Abstract:
A seat belt restraint system for a vehicle occupant ( 18 ) seated in a vehicle seat ( 20 ), more specifically for a pregnant woman or a person who dislikes a lap belt ( 36 ) running right across his/her abdominal area. The seat belt restraint system includes a conventional three-point seat belt restraint system ( 28 ) and an attachment ( 43 ) adapted to provide one additional point of fixation on the seat belt webbing ( 34 ) and adapted to pull the middle portion of the lap belt ( 36 ) away from the occupant&#39;s abdominal area to the front portion of the vehicle seat ( 20 ).

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 vehicle occupant restraints. More specifically, this invention relates to seat belt restraint systems. Further more specifically, this invention relates to seat belt restraint systems for pregnant women or people who dislike a lap belt running across their abdominal area.  
           [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]    Initially seat belt restraint systems provided only a belt across the lap of the occupant. This is the so-called “two-point” seat belt restraint system. Although an improvement over no belt at all, such lap only seat belt restraint systems did nothing to restrain the very dangerous occupant&#39;s upper body motions. Therefore, head, neck and back injuries were very common among victims of vehicle collisions who were wearing only a lap belt.  
           [0009]    An improvement to the two-point seat belt restraint system is the introduction of a third point of fixation. A second belt, shoulder belt, is provided. The upper end of the shoulder belt is extendable and retractable to the vehicle structure adjacent the occupant. This is the third point of fixation. The lower end of the shoulder belt extends to the lap belt via a sliding latch member. This latch member is engageable with a seat belt buckle on the inboard side of the occupant. These improved seat belt restraint systems are referred to as “three-point” seat belt restraint systems because they provide three fixation points for the webbing. Three-point seat belt restraint systems improve the performance of occupant restraint by restricting the occupant&#39;s upper body motions.  
           [0010]    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 pregnant women or people who dislike a lap belt running right across their abdominal area. They are uncomfortable to wear. Even worse, they are potentially dangerous for pregnant women and their unborn children if the vehicle is involved in a frontal crash accident.  
           [0011]    Some patents have been issued in designing protective restraint systems for pregnant women.  
           [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,354, issued to Grene, on Jun. 1, 1993, describes a vehicle safety restraint for pregnant women, which includes a common element attached to a regular vehicle seat and two restraint members, one encompassing the upper torso region of the woman and the other one encompassing in the groin area thigh regions of the woman.  
           [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,463, issued to Efrom, on Sep. 9, 1986, describes a dome-like shield configured to overlie and at least partially surround the abdominal area thereby protecting the user against abnormal forces being delivered directly to the abdominal area.  
           [0014]    The two above-discussed restraint systems can provide necessary restraint or protection for pregnant women. However, these systems are complicated and expensive to manufacture. On the other hand, they lack the convenience to use, thereby discouraging their application.  
           [0015]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,136, issued to McGlothlin et al., on Apr. 29, 1997, describes a device for positioning and maintaining the lap belt in a downward direction on the pelvic bones of a pregnant woman. This device includes top, bottom, and seat members. A fastener connects the top member and the bottom member. The top member is looped around the lap belt. The bottom member is fastened on the underside of the vehicle&#39;s seat. The seat member is attached to the seat and straddles the bottom member holding the bottom member in easy access to the user.  
           [0016]    Although the proposed device can position the lap belt in a downward direction thereby enhancing the comfort to use, it is an add-on attachment that lacks the potential of being integrated with the seat belt restraint system it modifies. Also, This device requires the occupant&#39;s two hands to buckle the top and bottom member together. The occupant also has to adjust the length of the device every time when she wears the seat belt restraint system. More important than all, as pointed out by its inventors, this device simply ensures that the seat belt remains where it is needed. It is not designed for strength like the seat belts.  
           [0017]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,150, issued to Harper et al, on Nov. 27, 2001, describes a device for use by a pregnant woman. This device attaches to the lap belt portion of a vehicle seat belt restraint system. A cushion element is provided for increasing comfort and for urging the lap belt portion into proper position across the pelvis.  
