Patent Publication Number: US-7716795-B2

Title: Anti-rattle tongue plate assembly

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/715,032 filed on Sep. 8, 2005. 

   BACKGROUND 
   The invention relates to a tongue plate assembly for a seat belt system and, more particularly to a tongue plate assembly having an anti-rattle construction and a method for making the same. 
   Tongue plate assemblies that latch into buckles for securing a seat belt about an occupant of a vehicle seat are usually made from a stamped-metal tongue plate in which the tongue plate has a hard plastic insert located at an elongated, laterally extending opening in a wide portion of a plate body for the seat belt webbing. In many seat belts systems, the tongue plate assembly typically is positioned between the side trim of the vehicle and the outboard side of the vehicle seat when in the unlatched or stowed condition. In some recent model vehicles, there has been a gradual reduction in the amount of space between the side of the vehicle seat and the side trim of the vehicle interior. In some instances, the seat belt twists and positions an edge of the tongue plate assembly to engage a pillar or side rim in the vehicle. Accordingly, when the vehicle is undergoing rough ride conditions, the tongue plate assembly is more likely to shake and vibrate on the belt webbing and engage against the hard side trim panel in the vehicle interior generating undesirable noise in the vehicle compartment. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,519 (incorporated by reference herein) is directed to a non-cinching tongue plate assembly having a latch plate with a coating of hard plastic material over molded onto the plate. In a cinch tongue plate assembly, a slidable cinch member or portion is a distinct, discrete member which is slidably mounted for movement relative to the tongue plate body to cinch or grip the belt passing through the assembly such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,480,854 and 4,588,207 (both incorporated by reference herein). As described in the latter patent, a slidable cinch member is free falling along the belt until the seat belt is latched; and after latching, the cinch portion grips the belt to limit free transfer between the shoulder belt portion and the lap portion. In a typical cinch-type tongue plate assembly, the slidable cinch member has top and bottom sides extending over the top and bottom sides of the tongue plate and has outer side edge portions wrapped about the outer side edges of the tongue plate. Thus, there is a need for providing noise reducing material on the cinch member, and particularly the side edges thereof which are projecting laterally outwardly relative to the tongue plate body. 
   The non-cinch, tongue plate assembly of the &#39;519 patent lacks a slidable clinch member slidably mounted on the tongue plate body. In the &#39;519 patent, it is stated that while the hard plastic is being molded onto the tongue plate and is still warm, a soft plastic over molded onto the warm, hard plastic material on the plate. While providing noise reduction, over molding two coatings of plastic material onto the latch plate assembly undesirably increases the manufacturing costs for the latch plate. In this regard, two insert molds need to be employed into which the operator has to manually load the part onto which the over mold is to be applied. So in the latch plate assembly disclosed by the &#39;519 patent, there is a first insert mold in which the operator places the plate body for having the hard plastic over molded thereon. Thereafter, with the hard plastic still warm, the operator removes the plate body with the warm over mold of hard plastic, and places it in the next insert mold. This insert mold is then cycled for over molding the soft plastic material onto the warm, hard plastic material. As is apparent, the two insert molds require significant operator intervention for generating the over molded latch plate assembly of the &#39;519 patent. 
   Accordingly, there is a need for an anti-rattle, tongue plate assembly having a distinct, discrete cover member, particularly for a cinch type of tongue assembly having a slidable cinch member on a tongue plate body and having an anti-rattle construction. The tongue plate assembly with the distinct, discrete cover member may improve the manufacturing cost efficiencies for the anti-rattle construction. 
   SUMMARY 
   In accordance with a disclosed embodiment, an anti-rattle tongue plate assembly is provided that may include a cover member which is a component distinct from the plate body and which has a soft material at predetermined locations on the cover body to reduce noise. That is, the softer material on the distinct cover member endeavors to minimize noise when the tongue plate assembly engages against interior components of the vehicle such as during rough ride conditions. The cover member may be made into a distinct component to be operably connected to the tongue plate body. 
   The cover member may be a seat belt cinching member of hard material, such as a hard plastic, having soft plastic or other anti-rattling material thereon to reduce noise. The cinching cover member may be slidably mounted on the tongue plate and may be provided with soft material at predetermined locations to reduce noise due to the impacts with portions of the vehicle. 
