Air bag that inflates in two chambers part of new Toyota safety features
06-11-05, 07:08 AM
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Air bag that inflates in two chambers part of new Toyota safety features
Saturday, June 11, 2005
By Yuri Kageyama / AP Business Writer
OYAMA-CHO, Japan -- Toyota Motor Corp. has developed air bags that inflate as two bags that the Japanese automaker says are safer than standard air bags in crashes.
The twin-chamber air bag -- available on Lexus IS luxury sedans that go on sale later this year in North America, Europe and Japan -- decreases damage to the neck by distributing the impact of a collision more evenly not only to the head but also to the shoulders.
The air bag for the passenger seat was part of a demonstration of safety features for reporters Friday at Toyota's test course at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture, west of Tokyo.
Global competition in the auto industry is intensifying, prompting manufacturers like Toyota to try to offer more than simple reliability and reasonable pricing to gain an edge over rivals.
Toyota, the world's No. 2 automaker, has been focusing on services such as a mobile-phone operator link that kicks in when an air bag inflates as well as sophisticated safety features to boost brand image.
Among the other features Toyota showed was VGRS, which stands for variable gear ratio steering. It controls steering and braking to reduce spinning and skidding when braking and turning on slippery surfaces.
The system includes antilock brakes and power steering but combines other complex engineering to keep the car straight and deliver a safer ride.
The feature became available in the United States on the Lexus GS luxury car earlier this year, and will be available in Japan this summer, when the Lexus brand and dealership are being introduced here.
Toyota, based in Toyota city, also showed a driving simulator based on computer game "Gran Turismo."
People hop into a capsule that resembles a driver's seat to try out driving with and without VGRS, twisting around virtual cones on a monitor, like an arcade game, complete with loud music and rocking movements. The machine will become part of showrooms, officials said.
As part of its effort to boost traffic safety, Toyota is also giving driving lessons. The course at the facility has sprouting fountains on roads that work as safe obstacles and a ramp like a race course so drivers can pretend they got stuck in a tilted car after a crash.
By Yuri Kageyama / AP Business Writer
OYAMA-CHO, Japan -- Toyota Motor Corp. has developed air bags that inflate as two bags that the Japanese automaker says are safer than standard air bags in crashes.
The twin-chamber air bag -- available on Lexus IS luxury sedans that go on sale later this year in North America, Europe and Japan -- decreases damage to the neck by distributing the impact of a collision more evenly not only to the head but also to the shoulders.
The air bag for the passenger seat was part of a demonstration of safety features for reporters Friday at Toyota's test course at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture, west of Tokyo.
Global competition in the auto industry is intensifying, prompting manufacturers like Toyota to try to offer more than simple reliability and reasonable pricing to gain an edge over rivals.
Toyota, the world's No. 2 automaker, has been focusing on services such as a mobile-phone operator link that kicks in when an air bag inflates as well as sophisticated safety features to boost brand image.
Among the other features Toyota showed was VGRS, which stands for variable gear ratio steering. It controls steering and braking to reduce spinning and skidding when braking and turning on slippery surfaces.
The system includes antilock brakes and power steering but combines other complex engineering to keep the car straight and deliver a safer ride.
The feature became available in the United States on the Lexus GS luxury car earlier this year, and will be available in Japan this summer, when the Lexus brand and dealership are being introduced here.
Toyota, based in Toyota city, also showed a driving simulator based on computer game "Gran Turismo."
People hop into a capsule that resembles a driver's seat to try out driving with and without VGRS, twisting around virtual cones on a monitor, like an arcade game, complete with loud music and rocking movements. The machine will become part of showrooms, officials said.
As part of its effort to boost traffic safety, Toyota is also giving driving lessons. The course at the facility has sprouting fountains on roads that work as safe obstacles and a ramp like a race course so drivers can pretend they got stuck in a tilted car after a crash.
06-11-05, 07:23 AM
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Toyota Develops New Vehicle Safety Technologies
Tokyo, Japan, June 10, 2005 - (JCN Newswire) - TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today that, to help promote the development of safe vehicles, it has added an active steering function to its VDIM (Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management) vehicle control system and developed a two-chamber airbag aimed at lessening the impact of airbag deployment on front-seat passengers. These technologies will be offered in new models of the Lexus brand, which is due to debut in Japan this summer.
