Patent ID: 7063353

Claim:
A method for optimizing the interaction between an airbag, a seat belt, and a seat belt load limiter in a vehicle impact, the method comprising: determining a desired total restraint force profile, the desired total restraint force profile describing a desired total restraint force exerted on a vehicle occupant for each of a plurality of values of an impact-related variable; determining an airbag force profile, the airbag force profile describing the force exerted by the airbag on the occupant for each of the plurality of values of the impact-related variable; and determining a desired seat belt force profile describing a desired seat belt force exerted on the occupant for each of the plurality of values of the impact-related variable, the step of determining the desired seat belt force profile including, for each of the plurality of values of the impact-related variable, subtracting the corresponding airbag force from the corresponding desired total restraint force.