Patent ID: 7370393

Claim:
A seat belt buckle for use with a tongue of a seat belt, the seat belt buckle comprising: a frame portion; a latch being movably mounted to said frame portion for movement between a first position and a second position, said latch being configured to engage a portion of the tongue as said latch moves from said first position to said second position; a release bar being slidably mounted to said frame portion for movement between a locking position wherein the release bar engages the latch to maintain the latch in the second position, and a release position, wherein movement toward said release position causes an opening force to be applied to said latch in order to move said latch from said second position towards said first position, wherein movement of said release bar is effectuated by depression of a release button of said seat belt buckle; and an inertia locking device rotatably mounted to said frame portion for movement between a locking position and an unlocking position, said inertia locking device being configured for rotation in a plane substantially parallel to a point of securement of said inertia locking device to said frame, wherein said inertia locking device directly engages the release bar to prevent movement of said release bar into said release position when said inertia locking device is in said locking position, said inertia locking device being biased into said unlocking position by a biasing force and said inertia locking device rotates into said locking position when said seat belt buckle is subjected to a force that creates a moment in said locking device that is greater than said biasing force, wherein said inertia locking device further comprises a feature for engaging said frame to limit rotation of the inertia locking device into said locking position.