Various embodiments of vehicle occupant safety systems having extendable restraints for use with, for example, airbags are described herein. In one embodiment, for example, the disclosed technology includes a 2-point occupant restraint that secures an occupant in an aircraft seat. In this embodiment, the aircraft seat is positioned in a seating area that includes a forward monument housing a stowed airbag. In the event of a crash or other significant dynamic event that causes, for example, a rapid deceleration of the aircraft above a preset magnitude, the airbag deploys between the occupant and the monument as the dynamic forces cause the occupant to pitch forward. The forward momentum of the occupant's body creates a significant tension load in the 2-point restraint, which causes the restraint to extend by a preset amount, thereby allowing the occupant to move forward in the seat more than the occupant would have moved had the occupant been wearing a conventional, non-extending 2-point restraint. Although the occupant is allowed to move forward, the occupant remains secured to the extended restraint by means of non-extending webbing that is secured around the waist of the occupant. Allowing the occupant to move forward in this manner enables the occupant's upper torso to impact the airbag at a reduced or otherwise more favorable angle. This can reduce both the speed and the angle at which the occupant's head impacts the airbag, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury.

An occupant protection device configured as an integral bag body including an airbag, the airbag including: a frame duct that includes an upper duct inflated and deployed at a seat upper side of the head of an occupant with a seat front end of the upper duct reaching a seat front side of the head of the occupant in an inflated and deployed state; a front inflating portion that receives gas supplied from a portion of the frame duct that has reached in front of the head, and is that inflated and deployed at the seat front side of the head of the occupant; and a pair of lateral inflating portions that receive gas supplied from the frame duct or the front inflating portion, or both, and that are inflated and deployed at both seat width direction sides of the head of the occupant.

A vehicle occupant protection device includes an airbag constructed as an integrated bag body that is deployable in an area including a front side of a head portion of a vehicle occupant, and in an area including both left and right sides of the head portion of the vehicle occupant, and an airbag case. The airbag case includes a box-shaped case main body provided on a seat rear side of a headrest main body, in which the airbag is housed in a folded state, and that inflates and deploys the airbag from an upper portion of the case main body during an inflation and deployment of the airbag, and a reaction force plate that is provided in a lower portion side of the case main body and inside the case main body, and that supports the airbag from the seat rear side during the inflation and deployment of the airbag.

An occupant protection device, including an airbag that is inflated and deployed on being supplied with gas, the airbag configuring an integral bag body including a front inflating portion that is inflated and deployed at a seat front side of the head of an occupant and that limits movement of the head toward a seat front side, and a pair of lateral inflating portions that are inflated and deployed at both seat width direction sides of the head of the occupant and that limit movement of the head toward a seat side, wherein an energy absorption amount with respect to displacement of the head by at least the lateral inflating portion, from out of the pair of lateral inflating portions, positioned at a vehicle width direction outside is greater than an energy absorption amount with respect to displacement of the head by the front inflating portion.

A vehicle occupant protection device including: an airbag constructed as an integrated bag body that is deployed in an area including a front side of a head portion of a vehicle occupant, and in an area including both left and right sides of the head portion of the vehicle occupant; and an airbag case that includes a box-shaped case main body provided on a seat rear side of a headrest main body, in which the airbag is housed in a folded state, and whose upper portion opens up during an inflation and deployment of the airbag, and a reaction force plate that is provided in a lower portion side of the case main body, and is formed by a component having greater rigidity than the case main body, and that supports the airbag from the seat rear side during the inflation and deployment of the airbag.

A vehicle occupant protection device that includes: an airbag that is constructed as an integrated bag body that covers a head portion of a vehicle occupant and includes a forward-deploying portion, and a pair of left and right side-deploying portions which are connected to the forward-deploying portion and deploy in both left and right sides of the head portion, and that is housed in a folded state in an upper portion of a vehicle seat; an inflator that supplies gas to the airbag; and an airbag moving mechanism that causes the airbag to move from the upper portion of the vehicle seat over the head portion to the seat front side, so that a front end portion of the airbag is disposed further to the seat front side than a head top portion of the vehicle occupant who is seated in a normal state.

An active bolster for a vehicle is provided, wherein the bolster comprises an expansible hollow interior that is inflatable and is self-supporting in both an inflated and in an uninflated position. The bolster has an inflator module for inflating the expansible hollow interior. The bolster has an inner wall for projecting inwardly into the vehicle and away from the side of the vehicle on inflation of the expansible hollow interior. The bolster may have a relatively non-expansible component located between a first expansible chamber and a second expansible chamber. The bolster may comprise an outer wall having an attachment portion for attaching the outer wall to a portion of the side of the vehicle.

A vehicle control system includes a driving controller that switches between autonomous driving an manual driving of a vehicle, a seat whose form is changed between a form during autonomous driving and a form during manual driving that are different from each other, and a seat controller that controls motion of the seat when a form of the seat is changed. If the seat is in a form during autonomous driving, the driving controller does not switch autonomous driving to manual driving when controlling the vehicle.

An occupant protection system includes: arm rests that are disposed on first and second width direction sides of a seat back and are rotatable between a substantially vertical storage position and a substantially horizontal use position; slide members that are slidable along the arm rests and have belt guides; a retractor that takes up webbing of a belt; and an electronic control unit that, (i) in a state before an occupant is seated in a vehicle seat, causes the arm rests to be held in the storage position and causes the slide members to slide in the seat upward direction above the head of the occupant, and that, (ii) when the occupant is seated, causes the arm rests to rotate to the use position, causes the slide members to slide toward base sides of the arm rests, and causes the webbing to be taken up by the retractor.

An occupant protection system including: a first airbag; and a second airbag, wherein the second airbag has a pair of lateral inflating portions which cover the entire head of the occupant from both sides in the vehicle width direction and an upper deploying portion which covers the head of the occupant from the upper side in the vehicle vertical direction, the pair of lateral inflating portions and the upper deploying portion are each supported in back in the vehicle forward and rearward direction by the vehicle seat, and in the inflated and deployed state of the second airbag, vehicle vertical direction upper edge portions of the pair of lateral inflating portions and vehicle width direction side edge portions of the upper deploying portion are connected to each other from their rear end side to their front end side in the vehicle forward and rearward direction.