EP0842832A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Seat belt buckle with field effect locking indicator and method of use
Assignee: ZF Passive Safety Systems US Inc
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Filing: 1997-11-13
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-11-13
Abstract
Abstract A seat belt buckle (12) includes a latch mechanism (20) and a field effect device (26). The latch mechanism (20) includes a latch (42) which is movable into and out of a locking position in which it engages a seat belt tongue (16) to interlock the tongue (16) with the latch mechanism (20). The field effect device (26) which can be a photosensitive device (72) and a source of light (70), provides a first output if the seat belt tongue (16) is not interlocked with the latch mechanism (20) and provides a second, different output if the seat belt tongue (16) is interlocked with the latch mechanism (20).
Inventors
- 👤 Brian K. Blackburn
- 👤 Scott B. Gentry
- 👤 Robert Sayles
- 👤 Charles E. Steffens, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 23:51
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60R; B60R21/00; B60R21/01; B60R21/015; B60R21/01512; B60R21/01544; B60R21/01546; A; A44; A44B; A44B11/00; A44B11/25; A44B11/2503; A44B11/2546; A44B11/2565; B60R22/00; B60R22/48; B60R2022/4808; B60R2022/4816
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
66 words
Apparatus comprising: a latch mechanism including a latch which is
movable into and out of a locking position in which said
latch engages a seat belt tongue to interlock the tongue
with said latch mechanism; and field effect means for providing a first output
if said latch is not in said locking position and a second,
different output if said latch is in said locking position.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
115 words
Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein one of
said outputs is a low-level output and the other of said
outputs is a high-level output,
and/or further preferably
comprising a vehicle occupant protection device which
deploys upon the occurrence of a predetermined vehicle
condition, said protection device deploying in a first mode
in response to said first output and in a second, different
mode in response to said second output,
and/or further preferably
comprising a vehicle occupant protection device which
deploys upon the occurrence of a predetermined vehicle
condition when said field effect means provides one of said
outputs, and which does not deploy when said field effect
means provides the other of said outputs.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
87 words
A method comprising: indicating whether or not a seat belt tongue is
interlocked with a latch mechanism, said latch mechanism
including a latch which is movable into and out of a
locking position in which said latch engages said tongue to
interlock said tongue with said latch mechanism; said indicating step comprising the step of
operating a field effect means for providing a first output
if said latch is not in said locking position and a second,
different output if said latch is in said locking position.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
117 words
A method as defined in any of the preceding claims
wherein said operating step provides one of said outputs
as a low-level output and provides the other of said
outputs as a high-level output,
and/or further preferably comprising
the step of deploying a vehicle occupant protection device
upon the occurrence of a predetermined vehicle condition,
with said protection device being deployed in a first mode
in response to said first output and in a second, different
mode in response to said second output,
and/or further preferably comprising
the step of deploying a vehicle occupant protection device
upon the occurrence of a predetermined vehicle condition
only if said photosensitive device is providing a
predetermined one of said outputs.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
50 words
Apparatus comprising: a latch mechanism which releasably interlocks
with a seat belt tongue; and a photosensitive device which provides a first
output if a seat belt tongue is not interlocked with said
latch mechanism and a second, different output if a seat
belt tongue is interlocked with said latch mechanism.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
405 words
Apparatus as defined in any of the preceding
claims further comprising a vehicle occupant
protection device which deploys upon the occurence
of a predetermined vehicle condition, said protection
device deploying in a first mode in response to said
first output and in a second, different mode in response
to said second output,
and/or further preferably
comprising a vehicle occupant protection device which
deploys upon the occurrence of a predetermined vehicle
condition if said photosensitive device is providing one of
said outputs, and which does not deploy if said
photosensitive device is providing the other of said outputs,
and/or further preferably
comprising a source of light which energizes said
photosensitive device, said latch mechanism including a
movable part having a first position reflecting said light
from said source to said photosensitive device and a second
position not reflecting said light from said source to said
photosensitive device, said latch mechanism moving said
movable part from one of said positions to the other of
said positions in response to interlocking of a seat belt
tongue with said latch mechanism,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part of said latch mechanism is a latch,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part of said latch mechanism is an ejector,
