Vehicle occupant-restraint arrangements

Claim 2

In a motor vehicle having a floor and a vehicle seat secured to said vehicle floor, an occupantrestraint arrangement comprising a support means secured to said floor adjacent an inboard side of said seat, a curved occupant-restraint member having a free end and an end pivotally mounted to said support means about a pivot axis substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said member being movable about said pivot axis between an occupant-restraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; a flexible shoulder belt having one end attached to the free end of the curved member and having another end attached to an anchorage so that the belt is adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the curved member is in the occupant-restraint position; and a locking device for locking the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position in response to shoulder belt tension caused by forward movement of the occupant as the rate of vehicle movement changes abruptly.

Claim 3

In a motor vehicle having a floor and a vehicle seat secured to said vehicle floor, an occupant-restraint arrangement comprising a support means secured to said floor adjacent an inboard side of said seat; a rigid occupant-restraint member having a free end and an end pivotally mounted to said support means about a pivot axis substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said member being shaped to fit an occupant''s body and being movable about said pivot axis between an occupantrestraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; a lever pivoted upon the support means; spring means biasing the lever into a predetermined position relative to the support means; a flexible shoulder belt having an end attached to the free end of the rigid member and having another end passing over said lever and secured to a portion of the vehicle, the shoulder belt being adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the rigid member is in the occupantrestraint position and to move the lever against the bias of the spring means as the belt is tensioned by forward movement of the occupant; and a locking device on the lever which moves into a locking position as the lever is moved by the belt tension so as to lock the rigid member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 4

In a motor vehicle having a floor and a vehicle seat secured to said vehicle floor, an occupant-restraint arrangement comprising a support means secured to said floor adjacent an inboard side of said seat; a rigid occupant-restraint member having a free end and an end pivotally mounted to said support means about a pivot axis substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said member being shaped to fit an occupant''s body and being movable about said pivot axis between an occupantrestraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; a lever pivoted upon the support means; spring means biasing the lever into a predetermined position relative to the support means; a flexible shoulder belt having an end attached to the free end of the rigid member and having another end passing over said lever and secured to a portion of the vehicle, the shoulder belt being adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the rigid member is in the occupantrestraint position and to move the lever against the bias of the spring means as the belt is tensioned by forward movement of the occupant; and a locking device on the lever which moves into a locking position as the lever is moved by the belt tension so as to lock the rigid member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 5

A motor vehicle having a floor and a seat secured to said floor, and having an occupant-restraint arrangement comprising the following combination, a support means secured to said floor adjacent an inboard side of said seat; a curved occupant-restraint member having a free end and an end pivotally mounted to said support means about a pivot axis substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said member being movable about said pivot axis between an occupant-restraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; a lever pivoted upon the support means; spring means biasing the lever into a predetermined position relative to the support means; roller means carried by the lever; a flexible shoulder belt having one end attached to the free end of the curved member and having another end attached to said vehicle floor, which shoulder belt passes around the roller means and is adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the curved member is in the occupant-restraint position; and a locking device on the support means connected to said lever so that when the force exerted on the roller means by tension in the flexible shoulder belt exceeds the force exerted by the spring means, the lever pivots into a position in which the locking device locks the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 6

A motor vehicle having a floor and a seat secured to said floor, and having an occupant-restraint arrangement comprising the following combination, a support means secured to said floor adjacent an inboard side of said seat; a curved occupant-restraint member having a free end and an end pivotally mounted to said support means about a pivot axis substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said member being movable about said pivot axis between an occupant-restraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; a lever pivoted upon the support means; spring means biasing the lever into a predetermined position relative to the support means; roller means carried by the lever; a flexible shoulder belt having one end attached to the free end of the curved member and having another end attached to said vehicle floor, which shoulder belt passes around the roller means and is adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the curved member is in the occupant-restraint position; and a locking device on the support means connected to said lever so that when the force exerted on the roller means by tension in the flexible shoulder belt exceeds the force exerted by the spring means, the lever pivots into a position in which the locking device locks the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 7

An occupant-restraint arrangement according to claim 3, in which two stops are provided upon the support means, one of the stops determining the predetermined position of the lever and the other stop determining the position of the lever in which the locking device locks the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 8

An occupant-restraint arrangement according to claim 3, in which the pivoted end of the curved occupant-restraint member is a bent arm, the support means includes a tube extending substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and the bent arm is pivotally mounted in the tube.

Claim 9

An occupant-restraint arrangement according to claim 5, in which the bent arm has a cavity, the tube has a cavity, said cavities coinciding with one another when the curved occupant-restraint member is in its occupant-restraint position, and the locking device comprises a bolt on the lever which is inserted in these cavities to lock the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 10

An occupant-restraint arrangement according to claim 5, in which there is a cam on the bent arm and the side of the tube has a cavity therein with ends that provide stops, the cam being movably located within the cavity and co-operating with the stops at the ends of the cavity to limit the pivotal movement of the bent arm in the tube.

