Apparatus for use with a safety belt

Abstract: An improved apparatus for interconnecting safety belts includes a buckle member (36) which receives a tongue member (38,40) to interconnect the safety belts (14,16,32). An indicator and ejector assembly (44,46) has a visually readable indicia which changes from red to green as the tongue and buckle members (38,40,36) are interconnected. As the tongue (38,40) and buckle (36) members are disconnected, the indicia changes from green back to red. The indicia is disposed on an indicator member which transmits force to eject the tongue member (38,40) at least partially from the buckle member (36) as the tongue (38,40) and buckle (36) members are disconnected.

Description: Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a safety apparatus, and particularly to a tongue and buckle used with safety belts. Background of the Invention Safety seats for children are commonly provided in vehicles. A typical safety seat for a child has a crotch belt to which is attached a buckle that receives either a single tongue or a pair of tongues connected with a pair of shoulder belts. In order to retain the child securely in the seat, it is important that the tongue or tongues be fully inserted into the buckle. EP-A-141734 as well as DE-A-3302723 disclose tongue and buckle members for use with a safety belt including indicator means for indicating an interconnection of the two members. Electrical lights are used to illuminate a translucent button when said tongue and buckle members are interconnected. Summary of the Invention In accordance with the invention, a vehicle safety apparatus includes a buckle member which receives a tongue member to interconnect safety belts. An indicator is provided to indicate when the tongue and buckle members have been interconnected. The indicator includes an indicator member. As the buckle and tongue member are interconnected, the indicator member is moved from an extended position to a retracted position relative to a housing. This movement of the indicator member changes indicia exposed to view at an opening in the housing from the first color to the second color. As the tongue and buckle members are disconnected, a spring urges the indicator member back to the extended position and causes the indicator member to eject the tongue member at least partially from the buckle member. As this occurs, the indicia exposed to view at the opening in the housing is changed from the second color back to the first color. Brief Description of the Drawings These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following description of a preferred embodiment in view of the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a pictorial illustration depicting the relationship of a child restraint system to a vehicle seat; Fig. 2 is a schematicized illustration depicting the manner in which a pair of tongue members are inserted into a buckle member to interconnect the tongue and buckle members; Fig. 3 is an enlarged and somewhat schematicized illustration showing the tongue members and buckle member interconnected; Fig. 4 is a side elevational view, taken generally along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of one of the tongue members; Fig. 6 is an enlarged and partially broken away view of the tongue member of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view, taken generally along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6. Description of Preferred Embodiments A child restraint system 10 is illustrated in Fig. 1 in association with a vehicle seat 12. The child restraint system 10 includes a pair of shoulder belts 14 and 16. The shoulder belts 14 and 16 have upper end portions 18 and 20, respectively, which are secured to a back 22 of the seat 12. Lower end portions 24 and 26 of the shoulder belts 14 and 16, respectively, are secured to the vehicle seat 12 where the seat back 22 and a main seat cushion 28 come together. A crotch belt 32 extends upwardly from a child seat cushion 34. A buckle member 36 is connected to an upper end portion of the crotch belt 32. The buckle member 36 receives a pair of tongue members 38 and 40 (Figs. 1-3) to interconnect the shoulder belts 14 and 16 and crotch belt 32 in a well known manner. If desired, the shoulder belts 14 and 16 could be connected with a single tongue member rather than a pair of tongue members. When a child is to be secured by the restraint system 10, the shoulder belts 14 and 16 are positioned around the shoulders of the child. The crotch belt 32 extends upwardly between the child's legs. The tongue members 38 and 40 are then inserted into the buckle member 36 to interconnect the shoulder-belts 14 and 16 and crotch belt 32. The buckle member 36 includes a suitable latch mechanism (not shown) to latch the tongue members 38 and 40 in the buckle member 36. Although the child restraint system 10 has been illustrated in Fig. 1 as being permanently installed in association with a vehicle seat 12, the child restraint system could be used in association with a child seat which is separate from the vehicle seat and is portable. In accordance with a feature of the invention, indicator and ejector assemblies 44 and 46 (Figs. 2-4) on the tongue members 38 and 40 change visibly readable indicia at display openings 50 and 52 (Figs. 2 and 3) as the tongue members are fully inserted into and are engaged by the latch mechanism (not shown) in the buckle member 36. The visually readable indicia at the openings 