Airbag apparatus
First Claim
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1. An airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant of a vehicle, wherein the apparatus comprises:
- an inflatable chamber formed by at least one fabric panel and configured to be filled with an inflation gas and deploy into position to protect the occupant; and
a tether connected to the panel to restrain deployment of the airbag, andwherein the tether initially fully extends to a first length when the airbag deploys, andwherein the tether is configured to unfold in order to fully extend to a second length when sufficient force is applied to the tether by the deploying airbag.
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Abstract
An airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant of a vehicle comprises an inflatable chamber formed by at least one fabric panel and configured to be filled with an inflation gas and deploy into position to protect the occupant; and a tether connected to the panel to restrain deployment of the airbag. During the initial deployment sequence of the airbag, the tether fully extends to a first length. The tether unfolds in order to fully extend to a second length when a sufficient force is applied to the tether by the deploying airbag.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. An airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant of a vehicle, wherein the apparatus comprises:
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an inflatable chamber formed by at least one fabric panel and configured to be filled with an inflation gas and deploy into position to protect the occupant; and a tether connected to the panel to restrain deployment of the airbag, and wherein the tether initially fully extends to a first length when the airbag deploys, and wherein the tether is configured to unfold in order to fully extend to a second length when sufficient force is applied to the tether by the deploying airbag. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An occupant restraint apparatus, comprising:
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an airbag for protecting a vehicle occupant, wherein the airbag is configured to be filled with inflation gas and deploy into a position for protecting the occupant; and a tether connected to the airbag and configured to restrain deployment of the airbag, wherein, prior to deployment of the airbag, the tether is configured to extend to a first length and wherein the tether includes a tear section configured to tear to thereby allow the tether to extend to a second length, wherein the second length is longer than the first length; and
wherein the tether unfolds when the tear section tears. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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Specification