Patent Publication Number: US-2009224595-A1

Title: Seat belt extension device

Description:
CLAIM OF BENEFIT OF FILING DATE 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/035,137 titled: “Seat Belt Extension Device” filed on Mar. 10, 2008. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of seat belts, more specifically to a resilient seat belt extension device that extends the location of the connection of a female receptacle and a male buckle of a conventional seat belt system towards center of the user&#39;s body. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional seat belt systems generally place the seat belt buckle very close to the seat surface. This design creates accessibility problems as the seat belt buckle is often hard to locate. This is especially true for large individuals, individuals with dexterity problems, and law enforcement officers whom need to get in and out of the car in an expedited manner. These accessibility problems also are present for users of child safety seats and individuals sitting side by side of each other. 
     The conventional seat belt systems also present another problem for law enforcement officers in that the soft and flexible seat belt often tangles up with their gun, making it difficult for the officers to disengage from the seat belt. Hence, it is common for law enforcement officers to not wear a seat belt. This tangling problem also exists for individuals carrying other objects (e.g., cell phone, Blackberry®, personal digital assistant (“PDA”), etc.). 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a resilient seat belt extension device that solves the above-described problems associated with conventional seat belt systems. The device includes a female receptacle, a male buckle, and a resilient connector fixedly attached to the female receptacle on one end and the male buckle on another end, wherein (i) the female receptacle is adapted to engage a seat belt system&#39;s male buckle; (ii) the male buckle adapted to engage the seat belt system&#39;s female receptacle; and (iii) the connector is formed by the following steps: (a) attaching ends of an elongated material together forming the connector with two layers of elongated material; (b) placing a non-liquid compound between the two layers of elongated material wherein the compound is adapted to provide resiliency to the connector; (c) attaching the two layers of elongated material together; (d) curing the compound at a predetermined temperature. It is preferred that the female receptacle and the male buckle are adapted to be attached to the connector by looping the elongated material through each of them before the ends of the elongated material are attached together. 
     The connector provides the device with the following resilient characteristics: The device, when engaged to the seat belt system&#39;s female receptacle but not engaged with the seat belt system&#39;s male buckle, has sufficient stiffness that it would not fall onto the seat and/or floor; but instead, it would be in a relatively erect position. The device, when engaged both to the seat belt system&#39;s male buckle and female receptacle, has sufficient compliance that it would bend and form around a user&#39;s body. Once the device is disengaged from the seat belt system&#39;s male buckle but is still connected to the seat belt system&#39;s female receptacle, the device recovers its relatively erect position allowing it to be easily located when needed. 
     The present invention also presents a method of making the above-described device comprising: (i) providing a female receptacle adapted to engage a seat belt system&#39;s male buckle; (ii) providing a male buckle adapted to engage the seat belt system&#39;s female receptacle; (iii) providing an elongated material; (iv) looping the elongated material through an opening of the female receptacle; (v) looping the elongated material through an opening of the male buckle; (vi) attaching ends of the elongated material together forming the connector having two layers of elongated material; (vii) fixedly attaching the female receptacle at one end of the connector and the male buckle at another end of the connector; (viii) placing a non-liquid compound between the layers of elongated material wherein the compound is adapted to provide resiliency to the connector; (ix) attaching the two layers of elongated material together; and (x) curing the compound at a predetermined temperature. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The features and inventive aspects of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description, claims, and drawings, of which the following is a brief description: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an isometric rendering of an embodiment of a device in accordance to the principles of the present invention and how it connects to a conventional three-point seat belt system being used by a passenger seating in a seat within a vehicle; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an isometric rendering of a more detailed view of the device shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a cross section view of a portion of the connector of the device shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     I. Definitions 
     The following term is intended to have the following general meanings as it is used herein. 
     1. Non-liquid: a compound does is not in a liquid state. For example, the compound can be in the form of gel, putty, paste, or the like. 
