Patent ID: 6175304
Filing Date: 2001-01-16
Classification: B60R,Y10T

Abstract:
Apparatus comprising:a lockable element made of a ferromagnetic material; anda buckle for receiving and locking said lockable element in said buckle, said buckle comprising:a base defining a passage into which the lockable element is insertable;a latch moveable from a first position to a second position in which said latch locks said lockable element against movement in said passage, said latch being made of a ferromagnetic material;a Hall effect device which provides an output signal, the magnitude of which is dependent upon the flux density of a magnetic field acting on said Hall effect device; anda magnet fixed to said latch and moveable with said latch, said magnet being spaced away from said Hall effect device when said latch is in said first position, said magnet creating a magnetic field of a first flux density acting on said Hall effect device to cause said Hall effect device to provide a first output signal when said latch is in said first position;said magnet moving toward said Hall effect device when said latch moves to said second position, said magnet creating a magnetic field of a second flux density greater than said first flux density when said latch is in said second position to cause said Hall effect device to provide a second output signal greater than said first output signal;said latch conducting said magnetic field of a first flux density, and said latch and said lockable element conducting said magnetic field of a second flux density.