Free-falling, self-locking adjustable tip assembly

• US 4,480,854 A
• Filed: 05/13/1983
• Issued: 11/06/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Gateway Industries, Inc. (Function(x), Inc.)
• Inventors: Doty, Gerald A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bertsch, Richard A.
• Application Number:
  US06/494,569
• Time in Patent Office: 543 Days
• Field of Search: 280/801, 280/806, 280/807, 280/808, 297/468, 297/476, 297/419, 297/483, 24/170, 24/171
• US Class Current: 280/801.1
• CPC Class Codes: A44B 11/10 sliding wedge
• CPC Class Codes: A44B 11/2557 with strap length adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/1812 Connections between seat belt and buckle tongue
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/30 Coupling devices other than buckles, including length-adjusting fittings or anti-slip devices adaptations of manual three-point seat belt systems for use by small passengers using other means than belt anti-slip devices B60R22/024; buckles A44B11/00; releasable fastenings in general F16B
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/4019 Sliding part or wedge

Abstract

An improved tip assembly which includes a tongue plate insertable into a buckle is provided for a safety belt apparatus in which a continuous retractable belt length provides both a lap portion and a shoulder portion. The tip assembly through which the belt passes has a snubber slide engaged with the tongue plate and slidable relative thereto. When the belt is drawn by the passenger over his body, the belt shifts the snubber slide rearward on the tongue plate to where the belt is firmly gripped between a surface of the tongue plate and a surface of the snubber slide, whereby that portion of the belt which extends across the passenger'"'"'s lap cannot expand. When the belt is retracted so that a run of the belt is substantially vertical, the weight of the tip assembly causes its front end to tip downward causing the slide to fall forward along the tongue plate releasing its grip on the belt, whereby the tip assembly freely falls to a lower position along the vertical belt run. To prevent the belt from miscentering and twisting within the tip assembly, the snubber slide has a pair of parallel tracks to guide the belt through the tip assembly.

Claims

1. In a safety belt apparatus, the combination comprising:

a safety belt having a shoulder portion and a lap portion, a seat belt retractor connected to one end of the safety belt and pullling on the belt for rewinding the belt and for pulling a portion of the belt into a generally vertical position when the belt is released for full retraction, a tip assembly slidably mounted on the belt and having a tongue plate for connection to a buckle, and snubber means on the tip assembly shiftable by the tongue plate hanging downwardly and with the belt in the vertical position to allow free sliding of the tip assembly downwardly along the belt, said snubber means including a slide being shifted to a belt gripping position by the belt under tension from the retractor when the tongue plate is connected to the buckle,

said slide having an opening through which the belt passes,

a slot in said tongue plate with the belt passing through the slot from the upper side of the tongue plate to a lower side of the tongue plate,

a stationary belt snubbing wall on the tongue plate at the upper rear edge of the slot for snubbing engagement with the belt, a movable belt snubbing wall on said slide for shifting downwardly away from said stationary snubbing wall to allow free sliding of the web through said opening and said slot, and a

belt engaging means on said snubber means and on the lower side of the tongue plate which the belt and the pull of the belt on the same moves said slide upwardly to the belt gripping position.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a plurality of longitudinally extending internal walls on said slide defining a slot to slide over said tongue plate during assembly of said slide onto said tongue plate, and deflectable detent means deflected when the slide is being assembled and then returning when assembled to limit the removal of the slide from the tongue plate.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, said detent having a forwardly facing front stop surface extending at least about 1/2 of the distance through said slot.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, said slide being made of deformable material, said detent means having a rear camming surface for camming over said tip body, deforming said slide during application of said slide to said tip body.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 having means for guiding said belt through said assembly preventing lateral shifting of the belt within the assembly.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, said guide means being parallel tracks on said snubber means.

7. A tip and belt assembly for use on a seat belt comprising:

an elongated seat belt having upper shoulder portion and a lower lap portion,

a tip body having a tongue at one end for hanging downwardly and for connection to a buckle, means defining a belt receiving slot at an upper rear end of the tip body and having the belt extending through the slot and including a rear transverse wall for snubbing engagement with the belt, a slidable snubber means mounted on the tip body adjacent the slot for sliding toward said tongue or toward the upper end of said tip body, a rear transverse snubbing wall on said snubber means for engaging one side of the belt for clamping the same against said rear transverse wall on said tip body, said rear transverse wall engageable with the other side of the belt when said snubber means is pulled upwardly and rearwardly on the tip body by the belt tension, said snubber means having an opening therein through which passes the belt from one end side of the snubber means to the other, and said belt having its shoulder portion located upwardly of the upper side of the tongue with the belt passing through said slot and through said opening in said snubber means for free falling movement and for turning about the underside of the latter to form the belt lap portion,

belt-engaging means on the snubber means for abutting the lap portion and said other side of the belt for shifting said snubbing wall into the clamping position.

