GB2356890A

GB2356890A - A seat belt buckle presenter with guide member for tongue

Info

Publication number: GB2356890A
Application number: GB9928253A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Deborah Hubbard-Davies
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-12-01
Filing date: 1999-12-01
Publication date: 2001-06-06
Also published as: GB9928253D0

Abstract

An accessory 10 for a seat belt assembly comprises an elongate box-section cover housing 30 which engages and encloses a buckle 18 of the assembly and presents it at a suitable attitude for receipt of a tongue 14. It further comprises a carriage member 32 movably and slidably mounted on the housing 30 and has means 54 for releasably receiving the tongue 14 of the assembly and guiding it to the buckle 18 inside the housing 30 to engage therewith. The guiding carriage 32 may be biassed by a spring 31 to project from the housing 30. The means for releasably receiving the tongue may be hooks 54. The housing 30 may have a concertina section 52 to provide adjustment in length. The accessory 10 may also have a transverse wall (56, figure 2) or a pivotal cover flap (60, figures 4, 5) to deny access to the release button. The desired orientation of the buckle may be assisted by a pivotally mounted foot (figure 5).

Description

2356890

DESCRIPTION

SEAT BELT ACCESSORY The present invention relates to vehicle seat belt accessories.

A conventional vehicle seat belt assembly comprises a metal tongue which is slidably mounted on an elongate belt of webbing material and which is releasably insertable into an aperture in a seat belt buckle secured to the vehicle. By pulling the seat belt tongue across the front of a wearer's body and securing it in the buckle, the seat belt webbing is positioned against the wearer, thus safely restraining the wearer within the vehicle.

For seat belts in the front of a vehicle the buckle is often secured to one end of an upstanding metal stalk, the other end of the stalk being fi xedly secured to the vehicle. The metal stalk tends to present the buckle in a position suitable for receipt of the metal tongue.

However, it is not normally possible to mount rear seat belt buckles on stalks, firstly because the rear seat of a vehicle is typically in the form of a one- or two-piece "bench" forming a continuous seating surface across the width of the vehicle and secondly because the rear seats of many cars can be folded away to provide a temporarily enlarged load-carrying space.

Thus, in many vehicles the seat belt buckle is attached to the vehicle by a strip of webbing, which causes the buckle to lie on the seat when the seat belt is unfastened. It can thus be difficult to locate the seat belt buckle when it is necessary to fasten the seat belt, particularly if one is attempting to fasten the seat belt for a third party, for example a child or an elderly or disabled person. In such cases, the person being fastened into the seat (and sometimes child car seats or "booster" cushions) further hinders access to the seat belt buckle.

Moreover, even when the seat belt is fastened the buckle often rests against the restrained individual or child's car seat or "booster" cushion, which has adverse safety implications.

Moreover, although existing seat belts are difficult to fasten, in contrast once they are fastened it is all too easy for a child to unfasten, with potentially disastrous consequences.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or alleviate the aforementioned problems.

In accordance with the present invention, an accessory for a vehicle seat belt of the type comprising a restraining belt, a fastening tongue attached to the belt and a buckle attached to the vehicle, the fastening tongue being loosely engageable with the buckle.n order to fasten the seat belt comprises an enclosure for retaining the buckle and presenting it in a suitable attitude for receipt of the fastening tongue and a carriage member movably mounted on and guided by the enclosure, the carriage member having means for releasably mounting the fastening tongue whereby displacement of the carriage member towards the enclosure causes the tongue to engage with the buckle retained by the enclosure.

Not only does such an accessory make it considerably easier for a person to locate and fasten a seat belt for another person, but it also makes it more difficult for the wearer (particularly a child) to unfasten the seat belt whilst still permitting quick release of the seat belt in an emergency.

Preferably, the carriage member is movable into and out of the enclosure and the accessory preferably has biassing means to urge the carriage member to project out of the enclosure. The carriage member is conveniently slidably connected to the enclosure and the means for releasably mounting the fastening tongue of the seat belt may comprise one or more hooks on the carriage member.

In one embodiment, the enclosure comprises an elongate tubular housing.

The housing may conveniently have substantially planar front and rear walls and in a preferred embodiment is generally rectangular in cross-section.

The length of the enclosure is Preferably adjustable. The adjustability may be provided by forniing a portion of the enclosure walls into a concertina section. By enabling the length of the enclosure to be adjustable, it is possible to provide a single accessory which is useable with a large number of seat belts since, ideally, the release button of the seat belt buckle should be located at or adjacent to the upper end of enclosure.

The carriage may also comprise an elongate member and in one embodiment comprises a substantially planar base wall and two upstanding planar side walls. The carriage may fin-ther comprise a wall extending across the carriage the wall being positioned such that when the fastening tongue of the seat belt is engaged with the buckle, the wall lies immediately above the buckle. This makes it difficult for the wearer of the seat belt (particularly a child) to unfasten the seat belt whilst still allowing the seat belt to be unfastened in an emergency.

