Seatbelt buckle

Claim 2

A safety seatbelt buckle comprising a buckle base having a central baseplate and a pair of upstanding flanges extending along a pair of said opposite sides of said baseplate, a pivot pin spanning said flanges and spaced from said baseplate, a cover lever pivotally mounted on said pivot pin for movement between open and closed positions, a latch member pivotally mounted on said pivot pin, a tongue plate insertable into an opening between said cover lever and said plate and slideable longitudinally relative to said baseplate and including an abutment wall defining a latch opening in said tongue plate, a latch dog carried by said latch member and movable upon pivoting of said latch member between a release position in which said tongue plate can be retracted from said buckle and a latching position in which said dog projects into said latch opening and engages said abutment wall on said tongue plate, actuating means on said cover lever separated by a gap from said latch member when said cover lever is in Its closed position and movable to engage and pivot the latch member to release position as said cover lever is pivoted to its open position, and a spring body disposed between said cover lever and said buckle base, said spring body having a portion thereof connected to said buckle base and having a first leaf spring biasing said latch member and said latch dog toward said latching position and a second leaf spring biasing said cover toward its closed position.

Claim 3

A safety belt buckle in accordance with claim 1 in which said spring body is secured to said base and has a portion which limits the pivotal movement of said latch member at its release position thereby limiting the opening movement of said cover lever.

Claim 4

A safety belt buckle in accordance with claim 1 in which said spring body is mounted on said pivot pin.

Claim 5

A safety belt buckle in accordance with claim 3 in which portions of said base are interlocked with said spring body to hold the same against rotating about said pivot pin when said latch member strikes said spring body.

Claim 6

A safety belt buckle in accordance with claim 1 in which said first spring leaf engages said latching member on one side of said pivot pin and biases the same downwardly toward said central baseplate and in which said second leaf spring curves about said pivot pin to engage said cover member on the other side of said pivot pin and exerts an upward force on one end of said cover and biases it toward its closed position.

Claim 7

A safety belt buckle in accordance with claim 5 in which said latch member is provided with an opening and in which said second leaf spring projects into said opening when flexed by said cover lever.

Claim 8

A safety belt buckle in accordance with claim 6 in which said actuating means on said cover lever includes abutment surfaces disposed on the interior side of said cover lever spaced from an adjacent portion of said latching member when said cover is closed, pivoting of said cover lever toward its release position causing said abutments to engage and pivot said latching member to its release position.

Claim 9

A safety belt buckle in accordance with claim 1 in which said side flanges of said base have elongated slots, and which includes a bar for a belt webbing slideably mounted in said slots, and means on said cover biasing said belt webbing and bar against the walls of said slots to hold the bar against rattling when said cover is in its closed position.

Claim 10

A safety belt buckle in accordance with claim 8 in which a blocking wall projects from the interior surface of said cover toward said base and extends laterally between said side flanges of said base to block a false insertion of said tongue plate, said blocking wall being disposed inwardly of the free end of said cover lever to permit insertion of the finger tips of the operator for a predetermined distance to permit grasping of the free end of the cover lever.

Claim 11

A safety seatbelt buckle comprising a buckle base having a central baseplate and a pair of upstanding flanges extending along a pair of said opposite sides of said baseplate, a cover lever pivotally mounted at one end of said buckle base for movement between open and closed positions, a latch member pivotally mounted on said base, a tongue plate insertable into an opening between said cover lever and said baseplate and slideable longitudinally relative to said baseplate and including an abutment wall defining a latch opening in said tongue plate, a latch dog on said latch member movable between a release position in which said tongue plate can be retracted from said buckle and a latching position in which said dog projects into said latch opening and engages said abutment wall on said tongue plate, an abutment surface on said cover lever spaced from and movable to engage and pivot the latch member to its release position as said cover lever is pivoted to its open position whereby said tongue plate may be withdrawn from said buckle, and a spring body having a central web overlyinG said latch member extending laterally of said buckle base to adjacent said upstanding flanges of said buckle base, a portion of said spring body being interlocked with said buckle base, said spring body web serving as a stop for said latch member at its release position, a first leaf spring on said spring body extending downwardly from said web to engage said latch member on one side of said pivotal axis and exerting a downward force to pivot said latch member against said central baseplate, and a second leaf spring on said spring body extending to the opposite side of said pivotal axis and exerting an upward force on the rearward end of said cover lever biasing the same toward a closed position.

Claim 12

A safety seatbelt buckle comprising a buckle base having a central baseplate and a pair of upstanding flanges extending along a pair of said opposite sides of said baseplate, a cover lever pivotally mounted at one end of said buckle base for movement between open and closed positions, a latch member pivotally mounted on said base, a tongue plate insertable into an opening between said cover lever and said baseplate and slideable longitudinally relative to said baseplate and including an abutment wall defining a latch opening in said tongue plate, a latch dog on said latch member movable between a release position in which said tongue plate can be retracted from said buckle and a latching position in which said dog projects into said latch opening and engages said abutment wall on said tongue plate, an abutment surface on said cover lever spaced from and movable to engage and pivot the latch member to its release position as said cover lever is pivoted to its open position whereby said tongue plate may be withdrawn from said buckle, and a spring body having a central web overlyinG said latch member extending laterally of said buckle base to adjacent said upstanding flanges of said buckle base, a portion of said spring body being interlocked with said buckle base, said spring body web serving as a stop for said latch member at its release position, a first leaf spring on said spring body extending downwardly from said web to engage said latch member on one side of said pivotal axis and exerting a downward force to pivot said latch member against said central baseplate, and a second leaf spring on said spring body extending to the opposite side of said pivotal axis and exerting an upward force on the rearward end of said cover lever biasing the same toward a closed position.