           [0018]    This device is primarily for comfort instead of for safety. The cushion element will provide very limited enhancement on the restraint performance since it is taking the occupant&#39;s abdominal surface curvature as a reaction surface.  
           [0019]    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 pregnant women or people who dislike a lap belt running across their abdominal area.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0020]    Accordingly, the present invention is a seat belt restraint system having a conventional three-point seat belt restraint system and an attachment for use by a vehicle occupant, more specifically, by a pregnant woman or a person who dislikes a lap belt running right across his/her abdominal area. The attachment includes a seat belt buckle anchored to the vehicle and disposed at a convenient location on the front portion of the seat, a latch member having a webbing loop and a tongue plate engageable with the seat belt buckle, an extension belt with a first end attached to the webbing loop of the latch member and a second end leading to a connect plate. The connect plate interconnects the second end of the extension belt and the lap belt of the conventional three-point seat belt restraint system. The connect plate further includes a webbing loop, through which the lap belt is threaded, such that the connect plate is slidable along the lap belt. An open slot is provided on the webbing loop of the connect plate to allow the lap belt to slide in and out. Thus when no longer desired the connect plate can be easily removed from the seat belt restraint system.  
           [0021]    Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:  
           [0022]    (a) to provide a seat belt restraint system for pregnant women or people who dislike a lap belt running across their abdominal area;  
           [0023]    (b) to provide a seat belt restraint system for pregnant women to avoid fatal injuries to their unborn children if a frontal crash accident happens;  
           [0024]    (c) to provide a seat belt restraint system which will present superior restraint performance and comfort for pregnant women or people who dislike a lap belt running across their abdominal area. General public can also make use of it with added restraint performance;  
           [0025]    (d) to provide a seat belt restraint system which is easy and convenient to use for pregnant women or people who dislike a lap belt running across their abdominal area, thereby, encouraging its application.  
           [0026]    Other objects and advantages are:  
           [0027]    (a) to provide a seat belt restraint system which can be easily reconfigured to a regular seat belt restraint system. The proposed attachment can be an add-on device or part of a integrated seat belt restraint system;  
           [0028]    (b) to provide a seat belt restraint system attachment which has minimum incremental weight increase; and  
           [0029]    (c) to provide a seat belt restraint system attachment which is inexpensive to manufacture.  
           [0030]    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  
       [0031]    In the figures:  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 2 illustrates a plan view of the attachment in FIG. 1.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative installation of the second seat belt buckle on the seat.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 4 illustrates another alternative installation of the second seat belt buckle on the seat.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 6 illustrates a plan view of the attachment in FIG. 5.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 7 illustrates a further more alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING—REFERENCE NUMERALS  
       [0039]    [0039] 18  vehicle occupant  
         [0040]    [0040] 20  vehicle seat  
         [0041]    [0041] 22  seat back  
         [0042]    [0042] 24  seat portion  
         [0043]    [0043] 26  headrest  
         [0044]    [0044] 28  three-point seat belt restraint system  
         [0045]    [0045] 30  seat belt retractor  
         [0046]    [0046] 32  seat belt buckle  
         [0047]    [0047] 34  seat belt webbing  
         [0048]    [0048] 36  lap belt  
         [0049]    [0049] 38  shoulder belt  
         [0050]    [0050] 40  latch member  
         [0051]    [0051] 42  web guide  
         [0052]    [0052] 43  attachment  
         [0053]    [0053] 44  second seat belt buckle  
         [0054]    [0054] 46  second latch member  
         [0055]    [0055] 46   a  webbing loop  
         [0056]    [0056] 46   b  tongue plate  
         [0057]    [0057] 46   c  open slot  
         [0058]    [0058] 48  extension belt  
         [0059]    [0059] 50  connect plate  
         [0060]    [0060] 50   a  webbing loop  
         [0061]    [0061] 50   b  open slot  
         [0062]    [0062] 52  seat belt buckle sink  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0063]    Reference is made to FIG. 1, which illustrates an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle occupant  18  is seated in a conventional vehicle seat  20 . The vehicle seat  20  has a seat back  22 , a seat portion  24 , and a headrest  26 . Also shown in FIG. 1 is a conventional three-point seat belt system  28 , which, as seen below, is modified by the present invention.  
