SRS - what is it? What is included in the SRS system?

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

At the moment, almost everyone, when buying a new car, can order an optional installation of a system from a dealer. It has become quite commonplace. But there are options that are already included in the package, and you do not need to pay extra for them.

Among these is the SRS system. What is it, and what components does it include? Find out the answers to these questions in the course of our today's article.

Characteristic

SRS - what is it? This system is a set of elements installed in the car, which can reduce the consequences of traffic accidents for the driver and passengers. According to its classification, the SRS Airbag belongs to the structural elements of safety. This means that all its components are installed not as an option (as may be the case with an air conditioner), but without fail. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a top-end or “base” package, both cars will still contain the same set of passive safety devices.

So SRSis a set of structural elements that are used to protect passengers and the driver from injury in an accident.

Components of the system

SRS-system may include the following components:

1. Seat belt (usually three-point and fitted to each passenger and driver seat).
2. Belt tensioners.
3. Battery emergency disconnect.
4. Airbags (in the 90s were considered an invisible luxury for car enthusiasts).
5. Active head restraints.

Depending on the make and model of the machine, the SRS may include a number of other devices. For example, it can be a rollover protection system (like on convertibles), additional attachments for child seats, etc.

Recently, many cars began to be equipped with pedestrian protection elements. On some models, there is even an emergency call system.

SRS passive safety management

What kind of system, we have already figured out, now let's look at how it is controlled. But not everything is so clear-cut here. All of the elements listed above are electronically controlled to ensure efficient interaction between the various components of the SRS. What does it mean? Structurally, this system is a set of various measuring sensors, a control unit and actuators. The former perform the function of fixing the parameters at which an emergency occurs, and convert them into shortelectrical signals. These may include impact sensors, front row seat positions, and 3-point seat belt buckle switches. As a rule, the automaker installs 2 such devices on each side that react to shocks. Also, these sensors are closely related to the active head restraints, which, when a signal is given, go into active mode.

Thus, each of the components of the passive safety system closely interacts with certain sensors and, due to special impulses, in a matter of milliseconds allows you to inflate the Airbag and its other components through the SRS unit.

Executing devices

Among the performing devices in the car, the following should be noted:

• Belt tensioners.
• Pillow igniters.
• Head restraint drive mechanism.
• Warning lamp on the dashboard of a car that signals unfastened seat belts.

The activation of each of these components occurs in accordance with the software provided by the manufacturer.

Which devices can go off in a frontal impact?

In a frontal collision, the SRS can activate several safety elements at once, depending on its strength. It can be both tensioners and pillows (possibly all together).

In a frontal-diagonal collision, depending on the angle and scale of the impact force in the system, the following are activated:

1. Belt tensioners.
2. Front airbags.
3. Pillowsalong with tensioners.
4. Left or Right Airbag.

In some cases (usually at speeds over 60 kilometers per hour), the system may activate all of the above elements, thereby providing maximum safety and minimal risk of injury to passengers in both rows of seats, as well as to the driver himself.

Which devices can trigger in a side impact?

In this case, depending on the equipment of the car, either the belt tensioners or the side airbags may work. The latter are usually installed on cars of the middle and more prestigious classes. Budget cars are equipped only with tensioners, which are triggered upon impact, fixing the human body in the seat.

Also, depending on the strength of the impact, the battery disconnector is activated in the car. Thus, in the event of a collision, the risk of a short circuit or the formation of a spark is completely reduced. This reduces the possibility of unauthorized ignition of the vehicle as a result of a hole in the gas tank or other deformations of body elements.

What are active head restraints?

These elements began to be equipped on cars much later than the classic seat belt tensioners. Usually active head restraints are installed on the backs of the seats in the front and rear rows in the cabin. Due to the presence of such elements, the risk of a fracture in the cervical region during a rear impact is reduced to a minimum (and this area is one of the most vulnerable tofractures). Thus, active head restraints significantly increase the chances of life even with seemingly fatal blows. The first copies of such devices began to be installed on German Mercedes. According to their design, these head restraints are divided into two groups and can be either active or fixed. In the first case, the headrest is adjustable in height and angle. Motionless analogues are rigidly built into the seat backs. However, even such head restraints do an excellent job of their main function - reducing injury risk in various types of collisions.

So, we found out what the SRS system in a car is and how it works in various collisions.