     2. Resilient and/or Resiliency: a quality that allows a device of the present invention to have the following characteristics. When the device is engaged to a seat belt system&#39;s female receptacle but not engaged with the seat belt system&#39;s male buckle, the device has sufficient stiffness that it would not fall onto the seat and/or floor; but instead, it would be in a relatively erect position. When the device is engaged both to the seat belt system&#39;s male buckle and female receptacle, the device has sufficient compliance that it would bend and form around a user&#39;s body (or an object such as a child safety seat). Once the device is disengaged from the seat belt system&#39;s male buckle but it is still connected to the seat belt system&#39;s female receptacle, the device recovers its relatively erect position allowing it to be easily located when needed. 
     II. Resilient Seat Belt Extension Device 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , the resilient seat belt extension device  10  of the present invention includes a female receptacle  15  and a male buckle  17 , and a resilient connector  16  having one end attached to the female receptacle  15  and another end attached to the male buckle  17 , wherein the female receptacle is adapted to engage a seat belt system&#39;s male buckle  23  and the male buckle  17  is adapted to engage the seat belt system&#39;s female receptacle  21 . The female receptacle  15  and the male bucket  17  can be any suitable art-disclosed female receptacles and male buckets used for conventional seat belt systems. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the device  10  relocates the connection point of the seat belt system to a more central position for a user  29  (e.g., an occupant of a seat  30 ). When the device  10  is fully engaged with the seat belt system, the seat belt system&#39;s shoulder strap  31  and belt strap  32  are adjusted. It should be noted that the device  10  can be used with a variety of seat belt systems, including but not limited to a conventional three-point seat belt system (i.e., shoulder and belt straps), a conventional two-point seat belt system (i.e., belt strap), etc. The device  10  can also be used not just for an individual (not shown) sitting in the seat  30  but also for holding a child safety seat (not shown) onto the seat  30 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a more detailed view of the device  10 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the connector  16  is formed by attaching both ends of an elongated material  12  together forming two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) of elongated material  12 . This attachment can be achieved by any suitable art-disclosed means, including but not limited to, conventional seat belt stitching  13 . The elongated material  12  can be constructed out of any art-disclosed suitable material used in the construction of conventional seat belts. For example, durable synthetic woven fabric can be used. 
     It is preferred that prior to attaching both ends of the elongated material  12  together, the elongated material  12  is attached to the female receptacle  15  and the male bucket  17  by looping the elongated material  12  through each of them ( 15 ,  17 ). The looping of the elongated material  12  through the female receptacle  15  is shown in  FIG. 3 . After the looping step, the female receptacle  15  and the male bucket  17  are fixedly attached to the elongated material  12  by art-disclosed attachment means. For example and as shown in  FIG. 2 , conventional seat belt stitching  14  is used to fixedly attach the female receptacle  15  to the elongated material  12 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the connector  16  is further formed by placing a non-liquid compound  22  between the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) of elongated material  12 . The compound  22  is adapted to provide resiliency to the connector  16 . The non-liquid compound  22  is placed in the areas between the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) that are accessible (e.g., areas that not stitched up or the like). The compound  22  is placed preferably in at least 50%, more preferably in at least 70%, most preferably in at least 80% of the accessible areas between the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ). The compound  22  can be any suitable art-disclosed polyurethane, synthetic rubber compound, and a combination thereof in a non-liquid form. For example, Part No. PR1592, a polyurethane high hardness potting and molding compound manufactured by PRC DeSoto International, Inc. located in Glendale, Calif., USA, can be used as the compound  22 . It should be noted that the compound  22  can be a mixture of suitable art-disclosed chemical components, wherein some of these components may be in liquid form, but the resulting compound  22  should be in a non-liquid form before the compound  22  is placed between the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ). 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , after the compound has been placed between the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) of elongated material  12 , stitching  24  is then applied to the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ). The stitching  24  is not limited to the pattern shown in  FIG. 2  and any suitable art-disclosed stitching pattern can be used. For example, the stitching  24  can be similar to the stitching  13  or the stitching  14  shown in  FIG. 2 , a simple “X” stitching pattern, a square, a stitching pattern, a rectangular stitching pattern, an oval stitching pattern, a circle stitching pattern, or a combination thereof, etc. The compound  22  contained within the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) of the elongated material is then cured at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined amount of time. The predetermined temperature and predetermined amount of time in part depends on the compound  22 . It is preferred that the predetermined temperature does not cause damage (e.g., physical damage or the like) to the elongated material  12 . The cured compound  22  provides resiliency to the connector  16 . 
