HARNESS WITH STRAP LENGTH ADJUSTMENT DEVICE

Abstract: In a safety harness, a strap length adjustment device (10) has an adjustment member (20) selectively movable generally longitudinally of the strap (9), the strap preferably extending around the member so that twice the length of strap is protracted or retracted per unit movement of the member. The adjustment member (20) may be held in a selected position against a spring (29) tending to retract the strap by spring-­ biassed caliper jaws (30) released by a push button (37). The device (10) may be embodied as an abdominal pad in a child's harness for use or incorporated in a pushchair or a vehicle safety seat.

Description: The invention relates to a harness, such as may be used for restraint of a child in a push chair, a high chair or a vehicle seat, incorporating a device for adjusting the length of at least one elongate element of the harness, for example, a strap or length of webbing. Safety harnesses are typically provided with adjustment means so that they can correctly fit occupants of different sizes and where an adult has to fit the harness onto a child it is important that the adjustment means are convenient to operate. The adjustment means desirably also disposes of unwanted end portions of the straps or webbing in a tidy and convenient way. There is known from US-A-3 912 328 a safety harness corresponding to the pre-characterising portion of claim 1 and comprising at least one strap extending in use from a connector located in the region of the user's abdomen, and an adjustment device mounted by the connector for adjustment of the length of the strap protruding from the connector. There is also known from US-A-4 025 111 a child's safety seat having at its back a hook plate through which a length of webbing extends, the position of the plate being adjustable to alter the lengths of the webbing protruding through slots in the seat back. The invention accordingly provides a safety harness comprising at least one strap extending in use from a connector located in the region of the user's abdomen, and an adjustment device mounted by the connector for adjustment of the length of the strap protruding from the connector, characterised in that the strap is secured to the connector, and the adjustment device comprises a member around which the strap extends outwardly of the connector from the position at which it is secured to the connector and means guiding the member for movement relative to the connector to effect the adjustment. The strap can simply extend from the securement position around the adjustment member and outwardly of the device, so that a given movement of the member results in a protraction of twice the length of the strap from the device, or the equivalent retraction into it. The adjustment member can however be constituted so that a given movement results in the protraction or retraction of a greater length of strap than twice the length of the movement. The connector can accordingly be quite compact, and can be arranged to contain within it the unused length of the elongate element, so this length can be effectively hidden from view if the connector is provided with a housing or enclosed within a cover. The movable adjustment member can have entrained around it more than one strap, so that, for example, both shoulder straps of a conventional symmetrical harness can be adjusted together. Means can be provided for releasably retaining the member in a selected position corresponding to a desired protruding length of the strap, the member being spring biassed to move towards one of its end positions. The member can thus be biassed to oppose protraction of the strap so that when the member is released, retraction of the strap follows. In many instances, the free outer end of the strap will be connected to an article, for example, a child's vehicle seat or a push chair, so that movement of the connector as a whole away from the position of connection, with the member released, will effect protraction of the elongate element. The movable adjustment member may be constituted by a slide member which can be releasably retained in a selected one of a plurality of preset positions, or at any selected position within a preset range. The movable member can be releasably retained in the desired position by any suitable detent or latch mechanism, by conveniently one which is biassed to the latched position. Thus a suitable detent mechanism comprises a spring biassed caliper type mechanism of which the caliper arms require to be held apart against the spring bias to permit the adjustment movement of the frame and the roller bar it carries. For use with a child's car seat, the connector is conveniently embodied as a torso or abdominal pad which functions to spread over a substantial area the load of the harness experienced by the occupant in an emergency deceleration of the vehicle. The harness then conveniently comprises a shoulder belt portion extending downwardly to the abdominal pad from the upper region of the back of the seat with which it is used or in which it is incorporated, and a central lower portion connecting the pad to a lower anchorage, for example, the lower front edge of the seat. The central harness portion may be a strap or other elongate member the effective length of which is adjustable by the adjustment device of the invention, either jointly with the shoulder belt portion or independently, by a second such device. The invention is further described below, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of a child's seat having a harness including an adjustment device in the form of an abdominal device in accordance with the invention, the child's seat being installed on a road vehicle seat; Figure 2 is a perspective view on a larger scale of the adjustment device included in the harness of Figure 1, with parts broken away to show the interior; and Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of a latch release mechanism included in the adjustment device. The child's seat 1 shown in Figure 1 installed on the rear seat 2 of a passenger motor vehicle comprises a lined and padded plastics shell 4 secured in place by a conventional lap belt 5 extending between suitable anchorages, such as anchorage 6, to the vehicle body. The shell 4 mounts a harness comprising a pair of shoulder belts 9 extending forwardly and downwardly from the backrest portion of the shell to a connector or adjustment device to constituted as an abdominal pad better shown in Figures 2 and 3. The device 10 is of hollow construction and comprises a frame 11 provided, for the comfort of the user, with an outer cover 12 of suitable fabric or sheet plastics material backed by padding for example a plastics foam padding. The frame 11 is of generally uniform thickness and of generally rectangular shape with an integral connecting portion 14 extending from the longer side which is lowermost in use. A metal plate 15 extends outwardly from the free end of the connection portion 14, its exposed end being apertured at 16 to provide a latch formation which is releasably received in use in a socket member 17 secured centrally to the front edge of the shell 4. The upper side of the device 10 has two aligned elongate apertures through which extend two elongate harness elements or shoulder belts 9. The free lower end of each belt 9 is secured to the frame 11 at its upper side and extends downwardly from the securement position to a movable member of the device which comprises a transverse roller bar 20 guided for movement perpendicular to its length, by spaced parallel guide slots 21 in the frame, which receive the ends of the roller bar. Between the belts 9, the roller bar 20 is connected to two spaced parallel side elements 25 of the movable member, which elements are apertured at the upper ends to receive the bar. The side elements 25 extend away from the belts 9 in the direction of the slots 21 and each has a row of detent apertures or recesses 26 extending along it. A tension spring 29 acts between the plate 15 and the roller bar 20 to retract the latter into the device, so shortening the lengths of the belts 9 outside the device. The frame 11 also mounts a detent or latch means by which the roller bar 20 is held in a desired position. The detent means comprises a pair of caliper jaws 30 of which the free ends can be received in the side element recesses 26. The jaws 30 are pivotally mounted on the frame 11 at a pivot axis 31 and a tension spring 32 urges them together to engage the side members. The jaws 30 have release portions 34 extending downwardly beyond the pivot axis 31 to a release mechanism for manual operation to withdraw the jaws from the side element recesses 26. The release mechanism comprises a button member 35 guided in an aperture 36 in the frame 11 for movement parallel to the pivot axis 31. From an outer flange portion 37, the outer surface of which is exposed at the surface of the device 10 for depression manually by the user, the member 35 tapers inwardly through a wedge-shaped or frusto-conical portion 39 to a flange 40. In the depressed position of the button member 35, shown in Figure 3, the release portions 34 are forced apart against the pull of the spring 32 and rest underneath the flange portion 37. As long as the button member is held depressed in this way, the shoulder belts 9 can be pulled out, or allowed to be retracted, to a desired length against, or by, the pull of the spring 29. The roller bar 20 moves upwardly or downwardly through a distance equal to half the length of the belt protraction or retraction. On release of the button member 35, the spring 32 tends to bring the release portions 34 together, so that these move over the button member portion 39 forcing the button member outwardly, until the release portions engage against the flange 40, as shown in broken line in Figure 3. At this time, the caliper jaws 30 have engaged in the recesses 26 adjacent their ends, so the roller bar 20 is latched against movement until the button member 35 is again depressed. In use, therefore, a child is placed in the seat 1 and the harness placed about him by insertion of the free end of the plate 15 into the socket member 17. Any necessary adjustment of the length of the shoulder belts 9 is then effected during depression of the button member 25 as described above. Although described and illustrated in the context of a child's seat for use in a road vehicle, it will be evident that the connector or adjustment device 10 can be used in a harness similar to that illustrated but in a push chair or the like, or in a harness, whether in a push chair or the like or a vehicle seat, of different configuration from that illustrated, with appropriate modification.

