AIRBAG SYSTEM WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE FOR A WIDE RANGE OF LOADS

An air bag system comprising an airbag having at least one pressure release vent sealed by a sealing diaphragm wherein a variation of one of a diameter of said pressure release vent and a thickness of said sealing diaphragm determines a breaching pressure of said sealing diaphragm. The at least one pressure release vent can be configured as an array of pressure release vents, wherein some of the pressure release vents in the array have diameters that are different from one to another. The differing pressure release vent diameters and thicknesses are configured to provide a plurality of pressure release stages or are configured to provide a continuous pressure release range. At least a portion of an edge of said pressure release vent is configured with a controlled breaching mechanism. A method for holding an overpressure state in an airbag, the method comprising (a) providing the airbag with an array of bursting pressure release vents having various breaching pressures and (b) introducing a residual flow of gases into the airbag after initial inflation.