Abstract:
A seat belt restraint system for a vehicle occupant ( 30 ) seated in a vehicle seat ( 32 ), more specifically for both an adult and a child or a person of small stature. The seat belt restraint system includes a conventional three-point seat belt restraint system ( 40 ) for an occupant of normal size and an adjusting mechanism ( 56 ) adapted to provide additional fixation points on seat belt webbing ( 46 ), more specifically on shoulder belt ( 54 ), and adapted to adjust the departure angle at which shoulder belt ( 54 ) extends across the body of a child or a person of small stature.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    Not Applicable  
         FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH  
         [0002]    Not Applicable  
         SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM  
         [0003]    Not Applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0005]    This invention generally relates to seat belt restraint systems. More specifically, this invention relates to seat belt restraint systems for both adults and children.  
           [0006]    2. Prior Art  
           [0007]    Vehicle occupant restraints, including seat belt devices and systems, are important and well-known components of vehicle safety systems. When a vehicle experiences severe impact, a properly belted-in occupant is held in place by the webbing, thereby avoiding many serious, if not fatal, physical collisions with vehicle interior and/or being thrown from the vehicle. Since their introduction seat belts have saved countless lives and reduced the severity of injury in countless more.  
           [0008]    Three-point seat belt systems are widely used and well known. There are three fixation points on the seat belt webbing. The upper end of the shoulder belt is extendable and retractable to the upper portion of the vehicle adjacent the shoulder of an occupant of normal size, providing the first fixation point. The lower end of the shoulder belt extends to a lap belt via a sliding seat belt latch. One end of the lap belt is continuously connected to the lower end of the shoulder belt. The other end is anchored to the vehicle and disposed on the outboard side of the occupant, resulting in the second fixation point. The seat belt latch has a webbing loop, through which the lap belt is threaded, such that the seat belt latch is slidable along the lap belt, and a tongue plate engageable with a seat belt buckle. The seat belt buckle is anchored to the vehicle and disposed on the inboard side of the occupant, generating the third fixation point. Three-point seat belt restraint systems improve the performance of occupant restraint over two-point seat belt restraint systems by restricting both the occupant&#39;s upper and lower body motions.  
           [0009]    Many patents have been issued to three-point seat belt restraint systems. However, existing three-point seat belt restraint systems have an important drawback when used by a child or a person of small stature. The shoulder belt would run across the child&#39;s head, neck, or above. Some children have placed the shoulder belt behind their back. Obviously, this position diminishes any benefit that could be derived from the shoulder belt. Even worse, in vehicles equipped with an airbag, the child, who is not restrained or who is improperly restrained, is potentially an out-of-position occupant.  
           [0010]    Children have used booster chairs. However, customers incur added costs in buying booster chairs. Booster chairs also add weight to vehicles. On the other hand, when children grow bigger, they are getting reluctant to sit in booster chairs. As a result, some children either simply do not wear a seat belt or just wear a lap belt. Some patents have been issued in designing seat belt restraint systems or devices for children.  
           [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,367, issued to Eusebi et al., on Mar. 11, 1997, describes a device for adjusting the height of the web guide to change the departure angle of the shoulder belt from the restraint point across a seated child. A second web guide is mounted on a vertically movable height adjuster. The second web guide has an open slot to receive the shoulder belt.  
           [0012]    Although the device can effectively adjust the departure angle of the shoulder belt across the seated child and improve the comfort and safety performance for children, it might incur too big added cost in manufacturing, because making a vertically movable height adjuster with desired strength for vehicle safety on the lower B-pillar or on the side of vehicle seat is going to be costly. The space in between the vehicle seat and the B-pillar is very limited. A web guide mounted on a height adjuster would take out even more space. Also, the proposed device is using the same attachment space as the seat mounted side impact airbag. Therefore, it may not be used in the vehicles equipped with side impact airbags. Side impact airbags have become standard safety components for many vehicles in recent years.  
           [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,957, issued to Golder, on Aug. 9, 1994, describes a device having a tubular passageway for receiving and engaging portions of both the shoulder and the lap belt.  
