Airbag cushion assemblies comprising an airbag inflation tunnel positioned within an airbag cushion. Some embodiments may comprise an airbag cushion comprising an inflator opening and an airbag inflation tunnel coupled to the airbag cushion. The inflation tunnel may be configured to direct inflation gas from an inflator positioned within the inflator opening down the airbag inflation tunnel upon deployment of the inflator. A plurality of directional vent openings may be positioned within the airbag inflation tunnel that may be configured to direct the inflation gas laterally relative to the inflator. The inflation tunnel may further be configured such that the inflation gas contacts a terminal end of the inflation tunnel prior to exiting the plurality of directional vent openings.

Airbag cushion assemblies comprising an airbag inflation tunnel positioned within an airbag cushion. Some embodiments may comprise an airbag cushion comprising an inflator opening and an airbag inflation tunnel coupled to the airbag cushion. The inflation tunnel may be configured to direct inflation gas from an inflator positioned within the inflator opening down the airbag inflation tunnel upon deployment of the inflator. A plurality of directional vent openings may be positioned within the airbag inflation tunnel that may be configured to direct the inflation gas laterally relative to the inflator. The inflation tunnel may further be configured such that the inflation gas contacts a terminal end of the inflation tunnel prior to exiting the plurality of directional vent openings.

Side airbags to provide protection to vehicle occupants are provided. The side airbags include an outer skin forming an inflatable chamber having an upper thorax portion and a lower pelvic portion for contact with the thorax region and the pelvic region, respectively, of the associated vehicle occupant. The side airbag includes a loop diffuser for placement about an inflator disposed within the inflatable chamber. The loop diffuser has opposed first and second open ends to permit communication of inflation gas to the upper thorax portion and to the lower pelvic portion, respectively, of the inflatable chamber. The loop diffuser permits significantly greater flow of inflation gas to the lower pelvic portion as compare to flow of inflation gas to the upper thorax portion of the inflatable chamber. The first open end can be significantly smaller in cross section as compared to the second open end.

A safety on-board vehicle multi-force restraint self-controlling system improves the security of the air bags for children and light women passengers according requirements of the final rule of Section §571.208 Standard No. 208; “Occupant crash protection” by employing the accurate weight occupant KEF technology. The system also provides, in case of an accident, different forces applied to the occupant bodies of different weight categories by employing an original occupant's weight, measured at the beginning of a trip by innovative weighing KEF technology, which is eventually modified during the trip according to the current values of the morphological and driving factors. The system provides secure personalization of the occupants' weight by a finger print sensor. From beginning and during the trip, an extracting unit continuously monitors the needed combination of openings that gives an access for the extra gas to move from inflator to the atmosphere by a signal from the crash sensor, and the combination satisfies the code of the accurate original weight of the occupant, modified according to the current morphological and the car trip situation parameters: car crash severity, position of the occupant, seat belt state, and other possible parameters of the current trip situation. The multi-force restraint system provides a self-control and prevents the inflator from rupturing when an excessive internal pressure is produced.

A vehicle seat provided with a side airbag device including: a side airbag that is stored within a side portion of a seat back, and that receives gas supplied from an inflator so as to inflate and deploy at a side of a seated vehicle occupant; seat back upholstery that forms upholstery for the seat back, and in which a burst line portion, which is a seam portion, ruptures when it receives inflation pressure from the side airbag, and in which a three-way junction is formed in a seam portion as a result of a seam portion that branches off from the burst line portion being provided; and reinforcement fabric that is joined to both a portion of the burst line portion that bridges an intersection point of the three-way junction and a seat back frame, and that stretches when it receives inflation pressure from the side airbag.

A vehicle seat provided with a side airbag device including: a side airbag that is stored within a side portion of a seat back, and that receives gas supplied from an inflator so as to inflate and deploy at a side of a seated vehicle occupant; seat back upholstery that forms upholstery for the seat back, and in which a burst line portion, which is a seam portion, ruptures when it receives inflation pressure from the side airbag, and in which a three-way junction is formed in a seam portion as a result of a seam portion that branches off from the burst line portion being provided; and reinforcement fabric that is joined to both a portion of the burst line portion that bridges an intersection point of the three-way junction and a seat back frame, and that stretches when it receives inflation pressure from the side airbag.

A side airbag that is configured to reduce risk of injury to a passenger by differentiating inner pressures in an airbag cushion at the beginning of a deployment of the airbag cushion. The side airbag includes a diffuser configured to supply gas discharged from an inflator to an inside of an airbag cushion, a separator partitioning an internal space of the airbag cushion up and down so that an upper region of the airbag cushion is more rapidly inflated than a lower region of the airbag cushion by the gas introduced into the airbag cushion through the diffuser, and a passage formed between the upper region and the lower region such that the gas flows between the upper region and the lower region.

Airbag cushion diffusers comprising one or more frangible portions and related airbag cushion assemblies and methods. In some embodiments, an airbag cushion assembly may comprise an airbag cushion having an internal diffuser positioned therein. The internal diffuser may comprise a lower panel that may be sewn or otherwise directly coupled to the airbag cushion and an upper panel coupled to the lower panel about respective entire peripheries of the upper and lower panels so as to define a diffuser chamber between the upper panel and the lower panel. The upper panel may comprise a plurality of openings for delivery of inflation gas therethrough and may comprise one or more openings, slits, and/or weakened regions configured to facilitate tearing in specific locations of the diffuser.

An airbag device, including: a gas generator that generates expansion gas; an airbag that expands and deploys by the expansion gas to restrain an occupant; and a gas rectifying member provided inside the airbag so as to cover the occupant side of the gas generator, and that controls the flow of the expansion gas. The gas rectifying member is formed from a flat panel including a portion bilaterally symmetrical to a line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock (X axis) when a plane parallel to a rim of the steering wheel is regarded as a clock face, and has a configuration where a lower opening portion for discharging the expansion gas in a 6 o'clock direction is formed by stitching left and right edge portions of the panel together, and the occupant side of the gas generator is covered.

An airbag device, including: a gas generator that generates expansion gas; an airbag that expands and deploys by the expansion gas to restrain an occupant; and a gas rectifying member provided inside the airbag so as to cover the occupant side of the gas generator, and that controls the flow of the expansion gas. The gas rectifying member is formed from a flat panel including a portion bilaterally symmetrical to a line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock (X axis) when a plane parallel to a rim of the steering wheel is regarded as a clock face, and has a configuration where a lower opening portion for discharging the expansion gas in a 6 o'clock direction is formed by stitching left and right edge portions of the panel together, and the occupant side of the gas generator is covered.