Patent ID: 7229135

Claim:
A seat belt buckle assembly for a motor vehicle for attachment to a seat belt latch plate, comprising: a mounting bracket having a mounting aperture for receiving a fastener for affixing the mounting bracket to the vehicle, a buckle strap having a buckle affixed thereto for fastening to the latch plate, the buckle strap being pivotably connected to the mounting bracket between a full range of pivoted positions, a torsional biasing spring acting on the buckle strap, the buckle strap being rotatable against the torsional biasing of the spring within the range of pivoted positions, and a releasable retainer means for maintaining the buckle strap in a mounting position having less than the full range of pivoted positions enabling access to the mounting aperture, the retainer means being attached between the mounting bracket and the buckle strap to resist the torsional biasing of the spring and being releasable to enable the buckle strap to be moved to positions in the full range of pivoted positions.