Chairs and seats – Body or occupant restraint or confinement – Safety belt or harness; e.g. – lap belt or shoulder harness
Patent
1991-07-10
1993-11-02
Cranmer, Laurie K.
Chairs and seats
Body or occupant restraint or confinement
Safety belt or harness; e.g., lap belt or shoulder harness
297467, A47C 3100
Patent
active
052578542
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a device for use with a safety belt, e.g. a three-point seat belt, and a seat in a car to prevent the transverse portion, transverse belt, which in a normal position lies in loose contact across the user's thighs, from sliding up onto and exerting pressure against the user's abdomen in case of abrupt braking, or a car crash, which might result in injuries to the user's internal organs, especially the womb and foetus of pregnant women, or to any external auxiliary organs carried by stomi-operated persons.
Use of a safety belt reduces the number of serious injuries and deaths in connection with car accidents. This is also the with pregnant women, but the transverse portion or transverse belt often causes injuries, like placental separation, ruptured uterus, or direct injury to the foetus-especially the spine of the foetus. This is due to the fact that the transverse belt, which in a normal position lies loosely across the user's thighs, will slide up and exert pressure against the user's abdomen in connection with abrupt braking or a car crash.
In "Tidsskrift for Den norske laegeforening" (Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association) No. 24, 1986, pp 1921-1923 among others, a demand for an improved safety belt arrangement as compared to those previously known, which will also protect the womb of pregnant women, is expressed.
Other persons with special anatomic conditions rendering use of the conventional safety belt system difficult, may also derive benefit from a further development of a safety belt, in which the above mentioned facts are taken into account. We have especially In mind persons with ileostomi, colostomi, ureterostomi, as well as rather obese persons, etc.
It is, thus, an object of the present invention to provide a safety belt the transverse belt portion of which will not slide up onto and exert pressure against the user's abdomen during abrupt braking or in case of a car crash, but is firmly held across the user's thighs.
By releasably fastening the transverse belt on a connecting means which is, in turn, secured to a sitting support and is in use situated between the user's thighs, the transverse belt will in case of an abrupt reduction of speed be tightened across the user's thighs without sliding up onto the user's abdomen, and the diagonal belt portion of the safety belt will at the same time prevent the upper part of the user's body from moving forward.
Said sitting support may in an embodiment of the Invention consist of the seat portion of the car seat, and in another embodiment it may consist of a flat flexible seat cushion to be loosely provided on the seat portion of the car seat. In said two embodiments the connecting means Is fastened to the seat portion of the car seat proper, or to said loose flexible cushion, respectively.
In the first mentioned case the connecting means and, thus, the transverse belt is fastened to the car seat proper, which prevents the transversal belt from moving in case of abrupt braking or a car crash. In the second case it is the user's weight on the flexible seat cushion which will cause the transverse belt to be firmly held in conditions as mentioned above. In this case the seat cushion is also provided with a fastening strap, which extends from both rear corners of the seat cushion and is intended to extend behind the car seat back to prevent the seat cushion from sliding forwards on the seat.
The sitting support and the connecting means may be designed in various manners, as will appear from the above mentioned dependent claims.
The invention is disclosed in more detail below with reference to some embodiments of the invention which are shown in the enclosed drawings, in which
FIG. 1 shows a sitting support in the form of a flat flexible seat cushion to be loosely placed on the seat portion of a car seat,
FIG. 2 shows a connecting means in the form of a buckle,
FIG. 3a shows a three-point safety belt in use, indicating how its transverse belt may slide up to the user's abdomen in case of braking,
FIG. 3b shows the s
REFERENCES:
patent: 928305 (1909-07-01), Carrington
patent: 3275373 (1966-09-01), Card
patent: 3694029 (1972-09-01), Noble et al.
patent: 4874203 (1989-10-01), Henley
patent: 5005865 (1991-04-01), Kruse
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