AU624639B2

AU624639B2 - Seat belt holder in seat

Info

Publication number: AU624639B2
Application number: AU42844/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Takeo Kimura; Atsushi Kunisawa; Tetsuya Sawai; Masakazu Yoshimura
Original assignee: Tachi S Co Ltd
Current assignee: Tachi S Co Ltd
Priority date: 1989-10-13
Filing date: 1989-10-13
Publication date: 1992-06-18
Anticipated expiration: 2009-10-13
Also published as: AU4284489A

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Form

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE 624 ~9~ Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: S Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: Related Art: W (t TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT 4t.

i 1 Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: TACHI-S CO., LTD.

2-12, MATSUBARACHO 3-CHOME

AKISHIMA-SHI

TOKYO

JAPAN

Actual Inventor: Address for Service: GRIFFITH HACK CO., 601 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.

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Complete Specification for the invention entitled: SEAT BELT HOLDER IN SEAT.

The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:i 1/- SEAT BELT HOLDER IN SEAT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seat belt holder used in a through-bore of a seat through which a seat belt passes and extends outwardly of the seat o for restraining an occupant to the seat.

2. Description of Prior Art As one of various seat belt arrangements in a o e 15 rear seat, a through-bore is formed in the seat, through which a pair of lower seat belts passes and 0,o* extends externally of the seat for connection with S a pair of upper seat belts to restrain two occupants to the seat. Typically, in such seat belt through- 0 o S 20 bore, there is fitted a holder therein for avoiding a frictional wear between the seat belts and wall of the through-bore as well as facilitating the ease of passing the seat belt therethrough during seat assemblage.

Fig. 1 shows a rear seat of this kind, and Figs.

i 2 2 and 3 show the structure of a conventional seat belt holder used therein. In Fig. 1, the seat cushion of the rear seat is at its central point formed with a through-bore (see Fig. 3) and a seat belt holder (10) is securely fitted in the through-bore Through the holder are extended a pair of long and short lower seat belts i o whose respective free ends are provided with o a connection tongue and bockle The con- °o o 10 nection tongue of the long lower seat belt (2) 00 0 J is to be removably engaged with a buckle of a 0o 00 short upper seat belt disposed at one side of the seat cushion while the buckle of the short lower seat belt is to be likewise engaged 0 15 with the connectiong tongue of a long opper seat 0 0 17 belt disposed at an automobile body side. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the two different lower seat SO belts are at their lower base ends fixed on I the floor of automobile body by means of bolt 20 (15) and extend upwardly to pass through the seat I belt holder Designation denotes a seat back connected with the seat cushion forming the rear seat.

With respect to the seat belt holder as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, conventionally its con-

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0 a? 0 struction has been such that it is made of a synthetic resin material and its body (12) is formed generally in an elliptical shape in cross-section, having an inner bore formed therethrough, and an integral flange (11) is formed at the upper end of the body while a slit (14) is formed at a corner of and lower part of the body (12) along the longitudinal direction thereof, thus defining a pair of side bendable wall areas (13a)(13b) in a manner being 10 symmetrically in relation to the central vertical axis of the holder Numeral (15) denotes securing members for securing the holder (10) to the through-bore of the seat cushion The foregoing seat belt holder as shown in Fig. 3, is inserted into the through-bore (h) of the seat cushion with the flange (11) abutting upon the upper surface of the seat cushion and thereafter, its pair of side wall areas (13a)(13b) are bent outwardly away from each other, so as to define a downwardly diverging bore area (12a') at the lower part of the holder Although not shown, the securing members (14) are fixedly secured to an insert wire embedded in the seat cushion (a) so that the holder (10) is :iirmly secured in the through-bore Consequently, during seat assembl- 4,I .444 r4 4*44 ;i r a 44i 4 4 44

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1 i i r 4 ing process, the connection tongue and buckle of the two lower seat belts are inserted from the widely opened part (at 12a') of the holder and passed through the holder (10) to extend externally of the upper surface of the seat cushion As has been noticed, the drawback of the abovedescribed prior art is that the two lower seat belts o. are merely passed through the holder and easy to move back downwardly therethrough, with the result that both tongue and buckle will be dropped down to the floor of automobile body.

Consequently, once those seat belt connecting means are dropped through the holder (10) to the floor S 15 it is practically impossible to pass again them through the holder (10) to the outside of the seat cushion Sc and the access to the lower seat belts are no longer attained, preventing the use of them and posing a safety problem of rear seat occupants.

o SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-stated drawbacks, it is therefore a primary purpose of the present invention 5 to attempt to overcome one or more of the above disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a seat belt holder in a seat, in which said seat is formed with a seat belt through-bore through which a seat belt is to pass from an underside of said seat up to an upper side thereof, and in said through-bore, is securely fitted said seat belt holder which has, formed therein, an inner bore through which is inserted and passed said seat belt, said seat belt holder including an elastic securing means for elastically securing or retaining said seat belt in said holder, said elastic securing means being fixed at its both end parts in said holder, defining an elastically openable area between said fixed both end parts of said elastic securing means, whereby said seat belt is inserted into and passed through said openable area of said o -elastic securing means and then retained between said securing means and an inner wall of said inner bore, thereby preventing removal and falling-down of said seat belt from said holder.

