The History of Airbags
2016-04-28 15:37:00Airbags are a type of automobile safety restraint like seatbelts. They are gas-inflated cushions built into the steering wheel, dashboard, door,
roof, or seat of your car that use a crash sensor to trigger a rapid expansion to protect you from the impact of an accident.
Allen Breed - History of the Airbag
Allen Breed was holding the patent (U.S. #5,071,161) to the only crash sensing technology available at the birth of the airbag industry. Breed
invented a "sensor and safety system" in 1968, the world's first electromechanical automotive airbag system.
However, rudimental patents for airbags go back to the 1950s. Patent applications were submitted by German Walter Linderer and American
John Hedrik as early as 1951.
Walter Linderer's airbag was based on a compressed air system, either released by bumper contact or by the driver. Later research during the
sixties proved that compressed air could not blow the bags up fast enough. Linderer received German patent #896312.