           [0014]    This device restricts the angle between the shoulder belt and the lap belt thereby avoiding the interference between the shoulder belt and the child&#39;s head and improving the comfort of wearing the seat belt restraint system, However, if the tubular passageway is made shorter for convenience of carrying, the shoulder belt would be very close to the child&#39;s head and will slap onto the child&#39;s head in a vehicle accident. On the other hand, if the tubular passageway is made longer for safety concern, it is going to be too large to carry around. Further more, in a vehicle accident when the shoulder belt is in tension, the tubular passageway would naturally be forced to slide inboard and the angle between the shoulder belt and the lap belt would become bigger, thereby diminishing the effectiveness of this device. Most important of all, when this device receives and engages portions of both the shoulder and lap belts in keeping the shoulder belt away from the seated child&#39;s head, it lifts up the lap belt. This will increase the risk of occupant “submarine”, that&#39;s occupant sliding under the lap belt.  
           [0015]    There are some other add-on products on the market. Unfortunately, these products are primarily for comfort instead of for safety.  
           [0016]    Therefore, it remains desirable to provide a seat belt restraint system that is safer, more comfortable and convenient to use, and simpler and less expensive to manufacture, for children or people of small stature.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0017]    Accordingly, the present invention is a seat belt restraint system having a conventional three-point seat belt restraint system and an adjusting mechanism for use by a vehicle occupant, more specifically, by either an adult or a child.  
           [0018]    The adjusting mechanism includes a plurality of buckle members anchored to the vehicle and disposed on the seatback, distributed in a vertical orientation, and a latch member having a webbing loop, through which the shoulder belt is threaded, such that the latch member is slidable along the shoulder belt, and a tongue plate engageable with one of the buckle members.  
           [0019]    Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:  
           [0020]    (a) to provide a seat belt restraint system which can be used by either an adult of various sizes or a child;  
           [0021]    (b) to provide a seat belt restraint system for adults of various sizes or children with superior restraint performance and comfort, thereby encouraging its application and seat belt usage; and  
           [0022]    (c) to provide a seat belt restraint system with better restraint performance for small children or infants in various car seats.  
           [0023]    Other objects and advantages are:  
           [0024]    (a) to provide a seat belt restraint system which can be easily reconfigured to a regular seat belt restraint system for use by an adult of normal size. The proposed adjusting mechanism can be an add-on device or part of a integrated seat belt restraint system;  
           [0025]    (b) to provide a seat belt restraint system adjusting mechanism which has minimum incremental weight increase; and  
           [0026]    (c) to provide a seat belt restraint system adjusting mechanism which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.  
           [0027]    Further more features and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood after reading the subsequent description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING—FIGURES  
       [0028]    In the drawing:  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the adjusting mechanism in FIG. 1.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of the adjusting mechanism in FIG. 3.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 5 illustrates another alternative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 6 illustrates an exploded view of the adjusting mechanism in FIG. 5.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 7 illustrates a further more alternative embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING—REFERENCE NUMERALS  
       [0036]    [0036]                                                       30   vehicle occupant           32   vehicle seat           34   seatback           36   seat portion           38   headrest           40   three-point seat belt restraint system           42   seat belt retractor           44   seat belt buckle           46   seat belt webbing           48   seat belt latch           50   web guide           52   lap belt           54   shoulder belt           56   adjusting mechanism           58   buckle member           58′   buckle member           60   latch member           60a   webbing loop           60b   tongue plate           60c   open slot           62   buckle member sink           62′   buckle member sink           64   seatback structural member           66   belt ring           66′   belt ring           68   connect plate           68a   webbing loop           68b   webbing loop           68c   open slot           68d   open slot           70   belt ring sink           70′   belt ring sink           72   adapting plate           72a   webbing loop           72b   open slot           74   adapting plate sink           74′   adapting plate sink                        
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0037]    Reference is made to FIG. 1, which illustrates an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle occupant  30 , a small child, is seated in a conventional vehicle seat  32 . Vehicle seat  32  has a seatback  34 , a seat portion  36 , and a headrest  38 . Also shown in FIG. 1 is a conventional three-point seat belt system  40 , which, as seen below, is modified by the present invention for children or people of small stature.  
         [0038]    Seat belt restraint system  40  comprises a seat belt retractor  42 , a seat belt buckle  44 , a length of seat belt webbing, generally shown as  46 , a seat belt latch  48 , and a web guide  50 .  
