Tunable control side air bag cushion

An air bag assembly in a vehicle for side protection of a vehicle occupant, the air bag assembly comprising:

• an inflator for discharging inflation gas;
• and
• a gas inflatable air bag cushion for deployment adjacent the vehicle occupant wherein the air bag cushion comprises an upper boundary, opposing lateral sides extending away from the upper boundary, and a mouth opening for receipt of the inflation gas, the air bag cushion being formed by folding a single blank of material along a predetermined fold line to form a folded structure of two layers, applying connective perimeter seams around the perimeter of the folded structure, and applying a plurality of expansion restraining elements between the layers of the folded structure wherein said expansion restraining elements extend partially but not completely across the width of the airbag cushion into the interior of the air bag cushion in offset staggered relation from said opposing lateral sides and wherein said expansion restraining elements are adapted to remain operative so as to provide expansion restraint upon full inflation of the air bag cushion without failing.

An air bag assembly in a vehicle for side impact protection of a vehicle occupant, the air bag assembly comprising:

• an inflator for discharging a gaseous inflation medium;
• and
• an air bag cushion including a first inflatable portion proximal to the inflator for cushioning the torso of the vehicle occupant, a second inflatable portion distal from the inflator for cushioning the head of the vehicle occupant, a first expansion restraining element extending partially but not completely across the width of the air bag cushion in substantially nonparallel relation to a flow path of said gaseous inflation medium between the first and second inflatable portions, and at least a second expansion restraining element extending partially but not completely across the width of the air bag cushion in opposing staggered relation to the first expansion restraining element in substantially nonparallel relation to said flow path of said gaseous inflation medium, wherein the expansion restraining elements are adapted to remain operative so as to provide expansion restraint upon full inflation of the air bag cushion without failing such that the expansion restraining elements restrict expansion of the air bag cushion in the region between the first and second inflatable portions and wherein at least a portion of the expansion restraining elements have a generally rounded profile.