Claim 11

In a motor vehicle having a floor and a vehicle seat secured to said vehicle floor, an occupant-restraint arrangement comprising: a support means secured to said floor adjacent an inboard side of said seat and including a tube extending substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle; a curved occupant-restraint member having a free end and a bent arm portion pivotally mounted in the tube of said support means, said member being movable about the pivot axis of the bent arm portion between an occupant-restraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; an over-centre spring arrangement attached to the bent arm portion, which spring arrangement serves to bias the curved occupant-restraint member into either the occupant-restraint position or the non-restraint position; a lever pivoted upon the support means; spring means biasing the lever into a predetermined position relative to the support means; roller means carried by the lever; a flexible shoulder belt having an end attached to the free end of the curved member and another end attached to said vehicle floor, which shoulder belt passes around the roller means and is adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the curved member is in the occupant restraint position; and a locking device for selectively locking the curved member in its occupant-restraint position, the locking device being mounted on the support means and being connected to said lever so that when the force exerted on the roller means by tension in the flexible shoulder belt exceeds the force exerted by the spring means, the lever pivots into a position in which the locking device locks the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 12

In a motor vehicle having a floor and a vehicle seat secured to said vehicle floor, an occupant-restraint arrangement comprising: a support means secured to said floor adjacent an inboard side of said seat and including a tube extending substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle; a curved occupant-restraint member having a free end and a bent arm portion pivotally mounted in the tube of said support means, said member being movable about the pivot axis of the bent arm portion between an occupant-restraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; an over-centre spring arrangement attached to the bent arm portion, which spring arrangement serves to bias the curved occupant-restraint member into either the occupant-restraint position or the non-restraint position; a lever pivoted upon the support means; spring means biasing the lever into a predetermined position relative to the support means; roller means carried by the lever; a flexible shoulder belt having an end attached to the free end of the curved member and another end attached to said vehicle floor, which shoulder belt passes around the roller means and is adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the curved member is in the occupant restraint position; and a locking device for selectively locking the curved member in its occupant-restraint position, the locking device being mounted on the support means and being connected to said lever so that when the force exerted on the roller means by tension in the flexible shoulder belt exceeds the force exerted by the spring means, the lever pivots into a position in which the locking device locks the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 13

An occupanT-restraint arrangement according to claim 8, in which the tube has a longitudinally-extending slot therein, the bent arm portion has a longitudinally-extending recess therein, which recess coincides with the slot in the tube when the curved member is in its occupant-restraining position, and a curved leaf spring has one end secured to the tube and has another end received by the slot in the tube so as to resiliently press upon the bent arm portion within the recess thereof to normally position the curved member in the occupant-restraint position.

Claim 14

In a motor vehicle having a floor and a vehicle seat secured to said vehicle floor, an occupantrestraint arrangement comprising: a support means adjacent an inboard side of said seat and comprising a tube extending substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a leg connected at one end to the tube and pivoted at the other end to the floor about an axis extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle; a curved occupant-restraint member having a free end and a bent arm portion pivotally mounted in the tube of said support means, said member being movable about the pivot axis of the bent arm portion between an occupant-restraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; an over-centre spring arrangement attached to the bent arm portion, which spring arrangement serves to bias the curved occupant-restraint member into either the occupant-restraint position or the non-restraint position; a lever pivoted upon the support means; spring means biasing the lever into a predetermined position relative to the support means; roller means carried by the lever; a flexible shoulder belt having one end attached to the free end of the curved member and having another end attached to said vehicle floor, which shoulder belt passes around the roller means and is adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the curved member is in the occupant-restraint position; and a locking device for selectively locking the curved member in its occupant-restraint position, the locking device being mounted on the support means and being connected to said lever so that when the force exerted on the roller means by tension in the flexible shoulder belt exceeds the force exerted by the spring means, the lever pivots into a position in which the locking device locks the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 15

In a motor vehicle having a floor and a vehicle seat secured to said vehicle floor, an occupantrestraint arrangement comprising: a support means adjacent an inboard side of said seat and comprising a tube extending substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a leg connected at one end to the tube and pivoted at the other end to the floor about an axis extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle; a curved occupant-restraint member having a free end and a bent arm portion pivotally mounted in the tube of said support means, said member being movable about the pivot axis of the bent arm portion between an occupant-restraint position, in which the free end of the member serves as a lap restraint for an occupant of the seat, and a non-restraint position; an over-centre spring arrangement attached to the bent arm portion, which spring arrangement serves to bias the curved occupant-restraint member into either the occupant-restraint position or the non-restraint position; a lever pivoted upon the support means; spring means biasing the lever into a predetermined position relative to the support means; roller means carried by the lever; a flexible shoulder belt having one end attached to the free end of the curved member and having another end attached to said vehicle floor, which shoulder belt passes around the roller means and is adapted to serve as a shoulder restraint for said occupant when the curved member is in the occupant-restraint position; and a locking device for selectively locking the curved member in its occupant-restraint position, the locking device being mounted on the support means and being connected to said lever so that when the force exerted on the roller means by tension in the flexible shoulder belt exceeds the force exerted by the spring means, the lever pivots into a position in which the locking device locks the curved member against pivotal movement from its occupant-restraint position.

Claim 16

An occupant-restraint arrangement according to claim 10, in which a spring connected between the floor and the leg adjacent the tube biases the support means against movement towards the front of the seat.