A rear vehicle seat airbag module configured to be mounted to a portion of a seat back of a front vehicle seat comprising an inflator and an inflatable cushion comprising a lower portion, an upper portion and an external tether connecting the lower portion and the upper portion. The inflator provides inflation gas to the inflatable cushion and the inflatable cushion is configured to deploy forward of an occupant seated in a rear seat of a vehicle by curving away from the occupant. The external tether is configured to control a trajectory of the deployment of the inflatable cushion by pulling the upper portion toward the lower portion to curve the inflatable cushion such that the upper portion is located above the lower portion.

A front air bag for a vehicle is provided. The air bag includes an air bag cushion that has of a plurality of chambers and a gas flow passage that supplies each of the chambers with gas of an inflator. A variable valve selectively closes or opens the gas flow passage. Additionally, a controller determines a type of vehicle collision and operates the variable valve based on the collision type.

A cyclist protection apparatus for a vehicle includes including a front section that protrudes forward from a boarding section and includes an upper surface formed by a hood. The cyclist protection apparatus includes a hood latch and a cyclist airbag device. The hood latch is capable of releasing a closed state of the hood such that a front of the hood is openable. The cyclist airbag device is configured to be disposed in the front section below the hood and deploy a cyclist airbag. The cyclist airbag device is configured to deploy the cyclist airbag forward from below the hood in either one of a state where the front of the hood is open and a state where the front of the hood is openable.

A motor vehicle includes a vehicle body, a drive motor, and a water tank delimited by walls. At least one airbag module includes a gas generator and an airbag configured to deploy in the area of an exterior of the motor vehicle for the protection of pedestrians or the like. The airbag module is fastened above the wall of the water tank. A device for lifting a front hood from a closed initial position into an accident position, which is partially open in the area of the front windscreen.

An airbag includes a main bag section and a center bag section deployable to protrude towards a vehicle interior out of an inboard side of the main bag section. An inboard-side member, which forms the inboard side of the main bag section, is composed of a front component and a rear component. The center bag section includes a front wall and a rear wall. The front wall is composed of a rear extended region of the front component which is disposed in such a manner as to protrude rearward out of the rear edge of the front component. The rear wall is composed of a front extended region of the rear component which protrudes forward out of the front edge of the rear component and has a generally identical outer contour to the rear extended region. The center bag section is formed by jointing outer edges of the front and rear extended regions.

A vehicle front-end stiffener includes a hinge bracket pivotally coupled to a support bracket. The hinge bracket supports a stiffener beam. A spring engages the support bracket and the hinge bracket biasing the stiffener beam in a deployed position. A moving element in a locking mechanism can retractably interlock the hinge bracket when a vehicle exceeds a threshold speed to maintain the stiffener beam in the deployed position.

A curtain airbag for a vehicle has a main chamber shaped in the position being mounted on the vehicle, in the inflated state covering an inner side structure of the vehicle. The curtain airbag has an additional chamber which, in the mounting position, is located at the in driving direction of the vehicle front portion of the main chamber, and deploys in the direction of the interior of the vehicle when the curtain airbag is inflated. The additional chamber is attached to the main chamber so as to be positioned in the inflated state between the front portion of the main chamber and an occupant to be restrained by the curtain airbag.

A front airbag of a vehicle occupant restraint system comprises an outer cover including a front wall and a peripheral wall, wherein a fixing portion (22) for fixing the front airbag tightly to the vehicle is provided on the peripheral wall and the front wall constitutes a baffle for the vehicle occupant and includes a circumferential first peripheral edge (20) which is circumferentially connected at a circumferential second peripheral edge (24) of the peripheral wall to the latter. The length of the two peripheral edges (20, 24) is equal. The front wall includes a cut (12) that is flatly spreadable. The front wall cut (12) has at least one notch (28) starting from the first peripheral edge (20) at two connecting points (32), wherein from each of the connecting points (32) an edge portion (34) of the notch (28) extends into the interior of the front wall cut (12) so that the two edge portions (34) are convergent in V-shape and meet in one point. In the finished front airbag, the two edge portions are connected to each other along their total length so that the connecting points (32) are located in the first peripheral edge (20) and are directly adjacent each other and in the inflated front airbag a bulge is formed in the front wall in the area of the edge portions.

An outside protection apparatus for a vehicle includes an outside airbag device. The outside airbag device includes a bag body expandable to be overlaid on an outer surface of a body of the vehicle, and an inflator configured to expand the bag body. The bag body includes an irregularity formation member at an inner surface of the bag body, and a tether coupled to the irregularity formation member to be bridged in an inner portion of the bag body in a state in which the bag body is expanded. The irregularity formation member forms a projection at a surface of the bag body in response to tension acting on the tether in the state in which the bag body is expanded.

A method and vehicle control system for controlling stiffness of at least one support structure of a vehicle includes at least one of an acceleration sensor, a braking sensor and a corner sensor for providing a driving condition of the vehicle. A controller obtains information from the sensors to determine the driving condition and control the stiffness of a support structure of the vehicle. A magnetic field generator provides a magnetic field to control the stiffness of the support structure having a magnetorheological fluid or elastomer. An electrical source provides electrical current to a support structure including an electrorheological fluid or a support structure including a meta-material. When a vehicle collision is predicted no energy is provided to the support structure to minimize the stiffness and maximize energy absorbance by the support structure in a collision.