Autoliv Development Ab

Christoph Goertz

Ralf Zauritz

Jürgen Mackensen

Ernst Wittmann

Udo Laube

A motor vehicle airbag module having an airbag consisting of an airbag fabric, and an inflation device The airbag having a ventilation area closed by a covering prior to inflation. A restraining strap has one end in the interior of the airbag detachably mounted on a fixed compartment and another end affixed on the covering. On inflation of the airbag before the release of the restraining strap, the strap holds the covering closing the ventilation area. The covering is a three-dimensional element which is connected via at least one partial area of its perimeter to the airbag fabric and that it can be folded such that, on release of the restraining strap, the three-dimensional element is unfolded due to the effect of the gas flowing from the ventilation area into the covering The covering is held in position in a detachable overlap with a part of the airbag.

Airbag module with a three-dimensionally structured vent arrangement

A side airbag () for a motor vehicle comprises an airbag shell that surrounds a gas compartment and has at least one opening. A hose () has an outlet opening () and is located on the outside of the airbag shell. When the hose is in a state in which it is not under pressure, the hose connects the opening () to the outlet opening (), and thereby to the surrounding area. The hose () comprises a first section (), which is situated at the height of the opening (), and a second section (), which connects the first section () to the outlet opening (). The ventilation arrangement composed of the opening () and the hose () is used to make the side airbag hard for a large occupant and soft for a small occupant. In order to improve the behavior of the side airbag for a small occupant, without impairing the behavior thereof for a large occupant, the maximum cross-section of the first section () is larger than the minimum cross-section of the second section ().

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Röhrmoos, Germany

Christoph Goertz