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:
May. 06, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 02, 2001
Robert P. Ellis, Metamora, MI (US);
Franklin L. Kiiskila, Leonard, MI (US);
Edgar H. Schlaps, Washington, MI (US);
TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc., Lyndhurst, OH (US);
Abstract
A buckle ( ) for a vehicle seat belt system ( ) comprises a latch mechanism ( ) for connection with a tongue assembly ( ) of the seat belt system. The latch mechanism ( ) has a latched condition and a released condition. The buckle ( ) also comprises a manually engageable pushbutton ( ) connected with the latch mechanism ( ). The pushbutton ( ) is movable between a first position in which the latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which the latch mechanism is in the released condition. The buckle ( ) contains an illumination mechanism ( ) comprising an electroluminescent panel ( ) which may or may not be movable with the pushbutton when the pushbutton moves between the first and second positions.