WO2005123468A1

WO2005123468A1 - A seat belt buckle arrangement for use with a vehicle seat

Info

Publication number: WO2005123468A1
Application number: PCT/SE2005/000714
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dan BRÅSE
Original assignee: Autoliv Development Ab
Priority date: 2004-06-16
Filing date: 2005-05-18
Publication date: 2005-12-29
Also published as: GB2415165A; GB2415165B; GB0413505D0

Abstract

A vehicle seat has a moveable back (5) where the back may be folded from an upright position to a folded position in which the back overlies the squab (4) of the seat. The vehicle seat has a buckle (9) and when the seat back is in the upright position the buckle is in an operative position, extending up and out from between the squab and the back, so that a user may attach a tongue on a safety belt to the buckle. The buckle (9) is movable and resiliently biased (10) towards a storage position. When the seat back is folded forwardly an element (11) on the seat back contacts the buckle and releases the buckle which then moves to the storage position under the bias to prevent the buckle form being crushed between the squab and the back as the back is folded. This prevents damage occurring to the upholstery of the seat or damage to the buckle. The user may then return the back to the upright position, and as the user does so, the element engages the buckle and moves the buckle from the storage position to the operative position.

Description

A SEAT BELT BUCKLE ARRANGEMENT FOR USE WITH A VEHICLE SEAT

THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a seat belt buckle arrangement for use with a vehicle seat, and more particularly relates to a seat belt buckle arrangement for use with a foldable vehicle seat.

It has been proposed to provide a vehicle seat, especially a rear seat, which is foldable to enhance the storage space within a vehicle.

A typical foldable seat for the rear of a motor vehicle has a single squab, or three co-aligned squabs, which extends across the width of the vehicle to seat three occupants. A single moveable seat back of the same width as the seat squab, or three separate seat backs, each aligned with a respective squab, is usually pivotally mounted adjacent the squab to form a foldable vehicle seat. It is desirable for the rear seat to be foldable so that the rear seat back or backs may be folded to be horizontal, parallel to the floor of the vehicle, so that there is a large area of storage space in the rear of the vehicle in which items may be stored and transported.

It is often a requirement that a safety belt arrangement is installed in the rear of the vehicle to protect occupants seated on the rear seats. Conventional safety belt arrangements for the occupants of the two side rear seats have a belt which extends from above the seat, in the region of the side wall of the vehicle, and diagonally across the occupant, to a tongue on the safety belt which may be clipped into a buckle. A further part of the belt extends from the tongue to an anchorage at the side edge of the seat adjacent the side of the vehicle. The seat belt for the central seat may be on a roof-mounted retractor and may extend to buckles spaced apart in the central region of a single squab or on either side of the central squab if three separate squabs are provided. The buckles are often located between the relevant squab and the seat back.

Thus, conventional rear vehicle seats have buckles which protrude up from between the squab of the seat and the seat back. As there are usually three seating positions on the rear vehicle seat, there are usually at least three buckles which must extend upwardly from between the squab and the seat back at various positions along the length of the rear seat. There may be more than three buckles if the end of each belt is provided with a tongue to be inserted into a buckle to anchor the end of the belt in position.

When the conventional rear vehicle seat comes to be folded, the buckles along the length of the seat can become trapped between the squab and the seat back, as the seat back is folded forwardly to a horizontal position. This may result in the buckles being damaged as they are crushed between the squab and the back, or the fabric covering the squab and the back being damaged as the relatively hard buckles are pressed against it.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved seat belt buckle arrangement.

According to the present invention there is provided a seat belt buckle arrangement comprising a buckle, and an anchorage to anchor the buckle to a vehicle, the buckle being resiliently biased, relative to the anchorage, towards a predetermined storage position.

Preferably the buckle is resiliently biased by a coil spring. Conveniently the buckle is rotatably mounted relative to the anchorage.

Alternatively the buckle is slideably mounted relative to the anchorage.

The invention also relates to a seat belt buckle arrangement of the type disclosed above in combination with a vehicle seat, the seat incorporating a squab and a moveable back, the back being moveable from an upright position to a folded position, the said buckle being positioned to be in an operative position, in which a part of the buckle is accessible when the back of the seat is in the upright position, there being an element moveable in response to movement of the seat back, the element retaining the buckle in the operative position while the seat back is upright, and releasing the buckle from the operative position when the seat back is moved from the upright position to the folded position, enabling the buckle to move to the storage position under the said bias as the seat back is folded forwardly.

