Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates in general to the field of occupant restraint systems and more particularly, but not by way of limitation to an apparatus that assists with the depression of actuator buttons on restraint harnesses to facilitate release of the buckle.
Occupant restraint systems are well known. They typically have a first piece of belting having a buckle at one end and an opposite end is anchored in place. The anchoring may be either by direct fastening or via a device such as a retractor. A tongue is attached to a free end of a second piece of belting whose opposite end is also anchored. When the restraint system is in use to restrain a seated occupant, the two pieces of belting are connected by inserting the tongue of the second piece of belting into the buckle of the first piece of belting and adjusting the restraint around the occupant.
The buckle comprises a casing which contains a spring-loaded latching mechanism for releaseably latching the buckle to the tongue. A typical buckle casing comprises an aperture which exposes an actuating button for depression by a person's thumb or fingertip to cause the latching mechanism to release the buckle from the latched condition. In today's typical buckle, the area of the actuating button, which is exposed by the aperture, approximates that of the thumb or fingertip. The actuating button surface against which the thumb or fingertip presses is generally flush with the surface of the casing containing the aperture. Oftentimes, a smaller version of this same type of buckle and actuating button assembly is used in child restraint seats designed to secure an occupant, such as a baby or child, in place. The actuating button assembly installed in child restraint seats is regulated by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), which recommends a minimum required release force to depress the actuating button of 40 N (Newton) or 9.0 lbf (pound-force).
For any of a number of various reasons, a person may be impaired from depressing the actuating button with this amount of force and, thus, unable to unlatch a child restraint seat buckle of this type. For instance, caregivers may have arthritis in their hands, which impacts the strength with which they can apply pressure in their thumbs to sufficiently depress the actuator button with the required force to release the buckle and remove the child from the car seat. With the increase in the number of grandparent caregivers, the lack of required thumb or finger strength presents a significant problem for the convenience of mobility in an automotive vehicle while caring for a young child. Further, the situation poses risks to child safety if the caregiver does not properly buckle the child to thereby make it easier for the caregiver to release the buckle when necessary. In addition to arthritis, other circumstances may arise where caregivers lack sufficient hand strength, including carpel tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and chronic or temporary conditions or injuries.
The existing prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 8,539,862, which is incorporated herein by reference, seeks to address many of the foregoing difficulties. However, for those with arthritis in their hands and fingers, gripping edges of the housing element is difficult or painful, resulting in an inadequate ability to exert the required pressure to release the buckle. Additionally, the prior art lacks a backing to support the intended use, resulting in the need to position a free hand without guidance, or to push hard against the occupant of the car seat and apply uncomfortable preNo.ssure. The prior art offers no method for reducing or otherwise alleviating the amount of force required by the user to release the buckle.
Other attempts at addressing the above described difficulties include the use of pliers to depress the button to release the buckle from the latched condition. For example, a pair of standard pliers may be modified to have a protrusion on an end thereof to allow the protrusion to press the release button when the pliers are closed. However, this solution does not address the difficulty experienced by users with arthritis and other hand ailments. Oftentimes, users with arthritis have a difficult time using scissors or pliers due to the manual dexterity required. Therefore, a solution is needed that allows the button to be depressed in a method that requires minimal thumb or finger strength.
In another prior art attempt to address the above described difficulties, a lever arm is attached to the seat belt below the buckle. The lever arm has a protrusion thereon so that when force is applied to an opposite end of the lever, the protrusion depresses the button. While this solution allows pressure to be applied using the palm of the hand, rather than relying on individual finger strength, it requires a user to apply pressure straight into the buckle. This is often difficult to accomplish because the parent or guardian is normally reaching in from the side of the car seat when trying to unbuckle the occupant. One additional drawback of this type of lever arm is that it requires the device to be affixed to the strap of the car seat as a source of leverage, which poses a safety risks if a child learns to use the device to release the latch, but lacks the maturity to know when it is safe to do so. By remaining affixed to the car seat, the device has the potential to enable a child to release the latch while the car is in motion.
The buckle release assistive device of the present invention seeks to overcome the prior art by addressing these considerations with a unique design that was developed by an occupational therapist specializing in hand therapy with expertise in designing rehabilitative solutions for activities required in daily life. Unique features of the design, which distinguish it from the prior art, may include, among other features, the use of a lever arm to reduce pressure required to push the device, no longer requiring dependency on the fingers for gripping the buckle, and the ability to use the device from a side of the occupant for expedient release of the buckle and emergent removal of the occupant from under the restraints.
The present apparatus for assisted buckle release has been devised to provide facility in depressing the actuator button of a car seat restraint harness to expediently effect release of the buckle from its locking engagement of the car seat restraint harness in a less painful and more convenient manner than through pressing the actuator button directly. The present method is applicable to a variety of automotive vehicle occupant restraint systems including, but not limited to, child car seat restraint systems.
It is another objective of the present method to alleviate hand or finger pain caused by repetitive motion in depressing the pre-existing actuator button of vehicle occupant restraint systems including, but not limited to, child car seat restraint systems.
