Pyrotechnics
Airbag Inflator Technologies
Airbag Inflator Technologies
Professional Engineer (Chemistry), 技術士 (化学部門).
I applied 57 pattents excluding corresponding patents outside Japan. Technology area of these patents are airbag inflator (35), needleless injector (7) and organic chemicals (15).
1. Airbag inflator for automotive airbag systems
For 12 years, I was the general manager of inflator technology development center and was in charge of many types of inflators which were pyro-, stored gas- and hybrid inflators.
In 1995, highly toxic substance, sodium azide (NaN3) was used as a fuel componet for airbag inflators grobally, and there are many incident, caused as the side effect, young children were killed by airbag. I challenged to use non-toxic, more than 2000 g/kg of LD50 substance, and also developed cylidrical gas generant, having hole inside.
The cylindrical gas generant burns both inside and outside, inside burn compensates the decreasing of outer surface area, to reduce initial gas output and reduce the side effect of airbag. The production of cylinfrical gas generant reuired new extrusion technology. We developed and adopt in mass-production as the first in the world. I got Chemical Technology Award from Japan Chemical Society Japan in 2002.
In these 12 years, annual production number grew 100 times larger, and still now growing.
2. Pyrotechnics are also applied to another field products.
In these 7 years, I am inchrage of new product development and of quality assurance for the inflators produced in 6 affiliate sites in the worlds.
For development of needleless injector developmrnt, I assumed that water cutter technology would be applied to needle less injector, and designed an intradermal injectior. Besed on this results, several patents are applied, JP2003285710, JP2005028884, WO2004085951, JP2006035970, etc.
3. Quality Issues
I investigated many issue and established scenario to find root causes.
Most of the cause are quite new phenomenon to establish countermasures based on new theories.