Passenger protection device in a motor vehicle with an airbag module

A passenger protection device on a steering wheel of a vehicle with a steering wheel airbag module,

• the steering wheel airbag module being mounted behind a hub cover and containing at least one folded airbag and at least one gas generator,
• the hub cover having a stationary center area as first wall area about which is mounted a second wall area directly joined to the first wall area by an edge connection area,
• it being possible for an annular gap to be formed around the stationary second area in the second wall area in the event of airbag activation,
• the steering wheel airbag being correspondingly annular in form with a tubular area associated with the annular gap and emerging from such gap when the airbag is in the inflated state,
• and it being possible for the annular gap to be formed immediately around the stationary center area in the event of airbag activation as a result of expansion and/or opening of at least the edge connection area of the second wall area,
• characterized in that
• the edge connection area (23;
• 31) of the second wall area (33) is clamped to the stationary center area (21;
• 29) when the passenger protection device has not been activated, and
• in that the edge connection area (23;
• 31) may be extracted from the clamping by the inflating airbag (28) and may be expanded and/or opened around the stationary center area (21;
• 29) for formation of the annular gap (5).