Self-aligning safety belt
First Claim
1. A vehicle safety restraint system, comprising:
- a Y-belt safety belt having first and second left attachments and first and second right attachments, the first and second left attachments coupled to a seat structure via first and second left anchor points located on a left anchor plate pivotally attached to the seat structure at a left pivot location offset from the first left anchor point, the first left anchor point translatable with respect to the seat structure in response to load applied to the safety belt, and the first and second right attachments coupled to the seat structure via first and second right anchor points located on a right anchor plate pivotally attached to the seat structure at a right pivot location offset from the first right anchor point, the first right anchor point translatable with respect to the seat structure in response to the load applied to the safety belt.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A safety belt (104) is secured to a seat structure (102) using movable anchor points (114, 116, 406). In an embodiment, a y-belt (104) is attached to left and right pivotable anchor plates (110). The anchor plates (110) pivot when a load is applied to the safety belt (104), thus allowing the anchor points to self-align to maintain an equal amount of tension across the lower and higher portion of the seat belt. In a different embodiment, a 2-point safety belt (708) is attached to slidable anchors (406) that move within channels (404) in response to load applied to the safety belt, allowing the anchor points to self-align to maintain proper tension and positioning of the safety belt (708).
28 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A vehicle safety restraint system, comprising:
a Y-belt safety belt having first and second left attachments and first and second right attachments, the first and second left attachments coupled to a seat structure via first and second left anchor points located on a left anchor plate pivotally attached to the seat structure at a left pivot location offset from the first left anchor point, the first left anchor point translatable with respect to the seat structure in response to load applied to the safety belt, and the first and second right attachments coupled to the seat structure via first and second right anchor points located on a right anchor plate pivotally attached to the seat structure at a right pivot location offset from the first right anchor point, the first right anchor point translatable with respect to the seat structure in response to the load applied to the safety belt. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A safety belt anchoring system, comprising:
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an anchor point for accepting an attachment point of a Y-belt safety belt, the anchor point movably coupled to a seat structure and located on an anchor plate pivotally attached to the seat structure at a pivot location offset from the anchor point, wherein the anchor point is movable between a first position and a second position, and wherein the anchor point is movable in response to load applied to the safety belt; and an additional anchor point for accepting a second attachment point of the safety belt, the additional anchor point located on the anchor plate. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A method, comprising:
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securing a Y-belt safety belt to a seat structure at first and second left anchor points located on a left anchor plate pivotally attached to the seat structure at a left pivot location offset from the first left anchor point and first and second right anchor points located on a right anchor plate pivotally attached to the seat structure at a right pivot location offset from the first right anchor point; applying a load to the safety belt; translating the left anchor point and the right anchor point in response to applying the load to the safety belt, wherein translating the left anchor point and the right anchor point further includes pivoting the left anchor plate and the right anchor plate about the left pivot location and the right pivot location, respectively, in response to applying the load to the safety belt; and translating the second left anchor point and the second right anchor point in response to applying the load to the safety belt. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A vehicle safety restraint system, comprising:
a safety belt having a left attachment and a right attachment, the left attachment coupled to a seat structure via a left anchor point slidably located within a left anchor channel and translatable with respect to the seat structure in response to load applied to the safety belt, and the right attachment coupled to the seat structure via a right anchor point slidably located within a right anchor channel and translatable with respect to the seat structure in response to the load applied to the safety belt. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A safety belt anchoring system, comprising:
an anchor point for accepting an attachment point of a safety belt, the anchor point movably coupled to a seat structure and slidably located within an anchor channel, wherein the anchor point is movable between a first position and a second position, and wherein the anchor point is movable in response to load applied to the safety belt. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A method, comprising:
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securing a safety belt to a seat structure at a left anchor point and a right anchor point; applying a load to the safety belt; and translating the left anchor point and the right anchor point in response to applying the load to the safety belt, wherein translating the left anchor point and the right anchor point includes sliding the left anchor point within a left anchor channel and sliding the right anchor point within a right anchor channel. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification