Patent ID: 6367836
Filing Date: 2002-04-09
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
An airbag for a head-protecting airbag system of a vehicle having an interior compartment constructed and arranged to accommodate at least one of a vehicle operator and at least one passenger, said airbag being receivable in the vehicle along an upper interior edge thereof which defines a portion of the interior compartment, said airbag comprising:an airbag body having an inflatable portion which, upon inflation, enters the interior compartment and covers the upper interior edge of the vehicle, said airbag body including a longitudinally extending portion inflatable into a substantially vertically oriented column, said longitudinally extending portion being arranged at one end of said inflatable portion; and a flexible belt connected at a first end thereof to a peripheral edge of said longitudinally extending portion and connected at a second end thereof to the vehicle so that, upon inflation of said inflatable portion, said flexible belt guides said longitudinally extending portion to generally pivot about an end thereof into a substantially vertical orientation, wherein a distance between the first and second ends of the flexible belt, when the flexible belt is extended straight and when the airbag is unfolded and uninflated, is shorter than a distance between the first and second ends when the airbag is folded and uninflated.