   In one of the embodiments illustrated herein, the slidable cinch member extends about all four sides of the tongue plate and the outer side edges of the slidable member are provided with the anti-rattle material. The rear side of the slidable cinch member may also be provided with an anti-rattle, soft material. The anti-rattle material may be a continuous piece of soft molded plastic having a central strip extending across the rear side of the cinch member and having end portions which are joined at opposite ends of the strip and which extend laterally along the respective side edges of the cinch member. The soft material may substantially cover the entire lateral side of the cinch member. In one embodiment, the soft material may also be extended to cover the four corners of the slidable, cinch member. 
   In accordance with an embodiment, an anti-rattle cinch tongue plate assembly is provided, which has a cinch cover plate or member which is slidably mounted on the plate body and has a slot through which the seat belt passes. The cinch cover member may be cinched against the plate body and may be provided with a soft material that is bonded and mechanically joined to the cover member. In an embodiment, the cover member may be a hard material, such as a first plastic, and the soft material may be another plastic material which is over molded onto the hard material and may have interfacing portions mechanically retaining the soft material on the cover member. The outer edge of the cinchable cover member may be provided with a mechanical groove in which a soft cover member is positioned for reducing the noise when the cover member comes into engagement with a hard plastic material side trim of the vehicle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, appended claims, and the accompanying exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, which are briefly described below. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a tongue plate assembly showing a cover member such as a moveable cinch member having soft material portions thereon for noise reduction. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the tongue plate assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view of the cinch tongue plate assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the cinch tongue plate assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged, perspective view of the cover member showing a hard cinch member having a soft material mounted thereon and which is both bonded and mechanically joined to the hard cinch member. 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  are partially broken away views of the cinch cover member shown in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 8  is a side elevational view of the cinch member shown in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 9  is an elevational view of a passenger compartment of a vehicle showing an example of a seat belt system which uses the tongue plate assembly. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   A tongue plate assembly  10  is shown in the drawings. The tongue plate assembly  10  may have a tongue plate body  12  which is usually formed of a piece of hard metal and which is formed with a wide portion  14  having a slot  15  for receiving a seat belt  16  which passes through the slot. The plate body  12  may also be provided with a narrow latching portion  18  formed with the slot or opening  20  for being latched to a buckle  32 . A hard plastic cover member  22 , which is a distinct component from the plate or tongue body  12 , is made of a hard material such as plastic material and is mounted on the wide portion  14  of the plate body  12 . The hard material for the cinch cover member is usually a plastic material, such as nylon or acetyl material. 
   The cover member  22  may also be a cinch member that is slidably mounted on the plate body  12  in such a manner that the entire tongue plate assembly  10  is free-falling in the sense that it may be pulled and slid downwardly by the user when buckling up in a three point suspension as shown in  FIG. 9 . The tongue plate assembly  10  freely slides along the belt webbing  16  until stopped at a stop (not shown) on the webbing to position the tongue plate in an elevated stowed position as best seen in  FIG. 9 . In this three point system, there is a lower anchor  23  for the belt webbing and an upper anchor  24  which may include a guide loop for redirecting the seat belt from the retractor down towards the lower anchor  23 . These anchors  23  and  24  are generally positioned along an outboard side  26  of a vehicle seat  28  with which the seat belt carrying the tongue plate assembly  10  is to be used. At the inboard side  30  of the seat, a buckle  32  is anchored at the location  34  of the vehicle and is configured for receiving and releasably locking the tongue plate assembly  10  in a conventional manner. Manifestly, the tongue plate may be of various shapes and used with a wide variety of anchoring arrangements which may differ from those shown in  FIG. 9 . The tongue plate is particularly useful where the webbing tends to twist the tongue plate assembly  10  so that an edge thereof is positioned in its stowed position so as to engage a piece of the side trim of the vehicle against which it may contact and to make noise particularly when traveling over rough road conditions. Thus, there is a need for cushioning the material that is associated with the tongue plate assembly  10  so as to reduce the noise. 
