Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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AN ATTACHMENT DEVICE FOR A SEATBELT RESTRAINT SYSTEM TO BE USED BY PREGNANT
WOMENT
AND OTHER PASSENGERS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention is related to vehicle restraints, and more
particularly to an attachment device
that converts a three-point seatbelt system into a four-point seatbelt
restraint system that improves
vehicle safety for pregnant women and children, as well as all other
passengers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Vehicle occupant restraints, such as seatbelt systems, are important
and well-known
components of modern vehicles. When a vehicle is involved in an accident, a
properly restrained
occupant is held in place by seatbelt webbing which prevents the occupant from
suffering a severe
impact with the interior structure of the vehicle, other passengers or even
being ejected from the
vehicle. Since their introduction, seatbelts have saved many lives, have
prevented severe injuries and
have reduced the severity of many more injuries.
[0003] The first seatbelt restraint systems only provided a belt across the
lap of the occupant. This
so-called "two-point" system, although an improvement over no belt at all, did
nothing to restrain the
often violent movement of the upper body of an occupant experienced during a
crash. Therefore, users
of a two-point system often suffered severe head, neck and back injuries
during a crash. An additional
problem with the two-point system is the location of the lap belt, in
particular, the positioning of the lap
belt over sensitive internal organs of the abdominal region. Although a lap
belt is supposed to be worn
under an occupant's belly and across the pelvis, occupants do not always
fasten the lap belt correctly for
many reasons. For example, the lap belt is particularly uncomfortable for
pregnant women because of
the pressure placed on the woman's uterus and young children often move the
lap belt around while
they are riding in the car. As a result of lap belt discomfort, a large
percentage of pregnant women do
not wear seatbelts at all. Occupants that have the misfortune to be involved
in a car crash while being
restrained by a two-point system can suffer a phenomenon known as seatbelt
syndrome. Seatbelt
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syndrome can result in contusion of anterior abdominal wall caused by lap
seatbelts, which may
produce lumbar spine fractures with horizontal splitting of the vertebral body
and posterior arch,
trauma to bowel, vessels, spleen and liver.
[0004] An improvement to the two-point seatbelt restraint system is the
introduction of a third
point of fixation in the form of a shoulder belt. In such systems, t,he upper
end of the shoulder belt is
extendable and retractable into the vehicle structure beside the occupant.
Together, the lower end of
the shoulder belt joins to the inboard side of the lap belt at a latch member.
The latch member is
engageable with a single buckle which allows an occupant to fasten both the
shoulder belt and lap belt
in one motion. These improved seatbelt restraint systems are referred to as
"three-point" seatbelt
restraint systems because they provide three fixation points for the webbing.
Three-point seatbelt
restraint systems improve the performance of an occupant restraint by
restricting the occupant's upper
body motion, compared to two-point systems.
[0005] Existing three-point seatbelt restraint systems have significant
drawbacks, particularly when
used by pregnant women, children and people who dislike a lap belt running
right across their
abdominal area. Many pregnant women and people with abdominal conditions or
injuries simply don't
wear a seatbelt because of the discomfort involved, leaving these people
vulnerable to severe injury or
death in the event of a crash. Even if a pregnant woman wears the seatbelt,
they are potentially
dangerous for pregnant women and their unborn children if the vehicle is
involved in a frontal collision.
Furthermore, as with a two-point restraint system, occupants can suffer from
seatbelt syndrome when
the lap belt portion of the three-point system is not positioned correctly
under the belly and across the
pelvis.
[0006] Some restraint systems for pregnant women are known.
[0007] One system has a cushion adapted to be located on the upper seat
surface of a vehicle seat,
a base in the form of a rigid plate embedded in the cushion, and a seatbelt
catch adapted to retain the
waist section of a seatbelt. Although this type of device improves a standard
three-point restraint
system to a safer four-point system, the invention suffers from several
drawbacks. Foremost among
these is that the seatbelt catch is in the form of a hook which sticks out
between the passenger's legs, a
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concept that is not particularly attractive to pregnant women. Another
drawback is that the hook itself
is not suitably designed to catch a seatbelt because the seatbelt webbing can
easily slip out of the hook,
thus rendering the fourth point ineffective and extra slack in the seatbelt
which can be dangerous during
a crash.
