The present invention relates to an apparatus for helping to protect a vehicle occupant, and is particularly directed to an apparatus for helping to protect the lower extremities of a vehicle occupant in the event of a vehicle collision.
It is known to help protect a vehicle occupant from injury during a vehicle collision with an inflatable occupant restraint such as an air bag. Air bags are known to deploy into the passenger compartment of the vehicle from a variety of vehicle locations including the steering wheel, the instrument panel, the side doors, and the headliner, to help restrain movement of the vehicle occupant""s head and torso. It is also known to position an inflatable restraint in the area of the knee bolster in the vehicle to help protect the knees of the vehicle occupant during a collision.
A vehicle collision, particularly a severe frontal collision, can result in deformed portions of the vehicle body penetrating the footwell of the vehicle where the occupant""s feet are located. Accordingly, an apparatus which moves the occupant""s feet rearward in the footwell away from the penetrating vehicle body portions would help to protect the feet from injury during such a collision.
The present invention is an apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle. The apparatus comprises an inflatable device having a stored deflated position in which the inflatable device is located adjacent an instrument panel in the vehicle, and an inflator for providing inflation fluid for inflating the inflatable device. The inflatable device, when inflated, engages at least one lower extremity of the occupant. An actuator moves the inflatable device rearwardly in the vehicle to move a foot associated with the at least one lower extremity of the occupant rearwardly in the vehicle.