The present invention discloses a multiple-chamber airbag structure where the airbag design has at least a stiff lower section to reduce the chest velocity and a soft upper section to meet the HIC requirements. Although stowed and deployed as a unitary airbag, the present invention includes separate chambers, which allows for independent gas inflation and stiffness control with venting.

An airbag includes a body and a redirecting cloth that is composed of a sheet material having flexibility and disposed inside the body. The redirecting cloth includes an inlet port for taking in an inflation gas; one or more outlet ports that release the inflation gas as flown from the inlet port towards predetermined regions of the body; and a sew region that sews first and second terminal edges of the sheet material together. Each of the first and second terminal edges of the sheet material includes a turned-and-sewn region that has been turned inward and sewn. At least a part of the sew region is formed by sewing terminals of the turned-and-sewn regions together.

Vehicle safety devices, seam tapes for use in safety airbags along with their methods of formation and use are provided. The vehicle safety device can comprise an airbag and a pyrotechnic device positioned within working proximity to an aperture defined in the airbag and configured to fill the interior space of the airbag with a gas upon ignition. The vehicle safety device can also comprise a seam tape positioned over the seam joining a first fabric section and a second fabric section of the airbag. The seam tape can be configured to melt enough to flow into the needle puncture holes formed along the seam upon ignition of the pyrotechnic device.

A cushion of an airbag apparatus may include: a rear panel having a gas inlet formed at the rear thereof, and a first connecting end formed along the edge thereof and deployed forward when gas is introduced into a primary filling room open to the front; and a front panel having a second connecting end formed along the edge thereof at the front of the rear panel and coupled to the first connecting end, and a passenger support region which is formed at the front surface thereof and deployed forward when gas is introduced into a secondary filling room open to the rear.

A restraint system includes an inflator, an airbag inflatable by the inflator and having an exterior surface, and a fabric tunnel attached on the exterior surface of the airbag and elongated from a sealed end to an open end. The tunnel is fluidly isolated from the inflator. The tunnel is oriented relative to the airbag so that the open end is aimed in a direction of motion during inflation of the airbag.

Airbag tear stitches, tear stitch patterns, and related airbag cushions. Some embodiments comprise an airbag cushion comprising a tear stitch, such as one or more tear stitches configured to rupture upon deployment of the airbag cushion. The tear stitch may comprise a first leg extending to a tip and a second leg extending to the tip. The airbag cushion may be configured such that a line intersects the first leg and the second leg at a first angle, the first angle being defined halfway between the first leg and the second leg. The line may be aligned with at least one directional load force to be experienced by the tear stitch during deployment of the airbag cushion.

A side airbag apparatus includes an airbag that is configured to be deployed and inflated between a body side portion of a vehicle and an occupant seated in a seat in a passenger compartment by a pressure of gas supplied from an inflator. The airbag includes an outer bag and an inner bag, which is provided in the outer bag and accommodates the inflator. The inner bag includes an upper-side inflation portion, which projects forward when inflated to correspond to the shoulder of the occupant, a lower-side inflation portion, which projects forward when inflated to correspond to the lumbar region of the occupant, and a recessed portion, which is provided between the upper-side inflation portion and the lower-side inflation portion. The inner bag includes a connecting hole that connects the inside and the outside of the inner bag to each other.

An airbag (10) comprises a plurality of interconnected adjacent inflatable cells, wherein a cell is attached to an adjacent cell by at least two seam lines (31, 32), said lines being spaced from each other to define a cell area, which is comprising a gas passage portion (1c, 2c, 3c, 4c) between said adjacent cells.

Provided is a side impact airbag which is deployed between two seats in the width direction of a vehicle to thereby prevent passengers seated on the two seats from colliding with each other. The airbag is configured to, when being fully inflated, form recesses on both sides thereof to accommodate the shoulders and arms of the passengers, such that the fully inflated airbag is configured to be maintained in a certain posture by the pressure applied to the shoulders and arms of the passengers accommodated in the recesses.

An airbag includes a bag body that includes a first panel and a second panel which are opposed to each other, a partitioning tether that is disposed in such a manner as to partition an interior of the bag body, a communication hole that is formed in the tether for providing gas communication in the interior of the bag body, and first and second joints that respectively join first and second edges of the tether to the first and second panels of the bag body. The communication hole has a generally rectangular contour which has two corners in a vicinity of each of the first and second edges of the tether. In both of the first and second edges of the tether, the corners of the communication hole are disposed closer to the first or second edge of the partitioning tether than a corresponding one of the joints.