GB2274814A

GB2274814A - Seat-belt arrangement

Info

Publication number: GB2274814A
Application number: GB9302149A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Frederick Else
Original assignee: GEN ENGINEERING
Current assignee: GEN ENGINEERING
Priority date: 1993-02-04
Filing date: 1993-02-04
Publication date: 1994-08-10
Anticipated expiration: 2013-02-04
Also published as: GB9302149D0; GB2274814B; DE4403199C2; DE4403199A1

Description

A- 2274814 @'IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO A BEAT-BELT ARRANGEMENT" THE

PRESENT INVENTION relates to a seat-belt arrangement and more particularly relates to a seat-belt arrangement for use with a rear seat in a motor vehicle.

When designing a motor vehicle, various considerations apply to the design of the rear seat and the design of the safety-belt arrangements provided for use by passengers travelling on the rear seat of the vehicle. In a typical vehicle the rear seat is wide enough to carry three adults, and consequently three safety-belts have to be provided. In many instances it is desirable that the seat should be foldable, so that the back of the seat can be folded down and so that the whole of the seat can then be folded upwardly and forwardly, thus maximising the space available in the vehicle for the transportation of luggage or other items. It is very common for the rear seat of a motor vehicle to be "split" so that individual parts of the seat may be folded downwardly and then upwardly and forwardly, thus increasing the load-carrying ability of the vehicle, whilst still maximising the passenger-carrying ability of the vehicle. In some cases the rear seat is "split" centrally, but in other cases the rear seat is split on a one-third:two-third basis.

When designing the safety-belt arrangements to be associated with a rear seat, it is desirable to provide safety-belts which incorporate retractor mechanisms, and it is also desirable for the retractor mechanism of each such safety-belt to be located at a point adjacent the shoulder of the person who is to wear the safety-belt. The reason for this is that if the retractor mechanism is located in such a position the amount of safetybelt that is paid out from the retractor mechanism at any time is much lower than if the retractor mechanism were mounted at f loor level, with the safety-belt passing through a loop at shoulder height. This minimises the distance travelled by a person wearing a safety-belt, relative to the vehicle, in the event that an accident arises, due to "slackness" in the safety-belt or due to the inherent resilience of the safety-belt.

It has been proposed to mount retractor mechanisms in the back part of a vehicle seat, at a position adjacent the shoulder of a person sitting in the seat. However, if a retractor mechanism is mounted in such a position, the seat must be made to be very strong, in order to withstand forces applied to the seat during an accident. This can be particularly inconvenient if the seat is such that the seat is adapted to fold, with the back of the seat folding down and then the bottom of the seat folding upwardly and forwardly.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved safety-belt and rear seat arrangement for a motor vehicle.

According to this invention there is provided a safety-belt and rear seat arrangement for a motor vehicle. the arrangement comprising a foldable rear seat having a back and a squab, the seat being foldable from a normal position to a folded position, the seat being associated with a frame having a cross-piece which extends transversely of the vehicle, the cross-piece carrying at least one retractor mechanism of a safety-belt for use by a person sitting on the seat, the frame being pivotally mounted so that the frame can pivot from the operative position to an inoperative position, the arrangement being such that when the seat and the frame are in the operative position the cross-piece extends adjacent the top of the back of the seat and when the frame is in the inoperative position the frame lies adjacent the floor of the vehicle.

Preferably the frame carries three retractor mechanisms each having an associated safety-belt, although alternatively the frame may carry a single retractor mechanism, two further retractor mechanisms being provided, each mounted on the vehicle.

Preferably the frame is adapted to pivot forwardly of the vehicle, when moved to the inoperative position, the cross-piece of the frame then lying adjacent the squab of the seat.

Conveniently the cross-piece of the frame is provided with a blind adapted to cover luggage carried in the vehicle behind the rear seat. The blind may also cover the webbing straps of the safety-belts when the frame is in the in-operative position.

Conveniently the cross-piece is provided with one or more head-rests.

