Vehicle occupant restraint system and method

A vehicle occupant restraint method, comprising:

• deploying an air bag of an air bag restraint apparatus while defining a first deploying portion and a second deploying portion arranged in a vertical direction in case of a vehicle frontal collision, with at least the first deploying portion deploying out from a shoulder belt portion, the first deploying portion deploying between a location of a vehicle occupant and a portion in the vehicle, and the second deploying portion deploying related to the first deploying portion, and the shoulder belt portion and a lap belt portion of a seat belt restraint device being located closer to the location of the vehicle occupant than the first deploying portion and the second deploying portion;
• and
• supporting a load acting on femoral regions of the location of the vehicle occupant via the air bag from a head location of the vehicle occupant with the first deploying portion and the second deploying portion, with the second deploying portion providing a support for the first deploying portion to receive at least a part of a load acting on the first deploying portion from the head location of the vehicle occupant.

A vehicle occupant restraint system, comprising:

• a seat belt restraint device including a shoulder belt portion and a lap belt portion;
• and
• an air bag restraint apparatus including first deploying means for deploying between a location of a vehicle occupant and a portion of the vehicle in the vehicle, and second deploying means for deploying in a manner related to the first deploying means, with at least the first deploying means deploying out from the shoulder belt portion and the shoulder belt portion and the lap belt portion being located closer to the location of the vehicle occupant than the first deploying means and the second deploying means, the second deploying means providing a support for the first deploying means to receive at least a part of a load acting on the first deploying means from a location of a head of the vehicle occupant, wherein the first deploying means and the second deploying means are arranged in a vertical direction, and the second deploying means is deployable for being in contact with femoral regions of the location of the vehicle occupant during deployment of the second deploying means.