An airbag assembly is configured for mounting above an occupant in a vehicle. The example airbag assembly includes an airbag housing that is configured to enclose an airbag cushion when the airbag cushion is in an uninflated state. The airbag cushion is connected to the airbag housing and is configured to project outward from the airbag housing when the airbag cushion inflates from the uninflated state to an inflated state. The example airbag assembly also includes a tether connected at a first attachment point and connected to the airbag cushion at a second attachment point. The first attachment point is located horizontally closer to the occupant than the second attachment point when the airbag cushion is in the inflated state such that the tether limits movement of the airbag cushion in a direction away from the occupant.

An airbag of a vehicle occupant restraint system has an actively releasable tether element (14) disposed in an interior (16) of the airbag (10) which is connected, at an airbag-side fixation (18), permanently to the airbag (10) in the region of a contact zone (20) for the occupant, and which comprises a detachable fixing point (22) for the release. The airbag (10) can take up a smaller first filled volume (V.sub.1) in which the tether element (14) and the detachable fixing point (22) are not released, and a larger second filled volume (V.sub.2) in which the tether element (14) is released at the actively detachable fixing point (22). In addition to the tether element (14), a tether element restrainer (26) disposed in the interior (16) of the airbag (10) is provided which acts upon a point of action (28) on a vehicle-side portion (34) of the tether element (14) distant from the airbag-side permanent fixation (18) of the tether element (14) and which is permanently fixed to a coupling point (30) distant from the contact zone (20) so that the vehicle-side portion (34) of the released tether element (14) remains connected fixedly to the vehicle via the tether element restrainer (26).

An occupant protection device for a vehicle includes a first bag, a second bag, and a deployment controller. The first bag deploys in front of an occupant of the vehicle. The second bag deploys adjacent to the first bag. The deployment controller selects a first deployment mode in which the first bag deploys or the second bag does not deploy and a second deployment mode in which the first bag and the second bag deploy according to a collision mode. The first bag includes a first air chamber and a second air chamber protruding from the first air chamber toward the second bag. The occupant protection device further includes a deployment restriction member that restricts an amount of protrusion of the second air chamber from the first air chamber. The deployment restriction member is disabled in the first deployment mode and enabled in the second deployment mode.

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle airbag device, which includes a main cushion and an auxiliary cushion deploying from the main cushion and may more effectively protect both a passenger-seat passenger in a normal seating state and a passenger-seat passenger in a relaxed seating state even in the event of an oblique offset collision by differentiating the deployment of the auxiliary cushion by releasing or maintaining the connection of a tether connected to the auxiliary cushion during deployment of an airbag cushion.

A side airbag device includes: an inflator; a cushion that is expandable from the side of a seat toward a front of a vehicle; a vent hole that is provided at a predetermined position of the cushion and that discharges the gas; a patch that openably covers the vent hole from an inside of the cushion; a tether that is connected to the patch and a predetermined position (a tether cutter) of the side of the seat, the tether pulling the patch toward a rear of the vehicle so as to open the vent hole when the cushion is expanded and deployed; and a tether cutter that is configured to cut the tether in response to information relating to a state of the vehicle.

A side airbag device includes: an inflator; a cushion main body that is disposed at a side of a seat of a vehicle and that is expandable from the side toward a front of the vehicle by a gas; a cushion protrusion that is disposed at a vehicle front side with respect to the cushion main body and that is expandable to project further toward the front of the vehicle by receiving the gas from the cushion main body; a tether that is string-shaped, the tether bridging from the cushion protrusion over a predetermined position of the side of the seat, the tether maintaining the cushion protrusion in a state in which the cushion protrusion is folded back toward a rear of the vehicle; a sensor that receives information from the vehicle; and a tether cutter that cuts the tether according to the information obtained by the sensor.

A variable control apparatus for an airbag of a vehicle includes: a plurality of tethers each of which having one side coupled to a front sheath among a plurality of sheaths of an airbag cushion, each of the plurality of tethers formed to have a length shorter than a distance between the front sheath and a rear sheath when the airbag cushion is fully deployed; a release mechanism provided at a rear sheath side of the airbag cushion, connected to the respective other sides of the plurality of tethers, and selectively releasing a tether among the plurality of tethers upon an operation of the release mechanism; and a controller configured to variably control a deployment shape of the airbag cushion by operating the release mechanism based on a collision direction of the vehicle, a seat state of a seat of the vehicle, or a sitting posture of a passenger in the vehicle.

A curtain airbag system of a vehicle is configured such that a position of an auxiliary chamber provided in a curtain airbag is changed to correspond to an occupant's seating posture or the occupant's lying posture in response to a vehicle collision, so that the occupant is safely protected in various seating postures.

An airbag device capable of restraining an obliquely forward movement of an occupant. The airbag device includes: an inflator which is operated by a signal from a sensor that detects a collision and which discharges expansion gas; to deploy and expand the airbags. The airbags include: a first airbag which deploys to the front of an occupant for restraining a forward movement of the occupant; and a second airbag which is joined to a side part of the first airbag on a cabin center side and restrains an obliquely forward movement of the occupant. The collision sensor is capable of discriminating between a first collision mode which is not accompanied by rotation of the vehicle and a second collision mode which is accompanied by a rotation of the vehicle in a horizontal plane, and the second airbag is deployed only when the second collision mode occurs.

The invention describes a holding device (12) for holding and releasing a tensioning means (14) of a vehicle safety system. The holding device (12) includes a pyrotechnical actuator assembly (24) for holding and, in terms of signals, specifically releasing the tensioning means (14), wherein the actuator assembly (24) comprises a plastic base (26) in which a pyrotechnical unit (28) including a propelling charge and an igniter (30) is accommodated and held, wherein the pyrotechnical unit (28) has a rear side (36) and an opposite front side (38), and a tensioning means holder (40) which is adjacent to the front side (38) of the pyrotechnical unit (28) and covers the same and which is detachably supported on the plastic base (26). The holding device (12) additionally includes a reinforcing element (58) which is supported to be axially movable between a first position and a second position, wherein the reinforcing element (58) in a second position is disengaged from the tensioning means holder (40) and in a first position is at least partially accommodated in the tensioning means holder (40) and mechanically reinforces the same. Furthermore, an airbag module (10) is described.