Advantageously means are provided to latch the frame to at least one side of the vehicle when the frame is in the operative position.

Preferably means are provided to latch the squab and the back of the seat in the normal position, which may comprise means to latch the squab of the seat to anchorage points provided on the floor of the vehicle andlor means to latch the back of the seat to the frame when in the operative position.

The seat may be "split" preferably into two parts in a substantially onethird:two-third manner, or alternatively into two substantially equal halves.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the rear seat of a motor vehicle, provided with safety-belts having their retractors mounted on a retractor support frame, FIGURE 2 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 showing one-half of the seat folded forwardly, FIGURE 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 showing both halves of the seat folded forwardly, and FIGURE 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 showing both halves of the seat folded forwardly and the retractor support frame folded downwardly.

Referring to the drawings, a rear seat of a motor vehicle is illustrated, the rear seat being divided or "split" into two parts in a one-third: twothirds manner. Each part comprises a squab 1, 2, which is pivoted at a point 3 adjacent the front edge of the squab, and a back 4,5, the back being pivotally connected to the associated squab by means of a pivotal connection 6,7. The seat 1 and back 4 are substantially twice the size of the seat 2 and back 5. Seats of this general type are conventional, and the seats will thus not be described in greater detail.

A support frame 8 is provided comprising a substantially horizontal crosspiece 9 supported by two upstanding legs 10,11. Each leg is pivotally connected by means of a pivot pin 12 to a lug 13 which is secured to the floor of the motor vehicle. The frame can pivot from a substantially upright operative position as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 to a substantially horizontal position as illustrated in Figure 4.

Each side leg 10,11 of the frame is provided with a latch, such as the latch 14, adapted to connect the frame to an appropriate abutment or the like provided on the side of the motor vehicle, to retain the frame in a substantially upright position.

The cross-piece 9 of the frame 8 carries three retractor mechanisms 15, 16,17, and the saf ety-belt 18,19,20 from each such retractor mechanism extends down to an anchorage point 21,22,23 at floor level. The anchorage points 21,22,23 are located substantially on a line 24 (see Figure 3) inter-connecting the lugs 13.

The cross-piece 9 of the frame a carries an extensible and retractable blind 25, extending over substantially the entire width of the vehicle shown in phantom in Figure 1, which can be extended as indicated by the arrow 26, thus covering and hiding from view any luggage transported in the motor vehicle behind the rear seat arrangement illustrated.

It is to be understood that, as is conventional, each safety-belt 18,19, 20 carries a tongue, such as the tongue 27 illustrated in Figure 1, and each tongue 27 is adapted to co- operate with a buckle, such as the buckle 28 illustrated in Figure 1, each buckle being connected by means of appropriate strap or the like to the squab 1,2 of the appropriate seat, or directly to an anchorage on the floor of the vehicle.

It is also to be understood that the cross-piece 9 of the frame 8 may carry a head-rest, such as the headrest 29 shown in phantom in Figure 2, and a head-rest may be provided for each of the three positions to be occupied by a passenger on the rear sear or a head-rest may simply be provided for two of the three positions to be occupied by passengers.

It is to be appreciated that when the arrangement is in a normal or operative position, as illustrated in Figure 1, the frame 8 is in a substantially upright position, and the frame 8 is latched to the sides of the motor vehicle by means of the latches 14. The crosspiece 9 of the frame extends transversely of the vehicle adjacent the top of the backs 4, 5 of the seat. The squabs 1 and 2 and the backs 4 and 5 of the seats are in the operative position and may be latched in the operative position by appropriate latches. One or more latches 30 may be associated with the squab of each seat to latch the squab of the seat to anchorages 31 on the f loor of the motor vehicle, andlor a latch may be associated with the back of each seat to latch the back of the seat to the frame 8.

Each safety-belt 18,19,20 extends from the associated retractor mechanism 15,16,17 over the back part of the appropriate seat and thus to the anchorage 21,22,23. The belt 18 passes to the left of the squab 2, or between a gap provided for that purpose between the squab 2 and the back 5 towards the very left of the illustrated arrangement, and the belt 20 passes similarly to the right of the squab 1 or through a gap left between the squab 1 and the back 4 to the very right of the illustrated arrangement. The belt 19 passes through the gap 32 between the two seats.

