Low friction self-locking adjust tongue
First Claim
1. In a safety restraint system having a length of seat belt webbing connected between an anchor point and a seat belt buckle, a self-locking adjust tongue adapted to connect the length of seat belt to the buckle comprising:
- a generally planar tongue plate having at its forward end a tongue portion adapted to be received and locked in the buckle, a centrally disposed web aperture for receiving a loop of the seat belt webbing therethrough, a pair of depressed guide lands provided on the opposite sides of said web aperture forming a lock bar well intermediate the extremities of said web aperture and a pair of upstanding flanges each having a cutout adjacent to said guide lands, said cutouts in conjunction with said guide lands forming a bi-level lock bar slot extending rearwardly from said lock bar well to a higher level; and
a transverse lock bar having its ends guided in said lock bar slot and passing through the loop of seat belt webbing received through said web aperture.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A low friction self-locking adjust tongue having a pair of depressed lands provided in the tongue plate either side of the web aperture to form a lock bar well. Cutouts provided in the tongue plate'"'"'s upstanding flanges form in conjunction with said depressed lands a bi-level lock bar slot extending rearwardly and upwardly from the lock-bar well to above the plane of the tongue plate. In the unlatched position of the tongue plate, the lock bar rests in the lock bar well permitting the seat belt webbing to pass thereover with negligable friction. In the locked position, the lock bar is displaced towards the rear of the bi-level lock bar slot which raises the lock bar above the plane of the tongue plate. In this position, the friction between the lock bar and the seat belt webbing is sufficient to lock the seat belt webbing in the tongue plate after it is snuggly adjusted about the occupants pelvic region.
48 Citations
22 Claims
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1. In a safety restraint system having a length of seat belt webbing connected between an anchor point and a seat belt buckle, a self-locking adjust tongue adapted to connect the length of seat belt to the buckle comprising:
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a generally planar tongue plate having at its forward end a tongue portion adapted to be received and locked in the buckle, a centrally disposed web aperture for receiving a loop of the seat belt webbing therethrough, a pair of depressed guide lands provided on the opposite sides of said web aperture forming a lock bar well intermediate the extremities of said web aperture and a pair of upstanding flanges each having a cutout adjacent to said guide lands, said cutouts in conjunction with said guide lands forming a bi-level lock bar slot extending rearwardly from said lock bar well to a higher level; and a transverse lock bar having its ends guided in said lock bar slot and passing through the loop of seat belt webbing received through said web aperture. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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- 11. A low friction self-locking adjust tongue received in the buckle of a safety restraint system, the self-locking tongue of the type having a generally planar tongue plate with a pair of upstanding flanges, and a lock bar slidably received in a pair of lock bar slots provided in the upstanding flanges, the lock bar spanning a web aperture and passing through a loop of seat belt webbing received through the web aperture, the low friction self-locking adjust tongue characterized by a pair of depressed lock bar guide lands provided in said tongue plate either side of the web aperture forming a lock bar well intermediate the longitudinal extremities of the web aperture, and wherein said pair of upstanding flanges each has a cutout adjacent to and cooperating with said guide lands to form a bi-level lock bar slot for guiding the lock bar from a released position in said lock bar well to a locking position above the plane of said tongue plate in response to the displacement of said lock bar from said lock bar well.
- 21. A low friction, self-locking adjust tongue received in the buckle of a safety restraint system, the self-locking adjust tongue of the type comprising a generally planar tongue plate having a pair of upstanding flanges, and a lock bar slidably received in a pair of lock bar slots provided in the flanges, the lock bar traversely spanning a web aperture provided in the tongue plate and passing through a loop of seat belt webbing received through the web aperture, the low friction, self-locking adjust tongue characterized by bi-level lock bar slots provided in the upstanding flanges of said tongue plate adjacent to the transverse sides of the web aperture, said bi-level lock bar slot having a first portion intermediate the longitudinal extremities of the web aperture below the plane of said tongue plate, a second portion adjacent to the rear edge of the web aperture above the plane of said tongue plate, and an intermediate sloping portion connecting said first portion with said second portion.
Specification