Automotive passenger air bag module cushion fold

Abstract

A fold configuration of top mounted air bag cushions which tend to deploy high in a vehicle compartment and slap the face of an occupant uses several fold variations including a loop of fabric on top, folded side wing panels, a roll comprising a plurality of folds, and an upper pleat and a pleat producing tuck which inversely roll down the vehicle dashboard when an inflating fluid under pressure from an inflator flows into the cushion, which folds can only unfold in sequence one after another so that expansion of the cushion is stopped at a predetermined extended length which creates an initial gas-fill cavity that overpressurizes taking additional energy to unfurl the remaining cushion, which slows the deployment, with the side wing panels folded toward the bottom of the cushion so that the side wing panels, when inflated, deploy low into the occupant's lap.