   In order to engage the tongue assembly  10  in a locking engagement with the seat belt buckle  32 , the occupant of the seat grasps the tongue assembly  10  and pulls the assembly  10  downwardly in a lateral direction across the shoulder and lap of the occupant until the tongue is brought into a latching engagement with the buckle  32 . During this downward pull, sufficient webbing  16  is pulled out to define the lap engaging band or portion  42  and a shoulder engaging band or portion  44  about the occupant. The user may grasp the sides  54  of the cover member  22  when pulling the seat belt downwardly to buckle up, and the webbing  16  freely slides past the cinch cover member  22  which is in a non-cinching position during this bucking operation. When the tongue plate assembly  10  engages with the buckle  32 , the pull of the retractor (not shown) exerts an upwards force on the shoulder belt  44  pulling the cover member  22  upwardly and outwardly toward the turning loop. Thus, the cover member  22  is carried such that the cinching surface  22   a  on the cinch cover member  22  engages and pushes the belt into a snubbing engagement with a liner surface  21   a  on the stationary liner  21  on the stationary tongue plate  12 . More specifically, the shoulder belt portion  44  comes across the top side of the tongue plate assembly  10  across the upper side of the liner  21 , past the cinching surface  22   a  on the cinch bar or member  22   b  and through the slot  15  in the tongue plate body  12 , and across a lower pull bar  22   c  on the cinch cover member  22  to the lap belt portion  42 . The upward and outboard pull on the lower pull bar  22   c  of the cinch cover member  22  by the shoulder belt portion  44  forces the cinch surface  22   a  on the top plate  22   b  of the cinch cover member  22  to also slide upwardly to cinch and push the top side of the belt and force the lower side of the belt against the cinching surface  21   a  on the liner  21 . Thus, the pull of the upper shoulder belt slides the cover member  22  to slide along the plate body  12  into the snubbing position and to shift the cinching surface  22   a  towards the fixed, stationary cinching surface  21   a  on the liner  21  so that the belt is cinched or gripped between the cinching surface  22   a  and  21   a . In this cinching position, the belt is gripped so that there is less likelihood of a belt transfer between the shoulder portion and the lap portion when the buckle is engaged and cinched. This arrangement is in contrast to the tongue plate disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,519 where there is no slidable cinch member and no cinching of the belt. 
   In one embodiment, the tongue plate assembly  10  is formed to be of an anti-rattle construction by having the cover member  22  being formed of a hard material, which is a discrete or distinct slidable component which shifts relative to the tongue plate body  12 . The cover member  22  may have softer material  50  at predetermined locations on the slidable cover member  22  to reduce noise due to impacts with portions of the vehicle body. 
   The cinch cover member  22  may include at least one locking groove, and the soft material is over molded on the cover member  22  and into the locking groove for binding and mechanically retaining the soft material on the cover member. The cover member  22  may have soft material covering the lateral sides  54  of the cover member  22 , as seen in  FIG. 5 , to provide noise cushions for the side edges of the tongue plate assembly  10 , particularly if the belt becomes twisted and these side edges are shifted due to the vibrations caused by movements of the tongue assembly  10  relative to the vehicle due to impacts on the vehicle. 
   In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , the cover member  22  has its lower pull bar  22   c , which extends laterally across the underside of the cover member, with soft material  50  thereon as does the side edges  54  of the slidable cover member. The corners of the cover member may also have soft material thereon for anti-rattling purposes. 
   In the method of forming the anti-rattle tongue plate assembly, the tongue plate body  12  is formed and the hard insert liner  21  is attached thereto. The cover cinch member  22  that slides on the tongue plate body  12  is formed as a distinct plastic molded part of hard material and the soft material  50  is molded and mechanically secured to the slidable cinch cover member  22  which is then mounted onto the tongue plate body  12  with the cover member  22  in which the soft material  50  may be positioned to prevent rattling when the assembly is installed in the vehicle. In this embodiment, the cover member  22  may be formed by molding the hard plastic material and then the cover member  22  is placed in an insert mold and the soft material  50  is over molded onto the molded cover member  22 . Thereafter, the slidable cinch cover member  22  with the soft material  50  thereon is assembled onto the tongue plate body  12  to complete the tongue plate assembly. 
