Airbag with internal positioning panels for sequential deployment

An airbag for minimizing a risk of injury to a vehicle occupant, comprising:

• an inflatable bag having at least one panel defining a primary chamber and a secondary chamber that is adjacent to said primary chamber;
• said primary chamber inflating before said secondary chamber and applying a generally downward force to a lower-body portion of the vehicle occupant in order to allocate a substantial portion of an initial impact force to said lower-body portion and to position the vehicle occupant for minimizing a risk of injury to the vehicle occupant;
• and
• a releasable tether attached to said at least one panel and maintaining said secondary chamber in a collapsed configuration until a sufficient threshold pressure causes said releasable rather to detach from said at least one panel and allow said secondary chamber to inflate;
• said inflatable bag deployed sequentially in a generally linearly upward direction from said primary chamber to said secondary chamber;
• said at least one panel defining said primary chamber with an upper sub-chamber and a lower sub-chamber;
• said lower sub-chamber extending substantially across a width and a depth of the airbag and allocating said substantial portion of said initial impact force to said lower-body portion of the vehicle occupant;
• said upper sub-chamber substantially smaller than said lower sub-chamber along said depth of the airbag and absorbing and re-directing said initial impact force generally downward;
• said upper sub-chamber providing immediate protection for an upper-body region of the vehicle occupant;
• said upper sub-chamber sized substantially smaller than said lower sub-chamber along said width of the airbag.