50 and 52 change from red to green to provide a clear and easily readable indication that the tongue members 38 and 40 are securely connected with the buckle member 36. If one of the tongue members 38 or 40 should not be fully inserted into the buckle member 36, the indicia which is visible at the opening 50 or 52 will either remain red or only partially change from red to green. In accordance with another feature of the invention, as the tongue members 38 and 40 are disconnected from the buckle member 36, the indicator and ejector assemblies 44 and 46 at least partially eject the tongue members 38 and 40 from the buckle member 36. Specifically, when the tongue members 38 and 40 are to be disconnected from the buckle member 36, a pushbutton 56 (Fig. 3) on the buckle member 36 is depressed. This causes the latch mechanism in the buckle member 36 to disengage from the tongue members 38 and 40. The indicator and ejector assemblies 44 and 46 then move the tongue members 38 and 40 upwardly (as viewed in Fig. 3) to disengage the tongue members at least partially from the buckle member 36. As the tongue members 38 and 40 are disengaged from the buckle member 36, the indicia visible at the openings 50 and 52 change from green back to red. The indicator and ejector assembly 46 is mounted on a metal base 60 (Fig. 5) of the tongue member 40. The metal base 60 is generally V-shaped with an opening 94 formed at the end of one leg of the V. The opening 94 is engaged by the latch mechanism of the buckle member 36. A slot 62 extends along the length of the other leg of the V-shaped base 60 and receives the shoulder belt 16. The indicator and ejector assembly 46 is disposed adjacent to the slot 62 and extends toward the opening 94. The indicator and ejector assembly 46 includes a generally rectangular housing 66 (Figs. 5 and 6). The housing 66 and an associated cover layer 68 are molded as one piece of plastic. The cover layer 68 encloses a portion of the metal base 60 of the tongue member 40 which defines the opening 62. A rectangular indicator member 70 is slidably disposed in a generally rectangular chamber 72 formed in the housing 66. An outer end portion 74 of the indicator member 70 has a rectangular cross sectional configuration and projects through a rectangular opening 76 formed in the housing 66. A coil spring 80 (Figs. 6 and 7) telescopes over a cylindrical inner end portion 82 of the indicator member 70. The coil spring 80 urges the indicator member 70 to the extended position of Figs. 6 and 7. When the indicator member 70 is in the extended position, a red indicia 86 on the indicator member 70 (Figs. 6 and 7) is visible through the display opening 52 (Fig. 7) in the housing 66. At this time, a green indicia 88 on the indicator member 70 is covered by a wall 90 of the housing 66. If desired, the indicia 86 and 88 could be mounted on a member which is separate from and movable by the indicator member 70. As the tongue member 40 is inserted into the buckle member 36 (Fig. 3), the outer end portion 74 (Fig. 6) of the indicator member 70 engages the buckle member. Continued insertion of the tongue member 40 into the buckle member 36 moves the indicator member 70 into the housing 66 against the influence of the coil spring 80. When the latch mechanism in the buckle member 36 engages the opening 94 (Fig. 6) formed in the base 60 of the tongue member 40, the green indicia 88 will have moved into alignment with the opening 52 (Fig. 7). A retainer member 98 connected to the housing 66 extends through the base 60 of the tongue member 40 into a rectangular recess 102 formed in the indicator member 70. The engagement between the retainer member 98 and the recess 102 limits the extent of inward and outward movement of the indicator member relative to the housing 46. When the buckle member 36 is actuated to release the tongue member 40 by pressing the button 56 (Fig. 3), the indicator and ejector assembly 46 is effective to disengage the tongue member 40 at least partially from the buckle member. Thus, when the latch mechanism in the buckle member 36 is disengaged from the tongue member 40, the force applied against the indicator member 70 (Fig. 6) by the coil spring 80 causes the indicator member to move from a retracted position back toward its extended position. As this occurs, the outer end portion 74 of the indicator member 70 presses against the buckle member 36. The force applied by the indicator member 70 against the buckle member 36 moves the tongue member 40 outwardly away from the buckle member. Although the foregoing description has been of the indicator and ejector assembly 46 on the tongue member 40, it should be understood that the indicator and ejector assembly 44 on the tongue member 38 has the same construction as the indicator and ejector assembly 46. It should also be understood that although the indicator and ejector assemblies 44 and 46 have been disclosed as being mounted on the tongue members 38 and 40, the indicator and ejector assemblies could be mounted on the buckle member 36 if desired. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the indicia 86 is a uniform area of the color red, and the indicia 88 is a uniform area of the color green. If desired, colored or plain letters could be substituted for the red and green indicia 86 and 88. Also, although the invention has been disclosed as being used in a child restraint system 10, the invention could be used in other restraint systems having a safety belt.

