Territory Lifts Curtain on New Era of Safety - Ford Forums

RPO83 · 03-11-2004, 05:49

Ford's exciting new Territory will provide one of the safest vehicles on Australian roads when it goes on sale in June.

Territory boasts an exceptionally strong passenger safety cell and will be the first locally manufactured vehicle available with a head-protecting side curtain airbag.

The side curtain airbag will be standard on Territory Ghia and TS variants and available as an option on Territory TX.

"The inflatable side curtain airbag on Territory adds a new dimension of safety in an Australian built vehicle," said Ford Australia Environmental and Safety Engineering Manager Bruce Priddle.

"It works in concert with other side impact protection features such as the vehicle body structure and door intrusion beams, to provide new levels of interior safety.

"The curtain provides head protection for both front and second row occupants in side impact crashes, helping to greatly reduce the risk of potentially serious head injuries.

"The curtain retains the occupant's head inside the vehicle, reducing the risk of injury from impact with objects outside such as power poles, trees or even the front of a high-riding vehicle."

Priddle said extensive research into car accidents revealed the benefits of head protection offered by an inflatable side curtain airbag.

"Australian studies show that 35 per cent of all crashes involve a side impact. The employment of a side curtain airbag results in a 45 per cent reduction in the probability of a fatality.

"In a US study, the number of deaths from side impacts in cars without a head-protecting side airbag was more than double those where a side curtain airbag was fitted. The study also found that a side airbag results in a 45 per cent reduction in the probability of a fatality."

The inflatable side curtain airbag on Territory runs from the A-pillar to the C-pillar and, when deployed, drops down to the belt line of the vehicle to protect the occupant's head.

Packaged behind the head liner, it flips the lining inboard and deflects past the B and C-pillars, while a retaining clip in the A-pillar holds it in place.

The trim on the A-pillar was specially designed to cater for the retaining clip with high strength plastics.

The airbag itself is similar to the airbag found in the steering wheel, but is a multi-chamber design as it covers a far greater area.

The side curtain airbag is linked to four sensors � one in each B and C-pillar � which are controlled by the Advanced Restraints Module.

When the sensor detects a change in lateral, or sideways, acceleration of sufficient magnitude, it deploys the side airbag to fully inflate in just 24 milliseconds.

The driver's airbag mounted in the steering wheel takes 40 milliseconds to deploy.

"This rapid deployment of the side curtain airbag is necessary because of the limited space between the occupants and the side of the car," Priddle said.

The sensors are finely tuned so the side curtain airbag will only deploy when necessary. It will not deploy if, for example, a stray shopping trolley hits Territory in a car park.

Development on the side curtain airbag began almost five years ago.

"It was always designed to be an integral part of the Territory program."

Priddle said the inflatable side curtain airbag added another feature to the award winning Intelligent Safety System (ISS) in Territory, which made its debut in the BA program.

"The ISS tailors airbag deployment according to the type and severity of the crash. It is a fully integrated, computer-driven system that 'thinks' about, and responds to, different accident conditions.

"ISS features integrated seat belt buckle pretensioners, energy management retractors, seat belt usage sensors, a driver's seat position sensor, dual stage inflating airbags and a special crash severity sensor."

Priddle said the sensors were constantly feeding data to the vehicle's Advanced Restraints Module (ARM) � the 'brain' of the system.

"The module takes into account the seating position of the driver, whether the front driver and passenger seat belts are being used and the severity of the accident before deploying appropriate safety technologies during frontal collisions."

The ARM controls the variable front airbag inflator output and pyrotechnic seat belt pretensioners according to the severity of a frontal crash.

It also controls the deployment of the inflatable side curtain airbags and tells the Body Electronics Module (BEM) to unlock the doors in the event of a crash.

"In essence, the system determines the severity of the crash and deploys the airbags accordingly.

"For example, the driver seat sensors 'know' how close the driver is sitting to the wheel, and varies the inflation rate of the driver's airbag accordingly.

"It all adds up to optimum levels of protection for all the occupants inside Territory."

"Territory also features the acclaimed beltminder system, which provides an intermittent visible and audible warning if the driver's seat belt is not fastened with the vehicle in motion."

All seatbelts in Territory are three-point lap-sash, for enhanced safety in the front, second or optional third row of seats.

Structural safety was paramount in the minds of engineers when it came to designing and building Territory.

"A strong passenger safety cell is fundamental to structural safety, but the key element is management of energy load paths at the front, side and rear of the vehicle.

"Territory's structure has been engineered to protect the passenger compartment by spreading energy during a crash, directing it through complementary parallel paths in the body."

Priddle said Territory was the first Australian vehicle to utilise locally manufactured tailor welded blank technology.

"This technology laser welds different gauges of sheet metal together prior to the stamping operation, efficiently customising the structure to maintain the safety cell.

"This distributes the load and helps preserve the integrity of the passenger safety cell in a collision," Priddle said.

Territory also includes anti-intrusion pedals that decouple the brake pedal from the brake booster shaft in a frontal crash.

"Drivers often hit the brakes hard in a crash, stiffening their leg while pushing on the pedal. In a severe crash, the pedal can be forced backward, resulting in potentially serious leg injuries.

"The anti-intrusion pedal system allows the other safety features in Territory to provide protection unimpeded by a deformed brake pedal."

Priddle said one of those features was the Laminated Impact Protection Panel (LIPP).

This laminate of steel and energy absorbing foam is located under the carpet in the driver's footwell, providing improved lower leg protection.

"Territory features excellent active safety features such as stability control on AWD models, traction control and ABS to help the driver avoid an accident.

"However, in the event Territory is involved in a crash, the superb passive safety features have been engineered to produce one of the safest vehicles on our roads."

Priddle said Territory was designed to meet the highest safety standards.

"Unlike many imported 4WD vehicles, Territory RWD and AWD variants comply with the same stringent passenger car safety standards that Falcon does, and employs a further development of the Falcon ISS that was awarded a gold medal at the 2003 SAE Australasian Engineering Excellence Awards

"Territory fully meets Australian Design Regulations 69, 72 and 73 which involve a full frontal crash test, side impact crash test and offset impact crash test.

"With its combination of excellent safety structure, collapsible pedals, optional side curtain airbag and the latest active safety features such as Dynamic Stability Control on AWD models, Territory is one of the safest vehicles we have ever put to market," Priddle said.

*More images available on request.