Chairs and seats – Body or occupant restraint or confinement – Safety belt or harness; e.g. – lap belt or shoulder harness
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-14
2003-10-28
Cuomo, Peter M. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Body or occupant restraint or confinement
Safety belt or harness; e.g., lap belt or shoulder harness
C297S470000, C297S471000, C297S472000, C280S808000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06637825
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for reversing the movement of a seat belt on the seat of a motor vehicle. In motor vehicles, seat belt reversing devices are secured on the seat of a motor vehicle such as a bench seat for several persons adjacent to sliding side doors, and in vehicles without a top, for example convertibles or beach vehicles. These seat belt reversing devices are for guiding safety belts. The belt-reversing device has to guide the safety belt so that the belt can be comfortably handled and rests on the body in a manner comfortable for the person wearing it. Furthermore, during an accident or a crash situation, the belt-reversing device should not cause an injury. In addition, this reversing device should reduce injuries to the head to the highest possible degree.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is based on the problem of proposing a seat belt-reversing device for the seat of a motor vehicle that has a simple construction and satisfies the requirements specified above.
The object and the solution to this problem is a safety belt-reversing device mounted on the seat of a motor vehicle. This device comprises a sheet metal body connected with a seat base construction of the motor vehicle seat. This sheet metal body has a surface on which the belt is running that is designed in the form of a saddle and comprises reinforcing tabs connected on the face sides of the saddle, and foot elements projecting from the underside.
There is also a belt-guiding element arranged in the area of the ridge of the saddle above the surface on which the belt running, for limiting a slot for the passage the belt.
There is also a ridge area of the saddle which is rounded in the direction in which the belt is running. This ridge section has upwardly shaped ears in the transverse direction thereto, wherein these ears are laterally limiting the area in which the belt is running. In addition, the foot elements are in the form of sheet metal tabs and are secured on both sides of a cross bar of the base construction of the seat. Thus, the face-side tabs of the sheet metal body are spaced from the cross bar.
The sheet metal body can be manufactured with a simple design in the form of a punched, molded part. The ears, shaped into the area of the ridge, possess high rigidity and prevent the safety belt from slipping sideways. The foot elements are shaped in the form of sheet metal strips and are designed so that they buckle away under the stresses occurring in a crash situation. In this case, the sheet metal body sags down to the stop of the face-side tabs on the cross bar. Because of the sagging of the sheet metal body under the stress acting on the belt in an accident situation, the spacing of the belt-reversing device from the head of the person wearing the safety belt increases. The hazard of causing head injuries is thus reduced. The deformation of the foot elements has a favorable effect on the initiation of the retaining forces acting on the body of the person wearing the safety belt.
The belt-guiding element is preferably formed as a bow that is secured on the face sides of the saddle. Furthermore, it is possible to mount a plastic cap on the sheet metal body that acts as the element that guides the belt.
The belt-reversing device can be secured at any desired point along a cross bar of the base construction of the seat, specifically in a manner as required when the device is installed given in a concrete case. The device is connected so that the ridge area of the saddle is slanted in relation to the cross bar according to the direction in which the belt is running. The saddle is preferably steep on the side on which the belt is running into the device. On the side on which the belt is pulled out, the saddle has a sliding surface with a gradient following the run of the belt as it is being pulled out.
On the side on which the belt is let into the device, the foot element has an outward molding with a curved cross section. This molding, a protruding reversing surface, extends transversely to the direction in which the belt is running. The outward molding of the foot element forms another reversing surface that is useful if the safety belt is extending steeply upwards, following the base construction of the seat.
The sheet metal body may have a sliding coating reducing the frictional resistance. The sliding coating preferably consists of a fluorine polymer matrix wherein reinforcing substances are incorporated in the matrix, with the thickness of the coating being less than 100 &mgr;m. While the fluorine polymer matrix provides the sliding coating with adequate thermal stability, the incorporated reinforcing substances, which are preferably particle-shaped, create an adequate resistance to abrasion. The low thickness of the coating of less than 100 &mgr;m, preferably of 15 to 80 &mgr;m, assures good dissipation of heat into the metal body. This result has a favorable effect on the heating of the surface on which the belt is running caused in a crash situation. Furthermore, the coating described above creates a lower emission of noise when the belt is pulled out, as compared to plastic or chrome-plated covers.
While the foot elements of the belt-reversing device are designed so that they yield by buckling outwards under the stresses acting on the belt in a crash situation, the saddle has to have high dimensional stability. The tabs re-formed and connected with each other on the face sides of the saddle satisfy an important stiffening function. These tabs are usefully connected with one another by means of rivets.
The belt-reversing device secured on the seat of the vehicle is preferably covered with shock-absorbing materials both for optical reasons and for preventing any risk of injury. Various design possibilities are available in this regard. According to one embodiment, one of the foot elements, and a lower section of the saddle are surrounded by cushioning for the vehicle seat, whereby the area of the ridge of the saddle protrudes from the cushioning of the vehicle seat. A cover cap made of plastic may be mounted on the section projecting beyond the cushioning. This cover cap is mounted both on the side on which the belt runs into the device, and on the side it is pulled from this device. This plastic cover cap has an eye for the safety belt to pass through. In an alternative embodiment, there can also be a plastic cap covering the belt inlet arranged above the sheet metal body. This safety belt can run in on the underside of the plastic cap, and, following reversal on the saddle, can exit from an opening in the plastic cap. The plastic cap may be integrated in a lining of the vehicle seat, whereby the safety belt is also running within the covering of the seat.
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Burnham Sarah C
Collard & Roe PC
Cuomo Peter M.
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