Coated
inflatable fabrics, more particularly airbags to which very low add-on amounts of
coating have been applied, are provided which exhibit extremely low air permeabilities. The inventive fabrics are primarily for use in automotive restraint cushions which require
low permeability characteristics (such as side curtain airbags). Traditionally, heavy, and thus expensive, coatings of compounds such as
neoprene, silicones and the like, have been utilized to provide such required
low permeability. The inventive fabric utilizes an inexpensive, very thin
coating to provide such necessary
low permeability levels. Thus, the inventive coated
airbag possesses a
coating of at most 3.0 ounces per
square yard, most preferably about 0.8 ounces per
square yard, and exhibits a leak-down time (a measurement of the time required for the entire amount of gas introduced within the
airbag at
peak pressure during inflation to escape the
airbag at 10 psi) of at least 5 seconds as well as very low packing volumes (for more efficient use of storage space within a vehicle). All coatings, in particular elastomeric, preferably, though not necessarily, non-
silicon coatings, and coated airbags meeting these criteria are intended to reside within the scope of this invention.