[0008] Another system involves a seatbelt restraint system attachment. The
seatbelt attachment
includes a seatbelt buckle anchored to the vehicle structure and disposed at a
convenient location on
the front portion of the vehicle seat, a latch member having a webbing loop
through which the lap belt
of the seatbelt restraint system is threaded so that the latch member is
slidable along the lap belt, and
engagement means for connecting the latch member with the seatbelt buckle.
This device has several
deficiencies, however. Firstly, the location of the belt buckle on the front
portion of the vehicle seat acts
an impediment to the groin area of an occupant. This is obviously both
dangerous and emotionally
disconcerting for any occupant. Secondly, the orientation of the belt buckle
causes the seatbelt
webbing to twist when the latch member is engaged with the seatbelt buckle,
creating yet another
dangerous impediment in the groin area of the occupant. Needless to say, in
the event of a crash an
occupant using this system may experience serious injuries in the groin area.
[0009] Therefore, there is a need for a seatbelt restraint system that
mitigates or overcomes one or
more of the defects of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[00010] In its broad aspect, the invention provides a seatbelt attachment
device to be used by an
occupant seated in a vehicle seat, the attachment is adapted to supplement an
existing seatbelt
restraint system comprising seatbelt webbing. The attachment includes a
cushion that can be placed on
the upper surface of the vehicle seat, the cushion having an upper surface
upon which the occupant can
sit, and an opening in the upper surface. The seatbelt buckle has a slot for
receiving a latch member, the
seatbelt buckle and the slot being accessible via the opening on the upper
surface of the cushion. The
seatbelt buckle is disposed within the cushion such that the slot is
positionable generally between the
legs of the occupant. A latch member is provided that is attachable to the lap
belt portion of the
seatbelt webbing such that the latch member can slide along the lap belt.
Engagement means are also
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provided for allowing the latch member to engage and disengage from the
seatbelt buckle. When the
latch member is engaged with the buckle, the buckle and the latch constitute a
load bearing point that
operates to restrain the occupant positioned on the vehicle seat.
[00011] In another aspect of the invention, the latch member has a tongue
and a handle that defines
a webbing loop. The handle may have a top piece, a bottom piece, and two side
pieces that define the
webbing loop. In one aspect, one of the pieces of the handle is moveable from
a first position, in which
the seatbelt webbing may be inserted into the webbing loop, and a second
position, in which the handle
prevents the seatbelt webbing from moving into or out of the webbing loop.
[00012] In another aspect, the buckle and the latch member are oriented
generally perpendicular to
the longitudinal extent of the seatbelt webbing such that the webbing does not
twist when the latch
member is engaged with the buckle.
[00013] In one aspect, the buckle is attached to the anchoring structure
via a flexible member, such
as seatbelt webbing. The structure may be an elongated member such as a rod.
In another aspect, the
anchoring structure is a frame comprising one or more crosspieces. In yet
another aspect, the anchoring
structure comprises a lightweight material such as a ceramic, fiberglass,
plastic and/or aluminum. In yet
another aspect, the buckle and the anchoring structure are integrally formed.
[00014] In another aspect, the buckle can be adjusted backward and forward
according to the
preference of the user, and can be locked into place.
[00015] In another broad aspect, the invention provides a seatbelt
restraint for an occupant of a
vehicle seated on a vehicle seat. The vehicle seat has an upper seat surface
upon which the occupant
can sit, the upper seat surface having an opening. A seatbelt buckle is
included which has a slot for
receiving a latch member. The seatbelt buckle is anchored to the vehicle
structure and is accessible
through the opening on the upper seat surface, the buckle being disposed such
that the slot is
positionable between the legs of the vehicle occupant. The invention includes
a latch member that can
be attached and detached from the lap belt seatbelt webbing. The latch member
is slidable along the
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lap belt when the latch member is attached to the lap belt. Engagement means
are also provided for
lockably engaging the latch member with the buckle or disengaging the latch
member from the buckle
when desired. When the latch member is engaged with the buckle, the buckle and
the latch constitute a
load bearing point that operates to restrain the occupant positioned on the
vehicle seat.
