GB2334240A

GB2334240A - A three point safety restraint for a centre seat in a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2334240A
Application number: GB9802948A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Jack; John Bell
Original assignee: Breed Automotive Technology Inc
Current assignee: Breed Automotive Technology Inc
Priority date: 1998-02-11
Filing date: 1998-02-11
Publication date: 1999-08-18
Anticipated expiration: 2018-02-11
Also published as: DE19901784A1; GB9802948D0; GB2334240B

Abstract

The safety restraint for the centre seat 3 comprises a webbing 6 attached at one end to a retractor 7 mounted to a side pillar of the vehicle 1 and at its other end to two spaced apart buckles 10 insertable in buckle mountings 11 secured to either side of the seat. In use, the seat belt webbing passes over a U shaped end 13 of a slider bar 14 that is mounted by two screws 15 to the roof 16 of the vehicle. When the restraint is not in use the end of the webbing with the two buckles can be stowed in a side or roof pocket (17, Figure 2). Figures 5 - 8 illustrate how a shoulder support D-ring 9 of a safety restraint can be fixed to a side pillar of the vehicle. As shown in Figure 7, a mounting plate 33 in the side pillar has two cutouts 34 into which stepped tabs (32, Figure 5) of a D-ring support can be inserted. The D-ring support is then rotated to the position shown so that the tabs secure the D-ring to the pillar. The D-ring support is prevented from rotating by a screw or bolt that passes through a fixing hole 36.

Description

SAFETY RESTRAINT DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a safety restraint for a vehicle occupant and particularly for the occupant of a rear centre seat.

In recent years various arrangements have been used to restrain the passenger in the rear centre seat. Simple twopoint lap belts are the easiest to attach in this position but these are unsatisfactory since they do not adequately restraint the torso of the vehicle occupant and the force of a crash is taken over a much smaller area than with a traditional three-point seat belt. However, a three-point seat belt with a full retractor mechanism is difficult to fit to the rear centre seat because it requires a third load bearing position. For the side seats the retractor and the shoulder height support for the belt are mounted on pillars which form part of the structural frame of the vehicle. In the centre position however, there is no equivalent load bearing structure and the retractor must either be mounted to the sear itself which requires the seat to be load bearing, or to the floor of the vehicle for example in the storage space behind the rear seats. A load bearing seat is expensive and cannot be made easily removable and so this option is undesirable in lower budget vehicles or vehicles where the rear seats are requires to be removable (for example to create more luggage space). Mounting the retractor on the floor of the vehicle is also unsatisfactory since this impinges on the rear luggage space and the retractor and belt can be inhibited in their safe operation if luggage interferes with them. In any case there is no shoulder support for the seat belt and any passenger, for example, whose shoulder is higher than the top of the seat, will be unsatisfactorily restrained and also subject to discomfort.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement for a safety restraint for a centre rear vehicle occupant.

According to the present invention there is provided a three-point safety restraint for a vehicle seat in the rear centre position, comprising: a retractor mounted to a side pillar of the vehicle, a length of seat belt webbing attached to the retractor, two buckles spaced apart on the webbing for fastening to buckle mountings attached on either side of the vehicle seat, and a slider bar mounted to the vehicle roof and over which the webbing passes between the retractor and the two buckles.

Preferably the slider bar comprises an elongate piece of metal with a u-shaped portion at the end closest to the centre seat.

In one embodiment there is provided a pocket in the side of the vehicle or in the roof in which the buckle end of the webbing can be stored in the unused condition.

The slider bar may comprise u-shaped portions at both ends. It may be fixed by two screws, one at each end of the bar.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a seat belt webbing shoulder support fixing arrangement comprising cut-outs at the mounting position and co-operating locating features on the shoulder support such that the shoulder support mounting plate can be pushed into the cut-outs and rotated through a predetermined angle so that the fixing tabs are held by the fixing plate.

This automatically aligns the shoulder support before the assembly worker applies the fixing screw. Hence assembly is faster and more accurate.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a view of the rear passenger compartment of a vehicle illustrating an arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention in use.

Figure 2 is the same view illustrating the arrangement in its stowed condition.

Figure 3 is a side plan view of the slider bar of the arrangement of figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a cross section through line IV-4 of figure 3.

Figures 5-8 illustrate a belt shoulder support according to the second aspect of the invention.

In figure 1 a rear vehicle passenger compartment 1 is shown in which three seats 2, 3 and 4 are arranged across the width thereof. The side seats 2 and 4 each have a traditional three-point safety restraint 5. This comprises safety belt webbing 6 attached at one end to a retractor 7 mounted on the vehicle side pilar 8. The webbing passes through a shoulder support 9 also attached to the side pillar 8 and has a buckle 10, attachable to a buckle mounting 11. The other end of the webbing 6 is attached to the vehicle chassis by a fixed mounting point 12.

