The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 20, 1981
Filed:
May. 24, 1979
Avraham Ziv, Sepulveda, CA (US);
American Safety Equipment Corporation, San Fernando, CA (US);
Abstract
An emergency release mechanism in a passive seat belt system provides a vehicle occupant with an extra section of belting material by which the occupant may extricate himself from the vehicle in emergency situations where the position of the vehicle or the condition of the system is such that the seat belt could not otherwise be slackened. In passive systems, the seat belt is retractably mounted either to the vehicle floor or door, passed over the upper torso of the vehicle floor or door, passed over the upper torso of the vehicle occupant and permanently attached to an anchor bracket attached to the door or floor, respectively. The emergency release portion of the system releasably attaches an intermediate portion of the seat belt to the anchor bracket, thereby defining an open loop of belting material between the permanently-attached end and the releasably-attached intermediate sections of the belt. The intermediate portion of the belt attaches to the anchor bracket by means of a tongue latchng into a buckle mounted on the anchor bracket. In normal operation, the tongue engages the buckle and the loop of belting material is folded against the upper portion of the seat belt. In emergency situations, the tongue is released from the buckle, causing the loop to elongate and to thereby slacken the seat belt, allowing the occupant to escape from the vehicle. A scabbard attached to the seat belt holds the open loop folded against the seat belt when the emergency release is not deployed.