[00016] In another aspect, the top of the buckle is recessed relative to
the upper seat surface by a
predetermined amount such that the top of the latch member is positioned below
the upper seat
surface when the latch member and the buckle are engaged. In this way, the
latch member and the
buckle do not make contact with the occupant when the occupant slides backward
and forward on the
vehicle seat.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00017] The invention will be better understood with reference to the
drawings, in which:
[00018] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a perspective view of one embodiment of
the vehicle restraint
attachment device of the invention;
[00019] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the attachment device of Fig.
1;
[00020] FIG. 3 is a front view showing a pregnant woman using the
attachment device of Fig. 1;
[00021] FiGs. 4a-4d are diagrams showing several different latch member
designs that can be used
with the attachment device of Fig. 1;
[00022] FIG. 5a is a diagram of the attachment device of Fig. 1 showing a
front view of the latch
member not engaged with the buckle; Fig. 5b is a diagram of the attachment
device of Fig. 1 showing
the latch member engaged with the buckle of the invention.
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[00023] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a front view of the an alternative seat
cushion that may be used
with the attachment device of the invention;
[00024] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the attachment
device of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00025] Reference is first made to Figs. 1 and 2 to describe an embodiment
of a seatbelt attachment
device of the invention, which is indicated generally by reference numeral 10.
The device 10 is for
providing additional restraint and safety for an occupant seated in a vehicle
seat and upgrades a
standard three-point vehicle restraint system to a much safer four-point
restraint system. As shown in
Fig. 1, the device 10 is adapted to be used with a standard vehicle restraint
system that includes a
vehicle seat 2, seatbelt webbing 50, a lateral belt buckle (not shown), as
well as other components. The
seatbelt webbing 50 includes a shoulder section 54 and a lap belt portion 52.
[00026] Arrows A, B, C, and D in Figs. 1 and 2 also indicate the terms used
throughout this document
to describe directions. Arrow A represents the forward direction; Arrow B
indicates the backward
direction; Arrow C indicates the upward direction; and Arrow D indicates the
downward direction. The
terms "forward", "backward", "upward" and "downward" may also be referred to
simply as front, back,
up and down respectively.
[00027] The device 10 includes a cushion 12 which is adapted to be
positioned on the upper seat
surface of the vehicle seat 2. The cushion 12 has an upper surface 14 for
receiving the occupant in a
seated position and a seatbelt buckle 30 which is attached to an anchoring
structure within the cushion
12. The cushion 12 has an opening 16 for making the recessed seatbelt buckle
30 accessible from the
upper surface 14. The seatbelt buckle 30 has a slot 18 which is designed to
lockably receive a latch
member 20, the slot 18 being accessible via the opening 16. The buckle 30 is
disposed within the
cushion 12 so that the buckle 30 is generally positionable between the legs of
the vehicle occupant. The
device 10 also includes a latch member 20 that is attachable to the lap belt
portion 52 of the seatbelt
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webbing 50 such that the latch member 20 is slidable along the lab belt 52.
The latch member 20
further includes engagement means for lockably engaging and disengaging with
the seatbelt buckle 30.
[00028] An occupant that wishes to use the attachment device 10 of the
invention to provide a more
comfortable and safer trip simply attaches a latch member 20 to the lap belt
52, and lockably engages
the latch member 20 to the buckle 30. With the device 10 properly in place,
the lap belt 52 travels over
each leg of the occupant and between the occupant's legs to the cushion
surface 14 where it is locked
into place. This eliminates the uncomfortable and potentially unsafe path that
the lap belt 52 would
travel over the abdominal section of the occupant 52 when the attachment
device 10 is not used. When
the lap belt portion 52 of the seatbelt webbing 50 is fixed between the legs
of the occupant by lockably
engaging the latch member 20 to the buckle 30, buckle 30 and latch member 20
operate as a load
bearing point which adds further safety to the occupant in the event of an
accident involving sudden
deceleration of the vehicle.