It is preferred that said seat belt holder has two opposed inner wall portions formed in said inner wall o* thereof, wherein said elastic securing means comprises a generally rectangular-shaped elastic member, and wherein an upper end area of said elastic member is at its both end parts fixed to an upper part of one of said two opposed inner wall portions of said seat belt holder, along a vertical direction relative to said holder, defining an elastic openable area between said two fixed end parts of said elastic member, while a lower end area of said elastic member is fixed to lower end part of the other of said two opposed inner wall portions of said seat belt holder, along a horizontal direction relative to said holder, whereby said elastic member extends diagonally from its openable area down to its lower end area, within said holder, thus defining a downwardly diverging entry space therein, and 6 said seat belt is inserted into said entry space along said diagonally extended elastic member and further into and passed through said openable area, thereby facilitating an ease of inserting and passing said seat belt through said openable area of said elastic member as well as preventing removal and falling-down of said seat belt from said holder.

It is further preferred that said elastic member comprises a rubber flat member of a generally rectangular shape, wherein an upper end area of said rubber member is at its both end parts sewn by a pair of threads, respectively, to an upper part of one of said two opposed inner wall portions of said seat belt holder, along a vertical direction relative to said holder, whereas a lower end area of said rubber member is sewn by a thread to a lower end part of the other of said two opposed inner wall portions of said seat belt holder along a horizontal direction relative to said holder, and wherein there are further provided a pair of attachment cloths such that one of them is attached at one outer surface of said seat belt holder at a point corresponding to said upper end area of said rubber member and sewn with said pair of threads, and the other of them is attached at other opposed outer surface of said seat belt holder at a point corresponding to said lower end area of said rubber member and sewn with said single thread.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a general rear seat provided with seat belts; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a conventional seat belt holder; Fig. 3 is a longitudinally sectional view showing 1' 7 the state wherein the conventional seat belt holder is secured in the through-bore of a seat cushion; Fig. 4 is a partially broken perspective view of a seat belt holder in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view which shows the state wherein such first preferred embodiment of the invention is secured in the through-bore of the seat cushion; Fig. 6 is a partially broken perspective view of a seat belt holder in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in the Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view which shows the state wherein such second preferred embodiment of the o: invention is secured in the through-bore of the seat S°cushion.

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C e it 8 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION At first, the present invention is based upon the aforementioned prior art and utilizes all the elements and members of the same. Thus, all like designations used in the prior art description above and Figs. 1 through 3 refers to all like designations in the description hereinafter, excepting some new °o o 10 means featured by the invention as below, and the Sexplanation of the former is therefore omitted.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, there is illustrated a first embodiment of the present invention.

A strip of flat rubber material (17) is shown 15 as being fixed on the inner wall of the inner bore (12a) of the seat belt holder Specifically, the rubber material (17) is of a relatively smaller ^oo° length than the horizontal diameter of the elliptical S.o bore (12a) and disposed at the upper part of the holder t 20 body (12) above the side bendable wall area (13a), O o Both ends of the flat rubber (17) are sewn to such given area in the inner wall of the bore (12a) by means of two pieces of threads (18a)(18b) respectively.

As shown, the threads (18a)(18b) are sewn: at the respective ends of the rubber (17) in a vertical The expandable elastic area (17a) is so defi ned as to have its sufficient length to permit both tougue and buckle as well as the related lower seat belts to pass under and through he openable area (17a). In that sense, the flat rubber (17) functions as an elastic retaining means for elastically O retaining the two lower seat belts in a manner S 10 permitting them to be removed therefrom or inserted therethrough.

Accordingly, in a practical seat assembling process, when passing the two lower seat belts (2) through the seat belt holder (10) from thereunder, the tongue of the long lower seat belt is firstly inserted into the elastic openable area (17a)of t, the flat rubber (17) and forced out therefrom. Like- 0 wise, then, the buckle of the short lower seat o belt is inserted and passed through that openable o 20 area (17a). As a result, as in Fig. 5, the juxtaposed portion of the two lower seat belts are retained firmly between the inner wall of the bore (12a) of the holder (10) and flat rubber to thereby prevent the seat belts from being moved back downwardly and removed from the holder 2 i' s 10 Should the seat belts be moved downward through the flat rubber the tongue and buckle are abutted against the rubber which assures to prevent removal of the seat belts therefrom down to the floor Instead of the flat rubber any other elastic material may be used: For example, a rubber string or elastic plate-like member.

