Bifurcated shoulder and lap continuous safety harness

• US 3,888,509 A
• Filed: 11/01/1972
• Issued: 06/10/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Incorporated (Zeppelin - Stiftung der Stadt Friedrichshafen)
• Original Assignee: Ronald Albert Willey
• Inventors: Willey, Ronald Albert
• Primary Examiner(s): Song, Robert R.
• Application Number:
  US05/302,791
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• Field of Search: 280/15SB 297/389
• US Class Current: 297/479
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/02 Semi-passive restraint systems, e.g. systems applied or removed automatically but not both ; Manual restraint systems knee, leg or head belts B60R22/001; devices for releasing in an emergency, remote or automatic unbuckling devices B60R22/32

Abstract

A safety harness for automobile drivers and passengers in which a continuous single piece of webbing or belting provides a lap belt support and a shoulder harness extending bifurcation-like loops over the shoulders of the user. The belt or webbing is secured to an inertial type or a locker type retractor so that the belting is adjustably extendable and retractable automatically adjusting to various sizes of users. From the retractor the belt extends upwardly over one shoulder and toward the head of the driver and over a slide bar in the roof of the vehicle behind the head of the user, driver or passenger. Then the belting extends downwardly over the other shoulder of the driver or passenger and to a transition ring and tongue slidable on the lower run and intermediate a fixed connection on the floor of the vehicle adjacent the inboard side of the user, driver or passenger. The ring and tongue element can be stowed on the dash at a convenient hook point or at the ceiling adjacent the sun visor above the windshield when not in use. After the passenger or driver has seated himself with his inboard arm under the inboard loop of belting he can then plug the tongue piece into a buckle receptacle adjacent the outboard side of his seat and midway of his body and this brings the outboard shoulder loop into position over the outboard arm of the driver or passenger and the lap belt is suitably positioned across the lap of the wearer. The only action required was the plug-in of the ring-tongue and its stored location is dangling before the user but does not obstruct entry. A switch or relay in the receptacle integrates the system into a seat belt monitoring override or warning provided in the wiring harness or ignition of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A safety harness for occupants of vehicles comprising:

a floor anchor;

a single length of webbing secured at one end to a retractor and partially extendable and retractable therefrom and thereinto and at the other end said webbing secured to said floor anchor;

an anchor bar above and behind the head of a wearer;

a portion of said webbing intermediate the ends thereof trained to extend upwardly to a slip position on said anchor bar and thence downwardly to form sHoulder support loops;

a lap portion extending from said loops and in continuation of said webbing and secured terminally to said floor anchor;

a ring-tongue having tongue portion and a ring portion freely slidable on said webbing intermediate said shoulder support loops and said lap belt portions; and

a receptacle secured to the floor of a vehicle into which the tongue portion of said ring-tongue is lockably and selectively releasable.

2. A safety harness in accord with claim 1 wherein a hanger element is provided remote from said receptacle and above the elevation of said floor anchor and below the elevation of said anchor bar and on which said ring-tongue is secured when said ring-tongue is not secured in said receptacle.

3. A one piece webbing combination of lap belt and shoulder safety harness for roofed vehicles comprising:

a seat belt retractor;

seat belt webbing at one end retractably and lockably secured to said retractor;

a course of webbing from said retractor running upward and over one shoulder of a wearer;

a slide bar secured above and rearwardly of the head of a wearer to the roof of said vehicle and said webbing extends over said bar;

an extension of said webbing running down from said slide bar and over the other shoulder of said wearer;

a sliding tongue element having a tongue portion and ring portion, said ring portion slidably on said webbing;

a lap belt portion of said webbing extending over the lap of a wearer from said sliding tongue;

a receptacle into which said tongue portion of said sliding tongue is selectively and lockably and removably inserted; and

a floor anchor secured to the other end of said webbing below and adjacent the lap of said wearer.

4. A continuous safety harness structure providing shoulder and lap restraint for users in automotive vehicles and the like comprising:

a single length of webbing providing, in continuous variable length, a pair of shoulder support loop portions and a lap belt portion;

means lockably and partially extending and retracting said webbing at one end;

a slip anchor bar above and behind the head of a user over which said webbing is trained to form said pair of shoulder support loops;

a slip ring and lock tongue element having a slip ring portion and a lock tongue portion slidably on said webbing intermediate one of said shoulder support loop portions and said lap belt portion of said webbing;

a lock receptacle secured to the floor of said vehicle and adjacent said user into which said lock tongue portion of said slip ring and lock tongue element is releasably inserted; and

a floor anchor secured to the terminal end of said webbing after said lap belt portion.

5. A safety harness for users of vehicles such as automobiles comprising:

a seat in a vehicle;

a pair of floor anchors adjacent to each other and adjacent said seat, one of said anchors including lockable extension and retraction means;

a slip bar anchor above and behind the head of a user seated in said seat;

a lock receptacle secured adjacent said seat on the side of said seat opposite said floor anchors;

a continuous single piece of webbing secured at its ends to said floor anchors and one course rising from one of said anchors over one shoulder of a user in said seat, over said slip bar, down over the other shoulder of a user in said seat and thence to one of said anchors; and

a slip ring and tongue piece having a slip ring portion and a tongue portion slidable on said webbing between said last mentioned end of said webbing and said slip bar anchor whereby upon insertion in said receptacle, a lap belt portion is formed and uniform tension is applied throughout the length of said webbing.