EP0867131B1 - Buckle for three-strap seat belt for safety seats for children transported in motor vehicles and the like - Google Patents

Buckle for three-strap seat belt for safety seats for children transported in motor vehicles and the like Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0867131B1
EP0867131B1 EP98103267A EP98103267A EP0867131B1 EP 0867131 B1 EP0867131 B1 EP 0867131B1 EP 98103267 A EP98103267 A EP 98103267A EP 98103267 A EP98103267 A EP 98103267A EP 0867131 B1 EP0867131 B1 EP 0867131B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
shell
tongues
button
seat belt
buckle
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP98103267A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0867131A1 (en
Inventor
Mario Gamba
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Belt and Buckle Srl
Original Assignee
Belt and Buckle Srl
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Belt and Buckle Srl filed Critical Belt and Buckle Srl
Publication of EP0867131A1 publication Critical patent/EP0867131A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0867131B1 publication Critical patent/EP0867131B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A44—HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY
    • A44B—BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE
    • A44B11/00—Buckles; Similar fasteners for interconnecting straps or the like, e.g. for safety belts
    • A44B11/25—Buckles; Similar fasteners for interconnecting straps or the like, e.g. for safety belts with two or more separable parts
    • A44B11/2503—Safety buckles
    • A44B11/2546—Details
    • A44B11/2549—Fastening of other buckle elements to the main buckle
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A44—HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY
    • A44B—BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE
    • A44B11/00—Buckles; Similar fasteners for interconnecting straps or the like, e.g. for safety belts
    • A44B11/25—Buckles; Similar fasteners for interconnecting straps or the like, e.g. for safety belts with two or more separable parts
    • A44B11/2503—Safety buckles
    • A44B11/2507—Safety buckles actuated by a push-button
    • A44B11/2511—Safety buckles actuated by a push-button acting perpendicularly to the main plane of the buckle, e.g. placed on the front face of the buckle
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A44—HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY
    • A44B—BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE
    • A44B11/00—Buckles; Similar fasteners for interconnecting straps or the like, e.g. for safety belts
    • A44B11/25—Buckles; Similar fasteners for interconnecting straps or the like, e.g. for safety belts with two or more separable parts
    • A44B11/2503—Safety buckles
    • A44B11/2546—Details
    • A44B11/2561—Tongue elements

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a buckle for three-strap seat belt for safety seats for children transported in motor vehicles and the like.
  • Buckles of the specified type are known and usually comprise a rigid plastic shell that is attached to the free end of one of the seat belt straps (for example, the strap passing between the legs of the child to whom the belt is fitted), as well as a pair of rigid plastic tongues that are each attached to a respective free end of each of the other two belt straps and which, for the purposes of fastening the belt, are inserted into the shell on top of each other through an opening.
  • Retention means acted upon by elastic means engage automatically with the tongues when the latter are pushed fully home in the shell, holding them firmly against withdrawal (the closed condition of the buckle, in which the seat belt is fastened).
  • a release button is able to move relative to the shell in order, when pressed manually against the action of the elastic means, to disengage the tongues from the retention means, while an elastic ejection member, which is preloaded by the insertion of the tongues, automatically ejects the tongues from the shell through the opening (the open condition of the buckle, in which the seat belt is unfastened).
  • both the tongues and the retention members are made of plastic. When coupled together and subjected to stresses, therefore, these members are subject to the inevitable plastic deformations to which plastic components are prone. This often leads to defective retention of the tongues when the buckle is closed, resulting in unintended unfastening of the belt.
  • the present invention takes the above drawbacks as its starting point and seeks to remedy them.
  • the principal object of the present invention is therefore to provide a buckle for a three-strap seat belt for safety seats for children transported in motor vehicles and the like, which will ensure that, when the buckle is closed, the fastening of the belt is strong and secure.
  • Another object is to provide a buckle for a seat belt as specified, with a simplified structure and giving safe, reliable operation.
  • the present invention provides a buckle for a three-strap seat belt for safety seats for children transported in motor vehicles and the like, the essential characteristic of which forms the subject of the main claim.
  • the numeral 10 is a general reference for the whole buckle for a three-strap seat belt for safety seats for children transported in motor vehicles and the like, in one example of an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the said buckle 10 comprises a rigid plastic shell 11 that is securely attached to the free end of one of the seat belt straps, for example the strap passing between the legs of the child to whom the belt is fitted.
  • the said shell 11 has two openings, a front opening 11.1 and a top opening 11.2 (Fig. 1), which communicate with its internal cavity.
  • the forward end of the pair of superimposed tongues 12 (Figs. 2-4), which enters the shell 11 longitudinally through the front opening 11.1, is basically wedge shaped (Fig. 2) with a sliding face 12.1 interrupted by a deep transverse cut 12.2, followed - in the direction of insertion through the opening 11.1 - by a stepped projection 12.3 that engages with play with the said opening 11.1, when the superimposed tongues 12 are pushed fully home into the said shell 11 (Figs. 3, 4).
  • the shell 11 contains a release button 13 that can be moved through the top opening 11.2 and is guided relative to this shell in a plane approximately perpendicular to the direction of insertion of the superimposed tongues 12 through the front opening 11.1.
  • the said button 13 comprises a pair of integral straight fingers 13.1 extending like the tines of a fork and guided relative to corresponding guides 11.3 (only one of which is visible in Fig. 1) on the inside of the opposite longitudinal side walls 11.4 of the shell 11.
  • each guide 11.3 contains a through slot 11.5 (only one of which is visible in Fig. 1) close to the back 11.6 of the shell 11, the major axes of which are aligned with each other in the said plane which is approximately perpendicular to the direction of insertion of the superimposed tongues into this shell.
  • a transverse metal locking pin 14 is fixed in the region of the free ends of the said fingers 13.1 and its ends extend into the said slots 11.5. The said transverse locking pin 14 is thus able to move, together with the release button 13, within the said approximately perpendicular plane.
  • the said movements of the button 13 relative to the shell 11 are limited by the travel of the ends of the pin 14 in the slots 11.5.
  • a helical compression spring 16 is fitted inside the shell 11 with its axis approximately parallel to the direction of insertion of the superimposed tongues 12, which compress it elastically, and hence preload it, as the tongues 12 are pushed fully home into the shell.
  • the said spring 16 serves as an automatic means of ejection.
  • the tongues 12 are inserted on top of each other into the shell 11, in a longitudinal direction, through the front opening 11.1, in such a way that their sliding face 12.1 passes over the transverse locking pin 14.
  • the wedge action of the superimposed tongues 12 on the pin 14 as the stepped projection 12.3 is guided through the said front opening 11.1 pulls the release button 13 down into the depressed working position, in opposition to the elastic force of the leaf spring 15, until the said pin 14 is level with the transverse cut 12.2, with which the pin then engages with a snap action, in the manner of a pawl, because of the return action of the leaf spring 15 on the button 13.
  • the said locking pin 14 thus holds the superimposed tongues 12 securely so that they cannot come out of the shell 11 (Fig.3), while the release button 13, integral with this pin 14, is automatically returned to and held in its raised rest position by the elastic force of the leaf spring 15.
  • the seat belt is securely fastened.
  • the transverse locking pin 14 releases the transverse cut 12.2 of the superimposed tongues 12, on which the ejector spring 16, which was preloaded during the insertion of the tongues into the shell 11, acts with an opposing elastic force.
  • the said ejector 16 thus automatically expels the superimposed tongues 12 from the shell 11 through the front opening 11.1, so unfastening the seat belt.
  • the button 13 with its integral transverse locking pin 14 is automatically pushed back and held by the leaf spring 15 in its raised rest position in the top opening 11.2.
  • the means by which the buckle 10 is kept closed is the metal pawl 14, which engages transversely with the tongues 12, moving in the said plane approximately perpendicular to the direction of insertion of the tongues into the shell 11, and maintains the engaged position owing to the elastic return action exerted by the springs 15, which drive the release button 13 into its rest position.
  • the buckle 10 is easily opened by pushing the said release button 13, together with its pawl 14, down the said approximately perpendicular plane against the action of the elastic return means 15 until it reaches the working position.