   The soft member  50  may include a center strip  50   b  on the exterior side lower pull bar  22   c  which extends across the underside of the cinch cover member  22  and which faces outwardly for engagement with the vehicle side trim or the like. This center strip  50   b  may be provided to reduce noise because the soft material  50  may engage the side trim of the vehicle rather than the hard material. The side strips or areas  50   a  of the soft material may be joined integrally at and to the opposite ends of the central strip  50   b  of the soft material and are adapted to substantially encompass the entire hard material side edges  54  of the slidable cinch cover member  22 . This arrangement provides a soft material surface for the cinch cover member  22  such that the side edges substantially dampen noise if the buckle becomes twisted and if the side edges are brought into engagement with the trim. The corners of the slidable cinch cover member  22  may also be provided with soft material  50   c  for noise reduction. 
   The soft material  50  may be interlocked by a mechanical locking groove with the hard material of the cinch cover member  22 . For this purpose, the cross-section through the central strip  50   b  of the soft material, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , is provided with a lower, rectangular bar-shaped portion  60  with an upwardly narrower central portion  61  projecting above the lower rectangular portion  60 . The lower rectangular portion  60  is wider than the upper portion  61  and extends between side edges  62  and  62   a  that form a channel in the hard material extended across the entire width of the pull bar  22   c  of the cinch cover member  22 . The upper projecting portion  61  may have a rounded or arcuately curved surface  63  which extends above the respective hard material top side surfaces  64  and  64   a  of the pull bar  22   c . Thus, the rounded surface  63  may be positioned and elevated so as to engage the side trims and prevent rattling rather than having the hard surfaces  64  and  64   a  of the pull bar  22   c  being engaged with the side trims and rattling. 
   The mechanical interlock may be provided between the soft material  50  and the hard material at the sides  54  of the cinch cover member  22  as may be best be understood from  FIG. 5 . The soft material  50   a  is wrapped completely around and covers substantially all of the side  54  of the hard plastic cinch cover member  22  and is provided with an outer rounded surface  66 , which is positioned to engage the side trim of the vehicle to provide noise protection. The rounded ends or corner portions  50   c  of the soft material may be located at the corners  67  as seen in  FIGS. 5 ,  6 , and  8  so that the corners  67  of the soft material are also positioned to engage any side trim to prevent rattling. 
   Turning now to the interlock construction shown in  FIG. 5  between the side of soft material  50   a  and the hard material sides  54  for the cinch cover member  22 , the hard material is formed with an interlock groove  70  which extends downwardly between an inner, longer vertical side wall  70   a  and an outer side wall  70   b  and with a lower bottom wall  70   c . Soft material fills the groove  70  and extends upwardly with a projection  72  of the soft material being positioned in the interlock groove  70  and abutting the respective groove walls  70   a ,  70   b , and  70   c  with the soft material being over molded therein. An encircling groove or slot  74  may be extended about the entire inner portion of the portion  72  of the soft material, as best seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , and across the center strip  50   b  ( FIG. 7 ). An outer rounded surface  66  of the soft material extends around a similar rounded internal portion of the sidewall position  54  of the hard material of the cinch cover member  22 . There may be provided a bottom lip  76  on the soft material which is positioned and engaged with the bottom side of the lateral side edge  54   a  of the hard material for the cinch cover member ends  54 . The projection  72  of the soft material and the bottom lip  76  are also positioned offset in a lateral direction relative to one another and provide a good mechanical grip or interlock with the sides of the hard plastic member. Manifestly, other interlocking configurations or other ways of attaching the soft material  50  to the slidable cinch cover member  22  may be used and may be considered further embodiments. 
   As best seen in  FIG. 6 , the soft material  50  may only cover the forward corners  67 , but also may extend rearwardly across the entire side edge of the cinch cover member  22  back to a rear or lower corner  67   a , as shown in  FIG. 6 , and may be mechanically interlocked therewith as shown in some of the other views. Thus, the entire sides of the cover member  22  may be covered with the soft material  50 . The soft material  50  on the side edges also may provide a good gripping surface for the user to grasp the slidable cinch cover member  22  and to pull the assembly  10  downwardly when pulling the entire tongue plate assembly  10  down toward the opposite hip to latch the tongue plate assembly  10  to the buckle assembly as best understood from  FIG. 9 . The downward movement, of course, moves the respective snubbing or cinching surfaces  21   a  and  22   a  away from one another within the tongue plate assembly  10  so that the assembly slides quite freely on the belt  16  until the buckle  32  and tongue plate assembly  10  are latched together whereupon the user releases the grip on the slidable cinch cover member  22  and the retractor spring acting on the shoulder belt pulls the lower cinch bar  22   c  upwardly to move the entire slidable cinch cover member  22  upwardly causing the cinch surface  22   a  on the cinch bar or plate  22   b  to push the belt against the other cinching surface  21   a  on the liner  21  which engages the rear or the opposite side of the seat belt. Thus, there is less tendency of the seat belt to slide between the lap portion  42  and the shoulder portion  44  because of this cinching engagement. 
