Patent ID: 7150467

Claim:
An elongated housing for use in a vehicle having an instrument panel and a windshield proximate the instrument panel, comprising: a first wall; a second wall; a bottom wall joining said first and second walls such that a first width is defined by said bottom wall; and a cushion deployment opening opposite said bottom wall, said cushion deployment opening being defined between a first edge of said first wall and a second edge of said second wall, said cushion deployment opening having a second width, said second width extending in the same direction as said first width and being in a range defined by an upper limit of about 90 percent of said first width and a lower limit of about 30 percent of said first width, said cushion deployment opening remaining substantially a predetermined size during cushion deployment, said second width allowing said housing to be installed proximate said instrument panel such that said first wall is disposed closer to said windshield than said second wall, said second wall being disposed at a predetermined location away from said windshield, said predetermined location being closer to said windshield than a forward most location of a substantially spherical area having a radius of at least 82 millimeters, said forward most location of said substantially spherical area being defined by a position where a portion of said spherical area makes contact with said windshield at one point and another portion of said spherical area makes contact with said instrument panel at another point.