and/or further preferably
comprising a source of light which energizes said
photosensitive device, said latch mechanism including a
movable part having a first position blocking transmission
of said light from said source to said photosensitive
device and a second position not blocking transmission of
said light from said source to said photosensitive device,
said latch mechanism moving said movable part form one of
said positions to the other of said positions in response
to interlocking of a seat belt tongue with said latch
mechanism,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part of said latch mechanism is a latch,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part of said latch mechanism is an ejector,
and/or further preferably
comprising a seat belt tongue and a source of light which
energizes said photosensitive device, said seat belt tongue
reflecting light from said source to said photosensitive
device when said tongue is interlocked with said latch
mechanism,
and/or further preferably
comprising a seat belt tongue and a source of light which
energizes said photosensitive device, said seat belt tongue
blocking transmission of said light from said source to
said photosensitive device when said tongue is interlocked
with said latch mechanism,
and/or wherein preferably said
photosensitive device is a phototransistor.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
73 words
Apparatus comprising: a seat belt buckle including a housing containing
a latch mechanism which releasably locks a seat belt tongue
in said buckle; a photosensitive device in said housing; a source of light; and switch means for varying transmission of light
from said source to said photosensitive device so as to
switch said photosensitive device between first and second
predetermined conditions in response to locking of a seat
belt tongue in said buckle.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
385 words
Apparatus as defined in any of the preceding claims
wherein said photosensitive device has a first output when in
said first condition and has a second, different output when
in said secon condition, said apparatus further comprising
deployment means for deploying a vehicle occupant
protection device in response to a predetermined vehicle
condition, said deployment means operating in a first mode
in response to said first output and in a second, different
mode in response to said second output,
and/or wherein preferably said
deployment means deploys said protection device when
operating in said first mode and does not deploy said
protection device when operating in said second mode,
and/or wherein preferably said
switch means comprises a reflective surface with a first
position reflecting light from said source to said
photosensitive device and a second position not reflecting
light from said source to said photosensitive device, said
switch means switching said photosensitive device between
said first and second conditions upon movement of said
reflective surface from one of said positions to the other
of said positions,
and/or wherein preferably said
reflective surface is a surface on a seat belt tongue,
and/or wherein preferably said
reflective surface is a surface on a movable part of said
latch mechanism,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part of said latch mechanism is a latch,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part of said latch mechanism is an ejector,
and/or wherein preferably said
switch means comprises a movable part with a first position
blocking transmission of light from said source to said
photosensitive device and a second position not blocking
transmission of light from said source to said
photosensitive device, said switch means switching said
photosensitive device between said first and second
conditions upon movement of said movable part from one of
said positions to the other of said positions,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part is a seat belt tongue,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part is a part of said latch mechanism,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part of said latch mechanism is a latch,
and/or wherein preferably said
movable part of said latch mechanism is an ejector,
and/or wherein preferably said
source of light is located in said housing,
and/or wherein preferably said
source of light and said photosensitive device are integral
parts of a unitary photo reflector system.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
41 words
A method comprising: varying transmission of light from a source of
light to a photosensitive device so as to switch said
photosensitive device between first and second
predetermined conditions in response to locking of a seat
belt tongue in said buckle.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
115 words
A method as defined in any of the preceding claims
wherein said photosensitive device has a first output when in
said first condition and has a second, different output when
in said second condition, said method further comprising the
step of operating a deployment means for deploying a vehicle
occupant protection device in response to a predetermined
vehicle condition, said deployment means being operated in
a first mode in response to said first output and in a
second, different mode in response to said second output,
and/or wherein preferably said
deployment means deploys said protection device when
operating in said first mode and does not deploy said
protection device when operating in said second mode.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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