Patent ID: 7658443

Claim:
A variable buckle guide for attaching an inboard buckle to a seat, the seat being mounted on a pair of rails and being generally vertically movable relative thereto, wherein the variable buckle guide is mounted to at least one of said rails and is immovable relative thereto, the variable buckle guide further comprising: an upright portion extending upwardly along a side of the seat that is fixed to an adjacent rail and that has a slot formed therein; a fastener that is fixed at one end to a side of the seat, passes through the slot, and is fixed at the other end to the inboard buckle, whereby the inboard buckle moves with the seat and the fastener moves within the slot in the upright portion when the seat is moved up and down relative to the pair of rails, and whereby occupant loads on the inboard buckle in a crash event are transferred to the adjacent rail by the variable buckle guide from mechanical engagement caused by force from the occupant loads.