Preferably the seat back is pivotally mounted to pivot about a predetermined pivot axis and wherein the buckle is rotatably mounted on pivot, the pivot being behind the squab and in front of the said pivot axis.

Conveniently the element engages a side of the buckle.

Advantageously the element is mounted on the seat back.

Conveniently the buckle is behind the squab, extending downwardly and away from the squab and is mounted on an inclined mount to slide in a direction extending downwardly and away from the squab.

Preferably the element is a hook and the buckle has an engagement to engage the hook. Conveniently the storage position is behind the squab and below the seat back, when the seat back is in the folded position.

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 sectional view of a vehicle seat incorporating a seat belt buckle arrangement in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with a seat back in an upright position,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of part of the vehicle seat shown in Figure 1, showing a buckle in an operative position,

FIGURE 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 1, in which the seat back is being moved from the upright position to a folded position,

FIGURE 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 in which the seat back is in a folded position,

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of a vehicle seat in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention, with the seat back in an upright position,

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged view of part of the vehicle seat shown in Figure 5, showing a buckle in an operative position,

FIGURE 7 is a view corresponding to Figure 5 in which the seat back is being moved from the upright position to a folded position, and FIGURE 8 is a view corresponding to Figure 5 in which the seat back is in a folded position.

Referring initially to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, a rear vehicle seat 1 is installed in part of a vehicle 2, with the floor of the vehicle boot 3 extending behind the seat 1. The vehicle seat 1 incorporates a squab 4 which is mounted in position on part of the vehicle 2. In this preferred embodiment the squab 4 is permanently mounted to the vehicle 2, but it may alternatively be removable, or may be pivotally mounted.

The vehicle seat 1 has a back 5 which is pivotally mounted to pivot about a horizontal pivot axis 6 which is above and behind the squab 4. The seat back 5 may be mounted to the squab 4 or may be mounted to part of the vehicle adjacent the squab 4. During normal vehicle operation, when occupants are seated on the vehicle seat 1, the back 5 is in an upright position, substantially perpendicular to the squab 4, as shown in Figure 1. A gap exists between the rear part of the squab 4 and the lowermost part of the seat back 5 when the seat 1 is in this position. As will be described, the seat back 5 may, if required, be folded forwardly about the pivot axis 6 to overlie the squab 4, the seat back 5 then being horizontal.

A pivot shaft 7 is located between the squab 4 and the back 5 of the seat 1. The pivot shaft 7 may be connected to part of the seat 1, or may be connected to part of the vehicle adjacent the seat 1. The pivot shaft 7 is illustrated as being below the level of the top of the squab and 4 just above the lowermost surface of the squab 4. The pivot shaft 7 is to the rear of the squab 4 but in front of the seat back 5 (in its upright position) and the pivot axis 6 about which the seat back 5 rotates.

A mounting bracket 8 is rotatably mounted to the pivot shaft 7, to support a buckle 9. The pivot shaft 7 is an anchorage to anchor the buckle to the vehicle. The buckle 9 is for use with a safety belt arrangement. The buckle 9 can be more clearly seen in Figure 2. The buckle 9 is shown in an operative position with the body of the buckle 9 being above the pivot shaft 7 on which the buckle is mounted, and with the part of the buckle 9 that accepts a tongue exposed in the gap between the squab 4 and the seat back 5.

A resilient element in the form of a coil spring 10 is attached to the vehicle 2 adjacent the pivot shaft 7. The coil spring 10 serves to resiliently bias the mounting bracket 8 and the buckle 9, rearwardly, with a clockwise pivotal motion about the pivot shaft 7.

The seat back pivot point 6 is positioned so as to be above the top of the buckle 9. An element 11, of wear resistant material, is attached to the lower end of the seat back 5 which engages the buckle 9 and retains the buckle 9 in it's operative position, against the resilient bias, when the seat back 5 is upright. Although, the element 11 is shown to be an element attached to the seat back 5, the element 11 may be formed integrally with the seat back 5. However, the element 11 is an element that moves in response to the movement of the seat back 5.

