Chamber adjustable stiffness airbag
The present invention discloses a multiple-chamber airbag structure where the airbag design has at least a stiff lower section to reduce the chest velocity and a soft upper section to meet the HIC requirements. Although stowed and deployed as a unitary airbag, the present invention includes separate chambers, which allows for independent gas inflation and stiffness control with venting.
1 . A unitary, multi-chambered airbag apparatus comprising:
a single airbag constructed out of a plurality of aviation-grade flame resistant and high pressure permeability resistant fabric panels;
a plurality of structures internal to the unitary, multi-chambered airbag apparatus;
at least one of the plurality of structures, constructed of the same fabric as the single airbag panels, dividing an internal area of the unitary, multi-chambered airbag apparatus into at least two distinct chambers, the at least two distinct chambers being structurally isolated from each other such that they are not in fluid communication with each other during inflation and each chamber being connected to and inflated by a separate dedicated inflator, and each of the at least two distinct chambers having its own dedicated vent whereby the relative stiffness of each of the at least two distinct chambers can be independently regulated; and
one or more additional structures disposed within each of the at least two distinct chambers configured to direct the airflow within each of the at least two distinct chambers.
2 . The unitary, multi-chambered airbag apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more additional structures are configured to control how either of the at least two distinct chambers deploys.
3 . The unitary, multi-chambered airbag apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each dedicated inflator is not in fluid communication with the other dedicated inflator.