Patent ID: 7770926

Claim:
An airbag assembly, comprising: an inflatable airbag cushion comprising a cushion membrane, which defines an interior of the inflatable airbag cushion; a first closeable vent and a second closeable vent, wherein each closeable vent comprises an aperture in the cushion membrane and an aperture cover positioned over each respective aperture, wherein the first closeable vent and the second closeable vent are located in opposing sides of the cushion membrane, wherein each aperture provides fluid communication for inflation gas to exit out of the interior of the inflatable airbag cushion; a first tether comprising a first end and a second end, which are separated by a length; and, a second tether comprising a first end and a second end, which are separated by a length, wherein the first end of the first tether and the first end of the second tether are coupled to the cushion membrane at an occupant-proximal surface, wherein the second end of the first tether is coupled to the aperture cover of the first closeable vent, wherein the second end of the second tether is coupled to the aperture cover of the second closeable vent, wherein each aperture cover is coupled to only a single tether, wherein the vents are closed before deployment, wherein the vents are configured to remain closed during initial deployment of the inflatable cushion airbag due to the locations of the vents, the configuration of the vents and the lengths of the tethers, and to then transition to being opened during the course of normal initial/mid-deployment of the inflatable airbag cushion or upon deployment with obstruction due to tension is applied to the aperture covers via the tethers, which pulls a portion of each aperture cover away from each respective aperture, and wherein the vents and the tethers are configured such that, upon deployment of the inflatable airbag cushion without obstruction and after the vents have been opened at mid-deployment of the inflatable airbag cushion, tension is released from the tethers and the vents transition from being open to being at least partially closed to enable full deployment of the inflatable airbag cushion.