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:
Dec. 16, 1997
Filed:
Nov. 12, 1996
David W Husted, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Timothy Butt, Plymouth, MI (US);
Hoover Universal, Inc., Plymouth, MI (US);
Abstract
A vehicle seat which carries a passenger restraint system, namely a lap belt and a shoulder belt, with a tension load carrying member being provided to resist forward rotation and bending of the backrest frame during a frontal vehicle collision when the shoulder belt is loaded in tension. The tension load carrying member forms a truss structure with the frame back portion and the frame base portion. However, during normal vehicle operation, the tension load carrying member is detached from the frame back portion eliminating the truss structure and the need for a more complex recliner mechanism for adjusting the position of the backrest. A grip mechanism is provided to attach the load carrying member in response to a high shoulder belt load to complete the truss. In an alternative embodiment, the load carrying member is released from the backrest only during adjustment of the backrest.