Patent ID: 8876156

Claim:
An apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle that has an instrument panel and a windshield, the apparatus comprising: an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device inflatable from a stored condition in the instrument panel to a deployed condition between the instrument panel and the vehicle occupant, the protection device comprising: a front portion comprising an inflatable volume presented toward the occupant and positioned for receiving a penetrating occupant when the protection device is in the deployed condition; a rear portion comprising an inflatable volume spaced from the front portion by a space and positioned between the front portion and the instrument panel when the protection device is in the deployed condition; a lower portion comprising an inflatable volume that interconnects lower portions of the front portion and the rear portion and provides fluid communication between the front and rear portions; and lateral support members comprising inflatable volumes that connect the front and rear portions and provide fluid communication between the front and rear portions, the lateral support members biasing the front portion away from the rear portion and resisting movement of the front portion toward the rear portion in response to the penetrating occupant, the space extending from an opening in an upper extent of the protection device defined by the length of each lateral support member.