Apparatus for restraining a passenger in a vehicle
First Claim
1. An apparatus for restraining a passenger in a vehicle comprising:
- an anchor member movably coupled to the vehicle such that the anchor member may move along a predetermined path relative to the vehicle, said predetermined path including an anchor member rest position; and
a restraining member selectively coupleable about the passenger to maintain the passenger in a vehicle seat, said restraining member being coupled to said anchor member such that, upon an acceleration of the vehicle of at least a predetermined magnitude, the anchor member moves away from the anchor member rest position along at least a portion of the predetermined path, wherein the path is oriented so that the restraining member is gradually tightened about the passenger as the anchor member moves further from the anchor member rest position, and wherein an inertial force of the passenger is transmitted to the anchor member via the restraining member so that the inertial force of the passenger contributes to the motion of the anchor member.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for restraining an object includes an anchor member movably coupled to a frame and a restraining member selectively coupleable about the object to maintain the object on an object support structure. The restraining member is coupled to the anchor member such that, upon a sudden acceleration of the frame, the anchor member moves from a rest position along at least a portion of a predetermined path so that the restraining member is gradually tightened about the object as the anchor member moves further from the rest position. The anchor member moves in response to an inertial force of the object which is transmitted to the anchor member via the restraining member.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for restraining a passenger in a vehicle comprising:
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an anchor member movably coupled to the vehicle such that the anchor member may move along a predetermined path relative to the vehicle, said predetermined path including an anchor member rest position; and a restraining member selectively coupleable about the passenger to maintain the passenger in a vehicle seat, said restraining member being coupled to said anchor member such that, upon an acceleration of the vehicle of at least a predetermined magnitude, the anchor member moves away from the anchor member rest position along at least a portion of the predetermined path, wherein the path is oriented so that the restraining member is gradually tightened about the passenger as the anchor member moves further from the anchor member rest position, and wherein an inertial force of the passenger is transmitted to the anchor member via the restraining member so that the inertial force of the passenger contributes to the motion of the anchor member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An apparatus for restraining an object comprising:
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an anchor member movably coupled to a frame; and a restraining member selectively coupleable about the object to maintain the object on an object support structure, said restraining member being coupled to said anchor member such that, upon an acceleration of the frame of at least a predetermined magnitude, the anchor member moves away from a rest position along at least a portion of a predetermined path at least partly in the direction of the inertial force of the object so that the restraining member is gradually tightened about the object as the anchor member moves further from the rest position, wherein the inertial force of the object is transmitted to the anchor member via the restraining member so that the inertial force of the object contributes to the motion of the anchor member.
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Specification