Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-14
2001-08-21
Mai, Lanna (Department: 3619)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S801200, C280S802000, C280S805000, C280S807000, C280S483000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276721
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to vehicle occupant restraint systems, and specifically to a pivoting arm that operates as a seat belt upper anchor point.
2. Background of the Invention
An occupant restraint system in a vehicle such as an automobile, truck, van, helicopter, airplane or any other self-propelled vehicle is an expensive component, yet critical for safety. A popular restraint system is the three-point system including a lap belt secured at a first and second point and a torso belt secured at the second and a third point. The first point, in many designs, comprises a lap belt inertial retractor that removes slack from the lap belt and locks-up upon a sudden stop.
The second point typically is a tongue and buckle arrangement wherein the buckle is secured to the side of a seat opposite the inertial lap belt retractor and the tongue can be secured to and released from the buckle. Respective ends of the lap belt and torso belt are either secured to the tongue in a fixed tongue arrangement or, in a sliding tongue arrangement, the lap belt and torso belt comprise a continuous belt that can slide through an opening in the tongue. The third point in a three-point system typically includes an inertial retractor located in the lower portion of a B-pillar (in the case of an automobile, for example) and the torso belt passes through a D-ring typically attached to an upper part of the B-pillar. In some more recent designs, the torso belt retractor and D-ring are attached to the seat frame.
Many recent restraining system designs provide for a vertically slideable D-ring (height adjuster) to accommodate passengers of varying size in addition to the one or both inertial retractors used to supply or take-up the appropriate amount of torso belt length to accommodate a specific individual. In any event, the constant sliding motion of the torso belt through this D-ring leads to undesirable wear on the torso belt itself, thereby decreasing the torso belt's ultimate strength and presenting undesirable appearance. Furthermore, in a fixed tongue arrangement, it is expensive to have two inertial retractors. Further still, a manual or motor driven D-ring height adjuster is expensive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention improves upon prior art three-point passenger restraint systems by eliminating the need for a D-ring, particularly an expensive manual or motor driven D-ring height adjuster, and torso belt inertial retractor, while comfortably accommodating passengers of varying size within the confines of a torso belt.
The present invention provides an upper anchor arm having two ends. A first end is pivotally mounted on the side of the seat back or vehicle side structure. The upper end of the torso belt is securely fastened to the second end of the anchor arm. Preferably the anchor arm is rotationally biased such that slack in the torso belt is removed. At the same time, the anchor arm is capable of rotating in a direction opposite to a direction that removes slack such that the upper end of the torso belt is comfortably positioned over an occupant's shoulder regardless of occupant height.
The anchor arm in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention can have two legs arranged at about 90 degrees with respect to each other, can be shaped eccentrically or can have a substantially rectangular shape.
In all embodiments, the anchor arm preferably is capable of pivoting to comfortably accommodate an occupant having a size at least within the range of a 5
th
percentile female to a 95
th
percentile male. This is achieved by anchor arm rotation around a pivot point. Further, the anchor arm preferably pivots sufficiently rearward to include a “park” position wherein the torso belt is substantially stored when the seat is unoccupied, and a “comfort” position wherein the torso belt can be brought forward with a seated passenger when the passenger moves or reaches forward such that it does not constrict upper torso motion of the passenger, thereby allowing normal motion and comfort.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved three-point restraining system for a vehicle.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a pivotally mounted anchor arm that operates as the height adjustable upper anchor point for a torso belt in a three-point restraining system.
It is also an object of the present invention to comfortably accommodate a wide range of passengers without the necessity of a torso belt retractor.
It is still further an object of the present invention to provide an improved passenger restraint system wherein a D-ring assembly is replaced by a self-adjusting (for occupant size, height and comfort) attachment assembly.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon a reading of the detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3838870 (1974-10-01), Hug
patent: 4549770 (1985-10-01), Kurtti
patent: 4958854 (1990-09-01), Haland
patent: 5681081 (1997-10-01), Lindner et al.
patent: 5743597 (1998-04-01), Jessup et al.
patent: 5749601 (1998-05-01), Knoll
patent: 5823627 (1998-10-01), Viano
patent: 3837170-A1 (1990-05-01), None
Ilan Ruth
Mai Lanna
Pittman Shaw
Simula Inc.
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