GB2053664A

GB2053664A - Improvements in three point safety belts

Info

Publication number: GB2053664A
Application number: GB8022061A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: BOST A
Current assignee: BOST A
Priority date: 1979-07-06
Filing date: 1980-07-04
Publication date: 1981-02-11
Also published as: IT8023253A0; DE2927396A1; IT1149936B; IT8022232V0; FR2460687A1

Abstract

In a three point safety belt of the type with a belt reel and eyelet slot 3 on the belt clasp 2, a buckle device 6 is mounted forwardly of the eyelet slot 3 to clamp the shoulder-strap section 4 and lap-strap section 5 of the belt 1 fast in the relative position corresponding to the user adjusted lap-strap length so that in use the lap-strap length is maintained. The buckle part 6 is slotted and is adapted in use to be connected to the belt clasp 2 through elastic connecting means such as struts 8, 9 so that in the event of collision the struts can yield elastically sideways in accordance with the direction in which the belt is pulled. Various forms of the elastic connecting means are described. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in three point safety belts This invention relates to a three-point safety belt of the kind comprising a belt reel, or reeling-up device and an eyelet slot on the belt clasp. It arises from the experience that conventional safety belts of the kind specified, which consist of a diagonal shoulder, or breast-strap section and a horizontal lap, or pelvis strap section, have serious drawbacks in as much as, in use, the proportional lengths of said two sections may alter after the safety belt has been put on by the wearer. In use the belt is pulled to and fro through the eyelet slot by every movement of the wearer and/or the vehicle, especially when driving over rough roads.This means not only that the belt is subjected to constant and heavy frictional wear, but also that it tends to creep up from the initially correctly adjusted position in the region of the pelvis of the wearer to the higher abdominal regions where it may cause severe internal injuries in the event of a crash.

Furthermore, in conventional safety belts of the kind specified the shoulder-strap section may be excessively elongated so that in an accident the upper body of the wearer would be jerked forwards and this would put the wearer's head seriously at risk. If, on the other hand, the lap-strap section of the belt is too slack, the lower abdomen, or pelvis region of the wearer's body may slip through and this would create a serious risk of leg injuries. Lastly, while driving, the driver's concentration is seriously disturbed by having continually to re-adjust the lap-strap for correct length and position which greatly reduces overall motoring safety.

A safety belt according to an earlier invention by the present inventor (GE-PS 2 552 016) is provided, forwardly of the eyelet slot on the belt clasp, with means designed to prevent any alteration en route in respect of the initially correctly adjusted position of the lap-strap section with regard to its length and position in the pelvis region of the wearer, because in the event of accidents such alterations may cause serious injuries.

Now this invention has for its aim to provide an arrangement which prevents the belt itself from being damaged by said additional means in the event of a collision.

According to this invention there is a three-point safety belt of the kind specified characterised by the provision, forwardly of the eyelet slot, of a device which clamps the shoulder-strap and lap-strap sections of the belt fast in the relative position corresponding to the given adjusted lap-strap length, said device consisting of a slotted buckle part which is connected, or adapted to be connected, to the belt clasp through elastic connecting means in such a way that in the event of a collision the said buckle part is capable of yielding elastically sideways in accordance with the direction of belt pull.

The main advantage of this arrangement resides in that, on the one hand, the length of the lap-strap section is maintained absolutely constant whilst, on the other hand, the buckle part which precedes the belt clasp is capable of yielding elastically sideways in the direction of belt traction so that the belt will not suffer any damage even in the event of a crash.

In a safety belt according to this invention the earlier described disadvantages appertaining to conventional three-point safety belts are thus remedied by very simple means, the belt can no longer continually slip to and fro in the eyelet slot and the lapstrap section, once correctly adjusted, remains fixed in the adjusted position. It is also important that a safety belt according to this invention imposes no additional problems or demands on the user in regard to the operations of putting the belt on or taking it off, and on the contrary, belt manipulation is actually simplified where the belt is habitually worn by one and the same person because the correctly adjusted length of the lap-strap section is preserved even afterthe belt has been taken off.

Further advantageous details and developments of the invention are disclosed and claimed hereinafter.

The invention is hereinafter more particularly described with reference to some exemplary embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention; FIGURE2 is a top view of the arrangement shown in Figure 1; FIGURE3 is a perspective view of the arrangement according to Figures 1 and 2 indicating how it works in the event of a collision; FIGURE4 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of the invention; and FIGURES 5and 6 are perspective views showing yet another embodiment.

