Patent ID: 7766377

Claim:
An apparatus for guiding deployment of a stowed side curtain airbag along a side wall of a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprising: a first trim piece exposed to the passenger compartment and having a first peripheral edge; a second trim piece exposed to the passenger compartment and having a second peripheral edge; an interface joint defined by the first peripheral edge and second peripheral edge, the interface joint defining at least a portion of an openable passage allowing deployment of the side curtain airbag, wherein the first peripheral edge and the second peripheral edge are adjacent when the openable passage is closed, and wherein the first peripheral edge and the second peripheral edge are spaced apart when the openable passage is open, and further wherein the first trim piece includes at least one aperture along the first peripheral edge, and the second trim piece includes at least one projection receivable within the aperture formed in the first trim piece, the projection formed along the second peripheral edge and located in a complementary position with respect to the aperture of the first peripheral edge to temporarily secure the interface joint defined between the first and second peripheral edges; and at least one guide member extending along at least a portion of the interface joint and including at least one guide ramp directing deployment of the side curtain airbag toward the openable passage defined at least in part by the interface joint, the guide member surrounding the side curtain airbag on three sides to define an airbag deployment opening configured and arranged such that the side curtain airbag extends through at least the majority of the portion of the openable passage defined by the interface joint upon deployment.