Illuminated seat belt buckle
First Claim
1. A buckle for a vehicle seat belt system, said buckle comprising:
- a latch mechanism for connection with a tongue assembly of the seat belt system, said latch mechanism having a latched condition and a released condition; and
a manually engageable pushbutton connected with said latch mechanism and movable between a first position in which said latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which said latch mechanism is in the released condition;
said pushbutton containing an illumination mechanism comprising an electroluminescent panel movable with said pushbutton when said pushbutton moves between the first and second positions.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A buckle (10) for a vehicle seat belt system (12) comprises a latch mechanism (26) for connection with a tongue assembly (14) of the seat belt system. The latch mechanism (26) has a latched condition and a released condition. The buckle (10) also comprises a manually engageable pushbutton (40) connected with the latch mechanism (26). The pushbutton (40) is movable between a first position in which the latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which the latch mechanism is in the released condition. The buckle (10) contains an illumination mechanism (46) comprising an electroluminescent panel (50) which may or may not be movable with the pushbutton when the pushbutton moves between the first and second positions.
20 Citations
12 Claims
-
1. A buckle for a vehicle seat belt system, said buckle comprising:
-
a latch mechanism for connection with a tongue assembly of the seat belt system, said latch mechanism having a latched condition and a released condition; and
a manually engageable pushbutton connected with said latch mechanism and movable between a first position in which said latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which said latch mechanism is in the released condition;
said pushbutton containing an illumination mechanism comprising an electroluminescent panel movable with said pushbutton when said pushbutton moves between the first and second positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A buckle for a vehicle seat belt system, said buckle comprising:
-
a latch mechanism for connection with a tongue assembly of the seat belt system, said latch mechanism having a latched condition and a released condition; and
a manually engageable pushbutton connected with said latch mechanism and movable between a first position in which said latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which said latch mechanism is in the released condition;
said buckle containing an illumination mechanism comprising an electroluminescent panel for illuminating a portion of said buckle. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
-
Specification