Air bag cushion with fabric diffuser

A device for use with an automotive air bag cushion for use in the passenger compartment of a vehicle, with said air bag cushion having a first portion, which is disposed opposite an occupant of the vehicle when the air bag cushion is fully deployed, said first portion having a front surface and a back surface;

• a second portion attached to said first portion, said having a plurality of oppositely facing pairs of side walls defining a top portion, a bottom portion, a right portion and a left portion;
• said side walls terminating in a third portion located opposite said first portion defining a gas inlet opening for receiving a flow of gas from an inflator, wherein said first and said second portions of said air bag cushion define an interior volume;
• The improvement comprising,
• a diffuser attached to the inside of said second portion of said air bag cushion at a plurality of points, spanning across said third portion and defining a plane of attachment;
• said diffuser having a first pair of opposite edges and a second pair of opposite edges, wherein said first pair of opposite edges of said diffuser are attached at an angle to said top and bottom portions of said second portion over the entire length of said first pair of opposite edges between a point adjacent said third portion and a point about half way between said third portion and said first portion, at least one of said edges being left unattached to said inside of said air bag cushion, wherein said plane of attachment of said diffuser is such that said diffuser is displaced substantially perpendicular to the flow of gas from the inflator through said third portion and is sufficiently close to said third portion to cause a controlled change in the flow of gas from the inflator such that the forward momentum of the flow of gas is reduced which in turn reduces the momentum of said first portion wherein said first pair of opposite edges of said diffuser are attached to said second portion at an angle in order to direct a greater amount of the flow of gas to one side of the air bag cushion, said diffuser having a plurality of apertures, the size of which vary with the distance from one of said second pair of edges, located near said bottom portion of said air bag cushion.

An inflatable occupant restraint device for a motor vehicle comprising;

• a canister formed a pair of first walls and a pair of second walls that define bottom and mouth portions having an air bag inflator held in said bottom portion thereof, said mouth portion defining a gas outlet opening;
• an air bag cushion attached to said mouth portion of said canister;
• said air bag cushion having a first portion, which is disposed opposite an occupant of the vehicle when said air bag cushion is fully deployed, said first portion having a front surface and a back surface, a second portion attached to said first portion, said second portion having a plurality of oppositely facing pairs of side walls defining a top portion, a bottom portion, a right portion and a left portion;
• said walls terminating in a third portion located opposite said first portion defining a gas inlet opening for receiving a flow of gas from said inflator;
• wherein said first and second portion of said bag cushion define an interior volume;
• a diffuser attached to the inside of said second portion of said air bag cushion at a plurality of points, spanning across said second portion and defining a plane of attachment;
• said diffuser having a first pair of opposite edges and a second pair of opposite edges, wherein said first pair of opposite edges of said diffuser are attached to said top and bottom portions of said second portion over the entire length of said first pair of opposite edges between a point adjacent said third portion and a point about half way between said third portion and said first portion, at least one of said edges being left unattached to said inside of said air bag cushion, wherein said plane of attachment of said diffuser is such that said diffuser is displaced substantially perpendicular to the flow of gas from the inflator through said third portion and is sufficiently close to said third portion to cause a controlled change in the flow of gas from the inflator such that the forward momentum of the flow of gas is reduced which in turn reduces the momentum of said fist portion, wherein a plurality of apertures extend through said diffuser the size of said apertures varies with the distance from one of said second pair of edges.