Claims: An apparatus for use with a safety belt (14, 16, 32), said apparatus comprising: a tongue member (38, 40); a buckle members (36) for receiving said tongue member (38, 40) to interconnect said buckle member (36) and tongue member (38, 40); and indicator means (44, 46) on at least one of said buckle and tongue members (36, 38, 40) for indicating when said buckle member (36) and tongue member (38, 40) have been interconnected characterised in that, said indicator means (44, 46) including an indicator member (70) which is disposed on and is movable relative to said one of said buckle and tongue members (36, 38, 40) from a first position in which first indicia (86) is exposed to view and second indicia (88) is covered to a second position in which the first indicia (86) is covered and the second indicia (88) is exposed to view as said buckle and tongue members (36, 38, 40) are interconnected. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said indicator means (44, 46) includes means (52) disposed on said one of said buckle and tongue members (36, 38, 40) for forming an opening (52), said first indicia (86) being visible through the opening (52) when said indicator member (70) is in the first position and said tongue and buckle members (36, 38, 40) are disconnected, said second indicia (88) being visible through the opening (52) when said indicator member (70) is in the second position and said tongue and buckle members (36, 38, 40) are connected. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said first indicia (86) is disposed on a first portion of said indicator member (70) and said second indicia (88) is disposed on a second portion of said indicator member (70), said first portion of said indicator member (70) being visible through the opening (52) when said indicator member (70) is in the first position, said second portion of said indicator member (70) being visible through the opening (52) when said indicator member (70) is in the second position. An apparatus as set forth in any preceding claim wherein said indicator means (44, 46) is disposed on said tongue member (38, 40). An apparatus as set forth in any preceding claim wherein said indicator means (44, 46) includes means (80) for transmitting force between said buckle member (36) and said tongue member (38, 40) to at least partially eject said tongue member (38, 40) from said buckle member (36) as said tongue and buckle members (36, 38, 40) are disconnected. An apparatus as set forth in any preceding claim wherein said first indicia (86) is of a first color and said second indicia (88) is of a second color. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said indicator means includes a surface area (86) of the first color and a surface area (88) of the second color, said surface area (86) of a first color being viewable through said opening (52) when said tongue member (38, 40) is less than fully inserted into said buckle member (36), only said surface area (88) of a second color being viewable through said opening (52) when said tongue member (38, 40) is fully inserted into said buckle member (36). An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein said surface area (86) of a first color and said surface area (88) of a second color are moved relative to said opening (52) as said tongue member (38, 40) is inserted into said buckle member (36). An apparatus as set forth in any preceding claim further including spring means (80) for moving said indicator member (70) from said second position to said first position as said tongue member (38, 40) is withdrawn from said buckle member (36). An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said indicator means (44, 46) includes a housing (66) disposed on said tongue member (36), said housing having a first opening (76) at one end and a second opening (52) formed in a side wall of said housing (66), said indicator member (70) being disposed in said housing (66), said indicator member (70) having a first portion (74) which extends through said first opening (76) and is engageable by said buckle member (36) as said tongue and buckle members (36, 38, 40) are interconnected to move said indicator member (70) relative to said housing (66) from an extended condition to a retracted condition, said indicator member (70) having a second portion upon which said first and second indicia (86, 88) are disposed, said first indicia (86) on said indicator member (70) being visible through the second opening (52) when said indicator member (70) is in the extended condition and said second indicia (88) on said indicator member (70) being visible through said second opening (52) when said indicator member (70) is in the retracted condition. An apparatus as set forth in any preceding claim wherein said indicator member (70) is engageable by said buckle member (36) to move said indicator member (70) from the first position to the second position under the influence of force transmitted from said buckle member (36) to said indicator member (70) as said buckle and tongue members (36, 38, 40) are interconnected.

Inventors: GILLIS KEVIN M, LANE WENDELL C JR, MCFALLS BOB L, GILLIS, KEVIN M., LANE, WENDELL C., JR., MCFALLS, BOB L.
Applicants: TRW VEHICLE SAFETY SYSTEMS, TRW VEHICLE SAFETY SYSTEMS INC.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B60R22
IPC codes: B60R22, A44B11, B60N2