US3760467A — Safety belt buckle

Claim 1

Independent Claim 267 words

A seat belt buckle assembly comprising a. a housing having an opening therein; b. a cavity extending in said housing from said opening to a wall of said housing opposite said opening; c. inlet means in said housing communicating with said cavity for receiving a tongue; d. latching means disposed in said cavity and movable into latching engagement with said tongue; e. biasing means operatively associated with said latching means to urge said latching means into latching engagement with said tongue; f. manually actuating means operatively associated with said latching means to move said latching means out of latching engagement with said tongue; said latching means, biasing means and manually actuating means comprising a plurality of components disposed in said cavity, at least portions of all of said components being positioned in overlapping relationship in the direction in which said cavity extends into said housing, with the lowermost component engaging said wall; and g. ledge means in said housing extending into said cavity in at least one direction which is towards said inlet means and including channels integrally formed in the sides of said cavity adjacent to and opposite said inlet means for guiding and supporting the leading edge of said tongue as the tongue is inserted into said housing, said channels furnishing support to the sides and leading edge of said tongue after it is in latching engagement with said latching means, whereby motion of said tongue during insertion and release is limited to a linear motion with respect to said housing in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said wall of said housing.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 267 words

A seat belt buckle assembly comprising a. a housing having an opening therein; b. a cavity extending in said housing from said opening to a wall of said housing opposite said opening; c. inlet means in said housing communicating with said cavity for receiving a tongue; d. latching means disposed in said cavity and movable into latching engagement with said tongue; e. biasing means operatively associated with said latching means to urge said latching means into latching engagement with said tongue; f. manually actuating means operatively associated with said latching means to move said latching means out of latching engagement with said tongue; said latching means, biasing means and manually actuating means comprising a plurality of components disposed in said cavity, at least portions of all of said components being positioned in overlapping relationship in the direction in which said cavity extends into said housing, with the lowermost component engaging said wall; and g. ledge means in said housing extending into said cavity in at least one direction which is towards said inlet means and including channels integrally formed in the sides of said cavity adjacent to and opposite said inlet means for guiding and supporting the leading edge of said tongue as the tongue is inserted into said housing, said channels furnishing support to the sides and leading edge of said tongue after it is in latching engagement with said latching means, whereby motion of said tongue during insertion and release is limited to a linear motion with respect to said housing in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said wall of said housing.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 36 words

The buckle assembly of claim 1 wherein said cavity has surfaces extending from said wall toward said opening, said cavity being unobstructed above said surfaces to said opening for receiving said latching means and other components.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 46 words

The buckle assembly of claim 1 wherein said latching means comprises a latching member confined to motion substantially perpendicular to said wall of said housing, said latching member having legs extending therefrom towards said opening, said legs having surfaces in contact with said manually actuating means.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 38 words

The buckle assembly of claim 3 wherein said manually actuating means comprises a push button, said push button including legs each of which is adjacent to the outermost surface of the corresponding adjacent leg of said latching member.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 50 words

The buckle assembly of claim 4 wherein the outer surfaces of said push button legs slope inwardly from the corresponding surface of said cavity adjacent said legs, whereby uneven pressure applied to said push button will cause the button to cant to a limited degree without adversely affecting its operation.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 82 words

The buckle assembly of claim 4 including surfaces within said cavity extending from said housing wall towards said opening, said surfaces having portions disposed laterally inwardly from the periphery of said opening, and guide members disposed betwEen said surfaces of said housing and said legs of said latching member, and between said surfaces and said legs of said push button to facilitate motion of said latching member and said push button in a direction substantially perpendicular to said wall of said housing.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 87 words

The buckle assembly of claim 4 wherein said push button is mounted on a bridge from which said legs of said push button extend, wherein said inlet means comprises a slot extending into said cavity to provide a channel for receiving said tongue, said bridge spanning said channel, wherein said latching member has two legs extending upwardly toward the opening of the cavity, said legs being positioned on opposite sides of said channel and wherein said bridge contacts said surfaces of said legs of said latching member.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 179 words

