Patent ID: 6843504

Claim:
An automotive vehicle occupant protection system, comprising: a seat supported on a floor of a vehicle body; a seat belt provided in association with said seat and including a moveable end; an actuator connecting said moveable end of said seat belt to a part of said vehicle body to selectively remove a slack from said seat belt; and a control unit including a deceleration sensor for detecting a frontal vehicle crash meeting a prescribed condition; said actuator including a main actuator unit adapted to move said moveable end of said seat belt in a direction to remove a slack from said seat belt immediately upon detection of a frontal vehicle crash; said main actuator unit including a cylinder integrally attached to a part of said vehicle body, a piston member slidably received in said cylinder and connected to said moveable end, a pyrotechnic gas generator provided on one end of said cylinder, and an accumulator chamber defining a prescribed volume and communicating with an output end of said pyrotechnic gas generator.