Vehicle occupant safety apparatus

The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant safety apparatus and, in particular, to a vehicle safety apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle having a roof and a side structure. An apparatus () for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle () having a roof () and a side structure () includes an inflatable device () having a deflated condition and having an inflated condition. In the inflated condition, a head portion () of the inflatable device is inflated between the occupant's head and the vehicle roof and a side portion () of the inflatable device is inflated between the occupant and the vehicle side structure. The apparatus () further includes an actuatable inflation fluid source () for upon actuation directing inflation fluid into the inflatable device () to inflate the inflatable device from the deflated condition to the inflated condition. The head portion () of the inflatable device () is inflated by inflation fluid flow in a direction transverse to the vehicle side structure (). In a preferred embodiment, the head portion () of the inflatable device () when in the deflated condition has panels () which lie generally parallel to a headliner () between the headliner and the roof () and which extend from the vehicle side () approximately to the vehicle centerline ().