   Referring now in greater detail to the liner  21  which is shown in  FIG. 1 , the liner  21  may be an integral hard molded piece of plastic which may be molded as a separate, distinct piece or component and then assembled onto the tongue plate and interlocked thereon, as will be explained hereinafter. The liner  21  may have a flat panel  90  extending along one side of the tongue plate body  12  and on this flat panel  90  there is an upwardly projecting, thin rim  92  that is sized and spaced to fit upwardly in the tongue plate opening  15 . The rim  92  may extend about substantially the entire periphery of the belt receiving slot  15  in the tongue plate body  12 . The liner  21  may be a thickened rear portion  93  which extends parallel to and defines a channel  95  with the lower panel  90  in which an upper side wall  15   a  of the slot  15  in the metal tongue plate body  12  will be inserted. For the purpose of interlocking the molded liner  21  with the tongue plate body  12 , the liner  21  is provided with a pair of upwardly hollow, cylindrical projections or nibs  96  in the front lip  90   a  of the panel  90  for insertion into a pair of holes  99  located in the metal tongue plate body  12  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   The liner  21  may be applied to the tongue plate body  12  by slightly deforming the liner  21  and sliding along the tongue plate body  12  to position the channel  95  for insertion of the rear wall  15   a  of the tongue plate body  12  into the channel  95 . Then, the upstanding rim  92  is inserted into the slot  15  in the tongue plate body  12  and then the nibs  96  are snapped into the holes  99  of the tongue plate body  12 . 
   Turning now to the slidable cinch cover member  22 , it may be formed with a hard plastic material in a one piece construction and may be provided with an upwardly extending protrusion  104  that prevents the slidable cinch cover member from sliding off the tongue plate body. The slidable cinch cover member is slidably mounted onto the liner  21  and onto the tongue plate body  12  with a flexing of the pull bar  22   c  and a sliding of the protrusion  104  which projects upwardly from the cinch bar  22   b  into the slot  105  in the upstanding rim  92  on the liner insert  21 . This configuration assists in guiding the slide for straight travel which is also guided by the inturned side edges of the sides of the slide as will be described hereinafter. 
   As best seen in  FIGS. 5-7 , the slide protrusion  104  has a slanted or camming surface  104   a  on the upper edge thereof which cams the cinch cover member  22  away from the tongue plate body  12  when the protrusion is being installed on the tongue plate body  12 . The forward vertical stop surface  104   b  at the other end of the protrusion  104  is a stop surface which will engage the metal tongue plate body  12  at the location of a notch  110  ( FIG. 1 ) at the downward edge  111  of the slot opening  15  in the tongue plate body  12 . After installation, as the slidable cover member  22  is pulled downwardly relative to the tongue plate body  12 , the stop  104   b  of the protrusion  104  will move to abut the tongue plate body  12  at the notch  110  and thereby prevent the cinch cover member  22  from sliding off and separating from the tongue plate body  12 . The cinch surfaces will abut to prevent the sliding of the cover member  22  off the tongue plate body  12  until a belt is installed between them. 
   The cinch cover member  22  is guided for sliding on the tongue plate body  12  by grooves  112  and  114  on the opposite sides of the cinch cover member. A leaf spring  116 , as best seen in  FIG. 1 , is positioned in an opening or receiving slot  118  on one side of the tongue plate body  12  in a position to bias and provide friction so that the cinch cover member  22  does not freely move relative to the tongue plate body  12  so as to cause noise and to assist in the smooth sliding movement of the slidable cinch cover member  22  on the tongue plate body  12 . 
   The hard and soft materials may be moldable materials. The hard material may be a plastic material such as nylon or acetyl material. The soft material may be a cushioning material such as an elastomeric, vinyl material, or rubberized material. Manifestly, other materials may be used for the anti-rattle tongue plates described herein. 
   While there have been illustrated and described particular embodiments of the present invention, it would be appreciated that numerous changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all those changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.