A patent filed in 1952 for a safety cushion assembly for automotive vehicles was an early example of what?

An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with soft cushioning and restraint during a collision. It can reduce injuries between the flailing occupant and the interior of the vehicle.

The airbag "for the covering of aeroplane and other vehicle parts" traces its origins to a United States patent, submitted in 1919 by two dentists from Birmingham, Arthur Parrott & Harold Round and approved in 1920. Air-filled bladders were in use as early as 1951.

The airbag specifically for automobile use is credited independently to the American John W. Hetrick, who filed for an airbag patent on 5 August 1952, that was granted #2,649,311 by the United States Patent Office on 18 August 1953.