STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 26, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Autoliv Inc. (NYSE:ALV) -- the worldwide leader in automotive safety systems -- has developed an anti-sliding airbag in cooperation with Renault. The new airbag will be introduced in Renault's new 2- and 3-door Megane, which makes its world debut this week at the Paris auto show.
The anti-sliding bag is not only the first airbag in the world that is aimed at preventing "sub-marining" -- i.e., sliding under the seat belt -- but it is also the first automotive airbag in the world that is made of metal sheets instead of textile fabric. The new airbag improves the protection offered by the seat belts and reduces the risk for injuries to the abdomen. It also improves the protection provided by the frontal airbags by keeping the occupant in a more upright position so the occupant's impact is against the entire bag instead of just the lower parts of the bag. In addition, the anti-sliding bag should drastically reduce the risk of the knees hitting against the instrument panel.
A stopping ridge
The new airbag is housed under the seat cushion. In a frontal crash, the gas generator in the bag inflates the metallic envelope, which lifts the front part of the seat cushion to create a stopping "ridge" for the occupant's pelvis. The steel sheet in the bag is so thin that it assumes the shape of the occupant's pelvis. The pressure in the bag is held constant during the whole crash, thanks to a pressure valve.
The anti-sliding bag inflates to almost five liters. It operates like a regular airbag, but it never touches the occupant, since it lies under the foam and fabric of the seat cushion.
The new airbag will primarily be used in vehicles where it is not possible to install dual seat belt pretensioners. This is typically the case in a two- or a three-door vehicle as the second pretensioner, which is mounted on the outboard side of a front seat, impedes with the access to the rear seats.
The anti-sliding bag will also be introduced in new car models of other European and Japanese vehicle manufacturers in the future.
Other safety systems
The new Megane will be one of the best-equipped vehicles in the world with safety systems. The frontal airbags will be of the latest design where the volume of the bags can be varied from 45 liters to 60 liters on the driver side, depending on the severity of the crash and on how close to the airbag the driver and his seat are. In a similar way, the passenger bag can be inflated to 90 liters or 120 liters.
All seat belt systems in the new Megane include pretensioners that automatically tighten the belt in a crash. In the 5-door Megane, the seat belts even come with dual pretensioners for the front seat positions. All belts in the Megane also have load limiters to further reduce the risk of rib fractures in violent crashes. For side impact protection, all Meganes have chest bags for the front seat occupants as standard and chest bags as optional equipment for the rear-seat occupants. All occupants of window seats are also protected by head- curtain airbags that span both upper sides of the vehicle. All these systems - as well as the steering wheel and the electronics that control the systems - come from Autoliv as the exclusive safety system supplier. Renault plans on manufacturing 800,000 Meganes annually which will make the Megane one of the best selling cars in Europe.
Inquiries: Jean-Marc Kohl, Autoliv's Business Director Renault Phone: +33-153-81 21 40 Mats Odman, Dir. Corp Comm. Cell phone: +46-709-32 09 33
For illustrations please see the press release on www.autoliv.com
Autoliv Inc. develops and manufactures automotive safety systems for all major automotive manufacturers in the world. Together with its joint ventures Autoliv has close to 80 facilities with some 32,000 employees in more than 30 vehicle-producing countries. In addition, the company has technical centres with 20 test tracks in nine countries worldwide, more than any other automotive safety supplier. Sales in 2001 amounted to U.S. $4 billion. The Company's shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ALV) and its Swedish Depository Receipts on the OM Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE:ALIV).
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