Seat belt buckle plunger type switch and housing containing belt latch mechanism

Claim 2

A vehicle safety seat belt for use in a warning system to alert the driver that the safety seat belt has not been buckled, which comprises: a. a buckle housing connected to a first section of belting, said belting being attached to the vehicle; b. a tongue connected to a second section of belting, said belting being attached to the vehicle; c. an opening in said buckle housing into which said tongue is inserted; d. latching means within said buckle housing for engaging and locking the tongue when inserted in said opening in the buckle housing; e. guide means within said buckle housing for channeling said tongue into position for latching engagement with said latching means; f. release means in said housing for release of said latching means to permit said tongue to be withdrawn from said buckle housing; and g. a biased electric plunger switch having an extended position and a depressed position mounted in said buckle housing with the terminus of the plunger of said switch extending into the path of said tongue when the tongue is inserted into said buckle housing, such that when the tongue is inserted it will depress the plunger of said switch with the terminus of the depressed plunger in contact with a plane surface of the tongue, the plunger remaining in depressed condition in contact with the plane surface of said tongue until the tongue is withdrawn from said buckle housing, permitting the biased plunger to return to its extended position.

Claim 3

A vehicle safety seat belt for use in a warning system to alert the driver that the safety seat belt has not been buckled, which comprises: a. a buckle housing connected to a first section of belting, said belting being attached to the vehicle; b. a tongue connected to a second section of belting, said belting being attached to the vehicle; c. an opening in said buckle housing into which said tongue is inserted; d. latching means within said buckle housing for engaging and locking the tongue when inserted in said opening in the buckle housing; e. guide means within said buckle housing for channeling said tongue into position for latching engagement with said latching means; f. release means in said housing for release of said latching means to permit said tongue to be withdrawn from said buckle housing; g. a biased electric plunger switch having an extended position and a depressed position mounted in said buckle housing with the terminus of the plunger of said switch extending into the path of said tongue when the tongue is inserted into said buckle housing, such that when the tongue is inserted, it will depress the plunger of said switch, with the terminus of the depressed plunger in contact with a plane surface of the tongue, the plunger remaining in depressed condition in contact with the plane surface of said tongue until the tongue is withdrawn from said buckle housing, permitting the biased plunger to return to its extended position; and h. said terminus being shaped to present a sloping surface to said inserted tongue, Whereby, when the tongue is inserted, its incoming tip acts upon the sloping surface of the terminus of the plunger to depress the plunger, and the surface of the inserted tongue maintains the plunger in the depressed condition, thus activating or deactivating an electrical signal in said warning system.

Claim 4

A vehicle safety seat belt for use in a warning system to alert the driver that the safety seat belt has not been buckled, which comprises: a. a buckle housing connected to a first section of belting, said belting being attached to the vehicle; b. a tongue connected to a second section of belting, said belting being attached to the vehicle; c. an opening in said buckle housing into which said tongue is inserted; d. latching means within said buckle housing for engaging and locking the tongue when inserted in said opening in the buckle housing; e. guide means within said buckle housing for channeling said tongue into position for latching engagement with said latching means; f. release means in said housing for release of said latching means to permit said tongue to be withdrawn from said buckle housing; g. a biased electric plunger switch having an extended position and a depressed position mounted in said buckle housing with the terminus of the plunger of said switch extending into the path of said tongue when the tongue is inserted into said buckle housing, such that when the tongue is inserted, it will depress the plunger of said switch, with the terminus of the depressed plunger in contact with a plane surface of the tongue, the plunger remaining in depressed condition in contact with the plane surface of said tongue until the tongue is withdrawn from said buckle housing, permitting the biased plunger to return to its extended position; and h. said terminus being shaped to present a sloping surface to said inserted tongue, Whereby, when the tongue is inserted, its incoming tip acts upon the sloping surface of the terminus of the plunger to depress the plunger, and the surface of the inserted tongue maintains the plunger in the depressed condition, thus activating or deactivating an electrical signal in said warning system.

Claim 5

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 2 wherein the sloping surface presented to the inserted tongue is a rounded terminus of the plunger.

Claim 6

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 2 wherein said switch comprises a biased plunger having a conducting segment and two spaced flexible conductors biased for frictional contact with the segment when the plunger is in a first position and out of contact with the conducting segment in a second position.

Claim 7

The vehicle safety seat belt of claim 2 wherein said biased electric plunger switch a. an enclosure for said plunger switch having an opening at one end for the extending terminus of said switch, and two spaced flexible conductors passing from two points outside the enclosure to two points within said enclosure; b. a plunger within said enclosure positioned for motion along its longitudinal axis between a first position wherein the sloping terminus extends into the path for said tongue in said buckle housing, and a second position wherein the terminus does not extend into said path, but is held by its bias against the plane surface of said tongue when the tongue is latched within said buckle housing; c. said plunger having two segments, one being electrically conductive and one being non-conductive; d. said two spaced flexible conductors biased for frictional contact with said segments of the plunger, so disposed that both flexible conductors are in frictional contact with one segment when the plunger is in the first position; and both conductors are in frictional contact with the other segment when the plunger is in the second position, said plunger making parallel longitudinal lines of frictional contact with the two spaced flexible conductors throughout its movement from the first position to the second position; e. biasing means urging said plunger in the direction wherein the sloping terminus of the plunger extends into the path of said tongue, whereby, when the tongue has not been inserted into the buckle housing, said flexible conductors make contact with one segment of the plunger which may be either conducting or non-conducting, and when said tongue is inserted into said buckle housing for latching engagement therein, said plunger is depressed so that said flexible conductors slide to contact another segment, being either electrically conductive or non-conductive whichever is opposite to the conductivity of the segment previously contacted.

