Vehicle passenger restraint assembly

Claim 2

In a motor vehicle having body structure defining a passenger compartment and forward facing passenger seat means located within said compartment, a safety lap belt assembly for restraining movement of a vehicle passenger supported by said seat means, said assembly comprising: an elongate rigid member pivotally mounted within said compartment on one side of said seat means and movable from a horizontal position along the side of said seat means to an upright position, belt fastener tongue means carried by said rigid member and located at the uppermost extremity of said member when said member is in the upright position, movable belt segment windup means mounted on the other side of said seat means, flexible belt segment means secured to said windup means and movable relative thereto between an extended position and a stored position wherein at least a first portion of said belt segment is wound on said windup means, belt fastener buckle means carried by said belt segment means and adapted to releasably engage said tongue means, and connecting means interconnecting said windup means and said rigid member and urging said rigid member into said upright position when said belt segment is manually positioned in the extended position.

Claim 3

The combination of claim 1, wherein said rigid member is located on the outboard side of said seat means.

Claim 4

The combination of claim 1, including resilient means exerting a force on said windup means urging said windup means towards a position wherein said belt segment means are in the stored position.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 1, further comprising rigid belt segment boot means surrounding a portion of the length of said belt segment proximate said windup means, said boot means maintaining a second portion of said belt segment in an upwardly extending orientation when said belt segment is in the stored position.

Claim 6

In a motor vehicle having body structure defining a passenger compartment and forward facing passenger seat means located within said compartment, a passenger restraint assembly for restraining movement of a vehicle passenger supported by said seat means, said assembly comprising: an elongate rigid restraint segment pivotally secured proximate one of its ends within said passenger compartment at one side of said seat means and swingable in a substantially vertical plane between a horizontal position along the side of said seat means and an upright position, a flexible restraint belt segment operatively secured to belt segment retractor means mounted on the other side of said seat means, said flexible belt segment being manuallY movable between a retracted condition wherein a portion of said flexible belt segment is collected by said retractor means and an extended condition wherein said flexible belt segment may be positioned across said seat means and in proximity with said rigid restraint segment, linkage means including said retractor means interconnecting said flexible and rigid segments such that movement of the former causes following movement of the latter, and cooperating fastening means carried by said flexible and rigid segments and releasably engageable when said flexible segment is in the extended position.

Claim 7

In a motor vehicle having body structure defining a passenger compartment and forward facing passenger seat means located within said compartment, a passenger restraint assembly for restraining movement of a vehicle passenger supported by said seat means, said assembly comprising: an elongate rigid restraint segment pivotally secured proximate one of its ends within said passenger compartment at one side of said seat means and swingable in a substantially vertical plane between a horizontal position along the side of said seat means and an upright position, a flexible restraint belt segment operatively secured to belt segment retractor means mounted on the other side of said seat means, said flexible belt segment being manuallY movable between a retracted condition wherein a portion of said flexible belt segment is collected by said retractor means and an extended condition wherein said flexible belt segment may be positioned across said seat means and in proximity with said rigid restraint segment, linkage means including said retractor means interconnecting said flexible and rigid segments such that movement of the former causes following movement of the latter, and cooperating fastening means carried by said flexible and rigid segments and releasably engageable when said flexible segment is in the extended position.

Claim 8

The combination of claim 5, wherein said rigid segment is mounted on the outboard side of said seat means.

Claim 9

The combination of claim 6, wherein said fastener means comprise a fastener tongue mounted on said rigid segment and a fastener buckle carried on said flexible segment.

Claim 10

The combination of claim 6, wherein said linkage means interconnect said segments such that said rigid segment is in the upright position when said flexible segment is in the extended condition and said rigid segment is in the horizontal position when said rigid segment is in the retracted condition.

Claim 11

The combination of claim 6, further including resilient means exerting a force on said flexible segment through said retractor means, said force urging movement of said flexible segment towards the retracted condition.

Claim 12

The combination of claim 9, wherein said flexible segment has a buckle secured thereto, and rigid boot means surrounding a portion of said flexible segment and bearing on said buckle to maintain said buckle in a spaced-apart position away from said retractor means when said flexible segment is in the retracted condition.