LOOP FITTING FOR VEHICLE SAFETY BELTS

Abstract: Loop fitting (10) for vehicle safety belts to be mounted to the vehicle wall (19) and having a slot (11) for passing the belt strap (12) therethrough. The loop fitting is supported on an element (15) for mounting the loop fitting to the vehicle wall, for universal movement thereon said element preferably comprising a bolt with a ball head, the loop fitting being maintained in engagement with said head at a joint socket (20) formed or arranged on the loop fitting, by means of a cover (21) mounted to the loop fitting.

Description: LOOP FITTING FOR VEHICLE SAFETY BELTS The invention relates to a loop fitting for vehicle safety belts to be mounted to the vehicle wall and having a slot for passing the belt strap therethrough. In such a loop fitting one belt part, the in¬ coming part, extends from a strap roller located below in the vehicle at the floor, substantially ver- tically from below and upwards while the other belt part, the outgoing part, extends over the shoulder of the person using the vehicle safety belt and extends more or less obliquely forwards and outwards from the loop fitting. Generally, the loop fitting is fixedly mounted to the body wall, and in order that the strap part over the shoulder in that case can extend from the loop fitting in the proper direction, the slot of the loop fitting is made relatively wide, which may cause the belt strap to be twisted with the drawbacks associated therewith, viz. that it will be difficult for the strap roller to withdraw the strap or that the pressure area of the strap against the shoulder will be reduced. Efforts have been made in order to overcome these drawbacks by making the slot narrower and at the same time arranging the loop fitting for limited pivotal movement about one or two axes, but for some reason these pivoted loop fittings have not been used in practice, which may indicate that they do not constitute a satisfactory solution of the problem mentioned above. The invention solves the problem of allowing the loop fitting to adapt itself to the direction of the strap parts by providing a loop fitting of the kind referred to above, having the characteristics according to claim 1. In order to explain the invention an embodiment thereof will be described in more detail below refer¬ ence being made to the accompanying drawing, in wh ch FIG 1 is a perspective view of the loop fitting according to the invention, FIG 2 is a vertical cross sectional view of the loop fitting mounted to- a body wall, and FIG 3 is a side view, partly broken away, of the loop fitting mounted according to FIG 2. The loop fitting shown in the drawing comprises a metal plate 10 bent to include an obtuse angle and having a slot 11 for passing a belt strap 12 there- through, and this metal plate 10 is "baked" with a plastic material, i.e. it is provided with a plastic layer 13. This plastic layer forms a slide surface for the belt strap 12 and is formed with ridges 14 to prevent the belt strap from sliding in the longitudi- nal direction of the slot 11 such that it will col¬ lect at one end or the other of the slot. The plate 10 is supported by a mounting element formed as a bolt 15 with a threaded shaft 16 and a spherical head 17 which is, however, formed with a hexagonal portion 18 to make possible that the bolt is tightened in a threaded bore in a body wall 19. The plate 10 can be supported directly on the head 17 but it can also as shown here have a ring 20 of a suitable bearing material, suitably fixed to the plate, the plate being passed onto the bolt 15 from the shaft end thereof to engage the head 17. A cover 21 of an elastically yielding plastic material is snapped onto the loop fitting in a known manner and engages the spherical surface 22 of the hexagonal po- rtioπ 18 to keep the ring 20 in engagement with the OMPI head 17. The cover is not snapped on until the loop fitting has been passed onto the bolt 15 and this has been mounted to the body wall 19. The loop fitting thus mounted can move univer¬ sally on the bolt 15 by means of a ball joint, the ball of which is formed by the head 17 and the socket of which is formed by the ring 20. By this arrange¬ ment the loop fitting can adjust itself to the posi¬ tion required by the direction of the strap parts 10 when the belt strap is being used. Instead of being formed with a hexagonal portion 18 the bolt 15 can have a hexagonal bore in the head 17 thereof for engagement with a pin spanner. 15 20 25 30 5

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Loop fitting (10) for vehicle safety belts to be mounted to the vehicle wall (19) and having a slot (11) for passing the belt strap (12) therethrough, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the loop fitting (10) is supported for universal movement on an el¬ ement (15) for mounting the loop fitting to the ve¬ hicle wall (19). 2. Loop fitting as claimed in claim 1, c h a r— a c t e r i z e d in that said element (15) is pro¬ vided with a joint ball (17) and that the loop fit¬ ting (10) is provided with a joint socket (20) mount¬ ing the loop fitting to the ball. 3. Loop fitting as claimed in claim 2, c h a r- a c t e r i z e d in that said element (15) com¬ prises a bolt with a head (17) formed as a joint ball, and that the joint socket (20) of the loop fit¬ ting (10) is passed onto the bolt from the shaft end thereof to engage the head. 4. Loop fitting as claimed in claim 3, c h a r- a c t e r i z e d in that a cover (21) of plastics or the like which is snapped onto the loop fitting, is arranged to engage the joint ball (17) on the side thereof which is opposite to the shaft (16), to main¬ tain the joint socket (20) of the loop fitting in engagement with the joint ball while permitting the universal movement of the loop fitting in relation to the joint bal 1. OMPI

Inventors: SYLVEN HANS
Applicants: STIL IND AB, SYLVEN HANS, STIL INDUSTRI AB
Application year: 1982
Main classification: A62B35
IPC codes: B60R22