We would like to discuss a set of unique concepts in active-occupant-restraint (airbag) systems which are unlike presently used airbags.
Like present airbags, the concepts we will discuss are only designed to be deployed when vehicle sensors determine that the magnitude of a crash will imminently surpass a preset threshold. In other words, we are dealing with a state of a crash from which an occupant without an airbag is not likely to “walk-away”, a state of a crash after which a vehicle is not likely to be worth-while repairing, the type of a crash that we will refer to in this paper as a “catastrophic” crash, a “grievous” crash, to borrow from the dictionary.
These concepts not only protect the front torso of an occupant, but also the back of the neck, and the sides of an individual body by actually enveloping her or him with a protective cushion. By virtue of being generated away from the occupant, the restraints in question act as an integral part of the occupant rather than of the vehicle in which she or he is riding.
Also, the powerful and rapid gas discharge away from the occupant causes reactionary pressure against the occupant and thus reduces the magnitude of the shock pulse on said occupant.