[00029] Various techniques can be used (some not shown) for securing the
buckle 30 to an
anchoring structure within the cushion 12. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, buckle
30 is connected to a
flexible piece 31 which is then anchored to a base plate 33. Flexible piece
may be seatbelt webbing
commonly used in the art, flexible cables, or another flexible material. In
another embodiment, buckle
30 is connected via member to a lattice structure where the lattice structure
includes at least one
crosspiece. This particular embodiment provides a lightweight anchoring
structure that distributes the
force of an impact generally evenly through the cushion. In another
embodiment, buckle 30 is
connected via member to an elongated member which also distributes the force
of impact throughout
the cushion. It will be appreciated that the anchoring structure or any parts
thereof may be built of
lightweight materials such as metals, particularly aluminum and titanium
alloys, ceramic, plastic, etc. In
another embodiment, the buckle 30 is integrally formed with the anchoring
structure.
[00030] Referring next to Figs. 5a and 5b, a preferred orientation of the
buckle 30 and the latch
member 20 relative to the lap belt is shown. To allow latch member 20 to slide
along the length of lap
belt 52, latch member 20 is attached to the lap belt 52 such that latch member
20 is generally
perpendicular to lap belt 52. Otherwise stated, the longitudinal direction of
latch member 20 and
buckle 30 (indicated by arrow X) is positioned generally perpendicular to the
longitudinal extent of lap
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belt 52 (indicated by arrow Y). Because of this orientation, lap belt 52 does
not twist or fold when latch
member 20 is lockably engaged with buckle 30. In addition to allowing the
latch member 20 to slide
freely along the length of lap belt 52, the preferred position shown in Figs.
5a, 5b provides other
advantages, as described below.
[000311 As shown, the seatbelt buckle 30 may be recessed relative to the
upper surface 14 of the
cushion 12 (i.e. ¨ the top of buckle 30 is positioned below the upper surface
14). This preferred
orientation of buckle 30 provides several advantages to the user. First, the
recessed buckle 30 is located
below the groin area of the vehicle occupant; therefore, if the vehicle and
the occupant are subjected to
a significant deceleration as the result of an accident, the groin area of the
occupant will not impact the
buckle 30 or the latch member 20. Second, the recessed position of the buckle
30 in addition to the
perpendicular orientation of the buckle 30 and latch 20 relative to the lap
belt 52 ensures that the lap
belt 52 forms a v-shape when the buckle 30 and the latch 20 are engaged. Note
that the lap belt 52
does not fold or become twisted because positioning of the buckle 30
perpendicular to the lap belt 52.
This v-shape, as illustrated in Figs 1, 5a and 5b, creates a space around the
groin area on the inside of
the occupant's legs, which protects a person's groin area in the event of an
accident. In most collisions,
however, the lap belt 30 will engage with the upper thighs of the occupant and
prevents the occupant's
groin area from having to use the space provided by the v-shape. In
particularly violent collisions,
however, the v-shape ensures that the occupant does not suffer any injuries in
the groin area.
[00032] Referring next to Figs. 4a-4d, various latch members are shown that
can be used with the
device 10 of the invention. Latch member 20 is easily attachable to and
detachable from the lap belt 52
as desired by the vehicle occupant. Latch member 20 includes a tongue 29,
which is connected to a
handle 21. The handle 21 generally comprises a top piece 23, a bottom piece
25, and two side pieces
27, 28. Together, the top piece 23, bottom piece 25 and side pieces 27, 28,
define a webbing loop 24
which adapted to receive the webbing 52. In one embodiment, one of the pieces
23, 25, 27, 28
comprises a slot through which the webbing 52 is receivable into the webbing
loop 24 (as shown in Fig.
