Seat belt buckle for child restraint

• US 4,822,104 A
• Filed: 02/16/1988
• Issued: 04/18/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Plesniarski, Edward J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brittain, James R.
• Application Number:
  US07/155,954
• Time in Patent Office: 427 Days
• Field of Search: 24/630, 24/633, 24/631, 24/632, 24/574, 24/697, 297/468, 297/482, 297/250, 280/801
• US Class Current: 297/468
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2803 Adaptations for seat belts
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/286 forward facing B60N2/2866 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/45607 with additional cavity for engaging different projection

Abstract

A seat belt buckle assembly is provided for alternate engagement by either a seat belt latch plate of a seat belt for restraining an adult occupant upon the occupant seat, or by a hook mounted on the end of an auxiliary child restraint belt to restrain a child seat upon the occupant seat. The seat belt buckle comprises a housing having a slot receiving an anchor belt passing therethrough to mount the buckle on the vehicle. The buckle has a conventional push button operated latch arrangement adapted to latchingly receive the latch plate connected to the adult restraint belt. In addition, an anchor plate having an aperture therethrough for receiving the hook of a child seat restraint belt is provided and has a slot which also receives the anchor belt passing through the slot of the buckle whereby the anchor plate is effectively coupled to the buckle by the anchor belt and the anchor belt is effective to alternately connect the seat belt latch plate or the child restraint belt with the vehicle.

Claims

1. In a motor vehicle occupant restraint system of the type wherein a belt is mounted on the vehicle on one side of an occupant seat and carries a latch plate, a buckle is mounted on the vehicle on the other side of the occupant seat by an anchor belt extending through a slot in the buckle housing and is engageable by the latch plate to restrain the occupant in the vehicle seat, and a child seat is adapted to sit on the occupant seat and a child restraint belt is connected to the vehicle on the one side of the occupant seat, the improvement comprising:

a hook attached to the child restraint belt;

and an anchor plate independent of the buckle and having a slot receiving the anchor belt passing through the slot of the buckle housing whereby the anchor plate is effectively coupled to the buckle by the anchor belt, and said anchor plate having an aperture therein for receiving the hook of the child restraint belt to connect the child restraint belt with the vehicle and thereby restrain the child seat on the occupant seat.

2. In a motor vehicle occupant restraint system of the type wherein a belt is mounted on the vehicle on one side of an occupant seat and carries a latch plate, a buckle is mounted on the vehicle on the other side of the occupant seat by an anchor belt extending through a slot in the buckle housing and is engageable by the latch plate to restrain the occupant in the occupant seat, and a child seat is adapted to sit on the occupant seat and a child restraint belt is connected to the vehicle on the one side of the occupant seat, the improvement comprising:

a hook attached to the child restraint belt;

and an anchor plate having a slot receiving the anchor belt passing through the slot of the buckle whereby the anchor plate is effectively coupled to the buckle by the anchor belt, and said anchor plate having an aperture therein for receiving the hook of the child restraint belt to connect the child restraint belt with the vehicle and thereby restrain the child seat on the occupant seat;

and a molded plastic sleeve enclosing the anchor belt and yieldably supporting the the buckle and the anchor plate adjacent to the occupant seat and yieldably engaging the buckle housing and the anchor plate to position the anchor plate in a normal compact close fitting relationship with the buckle housing and yieldably permitting the anchor plate to pivot away from the buckle housing for engagement by the hook of the child restraint belt.