Patent ID: 6435553
Filing Date: 2002-08-20
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
A safety apparatus including an air bag (20), the air bag comprising:a first (22) and second (24) panel of flexible, relatively impermeable material, each panel having a respective peripheral edge (23,25), the first and second panel joined together along a structural first joint (110) which extends along a determinable length of the peripheral edges to define an inflatable chamber (26), wherein the first joint (110) is capable of withstanding a load resulting when forces tend to pull the first and second panel apart; inlet means for communicating inflation gas into the chamber; pressure barrier means (100), located within the chamber, upstream of the first joint (110), for at least reducing inflation gas flow to and through the first joint, the pressure barrier means comprising at least one strip (102) of flexible material characterized as having a low permeability to gas flow thereacross, the strip including a first side, a second side and a center portion between the first and second sides, the first side (102a) secured to the first panel along a second joint (112a) which is remote for the first joint, and the second side (102b) secured to the second panel along a third joint (112b) which is remote from the first and second joints, wherein when the first and second panels are subjected to a force tending to pull the first and second panels apart, the center portion of the pressure barrier remains slack between the first and the second panels, and when the chamber is sufficiently pressurized, the pressure urges the slack center portion toward the first joint.