4a and 4d). As will be appreciated, the dimensions of the webbing loop 24 are
pre-determined such that
the latch member 20 is easily slidable along the lap portion 52. It will be
appreciated that the slot 26 is
adapted to receive the webbing 52 when the webbing 52 is carefully positioned
on its edge by a person
relative to slot 26; therefore, it is very unlikely that the webbing 52 will
go through the slot 26 on its own
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during use unintentionally. Therefore, the dimensions of the slot 26 are
carefully designed so that the
webbing 52 does not unintentionally detach from the webbing loop 24. To remove
the latch member 20
from the lap belt 52, a person simply orientates the lap belt webbing 52
correctly relative to the slot 26,
and carefully pulls the webbing 52 through the slot 26.
[00033] Fig. 4b illustrates another embodiment of the latch member 20.
Latch member 20 includes
a top piece 23 which is movable from a first position, in which a slot 71 is
opened up for attaching/
detaching the lap belt 52 to/from the webbing loop 24, to a second position in
which the top piece 23
fully closes the slot 71. The latch member 23 of Fig. 4b is similar in
principle to a mountain climbing
carabiner. The first position in which the slot 71 is open is shown in Fig.
3b, and the second position in
which the there is no slot is shown in the dotted line. The generally movement
path of top piece 23 is
shown by arrow E. A spring (not shown) operates to force the top piece 23 into
the second position
unless the top piece is forcefully depressed by a user. In this way, the latch
member 20 stays securely
attached to the lap belt portion 52 during a crash or in the event of chaotic
jostling of the vehicle unless
the latch member 20 is purposely removed by an occupant. It will be
appreciated that other
components of handle 21 maybe move in the general motion of top piece 23. For
example, side pieces
27, 28 may also move from a first position to a second position to
attach/detach the webbing 52
to/from the webbing loop 24.
[00034] Fig. 4c illustrates another embodiment of the latch member 20 of
the invention, which is
similar in principle to a threaded carabiner. Latch member 20 has a top piece
23 which includes a nut
23a and a threaded member 23b. Once the lap belt webbing 52 is inserted into
webbing loop 24, nut
23a can be screwed on to threaded member 23b to close slot 71 so that the
webbing 52 cannot come
loose from the webbing loop 24. A spring (not shown) may be included to force
nut 23a into a locked
position unless a user forcefully counteracts the spring force to open up slot
71 for attaching or
detaching the lap belt 52 to/from the webbing loop 24. It will be appreciated
that other designs of latch
members 20 may be suitable for the attachment device 10 of the invention. For
example, various
components of the latch members 20 illustrated in Fig. 4b and 4c may be
combined so that a top piece
23 moves in the direction of arrow E, a spring ensures that the default
position of the webbing loop 24 is
closed, and a threaded piece goes over the top clip to ensure that the top
piece 23 does not depress by
accident when the vehicle is in use.
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[00035]
Turning next to Fig. 9, another cushion 12 is shown that can be used with the
attachment
device of the invention. Cushion 12 has a contoured ergonomic upper surface 14
which may be more
comfortable to sit on for some occupants. The center portion 15 of the upper
surface 14 is raised
relative to the side portions 16. In addition to providing a comfortable
contoured surface 14, this design
allows enough room in the center portion 15 to ensure that both the buckle 30
and the latch member 20
are fully recessed when engaged and do not impede the groin area of the
occupant, while still
minimizing the thickness of the cushion 12 at other portions.
[00036] It
will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention can take
many forms, and
that such forms are within the scope of the invention as claimed. For
example, whereas the
illustrations depict an embodiment that would be well-suited for deployment in
an OEM context, i.e.
constructed by the vehicle manufacturer as part of the stock seat assembly,
the invention could also be
incorporated in aftermarket vehicle seats and also in accessories of the
"booster seat" type. Therefore,
the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the
descriptions of the preferred
versions contained herein.