By way of example only, specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Fig. I is a side view of a seat belt accessory in accordance with the present invention, fitted to a vehicle seat belt, and shown in the unfastened position; and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the seat belt accessory of Fig. 1, shown in the unfastened position; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the seat belt accessory of Fig. 1, shown in the fastened position; Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of a second embodiment of seat belt accessory in accordance with the present invention; and Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views of a conventional seat belt assembly, to which the accessory of Fig. I can be fitted.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a seat belt accessory 10 of the present invention fitted to a conventional seat belt assembly. As best seen in Figs. 4 and 5 the conventional seat belt assembly comprises woven webbing 12 on which a metal securing tongue 14 is slidably disposed by passing the webbing through a slots 16 in the tongue. In the conventional manner, the tongue is releasably insertable into a seat belt buckle 18 having a release button 20. The buckle is itself secured to one end of a strip of seat belt webbing 22, the other end of which is secured to a mounting bracket 24 which is in turn fastened to.the vehicle body by means for a securing bolt 26.

The seat belt accessory 10 comprises a lower elongate tube 30 which is slid over the buckle and webbing portion of the seat belt and an elongate channel-section member 32 which is slidably disposed within the tube 30. The tube 30 comprises rectangular planar parallel front and rear faces 34, 36 which are interconnected by planar, rectangular side walls 3 8, 40 extending perpendicularly to the front and rear walls, whereby the profile of the tube 30 is that of a rectangle. The height and spacing of the side walls 38, 40 are chosen so that the tube can slide over a typical seat belt buckle 18, as will be explained and the uppermost edge of the front wall 34 is provided with a recess 42, to allow access to the release button 20 of the scat belt buckle 18.

The channel-section member comprises a flat rear wan 44 and two upstanding side walls 46, 48 projecting perpendicularly to the plane of the base wall along each edge, whereby the profile of the channel-section member is that of a flattened, squat, angular U.

The channel-section member is biassed into the position illustrated in Fig. 1, where it projects from the tube 30, by means of a compression spring 31 within the tube 30.

It will also be observed that the length of the tube 30 is adjustable by forming the central portion of the tube walls into a concertina-shape section 52, whereby pulling the opposite ends of the tube causes the tube to be extended and pushing the opposite ends of the tube towards each other causes the length of the tube to be shortened.

The channel-section member 3 2 is provided with two downward facing hooks 54 extending from the rear wall 44 at the outermost end thereof. The hooks 54 are adapted to engage the upper edge 55 of the metal tongue 14 on either side of the seat belt webbing. A planar wall 56, extending transversely across the channel- section member 32, is located below the hooks 54. The wall 56 has an aperture 58 for passage of the tongue 14 of the seat belt. The wall is positioned such that it lies just above the release button 20 of the seat belt when the accessory is fitted to the belt and moved to its fastened position, as will be explained.

In order to fit the accessory 10 to the seat belt, it is merely necessary to slide the tube 30 over the buckle 18 and belt 22 and then adjust the length of the tube by means of the concertina section 52 such that its upper end lies at or just below the uppermost portion of the release button 20 of the buckle. When the seat belt is unfastened, the accessory lies in the position shown in Figs. I and 2, in which the channel-section 32 member projects out of the tube 30 but wherein the tube holds the buckle 18 and the webbing to which it is attached in a generally upright position.

When it is desired to fasten the seat belt, the securing tongue 14 is grasped and in the case of an inertia-reel type seat belt is used to pull the appropriate length of webbing 12 from the reel. The tongue 14 is then located on the upper end of the channel-section member 32 by hooking the upper edge 55 of the tongue underneath the hooks 54 positioned at the upper end of the channel-section member 32. If the seat belt is of the inertia-reel type, it will tend to hold the tongue 14 in position against the holes 54. The tongue 14 is then displaced downwardly towards the buckle 18 and in view of the slidable mounting of the channel-section member 32 within the tube 30, the tongue 14 is automatically and accurately guided to engage with the aperture 18 in the buckle, thereby fastening the seat belt.

It will be observed that the present invention retains the buckle 18 and its associated webbing 22 in a more upright position when the seat belt is unfastened, thereby removing the requirement for the buckle 18 and webbing 22 to be found and positioned correctly before the seat belt can be fastened. Moreover, in order to fasten the seat belt once the tongue 14 has been secured on the channel- section member 32 (which is greatly facilitated since the channel-section member projects upwardly by a considerable amount when the seat belt is unfastened) all that is necessary is for the tongue and the channel-section member to be displaced downwardly whereby the tongue will automatically be received and fastened in the buckle. Thus, the present invention also allows for one-handed fastening of the seat belt.

When the tongue 14 is fastened into the buckle 18 as described, the transversely extending wall 56 extending across the channel-section member 32 lies just above the release button 20 of the seat belt buckle. This hinders unwanted opening of the buckle (particularly if the wearer is a child) but still permits the seat belt to be unfastened relatively easily by a person other than the wearer and/or by a reasonably competent wearer. The provision of the recess 42 at the upper end of the front wall of the housing ensures that it is always possible to release the seat belt, even if the wall 56 is located immediately above the release button 20. Once the release button has been depressed, the tongue 14 leaves the buckle and the channel- section member 32 is then returned to its fully extended position, as shown in Fig.

