Patent ID: 8167333

Claim:
A vehicle seat assembly, comprising: a frame for mounting the seat assembly to a vehicle; a seat pad disposed proximate to the frame with a portion or portions spaced apart from the frame; a trim cover disposed over at least a part of the seat pad and including a seam adjacent a side of the seat pad; an airbag assembly securely attached to the frame so that rigid reaction surfaces are provided against which forces of deployment may be exerted, the airbag assembly including an airbag and an inflator configured to supply gas to the airbag, the airbag assembly having a clamshell housing at least partially surrounding the airbag, the clamshell housing including a frangible split line proximate to and offset from the seam to facilitate deployment of the airbag along an uninterrupted deployment channel so that upon airbag deployment, the frangible split line breaks and the clamshell housing opens and applies a rupturing force at each side of and across the seam; a force concentrator covering at least a portion of the seat pad for protecting the seat pad during the deployment of the airbag, the force concentrator including inner and outer panels and forming the deployment channel therebetween for the airbag; the inner panel extending substantially along an entire side of the clamshell housing, the inner panel including a distal end secured to the frame, the inner panel interfacing with the seat pad along substantially all of the inner panel; and the outer panel extending substantially along an entire other side of the clamshell housing, the outer panel having a distal end secured to the airbag assembly, the outer panel interfacing with the seat pad at only a part of the outer panel to facilitate assembly.