The invention relates to an airbag module (16) of a vehicle safety system as well as to a method of mounting an actuator assembly (10) for activating a tensile means (12) on a module casing (14) of the airbag module (16), comprising the following steps: a) the tensile means (12) is connected to the actuator assembly (10) and is fixed to a mounting element (18) together with the actuator assembly (10) so that the tensile means (12), the actuator assembly (10) and the mounting element (18) constitute a pre-mounted unit (20); the pre-mounted (20) is arranged inside the module casing (14) and is fastened to the module casing (14) by means of the mounting element (18).

The invention relates to a releasable retaining device (10) for a tether (16) of an airbag, comprising a retainer (12), a slit (14) for receiving the tether (16), a blocking member (18) made from metal which is displaceable between a blocking position in which it maintains the tether (16) blocked in the slit (14) and a release position in which the tether (16) is released, and comprising a pyrotechnical igniter (20) coupled to the blocking member (18) such that, upon activation of the igniter (20), the blocking member is displaced from the blocking position to the release position. Moreover, a housing (32) including a retaining device (10) for an airbag is provided.

A restraint system for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle having a floor and a cabin with a floor for the occupant includes an airbag. The airbag has a stored condition on the vehicle floor and is inflatable to a deployed condition aligned with the occupant in a forward-rearward direction of the vehicle. The airbag is configured to utilize the vehicle floor as a reaction surface for restraining the movement of the airbag in response to occupant penetration into the airbag.

A knee airbag arrangement for a vehicle. The knee airbag arrangement includes an inflatable airbag and an external tether. The airbag is adapted to be inflated to a position between an instrument panel of the vehicle and a knee/shin region of a vehicle occupant. The knee airbag is adapted to form a first deployment mode or a second deployment mode when in a deployed state. The external tether controls deployment of the airbag to the second deployment mode. The depth (D.sub.2) of the airbag in the second deployment mode is greater than a depth (D.sub.1) of the knee airbag in the first deployment mode. A depth of the airbag in a deployed state is a greatest extent of the airbag perpendicular to the instrument panel in the knee/shin region.

An occupant protection apparatus includes a seat arrangement determination unit that determines the arrangement of seats and a collision determination unit that determines information about collision occurring to a vehicle. A deployment control unit deploys an airbag when the direction of the seat and the direction of the seat determined by the scat arrangement determination unit (94) are opposed to each other, and the direction of the collision determined by the collision determination unit is on the front side of the seat, or on the front side of the seat.

An airbag assembly for a motor vehicle includes an inflatable airbag, a tether, and at least one guide member. The tether controls deployment of the inflatable airbag. The tether has a fixed length between a first end and a second end. The at least one guide member slidably receives the tether such that the tether has a first adjustable length portion between the first end and the at least one guide member and the tether has a second adjustable length portion between the second end and the at least one guide member.

A restraint system includes a housing, an airbag, and a band. The airbag is inflatable from an uninflated position in the housing to a fully inflated position extending from the housing, and the airbag has a rear panel spaced from the housing when the airbag is in the fully inflated position. The band is elongated from a first end to a second end, and the first and second ends are attached to the housing. When the airbag is in a partially inflated position, the band extends across the rear panel and is stretched to a maximum length.

A positional-dependent airbag deployment system is provided. A plurality of tether cutters are configured to cut at least one of a plurality of tethers affixed to an airbag. An image sensor is configured to monitor the position of an occupant's head within a vehicle. In response to detecting a collision event, an airbag controller determines a trajectory of the occupant's head based on the image sensor data and other data and determines a cutting sequence of the tethers such the airbag will be deployed in a trajectory to intercept the occupant's head.

Actuator housings for airbag modules and related assemblies. In some embodiments, an airbag assembly may comprise an electrically conductive piece and an electro-explosive device coupled with the electrically conductive piece and positioned adjacent to the electrically conductive piece. The assembly may further comprise a housing for the electro-explosive device. The housing may be at least partially defined by a conductive plastic material having an electrical conductivity less than that of the electrically conductive piece.

An apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle includes a curtain airbag inflatable from a stored condition adjacent a roof of the vehicle to a deployed condition in which the curtain airbag is positioned between a side structure of the vehicle and the vehicle occupant. A tensioner is positioned adjacent to the vehicle roof and spaced inboard from the vehicle side structure. A tether has a first end portion connected to the tensioner and a second end portion connected to the curtain airbag. The tensioner is configured to pay-out and/or retract the tether. The tensioner is configured to control pay-out and/or retraction of the tether to control deployment of the curtain airbag and/or to control movement of the curtain airbag once deployed.