Patent ID: 8924085

Claim:
A method of protecting an occupant of a vehicle seat having at least a seat surface and a backrest, said method comprising: detecting a present or imminent rear impact by a control unit; pre-triggering active movement of the backrest by actively moving the backrest, from a first position to a second position, in a direction of at least a body section of the vehicle occupant so that the backrest is moved in a direction of at least a body section of the vehicle occupant, or at least a body section of the vehicle occupant rests against the backrest of the vehicle seat; applying a force to said occupant in the direction of an impact force occurring as a result of the rear impact, by causing an active movement of the backrest from the second position to a third position; and allowing the backrest to move from the third position when a momentum acting on the vehicle occupant is dominated by an impact shock caused by the rear impact.