Emergency vehicle seat with integrated seat belt and height adjustable webbing guide

• US 9,004,606 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2013
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: H.O. Bostrom Company, Inc.
• Original Assignee: H.O. Bostrom Company, Inc.
• Inventors: Bostrom, Paul C., Block, Wayne R., Horn, Matthew C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Jose V
• Application Number:
  US13/864,428
• Publication Number:
  US 20140312677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: 297/464, 297/468, 297/475, 297/476, 297/480, 297/250.1, 280/801.2
• US Class Current: 297/468
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/24 for particular purposes or particular vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/688 Particular seat belt attachment and guiding
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/1825 using rollers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/263 Front seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/20 adjustable in position, e.g. in height
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/26 secured to the seat

Abstract

An arrangement is provided for vertically adjusting a bezel and a bezel support defining a webbing guide for a seat belt webbing integrated into a vehicle seat. The adjustment arrangement includes a bearing block arrangement and a slotted latch plate mounted in a frame channel of the seat. A spring biased height adjustment frame extends from the bezel support and a spring biased release member is pivotally mounted within the bezel support and provided with a latching tooth engageable and disengageable with the latch plate for establishing various vertical positions of the bezel and the bezel support relative to an upper end of the frame channel.

Claims

1. An adjustment arrangement for a seat belt webbing device mounted on an upper end of a frame member of a vehicle seat, the adjustment arrangement comprising:

a webbing guide disposed at the upper end of the flame member, and provided with a guide slot for guiding a seat belt webbing therethrough;

a bearing block arrangement mounted to the frame member;

a latch plate spaced from the bearing block arrangement and secured to the flame member, the latch plate being with formed a series of vertically spaced slots;

a height adjustment frame extending downwardly from the webbing guide into the frame member;

a release member movably mounted to the webbing guide, and provided with a latching tooth which is selectively engageable and disengageable with one of the slots in the latching plate; and

a first spring engaged with and biased against the release member for normally urging the tooth into latching engagement with the one slot in the latching plate for maintaining one vertical position of the webbing guide relative to the upper end of the frame member,

wherein application of a force on the release member against the bias of the first spring moves the release member relative to the webbing guide to move the tooth away from the latch plate and to disengages the tooth from the one of the slots in the latch plate enabling the height adjustment frame, the release member, and the webbing guide to be moved to a second vertical position relative to the upper end of the frame member as defined by another one of the slots in the latch plate, and wherein release of the force on the release member causes the tooth by means of the first spring to engage the other one of the slots to maintain the second vertical position.

2. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, including a second spring having opposite ends connected between the height adjustment frame at one end and a second end attached to a structure spaced away from the height adjustment frame for normally providing an upward force on the webbing guide.

3. The adjustment arrangement of claim 2, wherein the bearing block arrangement includes a bearing block attached to a bearing block support provided with a first attachment point for the second spring.

4. The adjustment arrangement of claim 2, wherein the height adjustment frame has a lower end provided with a second attachment point for the second spring.

5. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein the frame member is a channel having a pair of opposed side walls joined by a rear wall.

6. The adjustment arrangement of claim 5, wherein the bearing block arrangement is adjustably mounted between the opposed side walls of the frame member.

7. The adjustment arrangement of claim 5, wherein the latch plate is secured to an inner surface of the rear wall.

8. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein a webbing guide shroud is fixed to and extends from the upper end of the frame member.

9. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein a guide roller is mounted in the webbing guide, and a retractor is mounted on the frame member so that an upper end of the webbing extends from the retractor over the guide roller and out the guide slot in the webbing guide.

10. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein the height adjustment frame has an upper end depending from a mounting plate in the webbing guide.

11. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein the height adjustment frame is engageable against a rear surface of the bearing block arrangement.

12. The adjustment arrangement of claim 11, wherein the release handle is positioned beneath the webbing guide.

13. The adjustment arrangement of claim 11, wherein the engagement of a release member pivots the release member such that the leg engages the height adjustment frame as the tooth is disengaged from the one of the slots in the latch plate.

14. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein the release member includes a horizontally extending release handle integrally joined to a vertically extending leg provided at a lower end thereof with the latching tooth.

15. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein another retractor is mounted on a lower end of the vehicle seat, and is connected to a lower end of the webbing.

16. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein the seat belt webbing is secured at both ends to a frame member with at least one end being routed through a spring biased retractor.

17. The adjustment arrangement of claim 1, wherein the webbing guide is defined by a bezel mounted to a bezel support.

18. In a seat having a frame for supporting a seat cushion and a back cushioning amingement, the frame including a pair of spaced apart, upright channels, each of the channels having opposed side walls connected by a rear wall, at least one of the channels having a cage positioned thereon, the cage having a bezel with a guide slot mounted thereon for receiving and guiding an elongated seat belt webbing from a retractor mounted on the seat and across the back cushioning arrangement for connecting to the frame, the improvement comprising:

an arrangement for vertically adjusting the bezel and the cage relative to an upper end of the one of the channels so that the seat belt webbing can be drawn at different angles through the guide slot relative to the shoulders of seat occupants of varying heights, the arrangement including;

a bearing block arrangement mounted in the one of the channels;

the latch plate spaced from the bearing block arrangement and fixed in the one of the channels, the latch plate being formed with a series of vertically spaced apart slots defining different vertical adjustment positions for the bezel and the cage relative to the upper end of the one of the channels;

a height adjustment frame extending downwardly from the cage;

a release member pivotally mounted within the cage and constructed with a latching tooth which is selectively engageable and disengageable with the one of the slots in the latch plate;

a first spring engaged with and biased against the release member for normally urging the tooth into latching engagement with the one of the slots in the latch plate to lock the cage and bezel at a desired vertical position relative to the upper end of the one of the channels; and

a second spring having one end connected to the bearing block arrangement and another end secured to the height adjustment frame for normally providing an upward force on the cage and the bezel,

wherein moving the release handle upwardly against the bias of the first spring pivots the release handle and disengages the tooth from the one of the slots enabling the height adjustment frame, the release member, the cage and the bezel to be moved vertically assisted by the upward force of the second spring to another position relative to the upper end of the one of the channels as defined by another one of the slots in the latch plate, and

wherein releasing the release handle causes a return force of the first spring biased against the release member to pivot the release handle so that the tooth on the release member is urged into latching engagement with the other of the slots in the latch plate thereby maintaining the vertical positioning, of the cage and bezel relative to the upper end of the one of the channels.

19. The adjustment arrangement of claim 18, wherein the seat belt webbing is secured at both ends to a frame member with at least one end being routed through a spring biased retractor.