Air bag with deployment flap

An apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

• an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device inflatable from a stored condition to a deployed condition in which the protection device is positioned between an instrument panel of the vehicle and the vehicle occupant, the protection device comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, the protection device having a stored condition in which each of the upper and lower portions are at least one of rolled and folded separately from each other;
• a housing for containing and supporting the protection device in the stored condition;
• at least one fastener that extends through the protection device to secure the protection device to the housing;
• and
• a deployment flap comprising a sheet of material wrapped externally around the lower portion of the protection device to inhibit inflation of the lower portion while permitting unrestricted inflation of the upper portion, the deployment flap comprising:
• a first end portion positioned between the housing and the protection device, the at least one fastener extending through the first end portion to connect the first end portion to the housing;
• a central portion wrapped around the lower portion of the protection device;
• and
• a second end portion opposite the first end portion tucked in a fold of the lower portion while the protection device is in the stored condition.