Patent ID: 7314230

Claim:
A kneebag to be inflated upwardly from below in front of legs of a vehicle occupant, comprising: an upper portion having a substantially rectangular shape when viewed in front and a first thickness in an inflated state, a middle portion below the upper portion in a vertical direction having a generally triangular shape oriented downwardly when viewed in front, said middle portion extending downwardly from the upper portion with the rectangular shape to gradually reduce lateral length thereof and having a second thickness in the inflated state, said second thickness being smaller than the first thickness except for lateral end portions of the kneebag, a lower end portion located at a bottom of the middle portion, an upper tether located at a boundary between the upper portion and the middle portion to have vent spaces at two lateral sides thereof, and a lower tether located between the upper tether and the lower end portion to form a narrow width portion with respect to the upper tether and having a lateral length shorter than that of the upper tether to have vent spaces at two lateral sides thereof, said vent spaces of the upper and lower tethers being formed obliquely between respective lateral ends of the upper and lower tethers and lateral edges of the kneebag, said vent spaces being substantially constant so that gas supplied at the lower end portion first flows obliquely upwardly to the upper portion through the vent spaces along the lateral edges formed with the triangular shape to thereby inflate the vent spaces and the narrow width portion upwardly; and then, the upper portion is inflated from two lateral sides thereof by the gas supplied from the vent spaces.