Against a backdrop of the increasing importance of traffic safety policies, and in order to contribute to the complete elimination of traffic fatalities, which is the ultimate goal of a society that values mobility, Toyota intends to strengthen its initiatives in the future through: 1) the development of even safer vehicles, 2) activities designed to educate people in traffic safety and 3) participation in the creation of a safe traffic environment.
Features of the Newly Developed Technologies
VDIM with active steering control added Toyota's first-generation VDIM integrated VSC (Vehicle Stability Control), ABS (Anti-lock Brake System), TRC (Traction Control) and electric power steering. By constantly monitoring driver action and vehicle status, it used integrated control to help stabilize a vehicle before performance limits were breached. It made its debut in July 2004 on the Toyota Crown Majesta.
Adding to this, the new VDIM features an active steering function for optimal control of the front-wheel steering angle through VGRS (Variable Gear Ratio Steering), a new technology that can flexibly vary steering responsiveness. As a result, even during startup or braking when the friction coefficient (slipperiness) of the road surfaces under the right and left wheels differs, the new VDIM prevents the vehicle from going off course by optimally controlling the front-wheel steering angle in conjunction with the brakes, engine and steering torque. In this way, a higher level of preventive safety is achieved, along with ideal vehicle performance.
SRS Twin-chamber Airbag To help make front-seat passengers safer, TMC became the world's first*1 automaker to develop a two-chamber airbag. TMC's SRS Twin-chamber Airbag features an advanced shape and is based on the omni-support concept*2. Designed for the front passenger seat, the new airbag's two chambers create a depression in the center of the airbag upon deployment. This deployment is met by multiple surfaces, such as the head and shoulders, to disperse the physical impact of the airbag on the passenger. As a result, unlike existing airbags, which are deployed as a single bag, the new airbag can be expected to lessen the localized force applied to the human body immediately following deployment.
For further details on these safety-enhancing technologies, please go to the Toyota website at http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/05/0610.html
source : theautochannel
Against a backdrop of the increasing importance of traffic safety policies, and in order to contribute to the complete elimination of traffic fatalities, which is the ultimate goal of a society that values mobility, Toyota intends to strengthen its initiatives in the future through: 1) the development of even safer vehicles, 2) activities designed to educate people in traffic safety and 3) participation in the creation of a safe traffic environment.
Features of the Newly Developed Technologies
VDIM with active steering control added Toyota's first-generation VDIM integrated VSC (Vehicle Stability Control), ABS (Anti-lock Brake System), TRC (Traction Control) and electric power steering. By constantly monitoring driver action and vehicle status, it used integrated control to help stabilize a vehicle before performance limits were breached. It made its debut in July 2004 on the Toyota Crown Majesta.
Adding to this, the new VDIM features an active steering function for optimal control of the front-wheel steering angle through VGRS (Variable Gear Ratio Steering), a new technology that can flexibly vary steering responsiveness. As a result, even during startup or braking when the friction coefficient (slipperiness) of the road surfaces under the right and left wheels differs, the new VDIM prevents the vehicle from going off course by optimally controlling the front-wheel steering angle in conjunction with the brakes, engine and steering torque. In this way, a higher level of preventive safety is achieved, along with ideal vehicle performance.
SRS Twin-chamber Airbag To help make front-seat passengers safer, TMC became the world's first*1 automaker to develop a two-chamber airbag. TMC's SRS Twin-chamber Airbag features an advanced shape and is based on the omni-support concept*2. Designed for the front passenger seat, the new airbag's two chambers create a depression in the center of the airbag upon deployment. This deployment is met by multiple surfaces, such as the head and shoulders, to disperse the physical impact of the airbag on the passenger. As a result, unlike existing airbags, which are deployed as a single bag, the new airbag can be expected to lessen the localized force applied to the human body immediately following deployment.
For further details on these safety-enhancing technologies, please go to the Toyota website at http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/05/0610.html
source : theautochannel
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