Patent attributes
An airbag for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle having a roof and a cabin with a seat for the occupant includes an upper portion for being mounted to a vehicle roof, a lower portion having a ring-shaped configuration configured to encircle the occupant and a seatback of the vehicle seat when deployed, and at least one pillar connecting the lower portion to the upper portion. The lower portion encircles the seatback configures the lower portion to utilize the seatback as a reaction surface for supporting the lower portion against movement in response to an impacting occupant. An airbag module includes a housing that supports the airbag and an inflator. A vehicle safety system includes a sensor and a controller. The sensor senses the occurrence of an event for which deployment of the airbag is desired and produces a signal indicative thereof. The controller is connected to the sensor and, in response to receiving the signal, actuates the inflator to inflate and deploy the airbag.