The safety restraint for the centre seat 3 comprises webbing 6 attached at one end to a retractor 7 mounted to the side of the vehicle and at its other end to two spaced buckles 10 insertable in buckle mountings 11 attached to the seat 3. The seat belt webbing passes over the u-shaped end 13 of a slider bar 14 attached by two screws 15 to the roof 16 of the vehicle 1.

In figure 2 like references denote like parts. In figure 2 the centre seat belt is not in use and hence a substantial portion of the seat belt webbing 6 is wound onto retractor 7. The seat belt webbing 6 passes over the slider bar 14 and the buckle ends 10 are neatly stowed in roof mounted pocket 17.

In this stowed condition the seat belt webbing 6 has moved to the left hand side of the slider bar 14 and thus driver visibility through the rear windscreen is much improved. Yet the buckle end is easily accessible to the rear occupant and in use (figure 1), the u-shaped end of the slider bar ensures that the seat belt is in the correct position for adequate restraint of the occupant.

Figures 3 and 4 show the slider bar 14 in side view and in cross section along line IV-4. The bar has u-shaped loops 13 and 17 at each of its ends terminating in respective flattened portions 18 and 19 with mounting holes 20 for the mounting bolts 15 (figures 1 and 2). The plane of the slider bar 14 is preferably offset, for example by an angle of about 300, from the plane of the flatter mounting part 18 and 19 so as to provide sufficient clearance between the bar 14 and the roof 16, for the webbing. Of course the exact shape of the slider bar will depend upon the internal design of the vehicle. In the embodiment illustrated in figure 3 the bar 14 is also bent at 21 by an obtuse angle.

Figures 5 to 8 illustrate another aspect of the invention. A shoulder support 9, sometimes called a D-ring, is shown. This comprises an elongate ring of metal 30 through which the webbing (not shown) passes as it changes direction from the vertical path issuing from the retractor to the diagonal path across the torso of the vehicle occupant. This shoulder loop 9 is attached to the side pillar of a vehicle. The ring of metal 30 is supported in a loop of pressed metal 31 to which are attached stepped tabs 32. A mounting plate 33 in the side pillar of the vehicle has two oppositely arranged, specially shaped cutouts 34 for co-operating with these tabs 32. To fix the shoulder support 9 in position on the side pilar, it is placed at an angle as shown in figure 6 of about 300 to the horizontal (or to the final position of the shoulder support 9). In this position, the tabs 32 fit into the wider parts of cut-outs 34 and pass through the mounting plate 33 as can be seen in figures 5 and 8. The shoulder support is then rotated through 300 in the direction of arrow 35 (figure 6) and the shoulders of stepped tabs 32 slide in the cut-outs 34 until they reach the ends of the cut-outs when the shoulder support 9 is in its final position as shown in figure 7. In this position the shoulder support 9 is securely mated with the mounting plate 33 and is aligned and supported in the body of the vehicle. A production worker then inserts a fixing screw or fixing bolt through the fixing hole 36 to secure the shoulder support 9 against any movement or rotation.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A three-point safety restraint for a vehicle seat in the rear centre position, comprising: a retractor mounted to a side pillar of the vehicle, a length of seat belt webbing attached at one end to the retractor, and at the other end to two buckling members spaced apart on the webbing, the buckling members being adapted for fastening to buckle mountings attached on either side of the vehicle seat, and a slider bar mounted to the vehicle roof and over which the webbing passes between the retractor and the two buckles.
2. A three-point safety restraint according to claim 1 wherein the slider bar comprises an elongate piece of metal with a u-shaped portion at the end closest to the centre seat.
3. A three-point safety restraint according to claim 1 or 2 further comprising a pocket formed in the side of the vehicle or in the roof and in which the buckle end of the webbing can be stored in the unused condition.
4. A three-point safety restraint according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the slider bar comprises a u-shaped portion at each end.
5. A three-point safety restraint according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the slider bar is fixed by two screws, one at each end of the bar.
6. A three-point safety restraint substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 to 4.
7. A seat belt webbing shoulder support fixing arrangement comprising cut-outs in a fixing plate at a mounting position and co-operating locating tabs on a shoulder support mounting plate such that the shoulder support mounting plate can be pushed into the cut-outs and rotated through a predetermined angle so that the locating tabs are held by the fixing plate.
8. A seat belt webbing shoulder support fixing arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 5 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.