     The total length and width of the device  10  can be any length and width suitable for the desired application. For example, the length can be from about 4″ to about 24″, from about 8.5″ to about 15″, and from about 9″ to about 12″. For example, the width can be from about 1.5″ to 3″, from about 1.75″ to about 2.75″, from 1.875″ to about 2.5″. It is generally preferred that the total length of the device be greater than about 8″. 
     A sleeve (not shown) can optionally be placed onto the connector  16  for additional support and/or for decorative purposes. The sleeve can be made to be either removable or not removable from the device  10 . The sleeve can be constructed out of any art-disclosed suitable material. For example, in one embodiment, the sleeve has a width ranging from about 2″ to about 2.5″ and is constructed out of irradiated polyolefin (e.g., Part No. M23053/5, heat shrink tubing manufactured by Raychem located in Menlo Park, Calif., USA). The length of the sleeve depends upon the length of the connector  16  as it preferably shorter than the length of the connector  16 . The sleeve is placed over the connector  16 . Thereafter, heat is then applied to the sleeve to shrink it down for a snug fit around the connector  16 . 
     Additional label and/or tag can optionally be attached onto the connector  16  for informational purposes via suitable art-disclosed means (e.g., stitching, adhesive, or the like). 
     III. Method of Making the Resilient Seat Belt Extension Device 
     The present invention presents a method of making the above-described device comprising providing the female receptacle  15  adapted to engage a seat belt system&#39;s male buckle  23  and a male buckle  17  adapted to engage the seat belt system&#39;s female receptacle  21 . The method also includes providing the elongated material  12  and looping the elongated material  12  through (i) an opening of the female receptacle  15  and (ii) an opening of the male bucket  17 . The method further includes attaching ends of the elongated material  12  together to form the connector  16  having two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) of the elongated material  12 . The method also includes fixedly attaching the female receptacle  15  to one end of the connector  16  and fixedly attaching the male buckle  17  to another end of the connector  16 . It is preferred that stitching is used for such fixedly attachments. 
     The method further includes placing a compound  22  between the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) of the elongated material  12  wherein the compound  22  is adapted to provide resiliency to the connector  16 . After the compound  22  is placed between the two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) of the elongated material  12 , the method includes attaching these two layers ( 18 ,  20 ) together via suitable art-disclosed attachment means such as stitching. The method also includes curing the compound  22  at a predetermined temperature until it can provide resiliency for the connector  16 . 
     The present invention is not being limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, various modifications of the invention in addition to those described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description and the accompanying figures. Such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. 
     It is further to be understood that all numerical values are approximate and are provided for description only. 
     The following examples provided in accordance to the present invention are for illustrative purpose only and are not intended as being exhaustive or limiting of the invention. 
     EXAMPLE I 
     An embodiment of the device of the present invention was made in accordance to the following: 
     A standard Ford® seat belt extender consisting of a connector having two layers of synthetic woven fabric material and is connected to a female receptacle and a male buckle (“items”) is provided. The total length of the extender is about 9.5″ and the width is about 1.875″. The connection between the connector and the items are formed by (i) looping the material through an opening of each of the items, (ii) stitching two ends of the material together to form the connector&#39;s two layers of material; and (iii) stitching the connector at locations near where the items are located thereby fixed in their attachment to the connector. 
     A polyurethane compound bearing Part No. PR1592 manufactured by PRC Desoto International, Inc. located in located in Glendale, Calif., USA is placed in the accessible areas between the two layers of material. Stitching is then applied to the two layers of material. The compound is cured at room temperature for about 8 hours. Upon completion of the curing process, the connector and the device has resiliency. 
     EXAMPLE II 
     Same as Example I above except that the compound is cured at a predetermined temperature range from about 100 degree Fahrenheit (about 38 degree Celsius) to about 125 degree Fahrenheit (about 52 degree Celsius) for a predetermined time from about 2 hours to about 4 hours.