Patent ID: RE39868

Claim:
A vehicle including a side impact airbag system , front wheels, rear wheels and a frame defining a front of the vehicle, a rear of the vehicle and first and second sides of the vehicle, said airbag system comprising: a system housing arranged on the first side of the vehicle alongside at least a portion of a passenger compartment of the vehicle, said system housing defining an interior space, at least one inflatable airbag arranged in said interior space of said system housing such that when inflating, said at least one airbag is expelled from said system housing into the passenger compartment, inflator means arranged at least partially within said interior space of said system housing for inflating said at least one airbag, said inflator means comprising an inflator housing containing propellant, and a crash sensor for initiating inflation of said at least one airbag via said inflator means upon a determination of a crash requiring inflation of said at least one airbag, said crash sensor comprising a sensor housing arranged within said system housing, and a sensing mass arranged in said sensor housing to move relative to said sensor housing in response to accelerations of said sensor housing resulting from the crash into the first side of the vehicle such that upon movement of said sensing mass in excess of a threshold value, said crash sensor initiates said inflator means to inflate said at least one airbag based on movement of said sensing mass .