Automobile seat automatic passenger-securing device

• US 3,899,042 A
• Filed: 04/29/1974
• Issued: 08/12/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: George D. Bonar
• Original Assignee: George D. Bonar
• Inventors: Bonar, George D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Betts, Kenneth H.
• Application Number:
  US05/464,791
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 280/15B 296/65A 297/216,384,385,390 180/82C
• US Class Current: 297/487
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/022 mounted on seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/02 Occupant safety arrangements or fittings , e.g. crash pads seat belts with crash pads B60R22/14; removable children's seats having a front guard or barrier B60N2/2839

Abstract

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided an automatic apparatus mounted on the side of the back of an automobile seat and serves as a substitute for here-to-fore known seat belts, the present device having a pivoted arm extending downwardly and from the lower end thereof having a second arm extending forewardly beside the seat, and there also preferably being another downwardly extending arm on the other opposite edge of the back of the seat for concurrent pivoting upwardly when the first arm pivots upwardly, the upwardly pivoting arm being actuatable to pivot upwardly when the passenger sits down upon a seat of the automobile by virtue of the person leaning back against the back of the seat to thereby press a fluid filled compactible enclosure thereby actuating a release mechanism for the automatic pivoting upwardly of the downwardly extending arms, and when the downwardly extending arm pivots upwardly, which has the second arm transversely thereto. When the first arm is pivoted upwardly the second arm is extending vertically and promptly thereafter pivots downwardly in front of the seated person and automatically slides backwardly along the first arm in order to press the rearward face of the back side edge of the downwardly pivoted second arm in its horizontal state against the stomach or chest of the seated person thereby pinning that person snuggly against the seat, with the rearwardly slipped second arm becoming automatically locked in its most rearward position until release thereof by the pressing of a release botton.

Claims

1. An automotiVe vehicle-seat passenger-securing device comprising in combination:

a mounting structure for pivotably mounting thereon an elongated arm;

first pivotable mounting means mounted on the mounting structure and providing for controlled intermittent pivoting to and fro on the mounting means, of an elongated arm means between withdrawn and extended locked states and positions;

said arm means including a first elongated arm means pivotably and controllably mounted by the mounting means on the mounting structure;

a second elongated arm means mounted at about a distal end of the first elongated arm means and pivotably along a plane substantially transverse and normal to an axial longitudinal axis of the first elongated arm means, the second elongated arm means including lock-release structure such that a distal end of the second elongated arm means is pivotable downwardly to a substantially horizontal state from an upright position whenever the first elongated arm means is positioned in an extended state and position extending substantially horizontally in a horizontal state.

2. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 1, and actuation means for sequentially unlocking the first and second elongated arm means from their respective retracted states and positions and for resetting the same in the retracted states and positions.

3. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 2, and the first pivotable mounting means including structure providing for first automatic pivotal extension of the first elongated arm means from the retracted to the extended horizontal state and position thereof upon initiation of the actuation means.

4. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 3, and a second pivotable mounting means including structure providing for second automatic pivotal extension of the second elongated arm means from its vertical to horizontal states and positions thereof whenever the first elongated arm becomes extended to the horizontal state.

5. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 4, in which the structure of the first and the second pivotal mounting means for the first and second automatic extensions each comprises a spring in a biasing state when the first elongated arm means is in the retracted state and position, and when the second elongated arm means is in the vertical retracted state and position.

6. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 5, in which the activation means includes a compressible container having fluid therein and conduit structure leading therefrom to and including a fluid operated release-key structure such that when the weight of a person presses against the fluid enclosure, the key releases the first pivotable mounting means permitting the automatic extension of the first elongated arm means.

7. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 6, and securing means for securing snugly a person between an upright seat-back and a rearward face of the second elongated arm means when the second elongated arm means is in a horizontal extended state and position, providing for rearward advancement of the second elongated arm means along an axial axis of the first elongated arm means.

8. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 7, in which the securing means comprises the first elongated arm means including slide structure extending axially from its distal end toward its proximal end and includes a key structure extending transversely to the axially extendinding first elongated arm means and the second elongated arm means including at its pivotal proximal end slidable mounting structure and a key-receiving passage extending in alignment with the key structure when the second elongated arm means is in an extended state and position such that the second elongated arm is slidable rearwardly automatically when it becomes automatically pivoted to a horizontal state and position.

9. An automotive vehicle-seat passenGer-securing device of claim 8, in which the securing means further includes a biasing spring biasing the second elongated arm means in a rearward direction.

10. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 9, in which the actuation means further includes locking structure mateably coordinated on each of the first and second elongated arm means and a release key, such that as the second elongated arm means is automatically advanced rearwardly it sequentially becomes locked against a force in an opposite direction to movement rearwardly and such that when a person is snugly secured by the rearwardly advanced second elongated arm the rearwardly locked second elongated arm means is releasable by manual pressing of the release key thereby allowing the second elongated arm means to be pushed away from the securing state and position to a distal end of the first elongated arm means at which point the second elongated arm means is pivotable upwardly manually and when the second elongated arm means is pivoted upwardly such that the first elongated arm means may be manually returned to a downwardly pivoted retracted state where it becomes catch-locked at the retracted state and position thereof.

11. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 10, including a second pivotable mounting means mounted on the mounting structure at a position spaced laterally along the mounting structure and providing for controlled intermittent pivoting to and fro on the mounting means, of another downwardly extending elongated arm, and a third elongated arm means pivotably and controlably mounted by the second pivotable mounting means on the mounting structure simultaneous with the pivoting to and fro of the first elongated arm means, and the third elongated arm means including receiving and lock structure and slide structure such that when the second elongated arm means pivots to an extended horizontal state, a distal end thereof of the second elongated arm means becomes lockably slidably secured onto said third elongated arm means, the second elongated arm means'"'"''"'"'distal end being shaped to mateably lock and slide rearwardly along an axial axis of the third elongated arm means securably lockable against force in an opposite direction to the rearward movement of the second elongated arm means, and including a mechanism for manual release of the locked state of the second elongated arm means to the third elongated arm means at such time that a person releases the release key of the second elongated arm means.

12. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 1, and securing means for securing snugly a person between an upright seat-back and a rearward face of the second elongated arm means when the second elongated arm means is in a horizontal extended state and position, providing for rearward advancement of the second elongated arm means along an axial axis of the first elongated arm means.

13. An automotive vehicle-seat passenger-securing device of claim 1, in which the actuation means further includes locking structure mateably coordinated on each of the first and second elongated arm means and a release key, so that as the second elongated arm means is automatically advance rearwardly it sequentially becomes locked against a force in an opposite direction to movement rearward and such that when a person is snugly secured by the rearwardly advanced second elongated arm the rearwardly locked second elongated arm means is releasable by manual pressing of the release key thereby allowing the second elongated arm means to be pushed away from the securing state and position to a distal end of the first elongated arm means at which point the second elongated arm means is pivotable upwardly manually and when the second arm means is pivoted upwardly such that the first elongated arm means may be manually returned to a downwardly pivoted retracted state and position thereof.