In the event that a user wishes to fold the seat 1 , the user moves the top of the seat back 5 forwardly, causing the seat back 5 to pivot about seat back pivot point 6, as shown in Figure 3. As the upper end of the seat back 5 is moved forwardly the lower end of the seat back 5, that is to say the end below the seat back pivot point 6 when the seat back 5 is in the upright position, moves rearwardly.

As the seat back 5 is folded forwardly, the element 11 moves in response to the movement of the seat back 5. Initially, when the seat back 5 is folded forwardly, the element 11 is moved downwardly and rearwardly.

When the seat 1 is in the upright position, as shown in Figure 1, the side of the buckle 9 is biased against the element 11. When the seat 1 is folded forwardly, the element is moved away from the side of the buckle 9. As the buckle 9 is resiliently biased in a clockwise sense about the pivot shaft 7 the buckle 9 is allowed to pivot with a clockwise pivotal motion as the element 11 moves with a downward and rearward motion away from the initial position of the side of the buckle 9.

After a predetermined movement of the back 5 of the seat 1 , as shown in Figure 3, the element 11 becomes separated from the buckle 9. The buckle 9 engages a stop so that the buckle 9 cannot rotate further. The buckle 9 is now in a storage position, in which the buckle 9 is behind the squab 4 and beneath the back 5. The buckle 9 is in a position where it is not crushed between the seat back 5 and the squab 4, the buckle 9 does not contact the fabric of the back 5 or the squab 4 and does not impart any damage to the fabric. The only item that has made contact with the buckle 9 is the element 11, which is made of wear-resistant material. The buckle 9 remains in the storage position whilst the seat back 5 is in the horizontal position as shown in Figure 4.

When the user requires the seat 1 to be in the upright position, the user may lift the end of the seat back 5 which is situated over the squab 4, and fold the seat back 5 rearwardly until it is in the upright position, as shown in Figure 1. As the seat back 5 is returned to the upright position, the element 11 moves in response to the movement of the seat back 5, and contacts the side of the buckle 9, causing the buckle 9 to rotate in an anti clockwise pivotal motion, against the bias, until the buckle 9 is in the operative position as shown in Figure 1 , when the seat back 5 is fully upright.

Thus, the seat 1 may be folded forwardly to a horizontal position and then subsequently folded rearwardly back to the upright position, without the buckle 9 becoming trapped between the squab 4 and the seat back 5, minimising possible damage to the buckle 9 or the upholstery. Although in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, described thus far, the buckle 9 is rotatably mounted, in an alternative embodiment the buckle 9 may be slideably mounted, as shown in Figure 5. In this embodiment the buckle 9 is slideably mounted on two parallel spaced apart rods 12 and 13. The rods form an inclined mount, and act as an anchorage to anchor the buckle to the vehicle. The rods 12 and 13 are shown to be mounted in position on part of the vehicle 2, but they may be mounted on part of the vehicle seat 1. The rods 12 and 13 are positioned to be behind the squab 4 and below the seat back 5, and the rods 12 and 13 are oriented so as to extend downwardly and away from the squab 4.

A coil spring 10 biases the buckle downwardly, along the longitudinal axis or direction defined by the rods 12 and 13. When the seat 1 is in an upright position, as shown in Figure 5, an element 11 , in the form of a hook which is mounted on the lower end of the seat back 5, engages an engagement in the form of a recess 14 in the buckle 9. When the hook is engaged with the recess 14 and the seat back 5 is in the upright position the buckle 9 is held against the bias provided by the coil spring 10, and the buckle 9 is held in its operative position. The buckle arrangement in this alternative embodiment can be more clearly seen in Figure 6.

When a user folds the seat back 5 forwardly the element 11 in the form of the hook, of wear resistant material, is moved in response to the movement of the seat back 5. The hook is moved downwardly and rearwardly, as shown in Figure 7. As the hook is moved downwardly and rearwardly the buckle 9 moves downwardly and rearwardly under the bias provided by the coil spring 10. Thus, the buckle 9 is pulled by the spring 10 and the buckle 9 slides along the rods 12 and 13, releasing the buckle 9 from its operative position as the seat back is moved from the upright position to the folded position, enabling the buckle 9 to move to the storage position. A stop is provided in the slideable arrangement to stop the buckle 9 moving beyond the storage position in which it is behind the squab 4 and below the seat back 5 when the seat back 5 is in the folded position, as shown in Figure 8.

