Patent ID: 8622422

Claim:
An airbag assembly ( 10 ) comprising: an airbag ( 40 ); a tubular inflator ( 20 ); and a rolled heat shield ( 50 ) wrapped about the inflator ( 20 ) and interposed between the inflator ( 20 ) and the airbag ( 40 ) wherein the inflator ( 20 ) has a gas outlet nozzle ( 24 ) for releasing gas from the inflator ( 20 ) and wherein the heat shield ( 50 ) is wrapped about said nozzle ( 24 ), and encircling the entire nozzle so as to function as a diffuser for the gases exiting the nozzle wherein the heat shield ( 50 ) is a fabric material, the fabric material is made in layers or wrapped about the inflator ( 20 ) a plurality of times to form layers, the inner layers are sacrificial layers destroyed as inflation gases are expelled, the diffuser function being achieved by the tightness of the wrapped layers being sufficiently loose so a space between the inflator and the adjacent layers allows the gases to freely permeate through the end of the heat shield when filling the airbag.