Patent ID: 7841441

Claim:
An airbag apparatus for an automobile, the airbag apparatus comprising: an airbag for being deployed across a hood of the automobile; an elongate case for housing the airbag therein; an elongate bottommost wall of the case having forward and rearward edges and a substantially flat configuration extending therebetween; an elongate front wall of the case upstanding from the forward edge of the elongate bottommost wall to an upper front edge of the case front wall; an elongate rear wall upstanding from the rearward edge of the elongate bottommost wall to an upper rear edge of the case rear wall; an intermediate connecting member extending across the case between the front and rear walls with the connecting member being located approximately midway lengthwise along the elongate front and rear walls and having an upper edge that is below the upper front and rear edges of the respective front and rear walls; a lower central portion of the intermediate connecting member that extends across and along the case bottommost wall engaged thereagainst substantially centrally between the front and rear walls; and opposite side chambers in the case on either side of the intermediate connecting member with the lower central portion thereof separating the side chambers from each other, the opposite side chambers lacking other connecting members extending thereacross, and the airbag being folded and fit in both side chambers to extend over the upper edge of the intermediate connecting member, wherein the intermediate connecting member includes right angle end flanges at either end thereof that extend in opposite directions so that one of the end flanges extends along one of the front and rear walls in one of the side chambers and the other end flange extends along the other of the front and rear walls in the other side chamber to provide the intermediate connecting member with oppositely extending L-shaped configurations at either end thereof.