Each safety-belt may be used in the conventional way, with the tongue, such as the tongue 27, being engaged in the buckle, such as the buckle 28. The blind 25 may be extended to hide from view any luggage located behind the rear seat.

Referring to Figure 2, the seat defined by the squab 2 and the back 5 is illustrated in a forwardly folded position. To move the seat to this position the latches 30 are released from the anchorages 31, andlor the latch associated with the back of the seat 5, latching the back of the seat to the frame 8, is unlatched, permitting the seat to be folded forwardly.

With the rear seat in this condition two passengers can be carried on the seat def ined by the squab 1 and back 4.

Large or lengthy items or items of any appropriate size may be introduced into the space left by the seat as indicated by the arrow 33 of Figure 2. It is to be appreciated that although the seat having the squab 2 and the back 5 is shown folded forwardly, that seat could have been left in the operative position and the seat constituted by the squab 1 and back 4 may have been folded forwardly. This would enable only one passenger to be carried on the rear seat, but would further increase the load carrying ability of the vehicle.

Since the seat is split on a one-third: two-third basis it is possible to select which part of the seat is folded forwardly, depending upon the number of passengers to be transported and the quantity of luggage to be transported.

As shown in Figure 3, both of the seat parts may be folded forwardly, with both the seat constituted by the squab 1 and the back 4 and the seat constituted by the squab 2 and the back 5 having been folded forwardly. This again enlarges the area available for luggage.

The frame 8 may be pivoted forwardly to occupy the substantially horizontal position illustrated in Figure 4 after the latches 14 have been disengaged. The crosspiece 9 lies adjacent the squab 1,2 of the seat. The blind 15 may be moved to the position illustrated in phantom, thus protecting the webbing straps comprising the safety-belts 18,19,20.

While the invention has been described with reference to an embodiment with three retractor mechanisms mounted on the frame, the two mechanisms 15,17 located adjacent the ends of the cross-piece 9 of the frame 8 may alternatively be mounted on the sides of the vehicle, being just the central retractor mechanisms 16 on the frame.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A saf ety-belt and rear seat arrangement f or a motor vehicle, the arrangement comprising a foldable rear seat having a back and a squab, the seat being foldable from a normal position to a folded position, the seat being associated with a frame having a cross-piece which extends transversely of the vehicle, the cross-piece carrying at least one retractor mechanism of a safety-belt for use by a person sitting on the seat, the frame being pivotally mounted so that the frame can pivot f rom the operative position to an inoperative position, the arrangement being such that when the seat and the frame are in the operative position the cross-piece extends adjacent the top of the back of the seat and when the frame is in the inoperative position the frame lies adjacent the floor of the vehicle.

2. An arrangement according to Claim 1 wherein the frame carries three retractor mechanisms each having an associated safety-belt.

3. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the frame is adapted to pivot forwardly of the vehicle when moved to the inoperative position, the crosspiece of the frame then lying adjacent the squab of the seat.

4. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the cross-piece of the f rame is provided with a blind adapted to cover luggage carried in the vehicle behind the rear seat.

5. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the cross-piece is provided with one or more head-rests.

6. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein means are provided to latch the frame to at least one side of the vehicle when the frame is in the operative position.

7. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein means are provided to latch the squab and the back of the seat in the normal position.

8. An arrangement according to Claim 7 wherein the latching means comprise means to latch the squab of the seat to anchorage points provided on the floor of the vehicle.

9. An arrangement according to Claim 7 wherein the latching means comprise means to latch the back of the seat to the frame when in the operative position.

10. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the seat is "split".

11. An arrangement according to Claim 10 wherein the seat is split in a substantially one-third:two-third manner.

12. An arrangement according to Claim 10 wherein the seat is "split" into two substantially equal halves.

13. An arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

14. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.