Patent ID: 7011341

Claim:
A vehicle restraint system for helping to restrain a vehicle occupant in a vehicle seat, the vehicle restraint system comprising: first and second lap belts for collectively extending across a lap of the occupant; first and second shoulder belts for extending over the shoulders of the occupant; a buckle assembly for interconnecting the lap belts and the shoulder belts; first and second lap belt retractors for the first and second lap belts, respectively, the first and second lap belt retractors being spaced away from one another and enabling retraction and withdrawal of the first and second lap belts, respectively; and a linking mechanism connecting the first and second lap belt retractors and adapted to transfer motion between the first and second lap belt retractors so that the first and second lap belts are retracted in unison and by equal amounts during retraction and are withdrawn in unison and by equal amounts during withdrawal from the first and second lap belt retractors, spools of the first and second lap belt retractors aligning with one another on a first side of the linking mechanism to cause the first and second lap belts to extend outwardly of the first and second lap belt retractors in directions generally parallel to and collinear to one another and toward opposite sides of the seat.