Patent ID: 7198288

Claim:
A side air bag for protecting an occupant of a seat of a motor vehicle, said side air bag comprising: an air cushion; an inflator that supplies gas to the air cushion, wherein the air cushion comprises: an upper body protection area configured to protect an upper body including a head and a flank of an occupant; a hip protection area connected to a lower end of the upper body protection area configured to protect a hip of the occupant; a leg protection area connected to the hip protection area that protrudes from the hip protection area and extends farther than the seat in a forward direction, the leg protection area being configured to protect a leg of the occupant; and a lower body protection area, which includes the hip protection area and the leg protection area, connected to and in communication with the upper body protection area to form a generally L-shaped side air bag, wherein the upper body protection area includes a bulge corresponding to the head of the occupant, a side protection area that is narrower than the bulge, and a recess extending inwardly from a front side of the side air bag, the recess connecting the upper body protection area to the lower body protection area, and wherein the side air bag extends entirely along a side of the seat.