Claim 8

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 5 wherein said two spaced flexible conductors at the point where they enter said enclosure extend upwardly and are curved inwardly toward said plunger to contact its surface, then outwardly toward the wall of said enclosure, thus forming an area of contact in the curve of the flat strip maintained in continuous wiping frictional contact with the surface of said plunger, said contact of each strip being at one or two different points on one segment for the first position of the plunger, and at two different points on the other segment for the second position of the plunger.

Claim 9

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 5 wherein said flexible conductors make frictional contact with the plunger and said segments contained thereon, along parallel plane surfaces.

Claim 10

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 5 wherein said bias urging said plunger to its extended position is a coiled spring retained in longitudinal alignment with the plunger.

Claim 11

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 5 wherein the portion of the plunger which is in contact with the two spaced flexible conductors is cylindrical.

Claim 12

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 9 wherein the portion of the plunger which is in contact with said two spaced conductors comprises a central core on which are disposed two perforated discs or rings, one being an electrically conductive segment and the other a non-conductive segment of said plunger, for contact with the spaced flexible conductors, whereby when both conductors contact said conductive ring, the circuit between said two conductors is closed by the conductive segment, and when both conductors contact the non-conductive ring as a result of a change in position of said plunger, the circuit between them is open.

Claim 13

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 10 wherein said conducting and non-conducting segments of the plunger are removable and interchangeable, so that said switch may be assembled for either an open circuit or a closed circuit in the undepressed position of the plunger, with the circuit being in an oppositely opened or closed condition when the plunger is depressed by said tongue.

Claim 14

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 10 wherein that portion of said plunger which carries said segments has a greater diameter than said opening in said enclosure through which the terminus of the plunger extends, and wherein there is a circumferential groove about said plunger, at a point where a smaller diameter terminus of the plunger adjoins said larger diameter portion carrying said perforated discs, said circumferential groove being fitted with an elastic O-ring, whereby as the biasing means urging the plunger upward until the terminus enters said path for said tongue, it is stopped by the O-ring striking the edge of the opening.

Claim 15

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 5 wherein said two spaced flexible conductors comprise two flat strips of spring metal, each having one terminus at the surface of said extending members of said base of the enclosure for the plunger switch, and each passing through the substance of said base to emerge from its surface within the enclosure beside said plunger.

Claim 16

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 13 wherein the other termini of said flat strips of spring metal are in slideable contact with the inner wall of said enclosure to thus intensify the bias toward the plunger.

Claim 17

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 5 wherein said enclosure for said plunger switch is fabricated of insulating material and comprises: a. a base, having centrally located in its upper surface, structure for positioning said biasing means; b. a cover for said base having a top and sidewalls but open at the bottom for fixed attachment to the base, thereby forming an enclosure for said plunger and said two spaced flexible conductors, said cover having an opening through which the terminus of said plunger may slideably extend; c. said base being sized to extend a short distance beyond the sidewalls of said cover on two sides, thus producing an extending member on each of two sides of the enclosure; and d. means for fastening the enclosure within said opening in said buckle housing so that the bottom of the base is substantially flush with the surface of said housing.

Claim 18

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 15 wherein said base has incorporated into its upper surface, at least two upwardly extending flexible shafted catches, the heads of which extend beyond the end of said base, said heads having upwardly, inwardly sloping faces extending from a point beyond the end of the base to a point within the longitudinal dimension of said base, whereby, when said switch is pressed into said opening in said buckle housing, the catches, because of their flexible shafts and their sloping heads as they contact the edge of the opening, bend inwardly to pass into the opening, until the projecting heads reach a point above the inner surface of a cavity in said buckle housing, whereupon the heads snap into the cavity, locking said switch in place.

Claim 19

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 15 wherein the connection between said Buckle housing and the fixed ends of said belting is made by means of two flexible parallel bands of metallic film laminated between two strips of flexible plastic film, said metallic film having a thickness of between about 0.05 to 0.00025 inch, and wherein said laminated conductors are imbedded within said belting attached to said buckle housing.

Claim 20

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 15 wherein said base has, centrally disposed on its upper surface, an upwardly projecting rod, normal to the plane of the base, which passes through said biasing means to slideably cooperate with a centrally disposed corresponding longitudinal opening extending from the bottom of the plunger toward said rounded terminus thereof, said rod and corresponding opening being of such length as to guide the plunger in its longitudinal reciprocating motion.

Claim 21

The vehicle safety seat belt buckle of claim 18 wherein said extended rod and corresponding longitudinal opening of said plunger, has a non-circular cross section to prevent rotation of said plunger on said rod.