Tether anchor assembly for curtain airbag

An anchor assembly for connecting a curtain airbag to a side structure of a vehicle, the anchor assembly comprising:

• an elongated track configured to be connected to the side structure of the vehicle behind a vehicle trim piece that covers the side structure and forms a surface visible from within a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the track comprising sidewalls defining an interior channel that extends along a length of the track and a slot that extends from the channel through at least one of the sidewalls and along the length of the track;
• and
• an anchor configured to move along the track, the anchor comprising a shank and a roller that is connected to the shank and rotatable relative to the shank, wherein the roller and a portion of the shank to which the roller is connected are positioned in the channel and are movable along the channel when the anchor moves along the track, and a portion of the shank extends through the slot, is positioned on an exterior of the track, is configured to move along the slot when the anchor moves along the track, and is configured to be connected to the curtain airbag;
• wherein the track is configured so that the slot is at least partially exposed to a gap between the trim vehicle piece and the side structure so that the portion of the shank that extends through and moves along the slot can also move along the gap without displacing the vehicle trim piece in response to curtain airbag deployment;
• wherein the track and the anchor are configured to be concealed behind the vehicle trim piece when installed in the vehicle, and wherein the anchor assembly is configured so that the portion of the shank configured to be connected to the curtain airbag extends from behind the vehicle trim piece when moving along the track in response to inflation and deployment of the curtain airbag;
• and
• wherein the vehicle trim piece is configured to cooperate with weatherstripping to conceal the track, wherein the track is configured to be mounted obliquely outward at an angle so that the shank is directed toward the weatherstripping, and wherein the shank is configured to deflect the weatherstripping and reveal the track in response to the anchor moving along the track.