Patent ID: 8851507

Claim:
An inflatable cushion assembly, comprising: an inflator configured to generate inflation gas in response to predetermined conditions; an inflatable cushion coupled to, and in fluid communication with, the inflator at a throat portion, wherein the inflatable cushion is a sealed cushion without vents, wherein the inflatable cushion comprises a front face and a rear face that meet at an edge, wherein the front face and the rear face define a void for receiving the inflation gas, and wherein the inflatable cushion further comprises a boundary seam adjacent to the edge of the inflatable cushion; a throat liner comprising an aperture for passage of the inflation gas into the inflatable cushion, and a first exterior surface, wherein the throat liner is disposed at a position within the void of the inflatable cushion, wherein the first exterior surface is positioned at or adjacent to the boundary seam, and wherein the throat liner is coupled to the inflatable cushion at one or more coupling sites, the one or more coupling sites comprising; a first panel coupled to an exterior surface of the front face of the inflatable cushion; and a second panel coupled to an exterior surface of the rear face of the inflatable cushion, wherein stitching couples at least a portion of the first and second panels, the front and rear faces of the inflatable cushion, and the throat liner at the one or more coupling sites, wherein the stitching extends through each of the void of the inflatable cushion and the aperture of the throat liner, and wherein the first and second panels overlap at least the boundary seam of the inflatable cushion and the first exterior surface of the throat liner.