The products has been designed for the rear seat occupants and has already entered production, as it is used on the current generation of the Mercedes E-Klasse.
"Conventional load limiters for seat belt systems are intended to provide protection for the full range of passenger weights, a standardized approach which by its very nature requires that the system is adapted to fit larger passengers, represented by the 95th percentile male Hybrid III dummy," said Harald Lutz, TRW's engineering director of seat belt systems.
TRW’s self-adaptive seat belt load limiters can adjust the force level according to the amount of webbing that an occupant uses when he/she buckles up. The system identifies the size of the occupant and classifies the person into two categories. In the event of a crash, the limiter allows for a low or higher load level to be applied.
"While conventional load limiting technology has proven to have a positive impact on reducing injuries in car accidents historically, it still shows some limitations in its standardized approach. Not every passenger conforms to the same height and weight group and the new self-adaptive technology recognizes this, further improving the load limiting approach with a cost effective solution, when compared with solutions which operate using sensor technology, which makes a significant difference," Lutz concluded.
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