Safety device

• US 3,888,540 A
• Filed: 10/17/1973
• Issued: 06/10/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Andreas Bauer, Dieter Protze
• Original Assignee: Andreas Bauer, Dieter Protze
• Inventors: Protze, Dieter, Bauer, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): McCall, James T.
• Application Number:
  US05/407,100
• Time in Patent Office: 601 Days
• Field of Search: 297/61,117,238,115,116,403,408,391,417,384 280/15B
• US Class Current: 297/486
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/757 in a recess of the back-rest
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/856 movable to an inoperative or stowed position

Abstract

A safety device for vehicles of the type having a head rest for three passengers seated next to each other. In order to minimize the impairment of view of the driver the head rest of the middle seat may be swung down together with an arm rest. This will not only increase the passenger'"'"''"'"'s comfort but prevent movement of the body in a lateral direction in case of an accident.

Claims

1. A safety device for an automotive vehicle having first and second passenger seats disposed along side each other, said second seat being provided with a head support extending above its back rest, said safety device comprising moving means for moving said head support from its head restraining position into a second position approximately at the height of the shoulder of a seated average adult passenger for laterally restraining the shoulder of said passenger seated in said first seat.

2. The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vehicle further comprises a third passenger seat disposed along side said second seat, said heat support being disposed to provide lateral restraining for the shoulder of another passenger in said third seat.

3. The safety device as defined in claim 2, wherein an arm rest is provided which is normally disposed sunk in the back rest of said second passenger seat, said arm rest being tiltable away from the back rest and having approximately the same width as said head support, said head support being movable into the space previously occupied by said tilted arm rest.

4. The safety device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising connecting means for connecting said arm rest and said head support to each other and operable to cause a simultaneous and joint swinging movement.

5. The safety device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said connecting means comprises a connecting rod having one end journalled to said arm rest and having its other end journalled to said head support.

6. The safety device as defined in claim 4, wherein the simultaneous swinging rotationary motion of said arm rest and said head support from their starting positions takes place in such a manner that at the beginning of the swinging motion large swinging angles of said arm rest are coordinated with small swinging angles of said head support.

7. The safety device as defined in claim 6, wherein the point of attack of said connecting rod to said arm rest in the initial position is substantially disposed vertically below the swinging axis of said arm rest.

8. The safety device as defined in claim 2, wherein said head support is provided with a frame which is arranged to absorb energy both in the longitudinal direction and in the transverse direction of the vehicle.

9. The safety device as defined in claim 3, wherein said arm rest is provided with a frame which is arranged for absorbing energy in a direction transverse to the vehicle.

10. The safety device as defined in claim 4, wherein said head support and said arm rest are interconnected by a hinge having at least two joints for the simultaneous rotation thereof.