Mustang has increased ability to adapt safety systems to a variety of potential situations,” said Jeff Rupp, Mustang safety systems manager. “For example, we've added new anchor-side safety belt pre-tensioning capability and a steering column that can adapt stiffness properties.” This new design of airbags can be expected to be carried over on other Ford models. This new airbag system enables more space to be carved out in the passenger cabin and does cut down on weight as well. Ford already has 15 patents granted for the new system and more are pending.