Landscapes

  • Automotive Seat Belt Assembly (AREA)
  • Buckles (AREA)
  • Emergency Lowering Means (AREA)
EP98103267A 1997-03-05 1998-02-25 Buckle for three-strap seat belt for safety seats for children transported in motor vehicles and the like Expired - Lifetime EP0867131B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITTO970043U 1997-03-05
IT1997TO000043U IT236268Y1 (it) 1997-03-05 1997-03-05 Fibbia di cintura di sicurezza a tre rami per seggiolini di sicurezzaper bambini trasportati su autoveicoli e simili

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0867131A1 EP0867131A1 (en) 1998-09-30
EP0867131B1 true EP0867131B1 (en) 2002-01-02

Family

ID=11415244

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98103267A Expired - Lifetime EP0867131B1 (en) 1997-03-05 1998-02-25 Buckle for three-strap seat belt for safety seats for children transported in motor vehicles and the like

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0867131B1 (it)
AT (1) ATE211366T1 (it)
DE (1) DE69803324T2 (it)
ES (1) ES2170974T3 (it)
IT (1) IT236268Y1 (it)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ES2156749B1 (es) * 1999-08-10 2002-02-01 Itw Espana Sa Cierre de seguridad para sillas de niños y similares.
ATE339905T1 (de) 2001-09-21 2006-10-15 Belt & Buckle S R L Gurtschnalle für sicherheitsgurt mit drei zungen, insbesondere für kindersitze in kraftfahrzuege und dergleichen
CA2487373A1 (en) 2002-07-05 2004-01-15 Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc. Infant buckle
US7698791B2 (en) 2006-06-13 2010-04-20 Sabelt S.P.A. Safety strap buckle, in particular for automotive child safety seats
CN109707242B (zh) * 2019-02-28 2024-03-15 上海正经科技有限公司 一种脱扣器、电动脱扣器、电动脱扣系统和防走失牵引绳

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB218779A (en) * 1923-04-27 1924-07-17 Nora Bourke Clasp or fastener for belts
US2882581A (en) * 1957-06-13 1959-04-21 Aerotherm Corp Buckles
JPH0540733Y2 (it) * 1987-09-30 1993-10-15

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0867131A1 (en) 1998-09-30
ITTO970043U1 (it) 1998-09-05
DE69803324D1 (de) 2002-02-28
ES2170974T3 (es) 2002-08-16
IT236268Y1 (it) 2000-08-08
DE69803324T2 (de) 2002-08-22
ATE211366T1 (de) 2002-01-15

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