Patent ID: 7571931
Filing Date: 2009-08-11
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
1. A vehicle passenger restraint system comprising: a seatbelt having a lap belt, a shoulder belt, a seat belt buckle tongue arranged between the lap belt and the shoulder belt, the shoulder belt being configured and arranged to extend diagonally from a first side of a passenger in a shoulder area to a second side of the passenger that is opposite from the first side in a waist area to restrain the passenger to a seat of a vehicle, the shoulder belt having a belt inflatable part to be inflated with a fluid at a location of the shoulder belt configured to correspond to a chest portion of a passenger under a predeployment condition and configured to expand towards the chest portion of the passenger for increasing tension in the lap belt and shoulder belt when expanding towards the chest portion of the passenger; an inner seat belt buckle including an inflator being configured to generate the fluid, the seat belt buckle tongue being configured and arranged to be attached to and detached from the inner seat belt buckle; and an inflatable head restraining part extending from the belt inflatable part and including a head restraining body and a channel portion with the channel portion fluidly communicating between the head restraining body and the belt inflatable part and forming a narrower fluid path than the head restraining body, and the inflatable head restraining part configured and arranged to expand with the fluid supplied through the belt inflatable part from a location of the belt inflatable part configured to correspond to the chest portion of the passenger in a forward direction of the vehicle relative to the belt inflatable part to restrain forward movement of a head portion of the passenger as the belt inflatable part is inflated with the fluid from the inflator in the inner seat belt buckle.