Inflatable passenger-size adjustable torso belt system including enclosure mount and method of passenger restraint

A vehicle restraint system for protecting a passenger having a torso and a lap comprising:

• (a) vehicle seat with a seat portion having two sides and having a back portion with an upper end;
• (b) a tandem belt band arrangement adapted to be positioned across and adjacent to the passenger's lap and torso which arrangement is positionable and operable to allow the passenger to enter the vehicle and to sit in the seat and a to extend over and adjacent to the passenger's lap and across and adjacent to the torso into a buckled-up position, the tandem band arrangement including
• i) three anchors having an anchor adjacent each side of the seat and a reel deceleration-locked third anchor;
• ii) a lap belt section attachable to the seat side anchors;
• iii) an inflatable torso section supported at one end by the lap belt section and at the other end by inflator means which in turn is interconnected to the third anchor means;
• (c) enclosure means adjacent the seat back portion with two ends, one end adjacent the third anchor and the other end adjacent the upper end of the back portion, said enclosure means enclosing and providing for reciprocal movement of the inflator means and inflatable torso section therein during passenger buckling up and unbuckling in which the tandem belt band arrangement reels on and off said third anchor, such enclosure means sized and shaped to prevent substantial inflation of a portion of the inflatable torso section in such enclosure;
• whereby the position of the inflator means and of the inflatable torso section is closer to the upper enclosure end adjacent the upper end of the back portion when a large passenger is buckled up and the inflator means is farther from such enclosure end adjacent the upper end of the back portion when a small passenger is buckled up.

A method of varying the volume of gases flowing into a vehicle restraint belt portion for inflation of the belt portion to protect a vehicle passenger upon crash deceleration comprising:

• 1) providing two anchor means;
• 2) providing a fixed length of inflatable torso belt between such anchor means upon crash deceleration such belt length deployed to protect the passenger with a shorter length of belt portion being provided for smaller passengers and a longer length of the belt portion for larger passengers;
• 3) providing enclosure means for a portion of the inflatable belt not deployed to protect the passenger which enclosure means prevents any substantial inflation of such belt portion not deployed;
• 4) providing a third retractable anchor means and then causing the passenger to buckle up while providing a sufficient length of belt portion to protect the passenger's torso and leaving the remaining belt portion deployed in such enclosure means;
• and
• 5) providing inflation means to introduce gases, whereby upon crash vehicle deceleration, introducing into the inflatable belt portion in the enclosure means gases which flow along the belt length to the belt portion outside the enclosure which portion deployed protects the passenger's torso.