FIG. 3 depicts another exemplary top down view of a row of seats in a vehicle according to an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure. The vehicle interior and airbag configurations depicted in
FIG. 3 have been simplified and are illustrative of embodiments of the disclosure. Other details, shapes and arrangements of the vehicle interior and airbag may also be used with the features described herein. As shown in
FIG. 3, seat
310 and seat
320, for occupants
332 and
334, respectively, are aligned in different positions along a fore/aft axis in a vehicle. For example, a driver
334 may have relatively short legs, and so the driver
334 may move seat
320 forward. Passenger
332 may have longer legs or may wish to stretch out and may move seat
310 to a more rearward position. When seats
310 and
320 are located at a different axis along the vehicle, the space between seats
310 and
320 may be a different shape and need a different airbag arrangement to protect occupants
332 and
334 in a side crash. As shown, a pair of airbags
350 comprising a first airbag
352 and a second airbag
354 are deployed to fill the space between seats
310 and
320 when the seats are not aligned. Compare the orientation of airbags
350 and airbags
250 (of
FIG. 2 where seats
210 and
220 are aligned) and notice the turned orientation of airbags
350. Such orientation of airbags
350 is designed to maximize filling of the space between seats
310 and
320, while providing support between the airbag pair
350, and protection of occupants
332 and
334 from lateral motion in a crash. The orientation of deployment of airbag pair
350 in a scenario where seats
310 and
320 are not aligned along one axis (the fore/aft axis of the vehicle), may be controlled using a vehicle crash sensor and a controller or ignitor for deploying airbag pair
350. For example, one of airbags
352 and
354 may be deployed a fraction of a second prior to the other causing a turned orientation following deployment. Deployment of airbags
352 and
354 may be coordinated by an airbag controller which can analyze data from vehicle sensors, which may be used to detect a vehicle crash, and seat sensors to determine a suitable airbag deployment order, or which airbags to deploy, to protect vehicle occupants experiencing a crash. In another example, the airbags deploying between seats that are out of alignment may rotate as the airbags expand and wedge together and between the seats.