Occupant protection device for a vehicle
AssigneeAudi AG
InventorsStephan Lorenz, Ingo Schütz, Ulrich Pfeiffer, Werner Wilding, Alwin Tuschkan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An occupant protection device for a vehicle includes an airbag module arranged in a hub region of a vehicle steering wheel used for steering vehicle wheels about a steering angle when the steering wheel is turned to a rotary position. The airbag module has an airbag configured for deployment between a driver and the steering wheel in the event of a crash. An adjustment unit is provided to turn the steering wheel from the rotary position to a crash position while the steering angle of the vehicle wheels remains unchanged so as to align the airbag with a posture of the driver in the event of a crash.
Claims30
An occupant protection device for a vehicle, comprising:
- an airbag module arranged in a hub region of a vehicle steering wheel used for steering vehicle wheels about a steering angle when the steering wheel is turned to a rotary position, said airbag module having an airbag configured for deployment between a driver and the steering wheel in the event of a crash;
- and
- an adjustment unit configured to turn the steering wheel from the rotary position to a crash position while the steering angle of the vehicle wheels remains unchanged so as to align the airbag with a posture of the driver in the event of a crash.
A method for protecting an occupant in a vehicle, comprising:
- arranging an airbag module in a hub region of a vehicle steering wheel used for steering vehicle wheels about a steering angle, when the steering wheel is turned to a rotary position;
- and
- controlling the steering wheel by an adjustment unit to align an airbag of the airbag module with a posture of a driver of the vehicle in the event of a crash by turning the steering wheel from the rotary position to a crash position in the absence of a change to the steering angle of the vehicle wheels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.