Patent ID: 7828319

Claim:
An airbag apparatus for an automobile to provide protection for a pedestrian, the airbag apparatus comprising: an airbag for being deployed along an external surface of the automobile; an inflator for supplying the airbag with inflation gas upon collision of the automobile with a pedestrian with the inflator extending longitudinally in the airbag; upper and lower panels of the airbag connected at respective peripheral edges thereof to form an internal space of the airbag; an elongate portion of the airbag for extending longitudinally along the automobile external surface upon airbag inflation; a linear stitched portion of the airbag elongate portion that extends longitudinally generally parallel to the longitudinally extending inflator and connects the airbag upper and lower panels together with the linear stitched portion having opposite ends and a middle centrally therebetween; circular stitched portions at the ends of the linear stitched portion that connect the airbag upper and lower panels together; chambers in the airbag internal space formed on either side of the linear stitched portion; and an outlet portion of the inflator arranged in one of the chambers in the airbag interior space so that a terminal end thereof is aligned with the middle of the linear stitched portion centrally between the circular stitched portions at the ends of the linear stitched portion to minimize stress concentration on the circular stitched portions at the ends of the linear stitched portion by the inflation gas emitted radially out from the inflator outlet portion.