In the embodiment according to Figures 1 to 3, the belt 1 is passed through a running eye, or eyelet slot 3 on the belt clasp 2 whereby it is sub-divided into the shoulder-strap section 4 and the lap-strap section 5.

The device for fixing the belt sections 4 and 5 in their relatively correctly adjusted positions consists of a buckle part 6 comprising a slot 7 in which the shoulder-strap section 4 is received. In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 3 this buckle part 6 is connected to the belt clasp 2 by thin connecting strips or struts 8,9 which are approximately 30 mm long, their cross sectional dimensions being approximately 3 x 1 mm.

Preferably the buckle part 6 and the connecting struts 8, 9 are plastic injection mouldings and attached to the metal clasp. Iri addition to this there may also be provided, as indicated in Figure 1, a positive locking surface 10 which serves to lock the strap parts in the fixed position thereof, as more specifically described in German Patent Application P 29 06 540.5.

It will be seen from Figures 2 and 3 that, thanks to the above described arrangement, under impact, i.e.

in the event of a car crash, the elastically resilient connecting struts 8 and 9 permit a lateral movement of the buckle part 6 together with the shoulder-strap section 4 of the belt engaged therein so that in a collision the belt 1 will not be damaged by the additional securing device. On the other hand, the buckle part 6 keeps the length of the lap-strap section 5 constant throughout the journey. When the belt is released, however, it can run freely through the buckle part 6 and through the eyelet slot 3 in order to be reeled up tightly by the automatic belt reel (not shown). In as much as the elastic connecting struts 8, 9 also fix the buckle part 6 in the correct position thereof, the belt will be automatically tightened up by the reel when put on by the wearer without there being any need forthe latter to tighten the lap-strap.

The position ofthe shoulder-strap section 4 with the laterally displaced buckle part 6 in the event of a crash is shown in dotted lines in Figures 2 and 3.

In the embodiment according to Figure 4, which shows only the clasp with the eyelet slot and the fixing buckle, the buckle part 6 is mounted on a central connecting web 11 instead of the struts 8 and 9.

Since the fixing buckle merely has to be maintained! at a specified distance from the eyelet slot 3 without having to take up any static forces, this central connecting web 11 may be fairly thin and in the event of a collision it works in the same way as the two struts 8,9 shown in Figures 1 to 3.

Figures 5 and 6 show a further embodiment of the invention which is specifically design for subsequent application to safety belts which are already installed in the vehicle. Here the fixing buckle 6 is provided with a pair of claws 12, 13 by means of which it can be secured to the clasp 2. Furthermore, the slot 7 in the fixing buckle 6 comprises a central slit or break 14 through which the belt 1 can be introduced into the slot 7.

Preferably the buckle element 15 which comprises the buckle part 6 is also made of plastics material and sufficiently elastic to adapt to the direction of belt pull in the event of a collision. This again prevents the belt from being damaged in the same way as described for the other embodiments.

All technical details mentioned in this description and shown in the drawings are significant to the invention, but are shown by way of example of the various constructions falling within the scope of this invention as may be applied to various types of three point safety belts of the kind specified.

Claims

1. A three-point safety belt with belt reel and eyelet slot on the belt clasp, characterised by the provision, forwardly of the eyelet slot, of a device which clamps the shoulder-strap and lap-strap sections of the belt fast in the relative position corresponding to the given adjusted lap-strap length, said device consisting of a slotted buckle part which is connected, or adapted to be connected, to the belt clasp through elastic connecting means in such a way that in the event of a collision the said buckle part is capable of yielding elastically sideways in accordance with the direction of belt pull.

2. A three-point safety belt according to claim 1, characterised in that the elastic connecting means are two plastic struts which connect the buckle part to the belt clasp.

3. A three-point safety belt according to claim 1, characterised in that the elastic connecting means take the form of a single central web which connects the buckle part to the belt clasp.

4. A three-point safety belt according to claim 1, characterised in that the elastic connecting means consist of two claws by means of which the buckle part is adapted to be connected to the belt clasp.

5. A three-point safety belt according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the buckle part and the elastic connecting means are plastics injection mouldings.

6. In a three-point safety belt with belt reel and eyelet slot on the belt clasp, a device for clamping the shoulder-strap and lap-strap sections substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to accompanying drawings