Vehicle occupant safety barrier

Claim 1

IN A VEHICLE HAVING A SEAT FOR AN OCCUPANT, IN COMBINATION, A SHIELD MEANS CONFRONTING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE FRONT OF THE OCCUPANT, SUPPORT MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID VEHICLE, SAID SUPPORT MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID SHIELD MEANS IN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL POSITION, A LOWER PORTION OF SAID SHIELD MEANS CONFRONTING AT LEAST THE CHEST OF SAID OCCUPANT, AN UPPER PORTION OF SAID SHIELD MEANS CONFRONTING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE HEAD OF SAID OCCUPANT, SAID UPPER PORTION INCLUDING A BEARING SURFACE MEANS CONFRONTING THE FOREHEAD OF SAID OCCUPANT, AT LEAST SAID UPPER PORTION BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TO ALLOW IT TO BE RETRACTED DOWNWARDLY, SAID PIVOTALLY MOUNTED UPPER PORTION INCLUDING LOCKING MEANS FOR LOCKING IT IN THE SAID VERTICAL POSITION CONFRONTING THE HEAD OF SAID OCCUPANT, SAID SHIELD MEANS BEING OF A CONSTRUCTION TO ALLOW SAID OCCUPANT TO SEE THERETHROUGH, SAID UPPER PORTION INCLUDING A PAIR OF PIVOTALLY MOUNTED SIDE FLAP PORTION EXTENDING BACKWARDLY ADJACENT TO AT LEAST PORTIONS OF THE SIDES OF SAID OCCUPANT''S HEAD, SAID LOCKING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS TO LOCK SAID PAIR OF FLAPS INTO PROTECTIVE POSITIONS, SAID UPPER PORTION INCLUDING MEANS TO LOWER SAID FLAP PORTIONS THAT EXTEND UPWARDLY WHEN SAID UPPER PORTION IS RETRACTED DOWNWARDLY, TO ALLOW CLEAR SPACE FOR VIEWING, SAID SUPPORT MEANS BEING YIELDABLE IN A FORWARD DIRECTION OF SAID VEHICLE FOR ALLOWING YIELDABLE MOVEMENT OF SAID SHIELD MEANS IN A FORWARD DIRECTION OF SAID VEHICLE IN RESPONSE TO THE MOMENTUM THRUST OF SAID OCCUPANT AGAINST SAID SHIELD MEANS DUE TO A HIGH DEGREE OF DECELERATION OF SAID VEHICLE, THEREBY RESTRAINING SAID OCCUPANT FROM BEING INJURED, AND YIELDABLE FORCE ABSORBING AND REBOUND-PREVENTING MEANS TO GRADUALLY ABSORB SAID MOMENTUM THRUST AND THEREBY CUSHION SAID OCCUPANT DURING THE DECELERATION OF SAID VEHICLE AND PREVENT REBOUND OF SAID OCCUPANT.