OCCUPANT PROTECTION ASSISTING APPARATUS

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus including an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device for assisting to protection of a vehicle occupant upon the occurrence of an accident such as a vehicle collision and/or a vehicle rollover. SOLUTION: This apparatus (10) for assisting to protection an occupant of a vehicle (12) includes an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device (14) and an inflator (70). The protection device (14) is inflatable from a stored position along a forward edge (62) of a vehicle roof (40) to a deployed position overlying a windshield (50). The protection device (10) while in the deployed position covers the windshield (50) from a pillar A (30) on a driver side of the vehicle (12) to a pillar A of a passenger side of the vehicle and from an upper edge (56) of the windshield to a position near a lower edge (58) of the windshield. The protection device (14) while deployed also covers the driver and passenger side pillars A (30). COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI