Abstract A vehicle passive occupant restraining belt arrangement includes shoulder and lap belts having their first respective ends fixed with respect to the vehicle body inboard of the seat. The other end of the shoulder belt is received by a conventional inertia retractor mounted rearward of the seat adjacent the outboard side of the vehicle body and normally retracting the shoulder belt to a suitable occupant restraining position diagonally disposed across the chest of a seated occupant. The other end of the lap belt is received by a releasable automatic locking retractor mounted on the inboard lower rear portion of the vehicle body door and normally retracting the lap belt to a suitable occupant restraining position disposed across the lap of the seated occupant. An elongated first track member mounted along the roof rail of the vehicle body slidably mounts a first carrier that is apertured to slidably receive an intermediate portion of the shoulder belt. An elongated second track member is angularly disposed on the inboard side of the door with the rear end adjacent the locking retractor and with the front end positioned above the rear end adjacent the front edge of the door. A second carrier is mounted by the second track member for longitudinal movement and is apertured to slidably receive an intermediate portion of the lap belt. Conventional drive mechanisms move the carriers with respect to the track members in response to an operative condition of the vehicle. When the vehicle is in the operative condition, the drive mechanisms position the carriers at the rear ends of the track members and the shoulder and lap belts are disposed in the occupant restraining positions. Upon cessation of the operative condition of the vehicle, a solenoid releases the locking retractor and the drive mechanisms subsequently move the carriers to the front ends of the track members as the belts slide through the carriers and move to easyenter positions allowing convenient egression of the occupant from the vehicle body. Upon an occupant again assuming a seated position and the vehicle being placed in the operative condition, the drive mechanisms move the carriers to the rear ends of the track members to allow the belts to again assume the occupant restraining positions.
Inventors
👤 Charles M Keppel
👤 Irwin K Weiss
Bibliographic Details
Application Number—
JurisdictionUS
Data Sourcegoogle_patents
Last Synchronized2026-10-26 12:04
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60R; B60R22/00; B60R22/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 2
Claim 1
Independent Claim
489 words
In combination with a vehicle including a vehicle body having a floor and a roof defining an occupant compartment in which is mounted a vehicle seat accessible through a vehicle body door opening selectively opened and closed by a vehicle body door whose forward edge is pivoted to the vehicle body, a passive occupant restraining belt arrangement comprising, a shoulder belt having one end secured within the occupant compartment adjacent a rear inboard lower portion of the vehicle seat, an inertia retractor fixedly mounted to the vehicle body within the occupant compartment rearward of the seat and adjacent an outboard portion thereof, the inertia retractor receiving the other end of the shoulder belt and normally retracting the shoulder belt to a suitable occupant restraining position diagonally disposed across the chest of a seated occupant, a lap belt having one end secured within the occupant compartment adjacent the one end of the shoulder belt, a releasable automatic locking retractor mounted on the inboard lower rear portion of the door, the locking retractor receiving the other end of the lap belt and normally retracting the lap belt to a suitable occupant restraining position disposed across the lap of a seated occupant, releasable means for releasing the locking retractor, a first track member mounted on a outboard portion of the roof in a generally longitudinally extending direction within the occupant compartment, an apertured first carrier mounted by the first track member for longitudinal movement with respect thereto, the aperture of the first carrier slidably receiving an intermediate portion of the shoulder belt and the first carrier being positioned in a rearward position adjacent the rear end of the seat with the shoulder belt in restraining position, a second track member mounted on the inboard side of the door in a diagonal orientation with the rear end positioned adjacent the locking retractor and with the front end positioned above the rear end adjacent the front edge of the door, an apertured second carrier mounted by the second track member for longitudinal movement with respect thereto, the aperture of the second carrier slidably receiving an intermediate portion of the lap belt and the second carrier being positioned in a rearward position adjacent the locking retractor with the lap belt in restraining position, drive means for moving the carriers between the rearward positions and respective forward positions as the belts slide through the carriers to move the belts between the restraining positions and easy-enter positions allowing convenient occupant access to the vehicle Seat, and control means for actuating the drive means to move the carriers to the rearward positions and the belts to restraining positions in response to an operative condition of the vehicle, the control means actuating the release means to release the locking retractor and subsequently actuating the drive means to move the carriers to the forward positions and the belts to easy-enter positions upon cessation of the operative condition of the vehicle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
489 words
In combination with a vehicle including a vehicle body having a floor and a roof defining an occupant compartment in which is mounted a vehicle seat accessible through a vehicle body door opening selectively opened and closed by a vehicle body door whose forward edge is pivoted to the vehicle body, a passive occupant restraining belt arrangement comprising, a shoulder belt having one end secured within the occupant compartment adjacent a rear inboard lower portion of the vehicle seat, an inertia retractor fixedly mounted to the vehicle body within the occupant compartment rearward of the seat and adjacent an outboard portion thereof, the inertia retractor receiving the other end of the shoulder belt and normally retracting the shoulder belt to a suitable occupant restraining position diagonally disposed across the chest of a seated occupant, a lap belt having one end secured within the occupant compartment adjacent the one end of the shoulder belt, a releasable automatic locking retractor mounted on the inboard lower rear portion of the door, the locking retractor receiving the other end of the lap belt and normally retracting the lap belt to a suitable occupant restraining position disposed across the lap of a seated occupant, releasable means for releasing the locking retractor, a first track member mounted on a outboard portion of the roof in a generally longitudinally extending direction within the occupant compartment, an apertured first carrier mounted by the first track member for longitudinal movement with respect thereto, the aperture of the first carrier slidably receiving an intermediate portion of the shoulder belt and the first carrier being positioned in a rearward position adjacent the rear end of the seat with the shoulder belt in restraining position, a second track member mounted on the inboard side of the door in a diagonal orientation with the rear end positioned adjacent the locking retractor and with the front end positioned above the rear end adjacent the front edge of the door, an apertured second carrier mounted by the second track member for longitudinal movement with respect thereto, the aperture of the second carrier slidably receiving an intermediate portion of the lap belt and the second carrier being positioned in a rearward position adjacent the locking retractor with the lap belt in restraining position, drive means for moving the carriers between the rearward positions and respective forward positions as the belts slide through the carriers to move the belts between the restraining positions and easy-enter positions allowing convenient occupant access to the vehicle Seat, and control means for actuating the drive means to move the carriers to the rearward positions and the belts to restraining positions in response to an operative condition of the vehicle, the control means actuating the release means to release the locking retractor and subsequently actuating the drive means to move the carriers to the forward positions and the belts to easy-enter positions upon cessation of the operative condition of the vehicle.