Abstract:
A seat belt system for use on a bus or like vehicle includes a ring to which two lap belt elements and a shoulder belt element are attached. One of the lap belt elements has hook-and-loop fastener material on an end thereof that fits into the ring whereby the size of the seat belt system can be adjusted and the seat belt system can be easily and quickly opened if necessary.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to the general art of land vehicles, and to the particular field of safety belts or harnesses. 
   2. Discussion of the Related Art 
   Studies have concluded that wearing seat belts in a land vehicle saves many lives and prevents many injuries. In fact, many States have laws requiring the use of seat belts, and some insurance companies will not pay for injuries sustained in a land vehicle crash if a rider is shown not to have been wearing a seat belt. 
   Accordingly, the land vehicle art contains many examples of seat belts and seat belt systems. However, the inventor is not aware of any seat belt system that is suitable for use on a bus. A bus has passengers that get on and off the bus, and a single seat may have many such passengers during a single route. Unlike a car where a single passenger is in a seat for the entire trip, a bus has passengers in and out of seats all the time. 
   As such, a seat belt that is suitable for a passenger vehicle may not be suitable for use on a bus. One reason for this is that a passenger on a bus will require much greater ease of use of the seat belt than a passenger in a car since the bus passenger is likely to be in and out of the seat quickly, and may have to step over a fellow passenger to move into or out of the seat. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a seat belt system that is suitable for use on a bus. 
   The problems associated with seat belts in a bus are exacerbated when the passengers are children. Children may not have sufficient manual dexterity to operate a seat belt buckle, especially if there is some urgency to the operation, such as may be the case in an accident. Accordingly, some school buses do not have seat belts for this reason. However, since seat belts are so beneficial, especially in an accident, school buses should have seat belts. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a seat belt system that is suitable for use on a school bus. 
   The same reasoning applies to buses that carry passengers that may have manual dexterity deficiencies, such as the aged or the disabled. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a seat belt system that is suitable for use on a bus that may carry passengers having a manual dexterity deficiency. 
   Still further, a bus may carry passengers of all sizes; whereas, a car may have passengers that are generally the same each time. Accordingly, a seat belt system in a car does not need to be as easily adjustable as a seat belt system in a bus. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a seat belt system that is easily adjustable. 
   While adjustability is a goal, safety is much more important in the situation of a seat belt system. Accordingly, any seat belt system should be secure while being easily adjustable. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a seat belt system that is secure while still being easily adjustable and easily operated. 
   Since there are millions of buses presently on the road, to be most successful, any seat belt system must be easy and inexpensive to retrofit into an existing bus. If it is expensive or difficult to retrofit a seat belt system into an existing bus, such a system will not be used. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a seat belt system that is easily retrofit into an existing vehicle. 
   PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a main object of the present invention to provide a seat belt system that is suitable for use on a bus. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat belt system that is suitable for use on a school bus. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat belt system that is suitable for use on a bus that may carry passengers having a manual dexterity deficiency. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat belt system that is easily adjustable. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat belt system that is secure while still being easily adjustable and easily operated. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat belt system that is easily retrofit into an existing vehicle. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   These, and other, objects are achieved by a bus seat belt system which comprises a vehicle seat unit which includes a back section and a seat section; a seat belt unit which includes a first lap belt element which is fixedly attached to the vehicle seat, a second lap belt element which is fixedly attached to the vehicle seat, a shoulder belt element which is fixedly attached to the vehicle seat; a ring which is fixedly attached to the first lap belt element and to the shoulder belt element; and the second lap belt element having a second end which includes hook-and-loop fastener elements. 
   Using the bus seat belt system embodying the present invention will permit a bus rider to quickly and easily secure himself into a seat yet which will permit that rider to quickly and easily release the seat belt to allow him to quickly and easily exit the seat. The seat belt system of the present invention is also easily installed in a bus, and can be easily retrofit to an existing bus. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a bus seat belt system embodying the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a detail of one of the seat belts included in the bus seat belt system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
   Referring to the Figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a bus seat belt system  10  that achieves the above-stated objectives. 