         [0039]    Seat belt retractor  42  is secured to the vehicle. Seat belt buckle  44  is anchored to the lower portion of the vehicle on the inboard side of seated occupant  30 . Seat belt webbing  46  is separated into a lap belt  52  and a shoulder belt  54 , in a known manner. Seat belt latch  48  has a webbing loop; through which seat belt webbing  46  is threaded, and a tongue plate engageable with seat belt buckle  44 . Web guide  50  is secured to the upper portion of the vehicle adjacent the shoulder of an occupant of normal size.  
         [0040]    The upper end of shoulder belt  54  extends to web guide  50  and further extends to seat belt retractor  42 . The lower end of shoulder belt  54  extends to one end of lap belt  52  via seat belt latch  48 . The other end of lap belt  52  is anchored to the lower portion of the vehicle on the outboard side of occupant  30 . Shoulder belt  54  would typically run across the head and neck or above of occupant  30 . This deficiency is corrected by the present invention.  
         [0041]    In the present invention, an adjusting mechanism  56  is provided to modify seat belt restraint system  40 . As shown in FIG. 1, adjusting mechanism  56  comprises a buckle member  58  and a latch member  60 .  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of adjusting mechanism  56  in more details. Buckle member  58  is anchored to the vehicle on seatback  34 . Latch member  60  has a webbing loop  60   a,  through which shoulder belt  54  is threaded, such that latch member  60  is slidable along shoulder belt  54 , and a tongue plate  60   b  engageable with buckle member  58 .  
         [0043]    Buckle member  58  is anchored to the vehicle on seatback  34 . To be more specific, it is anchored to seatback structural member  64 , and sinks into the cushion of seatback  34 . A buckle member sink  62  is provided here for buckle member  58 . A cover plate (not shown) can be provided to cover up buckle member sink  62  when buckle member  58  is no longer desired.  
         [0044]    An open slot  60   c  is provided on webbing loop  60   a  to permit shoulder belt  54  to slide in and out. Thus when latch member  60  is no longer desired it can be removed from shoulder belt  54 . Open slot  60   c  is specially designed to minimize its width to avoid excessive weakening of webbing loop  60   a.  Webbing loop  60   a  should be strong enough to withstand the belt loading during a vehicle accident. Some beads or darts (not shown) can be added on webbing loop  60   a  to avoid shoulder belt  54  sliding out during an accident.  
         [0045]    A plurality of buckle members, generally shown as  58 ′, is provided for multi-point adjustment. These buckle members are anchored to the vehicle on seatback  34 . To be more specific, these buckle members are anchored to seatback structural member  64  and sink into the cushion of seatback  34 . These buckle members are distributed on seatback  34  in a vertical orientation. The lower buckle members can be slightly closer to the centerline of seatback  34  because lower buckle members are for smaller children and their sizes are smaller. A plurality of buckle member sinks, generally shown as  62 ′, is provided here for these buckle members. A plurality of cover plates (not shown) can be provided to cover up unused buckle member sinks.  
         [0046]    When latch member  60  is engaged with buckle member  58 , an additional fixation point is provided for seat belt webbing  46 . This additional fixation point is at a height level better suiting the size of occupant  30 . Shoulder belt  54  for use by adults of normal size will, now, extends across the shoulder of occupant  30  of relative small stature. Latch member  60  allows shoulder belt  54  to run through but the position of this fixation point will not change. Therefore, safety and comfort with wearing this seat belt restraint system of the present invention, by children or people of small stature, are apparent.  
         [0047]    In operation, when vehicle occupant  30  is seated in vehicle seat  32  with seat belt latch  48  locked onto seat belt buckle  44 , occupant  30  or the parent of occupant  30  moves shoulder belt  54  away from its original position and slides shoulder belt  54  into open slot  60   c  and then locks latch member  60  into one of the buckle members, thereby repositioning shoulder belt  54 , such that shoulder belt  54  will lie across the shoulder of occupant  30 . Once the position of this fixation point is set-up, an adjustment is not necessary until occupant  30  grows beyond this size or another occupant of different size is using this seat belt restraint system. Adjustment is simple and convenient.  
         [0048]    Reference is made to FIG. 3, which illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention. An adjusting mechanism  56  is provided to modify seat belt restraint system  40 . As shown in FIG. 3, adjusting mechanism  56  comprises a belt ring  66  and a connect plate  68 .  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of adjusting mechanism  56  in more details. Belt ring  66  is anchored to the vehicle on seatback  34 . To be more specific, Belt ring  66  is anchored to seatback structural member  64 , and sinks into the cushion of seatback  34 . Connect plate  68  interconnects shoulder belt  54  and belt ring  66 . Connect plate  68  has two webbing loops,  68   a  and  68   b.  Through webbing loop  68   a,  shoulder belt  54  is threaded; such that connect plate  68  is slidable along shoulder belt  54 . Through webbing loop  68   b,  belt ring  66  is threaded.  
