Reversible 3-point to 4-point seat belt system

A seat and seat belt arrangement for a vehicle comprising:

• a seat having a centerline, a seat back and a seat base;
• a first shoulder belt having a first end and a second end, said first end being operatively associated with said seat back;
• a second shoulder belt having a first end and a second end, said first end being operatively associated with said seat back;
• a first lap belt having a first end and a second end;
• a second lap belt having a first end and a second end;
• a first retractor, said first end of said first lap belt being attached to said first retractor;
• a second retractor, said first end of said second lap belt being attached to said second retractor;
• and
• an attachment assembly to which said second ends of said belts are attached, whereby said first retractor is selectively movable between a retracted position in which said attachment assembly is to one side of said centerline in a 3-point arrangement for use by a seat occupant and a non-retracted position in which said attachment assembly is generally moveable with respect to said centerline in a 4-point arrangement for use by a seat occupant, said reversibly switchable load limiter being switchable from a first load limit when in said 4-point arrangement to a second load limit when in said 3-point arrangement, said first load limit being less than said second load limit.

A seat belt and buckle system for a vehicle seat that is selectively movable between a 3-point arrangement and a 4-point arrangement, the system comprising:

• a pair of shoulder belts;
• a reversibly switchable load limiter associated with said shoulder belts;
• a pair of moveable shoulder belt anchoring assemblies attached to the vehicle seat, said anchoring assemblies being selectively movable toward one another and away from one another;
• a pair of lap belts;
• an attachment assembly to which said shoulder belts and said lap belts are attached;
• and
• a retractor to which one of said lap belts is attached, said retractor being selectively movable between a retracted position in which said attachment assembly is to one side of said centerline in the 3-point arrangement for use by a seat occupant and a non-retracted position in which said attachment assembly is generally moveable with respect to said centerline in the 4-point arrangement for use by a seat occupant, wherein said anchoring assemblies are moved toward one another for said 4-point arrangement and away from one another for said 3-point arrangement, said reversibly switchable load limiter being switchable from a first load limit when in said 4-point arrangement to a second load limit when in said 3-point arrangement, said first load limit being less than said second load limit.