The flat rubber (17) may be fixed to the inner 0 o 10 wall of the bore (12a) by means of an adhesive or 0 Smay be welded thereto by means of a suitable fusing device.

Reference is made to Figs. 6, 7 and 8, wherein is illustrated a second embodiment of the present S 15 invention.

In this particular embodiment, a different flat S rubber member is utilized, which is of a gneral- I ly rectangular shape, extending vertically along i a the vertical body (12) of the holder The S 20 entire vertical length of the rubber member (17') is smaller than that of the holder Differently U from the above first embodiment, the rectangular rubber member is fixedly provided within the inner bore (12a) of the holder (10) in such a manner that the upper end area (at 17a') of the rubber member Ii 11 0008 .'0 09 9 o 99 .99, 09 g

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9 09 01 9 0 9c 9 *I 9 9 9 is sewn by two pieces of threads (18a')(18b'), like the foregoing first embodiment, along a vertical direction thereof Lu the upper part of the inner wall at one of the two bendable side walls (13a)(13b) (in the figures, the upper end area of the rubber member is sewn to that inner wall at the right-side bendable wall while on the other hand, the lower end area (17b') of the rubber member is sewn by one piece of thread (19) to the I ower end 10 part of the inner wall at the other of side walls (13a)(13b) along a horizontal direction thereof (in the figures, the lower end area (17b') of the rubber member is sewn to that inner wall at the left-side bendable wall With such 15 fixation of the rubber member in the holder it i therefore observed that an elastically openable area (17a') is defined at the upper are of the rubber member adjacent to the outer opening of the holder the elastically openable area 20 (17a') being same with that (17a) in the first embodiment and having thus the same structural features therewith, whereas the intermediate area (17c') of the rubber member extends diagonally from the upper end area (17a') down to the lower end one (17b') between the opposed inner walls of the bore r 12 (12a).

Accordingly, in this embodiment, as viewed from Fig. 7, there is defined a downwardly diverging entry space (at WI) between the left- and right-side bendable walls (13a)(13b), which entry space is intended for facilitating the ease of entering or inserting the two lower seat belts into the rubber member and passing them therethrough, as will be explained later.

Designations (20)(21) denote attachment cloths a which are respectively attached on the two opposite 4 4 on o outer surfaces of the holder as best shown S in Fig. 7, such that the attachment cloth (20) is

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disposed at the point corresponding to the upper end area (17a') of the rubber member and sewn with the threads while the other attachment 444 o 4 S* cloth (20) is disposed at the point corresponding to the lower end area (17b') and sewn with the thread This is preferable in terms of preventing 0 20 those threads against wear and loosening.

As a further advantage of the present embodiment, it is important to note that, making a comparative view between Figs. 7 and 8, after securing the seat belt holder (10) in the through-bore of the seat cushion due to the widening of the two opposed i- 13-

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bendable walls (13a)(13b) from each other, which has been stated in the prior art description above, the first width (W1) of the entry space is also widened greater into the second width thus rendering it much easier for the tongue and buckle of the lower seat belts to be entered or inserted into and passed accurately through the expandable securing area (17a') of the rubber member In operation, during the seat assembling process, 10 when inserting the lower seat belts into the widely ,pened lower part (12a') of the holder the first step is to insert the tongue of the long lower seat belt thereinto and guided by the diagonally extended intermediate area (17c') of the rubber member and into the openable area (17a') thereof. Then, the tongue is drawn further upwardly and passed through the openable area so as to draw the long seat belt (2) upwardly therethrough. Thereafter, secondly, 20 the buckle of the short seat belt is inserted along the intermediate area (17c') of the rubber member and passed through the openable area (17a') thereof, as well. As a result, as shown in Fig.

8, the juxtaposed portion of the two lower seat belts is retained firmly between the openable

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14 area (17a') and the corresponding opposed inner wall of the holder Accordingly, in this second embodiment, it is to be appreciated that, in addition to preventing the removal and falling-down of the two lower seat belts from the holder the above-stated diagonally extended arrangement of the rubber member within the holder (10) facilitates the ease of inserting the two lower seat belts into 10 the openable securing area (17a') and serves to guide them accurately thereinto. Moreover, since _o o the bore (12a) of the holder (10) is substantially t closed by such diagonally extended rubber member (17') which lies across the bore (12a), a dust or foreign particles are prevented from being invaded through the holder (10) to the underside of the seat cushion nur;

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i i i;l iii i-I i a Yi 0 4 44 4 4 A4 4 I I~ The rubber member is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, but may be made of any other 20 elastic material with a same elastically expandable property, such as a rubber string or other suitable material. The fixation of the rubber member (17') to the inner walls of the holder (10) is not limited either to the sewing but may be effected by means of an adhesive or a suitable fusing device.

