Universal Propulsion Company, Inc.

Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Goodrich Corporation

Wesley Pack

Saeed David Barbat

Paul G Curry

Priyaranjan Prasad

Said Nakhla

Michael T Vecchio

Alex Devonport

David R Hammer

Priya Prasad

Jeffrey Allyn Baker

Deborah Lee Kalisz

Robert V McClenathan

Jesse Lee Davidson

Steve Hailstone

Michael E Heidorn

Larry K Hansen

Deborah L Kalisz

Jefferey A Baker

Robert V Mcclenathan

A multi-chambered bumper airbag for deployment from the bumper of a vehicle in the event of a collision with another vehicle is provided. The airbag comprises a main inflatable portion that, when inflated, absorbs the energy from contact with a structural member of the struck vehicle. The airbag also has one or more secondary inflatable portions concentric with the main inflatable portion. Because the secondary inflatable portions have a lower gas pressure than the main inflatable portion, they are used to cushion the occupant of the struck vehicle should the occupants' head and neck be forced out of the window of the struck vehicle.

Bumper airbag with multiple chambers

A seatbelt airbag is formed of a flexible fabric seat belt tube the first end of which is attached to the floor of the vehicle and the second end of which is wound over a conventional seatbelt retractor. In the uninflated condition, the fabric tube forms a flat belt that passes in a conventional manner through a slotted eyelet in a tongue member that is engaged in a conventional floor-mounted seatbelt buckle to form a conventional 3-point restraint having a lap portion and a torso portion. An inflatable airbag member is disposed within the flexible fabric tube extending from the fixed end of the fabric tube to a location past the tongue fitting into the torso portion of the seatbelt. The airbag member is encased for part of its length within a reinforcing sleeve that extends part way into the torso section. In operation, as the airbag is pressurized, in the area surrounded by the reinforcing sleeve, the inflatable airbag member expands only to the size of the reinforcing sleeve to form a gas channel, but does not rupture the reinforcing sleeve or the surrounding seatbelt tube. The portion of the inflatable airbag that extends beyond the open end of the reinforcing tube, however, ruptures the seatbelt tube and expands to its full diameter.

Seatbelt airbag

An airbag () for mounting in the bumper () of a motor vehicle () is provided. The airbag can have an up-side-down 'L' shape or a cylindrical shape. Further, multiple bags can be combined within one system. The airbag is configured to cover substantially the width of the vehicle upon deployment and also provide protection to the occupant of a struck vehicle () in the event the occupant is partially expelled from the struck vehicle in the direction of the bag. The airbag is combined with an inflation (), collision sensor () and an electronic control unit () to form the airbag system.

Bumper airbag and system

Growing community of inventors

Gilbert, AZ, United States of America

Wesley Pack