The buckle assembly of claim 4 including a cover plate having an aperture disposed over said cover plate and which provides access from the exterior of the buckle to said push button, said cover plate being in locking engagement with said housing and serving to retain the components of said buckle assembly located within said cavity and wherein said cover plate has a plurality of fastening hooks extending downwardly from its lower surface, said hooks having barbs at their distal end, substantially corresponding bores within said housing adjacent to said cavity having sufficient diameter to accommodate said hooks, said bores extending from the contact surface between the said cover plate and said housing to an inner surface within said housing, with the distance between the surfaces substantially equal to the corresponding distance between said cover plate and the barbs of the corresponding hooks, whereby the barbs will extend beyond the bore and over said inner surface when the hooks are inserted into said bores, thereby preventing withdrawal of said hooks and removal of said cover plate from said housing.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 64 words

The buckle assembly of claim 3 wherein said manually actuating member comprises a pivotably movable lift lever, said lift lever having integral cam means in cooperative engagement with cam means provided on said surfaces of said legs of said latching member, whereby said latching member may be moved out of latching engagement against the urging of said biasing means by pivoting said lift lever.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 139 words

The buckle assembly of claim 9 including an apertured cover plate, wherein said cam means of said lift lever extend through said aperture of said cover plate and are pivotably attached to lugs on said cover plate and wherein said lift lever includes an arm, whereby said tongue may be released from said latched position by manually raising said arm, and wherein the components of said assembly are successively inserted through said opening and into said cavity one after the other with the first engaging the wall and disposed in the cavity with at least portions of the components positioned in serial overlapping relationship in the direction in which the cavity extends into said housing, and wherein the last component inserted into the opening comprises a subassembly consisting of said apertured cover plate and said lift lever pivotally connected.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 128 words

The buckle assembly of claim 10 wherein said cover plate has a plurality of fastening hooks extending downwardly from its lower surface, said hooks having barbs at their distal end, substantially corresponding bores within said housing adjacent to said cavity having sufficient diameter to accommodate said hooks, said bores extending from the contact surface between the said cover plate and said housing to an inner surface within said housing, with the distance between the surfaces substantially equal to the corresponding distance between said cover plate and the barbs of the corresponding hooks, whereby the barbs will extend beyond the bore and over said inner surface when the hooks are inserted into said bores, thereby preventing withdrawal of said hooks and removal of said cover plate from said housing.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 68 words

The assembly of claim 3 wherEin the latching member comprises a substantially flat section resting on the biasing means which in turn is positioned against the wall of the cavity, said latching means having an upwardly sloping ramp positioned toward the slot so that the tongue when inserted through the slot into the cavity will depress the latching member toward the wall, against pressure of the biasing means.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 126 words

The assembly of claim 1 wherein the walls of the bores of the buckle housing are parallel to the shanks of the corresponding hooks of the cover plate when the cover plate is positioned, but with their axes in each case off-set slightly in the direction opposite to that of the barb of the hook, but not more than by the distance the barb extends beyond the shank of the hook, whereby when the hooks are positioned over their respective openings, and the cover plate is pressed into position, the hooks are forced into the slightly off-set bores under stress, said stress being largely relieved as the barbs snap under the inner surface to which the openings communicate, thus locking the cover plate permanently into position.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 108 words

The assembly of claim 1 wherein in each case the vertical distance of the tip of the barb of the hook, from the surface of the cover plate is slightly greater than the distance of said surface to the barb at the point where it joins the shank of the hook, whereby as the barb snaps under the inner surface to which the corresponding bore communicates, it progressively shortens the distance between the barb and the cover plate, thus tightening the connection between the cover plate assembly and the remainder of the buckle assembly, keeping it tight irrespective of the effects of expansion, contraction, vibration or rough handling.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1976-09-24	1977-03-26	1977-09-25	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1980-09-24	1981-03-26	1981-09-25	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1984-09-24	1985-03-26	1985-09-25	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Safety belt buckle

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