         [0064]    The three-point seat belt restraint system  28  comprises a seat belt retractor  30 , a seat belt buckle  32 , a length of seat belt webbing, generally shown as  34 , a latch member  40 , and a web guide  42 . The seat belt retractor  30  is secured to the vehicle structure. The seat belt buckle  32  is anchored to the vehicle seat  20  on the inboard side of the seated occupant  18 . The seat belt webbing  34  is separated into a lap belt  36  and a shoulder belt  38  in a known manner. The latch member  40  has a webbing loop, through which the seat belt webbing  34  is threaded, and a tongue plate engageable with the seat belt buckle  32 . The web guide  42  is secured to the vehicle structure adjacent the occupant  18 .  
         [0065]    The upper end of the shoulder belt  38  extends to the web guide  42  and further extends to the seat belt retractor  30 . The other end of the shoulder belt  38  extends to one end of the lap belt  36  through the latch member  40 . The other end of the lap belt  36  is anchored to the vehicle structure on the outboard side of the occupant  18 . The lap belt  36  would typically run across the occupant&#39;s abdominal area. This deficiency is corrected by the present invention.  
         [0066]    In the present invention, an attachment  43  is provided in modifying the conventional three-point seat belt restraint system  28 . As shown in FIG. 1, the attachment  43  comprises a second seat belt buckle  44 , a second latch member  46 , an extension belt  48  and a connect plate  50 . FIG. 2 illustrates a plan view of the attachment  43  in more details. The second seat belt buckle  44  is anchored to the vehicle structure on the front portion of the seat portion  24 . The second latch member  46  has a webbing loop  46   a,  on which one end of the extension belt  48  is attached, and a tongue plate  46   b  engageable with the second seat belt buckle  44 . The other end of the extension belt  48  extends to the connect plate  50 . There is a webbing loop  50   a  on the connect plate  50 , through which the lap belt  36  is threaded, such that the connect plate  50  is slidable along the lap belt  36 . As shown in FIG. 2, the webbing loop  50   a  of the connect plate  50  has an open slot  50   b  to allow the lap belt  36  to slide in and out. Thus when no longer desired, the connect plate  50 , together with the extension belt  48  and the second latch member  46 , can be removed from the lap belt  36 . Then the seat belt restraint system will function as a conventional three-point seat belt restraint system  28 .  
         [0067]    The open slot  50   b  on the connect plate  50  is specially designed to permit the lap belt  36  to slide in and out. Its width should be minimized to avoid excessive weakening of the webbing loop  50   a  and to avoid the lap belt  36  sliding out of the webbing loop  50   a  during an accident.  
         [0068]    When the second latch member  46  is engaged with the second seat belt buckle  44 , an additional fixation point is provided for the seat belt webbing  34 . This additional fixation point pulls the middle portion of the lap belt  36  forward and downward to the front portion of the seat portion  24 , away from occupant&#39;s abdominal area. Therefore, comfort with wearing this seat belt restraint system is apparent, for pregnant women or people who dislike a lap belt  36  running across their abdominal area. Also, this additional fixation point further improves the restraint performance of the three-point seat belt restraint system  28  because the occupant  18  is, now, more firmly restrained to the vehicle seat  20 . General public can also make use of this seat belt restraint system with added restraint performance.  
