Simplified height adjuster for D-ring
First Claim
1. A height adjuster for a seat belt D-ring, the height adjuster comprising:
- a vertically extending, elongated guide rail and having at least one row of vertically spaced openings;
a one piece, slider movable vertically along the rail to adjust the height of the D-ring;
a locking protrusion on one end of the slider for engaging into a selected one of the vertically spaced openings on the rail;
a portion of the slider at one end thereof having a spaced position from the rail for being pushed to pivot toward the rail to remove the locking protrusion from the locking opening in the rail to allow the slider to be shifted vertically for height adjustment;
a single bent spring positioned between the rail and the slider portion for biasing the one end of the slider portion to its spaced position and biasing the locking protrusion into the locking position in the selected one of the openings in the rail, the one end of the slider portion being pushed against the spring force to compress the bent spring and to pivot the slider about its other end to remove the locking protrusion from the rail opening; and
an interior space between the rail and the slider with the single bent spring being sized to fit entirely within the interior space.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A seat belt height adjuster for anchoring a seat belt is provided in a preferred form with three relatively simple component parts comprising a slider, a rail, and a bent spring. One end of the slider is biased by the bent spring so that a portion of the slider is spaced from the rail and to position locking protrusions on the slider body into at least one opening in the rail to lock the height adjuster at the desired height position. To adjust the location of the slider along the rail, a pushing force on the one end of the slider compresses the spring and removes the locking protrusions from the rail opening thereby allowing sliding of the slider along the rail. The slider pivots about its other end which is engaging the rail. Upon release of the pushing force, the spring expands and biases the locking protrusion into a rail opening. The spring may be a simple V or U-shaped, leaf spring and the slider may be a single, integral piece of metal.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A height adjuster for a seat belt D-ring, the height adjuster comprising:
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a vertically extending, elongated guide rail and having at least one row of vertically spaced openings; a one piece, slider movable vertically along the rail to adjust the height of the D-ring; a locking protrusion on one end of the slider for engaging into a selected one of the vertically spaced openings on the rail; a portion of the slider at one end thereof having a spaced position from the rail for being pushed to pivot toward the rail to remove the locking protrusion from the locking opening in the rail to allow the slider to be shifted vertically for height adjustment; a single bent spring positioned between the rail and the slider portion for biasing the one end of the slider portion to its spaced position and biasing the locking protrusion into the locking position in the selected one of the openings in the rail, the one end of the slider portion being pushed against the spring force to compress the bent spring and to pivot the slider about its other end to remove the locking protrusion from the rail opening; and an interior space between the rail and the slider with the single bent spring being sized to fit entirely within the interior space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A height adjuster for a seat belt D-ring, the height adjuster comprising:
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a vertically extending rail having a row of vertically spaced openings therein; a one piece, slider mounted on the rail for sliding therealong to adjust the height of the D-ring; the slider having a substantially U-shaped slider body and inturned legs for sliding along the underside of the rail, integral protrusions formed on the inturned legs for projecting into the openings in the rail to locate the slider at predetermined height locations along the rail; and a one piece bent spring located between the rail and the slider and biasing the slider to insert the protrusions into the rail openings, the spring being compressible by pushing on the slider to remove the protrusions from the rail openings to allow a height adjustment movement of the slider along the rail. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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Specification