As the seat back 5 is folded further forwardly the hook becomes totally disengaged from the recess 14 in the buckle 9, as shown in Figure 8.

When the buckle is in the storage position it is not crushed between the seat back 5 and the squab 4. The buckle 9 does not contact the fabric of the back 5 or the squab 4 and does not impart any damage to the fabric. The only item that has made contact with the buckle 9 is the element 11 in the form of the hook, which is made of a wear-resistant material.

When the user requires the seat 1 to return to it's upright position, the user may lift the end of the seat back 5 and fold the upper part of seat back 5 rearwardly to move the seat back 5 towards the upright position as shown in Figure 5. The element 11 moves in response to the movement of the seat back 5. As, in this alternative embodiment, the element 11 is in the form of a hook, the hook engages the recess 14 and pulls the buckle 9 upwardly and forwardly, against the bias of the spring 10 causing the buckle 9 to slide along the rods 12 and 13, until the buckle 9 is in the operative position when the seat back 5 is in the upright position.

Thus, the seat 1 may be folded forwardly to a horizontal position and then subsequently folded rearwardly back to the upright position without the buckle 9 becoming trapped, and minimising any damage to the buckle 9 or the upholstery.

Whilst the two embodiments described thus far have incorporated an element which is mounted on the seat back the element may alternatively be mounted separately from the seat back, but with an arrangement to enable the element to move in response to the movement of the seat back.

In the present Specification "comprises" means "includes or consists of and "comprising" means "including or consisting of.

Claims

1. A seat belt buckle arrangement comprising a buckle (9), and an anchorage (7) to anchor the buckle to a vehicle, characterised in that the buckle (9) being resiliently biased, relative to the anchorage, towards a predetermined storage position.

2. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to Claim 1 wherein the buckle (9) is resiliently biased by a coil spring (10).

3. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the buckle (9) is rotatably mounted relative to the anchorage (7).

4. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to Claim 1 or 3 wherein the buckle 99) is slideably mounted relative to the anchorage (12,13).

5. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims in combination with a vehicle seat, the seat incorporating a squab (4) and a moveable back (5), the back (5) being moveable from an upright position to a folded position, the said buckle (9) being positioned to be in an operative position, in which a part of the buckle is accessible when the back of the seat is in the upright position, there being an element (11) moveable in response to movement of the seat back, the element (11) retaining the buckle (9) in the operative position while the seat back is upright, and releasing the buckle (9) from the operative position when the seat back is moved from the upright position to the folded position, enabling the buckle (9) to move to the storage position under the said bias as the seat back is folded forwardly.

6. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to Claim 5 wherein the seat back (5) is pivotally mounted to pivot about a predetermined pivot axis (6) and wherein the buckle (9) is rotatably mounted on a pivot (7), the pivot (7) being behind the squab and in front of the said pivot axis.

7. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to any one of Claims 5 or 6 wherein the element (11) engages a side of the buckle (9).

8. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to Claim 3 or any Claim dependent thereon where the element (11) is mounted on the seat back.

9. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to Claim 4 or any claim dependent thereon wherein the buckle is behind the squab, extending downwardly and away from the squab and is mounted on an inclined mount (12,13) to slide in a direction extending downwardly and away from the squab.

10. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to Claim 9 wherein the element (11) is a hook and the buckle has an engagement (14) to engage the hook (11).

11. A seat belt buckle arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the storage position is behind the squab (4) and below the seat back (5), when the seat back is in the folded position.

12. A seat belt buckle arrangement mounted on a vehicle seat, the incorporating a squab (4) and a moveable back (5), the back (5) being moveable from an upright position to a folded position, the buckle (9) being positioned to be in an operative position, in which a part of the buckle is accessible when the back of the seat is in the upright position, there being an anchorage (7) to anchor the buckle to the vehicle, characterised in that the buckle (9) is resiliently biased, relative to the anchorage, towards a predetermined storage position, located behind the squab (4) and below the seat back (5) when the seat back is in the folded position, there being an element (11) moveable in response to movement of the seat back, the element (11) engaging the buckle and retaining the buckle (7) in the operative position while the seat back is upright, and being positioned to release the buckle from the operative position when the seat back is moved from the upright position to the folded position, to enable the buckle (7) to move to the storage position under the said bias as the seat back is folded forwardly.