8. A tip assembly in accordance with claim 7 in which the weight of said tongue causes the tip of said tip body to hang down when the belt is vertical and the tip assembly is released from the buckle, said snubbing means sliding to a non-snubbing position.

9. A tip assembly in accordance with claim 8 in which the rear transverse snubbing wall on said tip body abuts the one side of the belt at a first upper location on the belt when the belt is vertical and the belt-engaging means slidingly engages the same side of the vertical belt at a location beneath the rear transverse snubbing wall to allow the tip assembly to slide freely down.

10. A tip assembly in accordance with claim 8 wherein said tip body comprises a metal member providing said slot and a friction relieving member secured to said metal member, said friction relieving member providing said belt engaging means.

11. For seat belt apparatus, or the like, having a belt webbing extensibly spanned between two fixed locations and a buckle spaced laterally from each, and a tip assembly mounted on the spanned belt webbing and moveable in the buckling condition freely along the length thereof and laterally toward the buckle in extending the spanned belt webbing to allow the tip assembly to be secured to the buckle in a buckled condition, whereby the belt webbing disposed endwardly of the tip assembly toward the fixed locations defines, respectively, opposite lap and shoulder-engaging portions, comprising the combination of an improved tip assembly having a planar and elongated frame member provided with a tongue and through opening means disposed adjacent opposite ends thereof, said opening means being defined by spaced, mutually facing transverse edges disposed respectively adjacent and remote from the tongue;

and a snubber slide of generally annular configuration fitted snugly over said frame member in the vicinity of said opening means and being moveable only back and forth axially along said frame member, said snubber slide further having through opening means defined by spaced, oppositely facing transverse edges disposed respectively adjacent and remote from said tongue and spaced also laterally apart relative to said frame member, the belt webbing having the shoulder portion located on one side of the tip assembly and being fitted through said opening means of the frame member and said snubber slide so that said lap-engaging portion trains off the adjacent transverse edge of said snubber slide on the other side of the tip body, the remote transverse edges of the snubber slide and the frame member being aligned laterally operable thereby to pinch the belt webbing therebetween, whereby axial tension in the buckled condition of said lap-engaging portion in the direction away from the tongue pinches the belt webbing firmly between said remote transverse edges of said frame member and said snubber slide to preclude enlargement of said lap-engaging portion.

12. An improved tip assembly combination according to claim 11, further providing that said snubber slide presents a detent projection adapted to fit within the frame member opening means to limit thereby the axial back and forth movement of said snubber slide on said frame member by bottoming relative to the adjacent and remote transverse edges thereof.

13. An improved tip assembly combination according to claim 12, further providing that said snubber slide opening means is the same as the through bore of the annular configuration of said snubber slide.

14. For seat belt apparatus or the like having a belt webbing fixed at one end, a buckle spaced laterally from the end, and a tip assembly mounted on the belt webbing and movable in the buckling condition along the length thereof to allow the tip assembly to be secured to the buckle in a buckled condition and define thereby a lap-engaging span, comprising the combination of an improved tip assembly having a planar frame member provided with a tongue and with a transverse edge axially facing but disposed remote from the tongue;

and a snubber slide of generally annular configuration fitted snugly over said frame member and being moveable only back and forth axially along said frame member, said snubber slide further having oppositely facing transverse edges disposed respectively adjacent and remote from said tongue and spaced also laterally apart relative to said frame member, the belt webbing being fitted between the remote transverse edges of the frame member and said snubber slide and said lap-engaging portion being trained off the adjacent transverse edge of the snubber slide, the belt passing from one side of said tip assembly and through the tip assembly to the other side of the tip assembly, the remote transverse edges of said annular slide and of said frame member being aligned laterally operable thereby to pinch the belt webbing therebetween, whereby axial tension in the buckled condition of said lap-engaging portion in the direction away from the tongue pinches the belt webbing firmly between said remote transverse edges to preclude enlargement of said lap-engaging portion.