Vehicular safety device

Claim 1

In a safety device for a motor vehicle having an inflatable confinement which is stored in a collapsed condition and which is expanded to a protective condition by a pressurized fluid immediately when the motor vehicle encounters a collision, the improvement comprising a shock-absorptive structure which is located internally of said inflatable confinement for carrying a load when the load is applied to said inflatable confinement before the inflatable confinement is fully expanded to said protective condition, said shock-absorptive structure including a unitary honeycomb member consisting of a plurality of elastic hollow tubular elements which are secured together substantially at right angles to a direction in which said load is supplied to said inflatable confinement, a pressurized gas producing medium which is stored in at least some of said tubular elements, and a pair of explosive means which are mounted at and in contact with both ends of said honeycomb member and which are fired to cause said medium to produce a pressurized gas for expanding said inflatable confinement to said protective position when said impact is applied to said motor vehicle.