From Henry Ford, who revolutionized the automotive world by mass producing affordable cars, to Allen Breed, creator of the air bag and other vehicle safety features, many American inventors have been inspired by their love affairs with the automobile.
Making cars faster, safer and more efficient remains a goal for many.
Breed, who holds numerous patents involving automotive safety, invented his first sensor and electromechanical safety system in 1968 after using his degree in mechanical engineering to develop explosive devices for the U.S. Army. He saw the opportunity to apply the technology of explosives to safety, specifically sensors and air bags to protect automobile occupants during car crashes.
How are air bags and explosives related?
There are several methods for inflating air bags, but in each case, the inflation must take place very, very quickly to protect the occupant from injury. Essentially, a controlled explosion causes the rapid deployment of the air bag.
The process begins with a crash sensor — an accelerometer — which detects a potential impact by measuring extreme deceleration. The accelerometer sends a signal, usually electric, to an explosive device, which triggers the nearly instantaneous inflation of the air bag.
While air bags have saved thousands of lives, they have caused injuries and deaths as well. One of the inherent challenges of this technology is avoiding injuries from contact with the air bag or pieces of the air bag compartment. Air bag manufacturers are investigating how to make air bags safer while still retaining their effectiveness.
Breed Technologies Inc. has patented scores of inventive air bags, including an air bag that vents air as it inflates, reducing the risk of secondary injuries by reducing the inflated bag’s rigidity. Breed Technologies and other air bag manufacturers continue to develop innovative products for safer travel, exploring such technology as explosive powered seat belts and automatic steering.
As the automotive air bag industry began to grow in importance, Breed Technologies held the patent to the only crash-sensing technology available. Founded by Allen Breed in 1987, Breed Technologies continues to be a leading manufacturer of automotive air bags, and its products are used in more than 400 models of cars. Breed, who died in December 2002, received a number of honors for his work, including National Entrepreneur Of The Year in 1995. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1999 for his invention of the electromechanical crash sensor.
Thanks to Breed and to the scores of other entrepreneurs whose patented ideas have made the asphalt jungle a little safer for us all. Roger D. Emerson is partner and chair of the Intellectual Property practice group at Brouse McDowell. Reach him at (330) 535-5711 or [email protected].