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15 For both first and second embodiments above, the construction of them is very simipl ified by merel y providing the rubber members (17 (17 q within tho holder and further affective in p os it 1v el1 preventing the r emo val o f t he l ower se at bel ts 2) from the holder (10),1 presenting a good answer to the problems of the prior art.

Claims

4.. .4 4 4, 44 4 '4 4.4 44 4.f 4 'get 1. A seat belt holder in a seat, in which said seat is formed with a seat belt through-bore through which a seat belt is to pass from an underside of said seat up to an upper side thereof, and in said through-bore, is securely fitted said seat belt holder which has, formed therein, an inner bore through 10 which is inserted aind passed said seat belt, said seat belt holder including an elastic securing means for elastically securing or retaining said seat belt in said holder, said elastic securing means being fixed at its both end parts in said holder, defining 15 an elastically openable area between said fixed both end parts of said elastic securing means, whereby said seat belt is inserted into and passed through said openable area of said elastic securing means and then retained between said securing means and 20 an inner wall of said inner bore, thereby preventing removal and falling-down of said seat belt from said holder. i iI f i ;d1 i: .a 4 4. 4 4 4. 4
44. 4 4. 4 2. The seat belt holder as defined in Claim 1, wherein said elastic securing means comprises 4, 17 one strip of rubber material, and wherein said rubber material is at its both end parts sewn by a pair of threads, respectively, to said inner wall of said inner bore, along a vertical direction relative to said holder. 3. The seat belt holder as defined in Claim i, wherein said seat belt holder has two opposed inner wall portions formed in said inner wall thereof, wherein said elastic securing means comprises a generally rectangular-shaped elastic member, and wherein an upper end area of said elastic member is at its both end parts fixed to an upper part of one of said two opposed inner wall portions of said seat belt holder, along a vertical direction relative to said holder, defining an elastic openable area between said two fixed end parts of said elastic member, while a lower end area of said elastic member is fixed to lower end part of the other of said two o a o a opposed inner wall portions of said seat belt holder, along Se4 a horizontal direction relative to said holder, whereby said elastic member extends diagonally from its openable area down to its lower end area, within said holder, thus o- t defining a downwardly diverging entry space therein, and said seat belt is inserted into said entry space V., a, a 4* arr 'r i0 N<WfO 18 along said diagonally extended elastic member and further into and passed through said openable area, thereby facilitating an ease of inserting and passing said seat belt through said openable area of said elastic member as well as preventing removal and falling-down of said seat belt from said holder. 4. The seat belt holder as defined in oono Claim 3, wherein said elastic member comprises a 10 rubber flat member of a generally rectangular shape, and wherein said fixation of said rubber flat member is effected by sewing, using a thread. S 5. The seat belt holder as defined in Claim 1, wherein said elastic securing means comprises I a rubber string. N I 6. The seat belt holder as defined in Claim 3, wherein said elastic member comprises a rubber flat member of a generally rectangular shape, wherein an upper end area of said rubber member is at its both end parts sewn by a pair of threads, respectively, to an upper part of one of said two opposed inner a of said seat belt holder, along a vertical direction relative to said holder, whereas ~H D xZ o X 19 a lower end area of said rubber member is sewn by a thread to a lower end part of the other of said two opposed inner wall portions of said seat belt holder along a horizontal direction relative to said holder, and wherein there are further provided a pair of attachment cloths such that one of them is attached at one outer surface of said seat belt holder at a point corresponding to said upper end area of said rubber member and sewn with said pair of threads, and the other of them is attached at other opposed outer surface of said seat belt holder at a point corresponding to said lower end area of said rubber member and sewn with said single thread. 7. The seat belt holder as defined in Claim 3, wherein said elastic member comprises a rubber string. 8. The seat belt holder as defined in Claim 1, wherein said elastic securing means is fixed in said seat belt holder by means of an adhesive or a fusing device. 9. The seat belt holder as defined in Claim 3, wherein said inner wall of said seat belt holder includes a pair of lower bendable side wall areas which define a slot formed l vertically in said holder, and wherein said two lower bendable side wall areas are bent outwardly way from each other, whereby said diagonally extended elastic member is Spulled further outwardly, thus widening said entry space defined thereby, so as to make it easier for said seat belt to be inserted into and passed accurately from said x elastically openable area of said holder. The seat belt holder as defined in Claim 3, wherein said elastic member is fixed in said seat belt holder by means of an adhesive or a fusing device. -3 0 i I 20 11. A seat belt holder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 to 8 of the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS 14TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 1992 TACHI-S CO., LTD. By Its Patent Attorneys: GRIFFITH HACK CO. Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia. 44 a 4i b