Patent ID: 8632095

Claim:
An apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device having a deflated condition and an inflated condition; an anchor tether secured to the vehicle; a shaping tether secured to a first portion of the protection device; a releasable connection that connects the anchor tether and shaping tether, the shaping tether secured to the vehicle via the connection with the anchor tether restricting deployment of the first portion of the protection device, the connection being configured to withstand tension between the anchor tether and shaping tether when the protection device is fully pressurized; and a trigger tether secured to a second portion of the protection device, the trigger tether being configured to release the connection between the anchor tether and shaping tether when tension in the trigger tether reaches a predetermined level to eliminate any tension between the anchor tether and the shaping tether, wherein the second portion of the protection device comprises a portion of the protection device that is blocked from reaching a fully deployed condition in the presence of an occupant being positioned within a predetermined distance of the deploying protection device and preventing the trigger tether from becoming tensioned to the degree necessary to release the connection.