Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.

Amsafe Commercial Products, Inc.

Indiana Mills & Mfg. Co., Inc.

Michael A Wiseman

James R Anthony

Allan R Lortz

Guy R Dingman

James T Anthony

Donald C Boyle

Thomas P Woellert

David D Merrick

Gregory L Woodard

Mark E Main

Ian J Hadlow

Peter E Miller

Phillip Morgan

Xinghua Huang

Jeffrey L Beaver

James R Chinni

Steven Tibor Berenyi

Derrick J Barker

Steven T Berenyl

Nick A Campbell

James C Esler

Robert Desmarais

Derrick John Martin Barker

Suzanne J Mueller

Steven T Berenyi

Devices that can be releasably attached to seat belts and other restraint system webs to adjust the operational tension in the webs are described herein. In one embodiment, a seat belt web passes through a clamping device that includes a button movably coupled to a housing. In this embodiment, manual operation of the button in a first direction causes the device to clamp onto the adjacent portion of the seat belt web, thereby preventing the portion of web from being pulled through a web guide by a retractor. Manual operation of the button in a second direction causes the device to release the web.

Devices for adjusting tension in seat belts and other restraint system webs, and associated methods

Buckle assembly

A vehicle safety restraint system comprises a portable base having a mounting assembly and a restraint assembly. The portable base may be a booster seat. The mounting assembly mounts the base the base to the seat of a vehicle and the restraint assembly restrains an occupant of the base. The mounting assembly may wrap around at least a portion of the vehicle seat to mount the booster seat to the vehicle. The restraint assembly may comprise a five-point or a four-point restraint and may include a lateral support assembly. The restraint assembly may further include a torso support assembly. A method of mounting a portable base to a vehicle seat is provided.

Vehicle safety restraint system

A load control device comprises a frame defining a first anchor slot configured to receive a first restraint member, and a second anchor slot configured to receive a second restraint member. At least a portion of the frame yields under a load between the first and second anchor slots that is in excess of a predetermined load.

Load control device

A vehicle safety restraint system comprises a portable base having a mounting assembly and a restraint assembly. The portable base may be a booster seat. The mounting assembly mounts the base to the seat of a vehicle and the restraint assembly restrains an occupant of the base. The mounting assembly may wrap around at least a portion of the vehicle seat to mount the booster seat to the vehicle. The restraint assembly may comprise a five-point or a four-point restraint and may include a lateral support assembly. The restraint assembly may further include a torso support assembly. A method of mounting a portable base to a vehicle seat is provided.

A coupling to attach a device such as an infant seat to an anchor member. One version of the coupling is characterized by a frame having a mouth with a seat configured to receive the anchor member and a lever movably mounted on the frame to hold the anchor member inside the mouth. The lever has a downwardly projecting finger that blocks the mouth of the notch in the closed position and allows access to the notch when moved to the open position. The coupling may include a stop member to resist movement from the closed to the open position. The coupling also may include a web adjuster or other connecting device operatively disposed between the coupling and the device.

Restraint coupling

A buckle for use with a safety belt includes a buckle housing formed to define a cavity, an actuator aperture in communication with the cavity, and an insertion opening in communication with the cavity. An actuator of the buckle is coupled to the buckle housing and formed to include a button accessible through the actuator aperture of the buckle housing as well as a belt-anchor catch coupled to the button to move with the button. The buckle further includes an ejector spring positioned within the cavity of the buckle housing along a substantially central longitudinal axis defined to extend from a back end of the buckle housing to a front end of the buckle housing. First and second belt anchors are formed to be inserted, at least in part, into the insertion opening to engage the ejector spring and move the ejector spring to a retracted position.

Infant buckle

A web adjuster device includes a frame defining a first web engaging surface. A web clamping member is movably mounted to the frame and defines second and third web engaging surfaces. A web is received between the first and second web engaging surfaces, and in one direction of web travel the web engages the third web engaging surface to force the second web engaging surface toward the first web engaging surface to trap the web therebetween. In an opposite direction, the web engages the third web engaging surface to force the second web engaging surface away from the first web engaging surface to allow web travel in this direction. The third web engaging surface may be omitted in favor of a web engaging protrusion extending from the web engaging surface of the frame, wherein the second web engaging surface facilitates trapping of the web against the web engaging protrusion.

Web adjuster device

A web adjuster for varying a length of a web. The web adjuster has a gripping bar having a pair of ears mounted near each of its ends, a frame including a web stop, and one or more springs to normally urge the bar toward the web stop and against the web. The adjuster may include a coupling device, such as another web or a snap hook, to operatively anchor the coupling device.

Web adjuster and coupling

A dual tongue buckle includes a single latch member and a single ejection member housed within a buckle main body, and a pair of tongue members that are slidable relative to each other. When the first tongue is advanced sufficiently into the buckle main body over the latch member, the tongue forces the ejection member to rotate away from that side of the latch member allowing the latch member to lock to the first tongue, while the opposite end of the ejection member maintains the opposite end of the latch member in a pre-latched position. When the second tongue is advanced sufficiently into the buckle main body, it forces the opposite end of the ejection member away from the latching member to thereby lock the second tongue thereto. A releasing member depresses the latch member so that the ejection member at least partially ejects any of the tongue members latched therein from the buckle main body.

Dual tongue buckle with independent latching

Buckle

A retractor having means for controlling the withdrawal of a belt therefrom operated by a push button. A retractor frame has a spring biased rotatably mounted spool wrappingly receiving one end of a belt harness with the belt harness having an opposite end with buckle members fixed thereto to receive a buckle tongue. A locking bar is engageable with ratchet shaped end plates of the spool. The locking bar is pivotable into the ratchet shaped end plates to prevent further withdrawal of the belt harness. A manual push button control causes movement of the locking bar away from the ratchet shaped end plates to allow withdrawal of the belt harness until the push button is released and the locking bar pivots into its normal position in contact with the ratchet shaped end plates.

Belt retractor with push button controlled locking bar

A pair of interactive tongues are for latching to a dual-tongue belt buckle. The belt buckle includes false latching features that only permits the latching mechanism to trigger when both of the tongues are fully inserted into the buckle. The contact surfaces of the first and second tongues include interactive features that prevent the tongues from sliding past one another in the direction of the tongue bars when the contact surfaces are meshed. The interactive features of the contact surfaces are shaped and configured so that the contact surfaces can be meshed by moving the tongues toward each other in a plurality of different directions that are perpendicular to the direction defined by the tongue bars.

Growing community of inventors

Avon, IN, United States of America

Michael A Wiseman