Patent ID: 7182370

Claim:
A height adjuster ( 100 , 200 , 400 ) for a seat belt system comprising: a mounting bar ( 102 , 202 , 402 ) adapted to be mounted to a portion of a vehicle or seat, the mounting bar having at least one side wall; a carrier ( 120 , 220 , 460 , 460 a ) slidably mounted to the bar and movable along the bar to various positions, the carrier being generally U-shaped in cross-section and having a top and bottom wall and a center or front wall, the top and bottom wall each including a first opening through which the mounting bar extends; a spring loaded, locking lever ( 170 , 270 , 490 ) movable from a locked position to a free position, the locking lever including a base end operatively cooperating with a portion of the carrier, the locking lever including an activation arm with a lock opening extending through the activation arm, the lock opening configured to receive the mounting bar, the locking lever including a first lock edge formed on a corner of the locking lever at the lock opening, the lock edge engagable with the mounting bar when the locking lever is in the locked position; the locking lever being biased to the locked position by a bias spring, and when the locking lever is in the free position the first lock edge is disengaged from the mounting bar; and a friction coupling operatively linked to the carrier, the bar, and to the locking lever, configured to move the locking lever to its free position, to substantially decouple the locking lever from the bar, when the carrier is moved upward relative to the bar without need of manual intervention to move the locking lever to its free position.