1 but with the tongue held captive on the member 32 by the spring 3 1. The tongue 14 is then removed, which leaves the accessory ready for flu-ther use.

The accessory, and in particular the concertina-shape section 52, encourages the presentation of the buckle 18 and its associated webbing 22 in a more upright orientation, which facilitates the fastening of the seat belt.

A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment and, in fact, includes all of the features of the first embodiment. The only difference is the provision of a cover 60 which is pivotally mounted on the tube 30 and which is pivotable from a closed position shown in Fig. 4 in which the seat belt release button is concealed to an open position illustrated in Fig. 5 in which the seat belt release button 20 is exposed, allowing it to be depressed.

The cover itself comprises a rectangular, planar upper wall 62 and a rectangular planar front wall 64 which is perpendicular to the upper wall 62. Two parallel, planar, elongate securing arms 66 extend perpendicularly to each of the top and front walls 62, 64 and the end of each arm 66 is pivotally attached at pivot 68 to a respective one of the two side walls 3 8, 40 of the elongate tube 3 0. The upper wall 62 is provided with an upwardly projecting lug 70 to facilitate pivoting of the cover with the fingers.

When the cover is pivoted to its closed position as shown in Fig. 4, the seat belt release button 20 is obscured, making it more difficult for the seat belt to be inadvertently opened. By pivoting the cover downwardly into the position illustrated in Fig. 5, access to the seat belt release button 20 is gained, whereby the seat belt may be released.

As shown in dotted lines, the lower end of each of the side walls 3 8, 40 of the tube are each optionally provided with a pivotally-mounted foot, which can be pivoted to project from the tube, to assist in maintaining the tube 30 in the desired orientation. The legs or leg need not be provided on the side walls 38, 40 of the tube.

For example, a single leg may be pivotally mounted to the outer surface of the rear wall 36 of the tube and need not be located at the lower end.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments.

For example, the hooks 54 located on the rear wall of the channel-section member 32 may be omitted if desired. The seat belt tongue l4would then abut the planar wall 56 when the tongue 14 is engaged with the seat belt buckle 18. The wall 56 itself may be pivotally mounted between the side walls 46, 48 of the channel section member 32, if desired, so that it will at least partially obscure the seat belt release button 20 when the tongue 14 is engaged with the seat belt buckle 18.

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Claims

1. An accessory for a vehicle seat belt of the type comprising a restraining belt, a fastening tongue attached to the belt and a buckle attached to the vehicle, the fastening tongue being releasably engageable with the buckle in order to fasten the seat belt, the accessory comprising an enclosure for retaining the buckle and presenting it in a suitable attitude for receipt of the fastening tongue and a carriage member movably mounted on and guided by the enclosure, the carriage member having means for releasably mounting the fastening tongue whereby displacement of the carriage member towards the enclosure causes the tongue to engage with the buckle retained by the enclosure.

2. An accessory as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carriage member is movable into and out of the enclosure.

3. An accessory as claimed in claim 2, comprising biassing means to urge the carriage member to project out of the enclosure.

4. An accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carriage member is slidably connected to the enclosure.

5. An accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for releasably mounting the fastening tongue comprises one or more hooks on the carriage member.

6. An accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the enclosure comprises an elongate tubular housing.

7. An accessory as claimed in claim 6, wherein the housing comprises substantially planar front and rear walls.

8. An accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the length of the enclosure is adjustable.

9. An accessory as claimed in claim 8, wherein the walls of the enclosure comprise a concertina section.

10. An accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carriage comprises an elongate member.

11. An accessory as claimed in claim 10, wherein the carriage comprises a base wall and two upstanding side walls.

12. An accessory as claimed in claim 11, wherein the base wall is substantially planar.

13. An accessory as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the side walls are substantially planar.

14. An accessory as claimed in any of claims 10 to 13, further comprising a wall extending across the carriage, the wall being positioned such that when the fastening tongue of the seat belt is engaged with the buckle, the wall lies immediately above the buckle.

15. An accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, fin-ther comprising covering means for releasably covering or obscuring a release button of the seat belt buckle.

16. An accessory as claimed in claim 15, wherein the cover means is pivotally mounted on the enclosure.

17. An accessory as claimed in claim 15 or claim 16, wherein the cover means comprises a top wall and a front wall releasably connected to the top wall.

18. An accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, further comprising a leg which extends, or is extensible, from the enclosure.

19. An accessory as claimed in claim 18, wherein the leg is pivotally mounted to the enclosure.

20. An accessory as claimed in claim 18 or claim 19, comprising a plurality of legs.

2 1. An accessory for a vehicle seat belt substantially as herein described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figs. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

22. A seat belt fitted with an accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims.

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