         [0050]    There is an open slot  68   c  on webbing loop  68   a  to allow shoulder belt  54  to slide in and out. Open slot  68   c  is specially designed to minimize its width to avoid excessive weakening of webbing loop  68   a.  Webbing loop  68   a  should be strong enough to withstand the belt loading during a vehicle accident. Some beads or darts (not shown) can be added on webbing loop  68   a  to avoid shoulder belt  54  sliding out during an accident. There is an open slot  68   d  on webbing loop  68   b  to allow belt ring  66  to slide in and out. Open slot  68   d  is specially designed to minimize its width to avoid excessive weakening of webbing loop  68   b.  Webbing loop  68   b  should be strong enough to withstand the belt ring loading during a vehicle accident. Some beads or darts (not shown) can be added on webbing loop  68   b  to avoid belt ring  66  sliding out during an accident. A belt ring sink  70  is provided for belt ring  66 . A cover plate (not shown) can be provided to cover up belt ring sink  70  when belt ring  66  is no longer desired. A plurality of belt rings, generally shown as  66 ′, is provided for multi-point adjustment. These belt rings are anchored to the vehicle on seatback  34 . To be more specific, these belt rings are anchored to seatback structural member  64  and sink into the cushion of seatback  34 . These belt rings are distributed on seatback  34  in a vertical orientation. The lower belt rings can be slightly closer to the centerline of seatback  34  because lower belt rings are for smaller children and their sizes are smaller. A plurality of belt ring sinks, generally shown as  70 ′, is provided here for these belt rings. A plurality of cover plates (not shown) can be provided to cover up unused belt ring sinks.  
         [0051]    When connect plate  68  is attached to both shoulder belt  54  and belt ring  66 , an additional fixation point is provided for seat belt webbing  46 . This additional fixation point is at a height level better suiting the size of occupant  30 . Shoulder belt  54  for use by adults of normal size will, now, extends across the shoulder of occupant  30  of relative small stature. Connect plate  68  will allow shoulder belt  54  to run through but the position of this fixation point will not change. Therefore, safety and comfort with wearing this seat belt restraint system of the present invention, by children or people of small stature, are apparent.  
         [0052]    In operation, when vehicle occupant  30  is seated in vehicle seat  32  with seat belt latch  48  locked onto seat belt buckle  44 , occupant  30  or the parent of occupant  30  moves shoulder belt  54  away from its original position and slides shoulder belt  54  into open slot  68   c  on connect plate  68  and then slides one of the belt rings into open slot  68   d,  thereby repositioning shoulder belt  54 , such that shoulder belt  54  will lie across the shoulder of occupant  30 . Once the position of this fixation point is set-up, an adjustment is not necessary until occupant  30  grows beyond this size or another occupant of different size is using this seat belt restraint system. Adjustment is simple and convenient.  
         [0053]    Reference is made to FIG. 5, which illustrates another alternative embodiment of the present invention. An adjusting mechanism  56  is provided to modify seat belt restraint system  40 . As shown in FIG. 5, adjusting mechanism  56  comprises an adapting plate  72 .  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 6 illustrates an exploded view of adjusting mechanism  56  in more details. Adapting plate  72  is anchored to the vehicle on seatback  34 . To be more specific, Adapting plate  72  is anchored to seatback structural member  64  and sinks into the cushion of seatback  34 . Adapting plate  72  has a webbing loop  72   a.  Through webbing loop  72   a,  shoulder belt  54  is threaded. There is an open slot  72   b  on webbing loop  72   a  to allow shoulder belt  54  to slide in and out. Open slot  72   b  is specially designed to minimize its width to avoid excessive weakening of webbing loop  72   a.  Webbing loop  72   a  should be strong enough to withstand the belt loading during a vehicle accident. Some beads or darts (not shown) can be added on webbing loop  72   a  to avoid shoulder belt  54  sliding out during an accident.  