   System  10  comprises a seat unit  12  such as is commonly found on a bus. Seat unit  12  has a back support section  14  which includes a first wall  16  which is a top wall when seat unit  12  is in use, a first side wall  18 , a second side wall  20 , and a first surface  22  that is a front surface when seat unit  12  is in use. It is noted that the use position for seat unit  12  is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   Seat unit  12  further includes a seat section  30  that includes a first end wall  32 , a second end wall  34 , and a longitudinal axis  36  which extends between first end wall  32  and second end wall  34 . Seat unit  12  further includes a first side wall  40 , a second side wall  42 , and a transverse centerline  44  which extends midway between end walls  32  and  34  and extends between first side wall  40  and second side wall  42 . 
   A first surface  46  of seat section  30  is a top surface when seat unit  12  is in use. 
   A seat belt unit  50  safely secures a passenger in place in seat unit  12  while being easy to install, easy to operate and easy to adjust. 
   Seat belt unit  50  includes a first belt  52  having a first end  54  fixed to back support section  14  adjacent to first side wall  18  and a second end  56 . 
   A second seat belt  60  has a body  62  with a first end  64  fixed to seat section  30  at a location that is spaced apart from first end wall  32  and is located near transverse centerline  44 , and a second end  66 . Second seat belt  60  has a first section of hook-and-loop fastener material  68  thereon adjacent to second end  66  and a second section of hook-and-loop fastener material  70  thereon at a location spaced apart from first section of hook-and-loop material  68 . First section of hook-and-loop fastener material  68  is adapted to releasably engage second section of hook-and-loop material  70  to releasably attach second end  66  to body  62  of the second seat belt  60 . The first and second seat belts  52 ,  60  form a lap belt when seat belt unit  12  is in use. 
   A third seat belt  80  has a first end  82  fixed to front surface  22  of back support section  14  at a location that is spaced apart from first end  54  of first seat belt  52 . Third seat belt  80  has a second end  84  and is a shoulder strap when seat belt unit  12  is in use. 
   A fourth belt  90  has a first end  92  fixed to back support  14  adjacent to second side wall  20  of the back support section  14  and a second end  94 . 
   A fifth seat belt  100  has a body  102  with a first end  104  fixed to seat section  30  at a location that is spaced apart from second end wall  34  and is located near transverse centerline  44 , and a second end  106 . Fifth seat belt  100  has a first section of hook-and-loop fastener material  108  thereon adjacent to second end  106  and a second section of hook-and-loop fastener material  110  thereon at a location spaced apart from first section of hook-and-loop material  108 . First section of hook-and-loop fastener material  108  is adapted to releasably engage second section of hook-and-loop material  110  to releasably attach second end  106  to body  102 . The fourth and fifth seat belts  90 ,  100  form a lap belt when seat belt unit  50  is in use. 
   A sixth seat belt  120  has a first end  122  fixed to front surface  22  of back support section  14  at a location that is spaced apart from first end  92  of fourth seat belt  90 . The sixth seat belt  120  has a second end  124  and is a shoulder strap when seat belt unit  50  is in use. 
   A first ring  130  has the second ends  56 ,  84  of the first and third seat belts  52 ,  80  fixedly attached thereto and the second end  66  of the second seat belt  60  releasably attached thereto by means of the hook-and-loop fastener sections when seat belt unit  50  is in use. 
   A second ring  140  has the second ends  94 ,  124  of the fourth and sixth seat belts  90 ,  120  fixedly attached thereto and the second end  106  of the fifth seat belt  100  is releasably attached thereto by means of the hook-and-loop fastener sections when said seat belt unit  50  is in use. 
   Use and operation of seat belt system  10  can be understood from the teaching of the foregoing discussion. Accordingly, the use and operation of system  10  will not be discussed in detail. A passenger of a bus can sit in seat unit  12  and pull either the first and third seat belts  52 ,  80  around him or the fourth and sixth seat belts  90 ,  120  around him. After positioning these seat belts, the passenger will pull either the second or the fourth seat belt  60 ,  90  around him and attach that seat belt to the appropriate ring  130 ,  140  by means of the hook-and-loop fastening materials. The size of the seat belt can be easily adjusted using the hook-and-loop fastening materials. Releasing the seat belts follows the opposite steps. 
   It is observed that because of the orientation of the third and sixth seat belts  80 ,  120  with respect to the second and fifth seat belts  60 ,  100 , any stress placed on the seat belts will be oriented along a direction that the hook-and-loop materials are the strongest, that is longitudinally of the second and fifth seat belts  60 ,  100 . Such stress may be associated with an accident or the like. 
   It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.