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Acura Introduces Two New Air Bag Safety Systems in 1999 RL

9 October 1998

Acura Introduces Two New Air Bag Safety Systems in 1999 RL: Side Air Bag With Passenger Sensors and First Ever Dual-Stage Passenger SRS

    TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 8 --  The 1999 Acura 3.5 RL,
redesigned inside and out for the new model year, features two major
breakthroughs in air bag technology to enhance front seat passenger safety.
    One system automatically adjusts the deployment of the front passenger SRS
airbag based on the severity of the crash.  The Honda patented system, which
uses a dual-stage inflator, is the first such design ever to be used on an
automobile.
    The second breakthrough is a side air bag system that uses a series of
seven sensors to monitor size and position of the front seat occupant to
adjust its deployment.  The system uses information from the sensors to de-
activate the bag if the passenger is determined to be too small and out of
position.  Together, the innovative new systems offer a highly responsive
combination of supplemental restraint systems.

    Dual-Stage Inflator
    To enhance the protection of the front seat passenger during a variety of
frontal impact collisions, varying air bag deployment power is used in the new
3.5RL.  During a slow speed collision, the dual-stage inflator system for the
dash-mounted air bag is triggered in sequence, resulting in slower overall air
bag deployment with less initial force.  During a higher speed collision, both
inflators operate simultaneously for full immediate inflation, to correspond
with the greater impact force.
    The airbag system logic also controls the operation of the seatbelt
pretensioners which automatically tighten the seatbelts during a collision to
help hold occupants in place.  An additional new feature designed into the
system also detects whether the passenger's seat belt is fastened.  If the
passenger seatbelt is not fastened, the air bag deploys full force at a lower
collision speed to help offer more protection to the unbelted occupant.
    The operation parameters for the dual-stage air bag inflator and seatbelt
pretensioner are shown in the following table:

              Dual-Stage Front Passenger Air Bag Advanced Logic

    Impact Speed        Seatbelt    Driver Front          Passenger Front
                      Pretensioner     Air Bag                Air Bag

    Very Low               OFF           OFF                    OFF
    Low                    ON            OFF                    OFF
    Mid-range              ON            ON            Activated in sequence
    High                   ON            ON           Activated Simultaneously

    Side Air Bag System
    Recognizing that a child might occasionally be placed in the front seat of
a vehicle equipped with a side air bag, the 3.5RL features an advanced side
air bag system which uses a matrix of seven sensors in the front passenger
seat to determine occupant size and seating position.  Six height sensors are
integrated into the seat back to determine the passengers size and a head
sensor is built into upper portion of the side bolster to monitor if a small
passenger is leaning into the path of deployment of the bag.  The system uses
this information to determine if it is safe to deploy the side air bag, and
de-activates the side air bag if the passenger is too small and out of
position -- such as when napping against the door.
    To further reduce the risk of unintentional side air bag deployment, the
system uses a three point sensing device, composed of one central sensor and
an additional sensor at each side of the vehicle.  The sensors determine the
force, direction and type of impact, then deploy the appropriate side air bag.
The 1999 RL benefits from nearly 300 refinements throughout the vehicle for
the new model year, including the air bag enhancements mentioned above.