         [0069]    [0069]FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative installation of the second seat belt buckle  44  on the seat portion  24 . The second seat belt buckle  44  can be alternatively anchored to the seat portion  24 , imbedded into the cushion of the seat portion  24 , such that the top portion of the latch member  46  will not sticking out of the cushion of the seat portion  24 . This will avoid potential injuries to the occupant  18  if the occupant  18  slides forward in a frontal impact accident. A seat belt buckle sink  52  is provided on the seat cushion for the second seat belt buckle  44 . A cover plate (not shown) can be provided, such that when the attachment  43  is no longer desired, the seat belt buckle sink  52  on the seat cushion can be covered up.  
         [0070]    [0070]FIG. 4 illustrates another alternative installation of the second seat belt buckle  44  on the seat portion  24 . The second seat belt buckle  44  can be alternatively anchored to the seat portion  24 , using a length of belt webbing.  
         [0071]    Reference is made to FIG. 5, which illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention. An attachment  43  is provided in modifying the conventional three-point seat belt restraint system  28 . FIG. 6 illustrates a plan view of the attachment  43  in more details. The attachment  43  comprises a second seat belt buckle  44  and a second latch member  46 . The second seat belt buckle  44  is anchored to the vehicle on the front portion of the seat portion  24 . Alternative installations of the second seat belt buckle  44  on the seat portion  24  are referred to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. The second latch member  46  has a webbing loop  46   a,  through which the lap belt  36  is threaded, such that the latch member  46  is slidable along the lap belt  36 , and a tongue plate  46   b  engageable with the second seat belt buckle  44 . Also as shown in FIG. 6, the webbing loop  46   a  of the latch member  46  has an open slot  46   c  to allow the lap belt  36  to slide in and out. Thus when no longer desired, the latch member  46  can be removed from the lap belt  36 . Then the seat belt restraint system will function as a conventional three-point seat belt restraint system  28 .  
         [0072]    The open slot  46   c  on the webbing loop  46   a  is specially designed to permit the lap belt  36  to slide in and out. Its width should be minimized to avoid excessive weakening of the webbing loop  46   a  and to avoid the lap belt  36  sliding out of the webbing loop  46   a  during an accident.  
         [0073]    [0073]FIG. 7 illustrates a further more embodiment of the present invention, in which the conventional three-point seat belt restraint system  28  is seat mounted. The seat belt retractor  30  is mounted to the vehicle in the seat back  22 . The upper end of the shoulder belt  38  extends to the upper portion of the seat back  22  adjacent the occupant&#39;s shoulder and further extends to the seat belt retractor  30 . Alternative installations of the second seat belt buckle  44  on the seat portion  24  are referred to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Another variation of the attachment  43  is referred to FIG. 6. In operation, when the vehicle occupant  18  is seated in the vehicle seat  20 , first, pull the first latch member  40  across the occupant&#39;s body with the inboard side hand. The second latch member  46  will present itself in front of the occupant&#39;s abdominal area. Second, insert the tongue plate of the second latch member  46  into the second seat belt buckle  44  with the outboard side hand. The lap belt  36  will wrap around the pelvic bone area of the occupant outboard leg. Finally, lock the tongue plate of the first latch member  40  into the first seat belt buckle  32 . The lap belt  36  will further wrap around the pelvic bone area of the occupant inboard leg.  
         [0074]    Accordingly, the reader will see that the seat belt restraint system of this invention can be used by pregnant women or people who dislike a lap belt running right across their abdominal area. It is comfortable and convenient to use thereby encouraging its application. General public can also make use of it. One additional fixation point is provided thereby resulting in added occupant restraint performance. The attachment  43  is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.  
         [0075]    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. For example, since the attachment  43  is attached to the lap belt  36 , it can, therefore, be used in conjunction with other forms of seat belt restraint systems, such as two-point and four-point seat belt restraint systems. The description of this invention also addresses specifically vehicle seat belt restraint systems. However, other modes of transportation, such as airplanes and rail trains, and other seats, such as wheel chairs, can also use this invention.  
         [0076]    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.