摘要 |
A vehicle restraint system 10 comprises an airbag 12 with inflatable tethers 16, 18, 20. The inflatable tethers 16, 18, 20 are inflated by a multi-stage inflating device (26, fig 3) configured so the tethers are inflated in at least two consecutive stages. The tethers 16, 18, 20 may be hollow tubes and can be arranged either inside the airbag or outside the airbag 12. The tethers can have vents 28 internal to the main airbag 12. Where there are multiple tethers they can be inflated independently from each other and in consecutive stages. The tethers influence the shape of the airbag 12 and control of the timing of their inflation can be used to adjust the shape and position of the airbag 12 in dependency on the type of vehicle crash. |