GB2361957A

GB2361957A - Child resistant cover for safety harnesses

Info

Publication number: GB2361957A
Application number: GB0012171A
Authority: GB
Inventors: George Alfred Skinner; Samantha Jane Skinner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-04-25
Filing date: 2000-05-22
Publication date: 2001-11-07
Also published as: GB0012171D0; GB0009851D0

Abstract

A shield for a buckle 6 of a safety harness, e.g. seat belt 8,10, comprises means 1 to cover a release button 11 of the buckle and resilient deformable leg means 2 which are adapted to grip detachably around sides of the buckle. Preferably the leg means have detents 3 which engage detachably around the rear of the buckle. The legs may also be provided with a ribbed, roughened or grooved surface [e.g. figure 6] and be formed integrally with the cover means 1. So that the cover is available for use at all times it can be provided with a cord or lanyard which is clipped or looped around the seat, the harness or its mountings. In use, the shield is clipped around the buckle [e.g. figures 9,10] such that it prevents a child from accidentally releasing the buckle. The buckle can easily be removed by an adult.

Description

1, ' 2361957 1 CHILD RESISTANT CLOSURE FOR SAFETY HARNESS

This invention relates to the field of safety harnesses. More particularly, it relates to closures for safety harnesses to restrain children in vehicles and the like.

It is compulsory in most circumstances for everyone travelling in a vehicle to wear some form of safety harness or restraint. For adults, the well known lap and shoulder belt is most common in motor vehicles, while passengers in commercial aircraft are normally supplied with lap belts. Children may use adult belts if they are large enough, or may use any of a range of specially designed restraints, attached to the adult restraint system, or to supplementary seats which are in turn fastened to the vehicle.

The majority of conventional safety harnesses are fastened using a tongue and slot mechanism. The tongue on one part of the harness is pushed into locking engagement in a slot in a buckle on another part of the harness. The harness is conventionally unlocked and 2 released by pressing a button on the buckle. This type of mechanism fills the twin needs of being easy to fasten and easy to release.

However, in the case of children, especially younger children, this ease of release can be a problem. Children are naturally inquisitive, and will tend to play with the release, either to investigate what it does or in a deliberate attempt to escape from unwanted restraint. The awareness of the benefits of safety restraints usually comes at a later stage of the child's development than does the ability to open the harness, because of the sheer simplicity of the release mechanism. There is thus a major risk that a child will release itself from its harness, at a time when an adult may not notice, or may be unable to get to the child to refasten the harness, for example while driving. The child would thus be effectively unprotected in the case of an accident.

Making the release mechanism substantially more difficult to operate would be unsatisfactory for several reasons. Anything approaching a lock per se would make releasing the harness, after an accident or in other emergencies, so difficult as to make the safety harness itself a hazard. Furthermore, if fastening and releasing the harness is made too complicated, there will be an understandable temptation not to use it. The buckle and release used on light and military aircraft has a two stage release mechanism (rotate part of buckle and strike button firmly). It is significantly more time-consuming to use than the conventional vehicle safety harness, and has only penetrated as far as the similar harnesses used in racing and rally cars.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety harness shield which overcomes or obviates the above disadvantages and reduces the chance of a child playfully, mischievously 3 or inadvertently releasing its safety harness, while not significantly affecting the parents ability to fasten and release the harness when required.

According to the present invention there is provided a shield for a buckle of a safety harness, comprising means to cover a release button of said buckle and resiliently deformable leg means adapted to grip detachably around sides of the buckle.

Preferably said leg means are adapted to grip around opposite edges of the buckle.

Detent means, provided on each leg means, may be adapted to engage detachably around the rear of said buckle.

Each of said leg means may be provided with a ribbed, roughened or grooved surface to give improved grip.

Embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure I shows an embodiment of the invention, viewed from above on the inner, in use, side, Figure 2 is a front view of the shield of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top view of the shield of Figure L) Figure 4 is a view of the shield of Figure 1, from below-, Figure 5 shows the fastened buckle of a conventional seat belt without the invention in place, 4 Figure 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention adapted to fit the conventional scat belt buckle shown in Figure 5; Figure 7 shows the embodiment of Figure 6 viewed fi---omthe inner, in use, side; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment in Figure 7, taken along the line 1.

AA, Figure 9 shows the buckle of Figure 5 with the shield of Figure 6 in place., Figure 10 shows the reverse side of the arrangement shown in Figure 9-, Figure 11 shows the fastened buckle of a conventional child's safety seat harness, without the invention in place, and Figures 12 and 13 are obverse and reverse views of a shield according to an embodiment of the invention adapted to fit the buckle of Figure 11 - Referring now to the drawings, particularly Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, a shield embodying the invention comprises a front panel 1 and two side panels 2, dimensioned to fit around a buckle of a safety harness. Each side panel is provided with a detent 3 adapted to fit round the back of the buckle, and thereby hold the shield in place. An upper panel 4 is attached to the ftont panel 1 and serves to cover the release button of the buckle, when the shield is placed over the buckle. An extension 5 is provided at the lower edge of the front panel 1, which may press against the body of the buckle when the upper part of shield is levered away from the buckle, providing a fulcrum and thereby increasing the leverage which may be exerted to remove the shield.