Claims: A safety harness comprising at least one strap (9) extending in use from a connector (10) located in the region of the user's abdomen, and an adjustment device mounted by the connector for adjustment of the length of the strap protruding from the connector, characterised in that the strap (9) is secured to the connector, and in that the adjustment device comprises a member (20) around which the strap extends outwardly of the connector from its position of securement to the connector and means (21) guiding the member (20) for movement relative to the connector to effect the adjustment. A safety harness as claimed in claim 1 having a spring (29) acting between the adjustment device and the connector (10) to urge the adjustment member (20) in a predetermined direction, and a latch device (30) which can be engaged with and disengaged from the adjustment device. A safety harness as claimed in claim 2 wherein spring (29) biasses the adjustment member (20) to retract the at least one strap into the connector (10). A safety harness as claimed in claim 2 or 3 wherein the adjustment device comprises a latch portion (25) and the latch device comprises jaws (30) pivoted on the connector (10), the latch portion being releasably engageable by the jaws to hold the adjustment member (20) in a selected position. A safety harness as claimed in claim 4 having a push button member (35) manually depressible against a spring bias to open the jaws (30) to permit movement of the adjustment member (20). A safety harness as claimed in claim 4 or 5 wherein the connector comprises a frame (11) providing the means for guiding the adjustment member (20) in the form of spaced parallel slots (21) for slidably receiving the ends of the adjustment member, the jaws (30) being pivotably mounted on the frame.

Inventors: NICOD, FREDERICK CHARLES
Applicants: ASE (UK) LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B60R22
IPC codes: B60R22, A44B11