         [0055]    An adapting plate sink  74  is provided on the cushion of seatback  34  for adapting plate  72 . A cover plate (not shown) can be provided to cover up adapting plate sink  74  when adapting plate  72  is no longer desired.  
         [0056]    A plurality of adapting plates, generally shown as  72 ′, is provided for multi-point adjustment. These adapting plates are anchored to the vehicle on seatback  34 . To be more specific, these adapting plates are anchored to seatback structural member  64  and sink into the cushion of seatback  34 . These adapting plates are distributed on seatback  34  in a vertical orientation. The lower adapting plates can be slightly closer to the centerline of seatback  34  because lower adapting plates are for smaller children and their sizes are smaller. A plurality of adapting plate sinks, generally shown as  74 ′, is provided here for these adapting plates. A plurality of cover plates (not shown) can be provided to cover up unused adapting plate sinks.  
         [0057]    When shoulder belt  54  is threaded through webbing loop  72   a,  an additional fixation point is provided for seat belt webbing  46 . This additional fixation point is at a height level better suiting the size of occupant  30 . Shoulder belt  54  for use by adults of normal size will, now, extends across the shoulder of occupant  30  of relative small stature. Webbing loop  72   a  will allow shoulder belt  54  to run through but the position of this fixation point will not change. Therefore, safety and comfort with wearing this seat belt restraint system of the present invention, by children or people of small stature, are apparent.  
         [0058]    In operation, when vehicle occupant  30  is seated in vehicle seat  32  with seat belt latch  48  locked onto seat belt buckle  44 , occupant  30  or the parent of occupant  30  moves shoulder belt  54  away from its original position and slides shoulder belt  54  into the open slot of one of these adapting plates, thereby repositioning shoulder belt  54 , such that shoulder belt  54  will lie across the shoulder of occupant  30 . Once the position of this fixation point is set-up, an adjustment is not necessary until occupant  30  grows beyond this size or another occupant of different size is using this seat belt restraint system. Adjustment is simple and convenient.  
         [0059]    [0059]FIG. 7 illustrates a further more alternative embodiment of the present invention, in which seat belt restraint system  40  is seat mounted. Seat belt retractor  42  is mounted to the vehicle in seatback  34 . The upper end of shoulder belt  54  extends to the upper portion of seatback  34  adjacent the shoulder of an occupant of normal size and further extends to seat belt retractor  42 . Variations of adjusting mechanism  56  are referred to FIGS.  1 - 6 . Operations are the same as what has been discussed previously.  
         [0060]    Accordingly, readers will see that occupants of small stature or children can use this seat belt restraint system of the present invention. This seat belt restraint system is specially designed for both adults and children or people of small stature. It is safe, comfortable, and convenient to use, thereby encouraging its application and seat belt usage. Adjustment to better suit children of different sizes is simple and easy. This seat belt restraint system of the present invention can be used for car seats for infants and small children with added restraint performance. This is because the fixation point on shoulder belt  54  is, now, much closer to car seats. General public can also make use of this seat belt restraint system with added safety performance. This can be achieved by adding a fixation point on the upper portion of seatback  34 . The result is that the fixation point is, now, moved from the upper portion of vehicle pillars or roof rails, which are widely used as shoulder belt fixation points, to the upper portion of seatback  34 . In summary, additional fixation points are provided on seatback  34  to better suit occupants of various sizes, thereby resulting in comfort of wearing seat belt and added occupant restraint performance.  
         [0061]    Although the invention has been described in its preferred forms and structures with a certain degree of particularity, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention.  
         [0062]    For examples, although this invention has been described in a preferred form of three-point seat belt restraint system, it can be used in conjunction with other forms of seat belt restraint systems, such as four-point seat belt restraint systems; this can be realized by adding additional adjusting mechanism  56  on the inboard side portion of seatback  34  to adjust the fixation point of inboard side shoulder belt. The description of this invention also addresses specifically vehicle seat belt restraint systems. However, other modes of transportation, such as airplanes, rail trains, ship and cruise, and other seats, such as wheel chairs, can also make use of this invention.  
         [0063]    Those skilled in the art can perceive improvements. For examples, obvious improvements can come with the additions of pretension devices (not shown), or energy management devices (not shown), or deployable seat belt webbings and devices (not shown), or any combinations of these devices. Some other obvious improvements can come with variations of adjusting mechanism  56 .  
         [0064]    Thus it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred forms can be changed in the details of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.