Referring now to Figure 5, a conventional car safety harness ("seat belt") fastening comprises a buckle 6, including a slot 7 providing access to a locking mechanism. The buckle is attached to one of the belts of the harness 8 at the end remote from the slot 7. A tongue 9 is attached to the other belt of the harness 10, and fits into slot 7, engaging the locking mechanism within the buckle and fastening the harness. A release button 11 is situated adjacent the slot 7 and when manually depressed, it unlocks the mechanism to allow release of the tongue 9 from the slot 7 and opening of the harness.

Referring now to Figures 6, 7 and 8, a variant of the shield described above comprises a substantially rectangular box 12, dimensioned to fit over the buckle 6, and having an open lower side 13 to conform to the position of the belt 8 attached to the buckle. The box 13 is provided with detents 14 adapted to fit round the back of the buckle. An upper side 15 of the shield serves to cover the release button 11, when the shield is placed over the buckle. The tongue 9 fits in the gap between the detents 14 and the upper side 15. Optionally, ribbing 16 may be provided to improve an adult's grip on the shield.

Figures 9 and 10 show the cover in place over the buckle and comparison of Figure 5 and Figure 9 shows how the release button 11 is concealed and protected from prying fingers, while Figure 10 shows how the detents 14 fit behind the buckle 6_ Referring now to Figure 11, a different fastening mechanism comprises a buckle 6, attached to a belt 8, but adapted to coact with two separate tongues 19, 191, each attached to a respective belt 20, 201, and fitting into respective slots in the buckle. In this type of three-belt system, the button 21 to release the locking mechanism is usually situated in the centre of the outer face of the buckle 6.

6 A shield 22 adapted for use with this form of buckle need only cover the outer face of the buckle completely, as long as it is furnished with detents 24 so located as to fit round the buckle and clip it on without fouling the belts (see Figures 12 and 13).

The precise shape of the shield will be dictated by the shape of the buckle and the arrangement of belts. The most important feature is that it can be clipped over the buckle using only moderate force, and that it is then firmly enough attached that a child cannot easily remove it, while an adult's strength would be sufficient.

This feature is aided by the fact that a child wearing the harness would have to pull the shield away from itself to remove it, a situation permitting very little mechanical advantage. An adult would normally be facing the shield, and would be pulling it off the buckle, a much easier process. When the child has acquired the strength and size to be able to remove the shield, it is also likely to have learned enough discretion to do so only when it is safe.

The shield may be manufactured from a range of materials. In a preferred embodiment, it is composed of polyethylene or polypropylene. These materials provide sufficient flexibility for the detents to deform while being fitted over the buckle, while snapping back to shape when in position, and not weakening or suffering from fatigue after multiple uses. These polymers are also straightforward to mould into the required shape using conventional injection moulding techniques. Any other material having a similar combination of properties would also be suitable.

In a preferred embodiment, the shield is provided with means to aid an adult in removing it from the buckle, while not aiding the child's attempts to escape. Advantageously, the side of 7 the shield could be ribbed, roughened or provided with finger grips, to give an adult's hand more purchase when pulling the shield away from the buckle. The dimensions of a conventional buckle, and hence those of the shield adapted to fit, are well suited to be gripped by an adult's hand, while a young child's hand is usually too small to span the buckle, grip opposite sides of the shield and exert any leverage on it.

Optionally, the shield is provided with an extension to its front panel, so dimensioned as to contact the front of the buckle adjacent its lower end. The shield may thereby be more easily be removed, by grasping the upper part of the shield and levering it away from the buckle. The extension presses against the body of the buckle and constitutes a fulcrum, increasing the leverage possible, relative to a similar shield without an extension. Stronger and more robust detents may thus be used, without causing the shield to be so firmly attached to the buckle that removal is difficult.

In order to keep the shield available for use at all times, it is preferably secured to a seat or harness. A cord or lanyard may be clipped to or looped around the seat, the harness or its mountings, and the free end connected to the shield.

In a further embodiment padding may be applied to the outside of the shield, sited so as to protect the wearer from the relatively hard corners of the harness mechanism, in situations where it is not perfectly fitted to the child.

It will be appreciated that although the present invention has been described largely in terms of car safety harnesses or child safety seats for cars, it may easily be adapted for use in other situations where safety harnesses and restraints are required. By way of example, but not 8 exclusively, the shield could be used in conjunction with the lap belts employed in aircraft and coaches, or with the harnesses fitted to push chairs, baby walkers, children's high chairs, and the like.

As may be seen, the present invention thus provides a simple, effective and economical means to prevent young children irresponsibly releasing their safety harnesses or restraints, while permitting their elders easy access to the release mechanism of the harness when required.

Claims

9 CLAIMS

I A shield for a buckle of a safety harness, comprising means to cover a release button of said buckle and resiliently deformable leg means adapted to grip detachably around sides of the buckle.
2. A shield as claimed in claim 1, wherein said leg means are adapted to grip around opposite edges of the buckle.
3. A shield as claimed in either claim I or claim 2, wherein detent means are provided on each leg means and adapted to engage detachably around the rear of said buckle.
4. A shield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of said leg means is provided with a ribbed, roughened or grooved surface to give improved grip.
5. A shield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the leg means are formed integrally with the cover means of plastics material.
6. A shield for a buckle of a safety harness as described herein with reference to the Figures of the accompanying drawings.