Patent ID: 6381815
Filing Date: 2002-05-07
Classification: B60R,Y10T

Abstract:
A buckle to be engageable with a tongue, comprising:a base having side walls; an ejector disposed on the base to be movable in a longitudinal direction of the base according to an insertion of the tongue, said ejector allowing the tongue to come off the buckle when an engagement between the tongue and the buckle is released; a latch member pivotally supported on the side walls to pivot between an unlatched position and a latched position, said latch member being biased toward the latched position, and when the tongue is inserted into a predetermined position, pivoting to the latched position where the tongue is engaged; an operating member disposed on the base for releasing an engagement between the tongue and the latch member in a latched state; a lock member disposed between the side walls so as to move between an unlocked position and a locked position, said lock member being set in the locked position where the latch member is held in the latched position when the tongue engages the latch member, and being moved to the unlocked position by the operating member where an engagement of the tongue with the latch member can be cancelled; and a non-contact buckle switch to be switched by detecting a movement of one of the ejector, latch member and lock member, said buckle switch including a magnet, a Hall element situated near the magnet for generating an electromotive force by a magnetic field of the magnet, a switch casing attached to the base, and a movable member for latch detection disposed in the switch casing to be movable following a movement of one of the ejector, latch member and lock member, one of said magnet and said Hall element being attached to one of the movable member and the switch casing, and the other of said magnet and said Hall element being attached the other of the movable member and the switch casing.