Patent ID: 7073619

Claim:
An external airbag system for mounting on a vehicle, said vehicle having a hood and a bumper member forward of said hood facing in a crash direction, said external airbag system comprising: a housing for storing an airbag within said bumper member, said housing having an opening facing in an upward direction relative to said vehicle in normal operation; an airbag having a front wall and a rear wall and being sized and shaped to be deployed upon inflation above said bumper member for absorbing energy of an impact, said airbag being stored in an uninflated condition within said housing; a source of pressurized gas for inflating said airbag; at least one sensor for determining whether an impact is imminent or has occurred; and a logic circuit responsive to said sensor for providing an initiation signal to initiate said source of pressurized gas for deploying said airbag; wherein, in response to said initiation signal, said airbag deploys through said opening in an upward direction such that in a deployed condition said airbag has a T-shaped outline when viewed from the front of said vehicle and the majority of the volume enclosed by said airbag is above the bumper member and behind the leading edge of the bumper member.