Patent ID: 6308983
Filing Date: 2001-10-30
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
A safety device for a motor vehicle, comprising:at least one gas generator that is activatable in response to a vehicle collision;a multi-chamber airbag that is inflatable by the gas generator;a tactile recognition device connected to the multi-chamber airbag, the tactile recognition device emitting a control signal in response to contact of the multi-chamber airbag with an obstacle, the control signal being analyzable at least during an airbag inflation phase; anda control device configured to control a gas volume flow into the multi-chamber airbag, the control device being associated with the gas generator and connected to the tactile recognition system, the control device at least one of suppressing and reducing a further inflation function of the gas generator for the multi-chamber airbag in response to receiving the control signal;wherein the multi-chamber airbag includes at least one finger-like feeler airbag having a relatively low volume and being rapidly inflatable with little energy and at least one second, larger-volume airbag chamber having a support function, each feeler airbag having a tactile function, each feeler airbag being at least one of inflatable and movable into an inflation region of the second airbag chamber, each feeler airbag being configured to sense the obstacle present in the inflation region.