Yet another objective of the present method is to provide a useful and safe means for individuals with chronic hand pain or limited hand function to use a standard vehicle occupant restraint systems including, but not limited to, child car seat restraint systems.
The present apparatus and method for assisted buckle release, therefore, employs use of a buckle release assistive device which is specifically adapted to facilitate depression of the buckle release button devised to release the restraining belts interconnected therewith. As outlined above, many car restraints operable upon car seats, for example, employ a buckle connection that is releasable via depression of an out-facing button disposed thereupon.
The present apparatus increases the facility of disconnecting the restraints by presenting a first and a second wing, conformed ergonomically to the hand of a user, anteriorly projected from a midportion, whereby compression of the said first and second wings together is ergonomically facilitated between the user's thumb and fingers, for example, or between the user's thenar and fingers. A protuberance, projected interstitially from one of the said wings, is aligned with and then forced against the release button by compression of the first and second wing together. Depressing the release button, and releasing the restraints from the buckle, is therefore rendered easier for the user, due to the increased torque and pressure applied through the protuberance to effectuate depression of the button and removal of the restrains may be effected more quickly. This therefore facilitates release of the restraints with less force and discomfort required of the user.
For users who suffer from reduced ability to actually grasp the first and second wing, the present apparatus may further include an arcuate body disposed arched overtop the first wing to enable engagement overtop the dorsal of the user's hand. The arcuate body therefore enables a user to slide a hand between an undersurface of the arcuate body and an outer surface of the first wing whereby the arcuate body engages against the dorsal of the user's hand. The apparatus is thereby securable to the user's hand for use depressing the release button without the user having to actually grasp the apparatus and effectuate manual compression of the first and second wings together. Secured to the hand, a user may simply press via the palm and effectuate release of the buckle.
In at least one example embodiment, the arcuate body is attached to the first wing at both ends. In another example embodiment, only one end of the arcuate body is attached, or attachable, to the first wing proximal a terminus thereof.
Thus has been broadly outlined the more important features of the present apparatus for assisted buckle releaseso that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
Other objectives and advantages of the present apparatus for assisted buckle releasewill become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed explanation of the invention is presented below. The drawings disclose a buckle release assistive device, according to one possible embodiment, devised for employing the present method of assisted buckle release. The above summary of the invention is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present invention. Particular embodiments may include one, some, or none of the listed advantages.
Figures
A more complete understanding of the method and apparatus of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:
Referring to
The first wing 30 is disposed to position overtop the front of the buckle 100 to which the device 10 is applied and the second wing 40 is disposed to position overtop the rear of the buckle 100 to which the device 10 is applied. Thus the device 10 is fittable around a buckle 100 to position the buckle 100 interior to the interstitial space 60.
The first wing 30 includes an outer surface 32 extensive from the mid-portion 50 to a terminus 34. As best shown in
In some embodiments, and as best shown in
The second wing 40 also includes an outer surface 42 extensive from the mid-portion 50 to terminus 44. As best shown in
As is best shown in
The first wing 30 further includes an inner surface 38, disposed facing the second wing 40 on one side of the interstitial space 60. Likewise, the second wing 40 includes an inner surface 48, disposed facing the first wing 30 on the other side of the interstitial space 60. In the embodiment exemplified herein, a protuberance 70 is disposed projecting from the inner surface 38 of the first wing 30 into the interstitial space 60. The protuberance 70 includes an actuator surface 72 devised to seat against a button 102 of buckle 100, said actuator surface 72 sized appropriate therefor. The actuator surface 72 may include tractive members or other coating and/or surface features devised to increase friction against the button 102 to which the buckle release assistive device 10 is engaged.
As best shown in
It should be noted, therefore, that the present method is employable with similar assistive devices (not shown) that orient the protuberance 70 at different locations along the length of the first wing 30, including embodiments that have the protuberance 70 at the terminus 34 of the first wing 30, say, or rendered as a projection disposed toward the second wing 40 from the apical edge 36 of the terminus 34, the main utility of the present method residing in the ability to depress button 102 indirectly and by action of the assistive device 10 disposed engaged around the buckle 100 proper, rather than any appreciable increase or decrease in action enabled by an associated lever arm distance. Since force is more easily applied by a user in contracting the hand generally, by leveraging the anatomy of the hand and its musculature between opposing digits, such as the thumb and forefinger, or thenar and fingers, for example, as opposed to depressing with a single digit such as a finger or thumb in a single direction, the actual position of the protuberance 70 upon the inner surface 38 of the first wing 30 is of lesser consequence than the position of each of the first and second wings 30, 40 occupying planes defining an interstitial space 60 adapted to accommodate the buckle 100 therein. The expanse of the upper surfaces 32, 42 likewise increases facility in employment of the present method. Thus the assistive device 10 enables greater facility in effectuating release of a buckle 100 by increased torque, pressure, and manual engagement accommodative of the physical anatomy of the hand in general.
Mid-portion 50 is devised to be to enable compression of the first wing 30 and the second wing 40 together. Thus the present buckle release assistive device 10 is readily positionable with the first and second wing 30, 40 disposed on either side of the buckle 100. The distance between inner side 54 of mid-portion 50 and the protuberance 70 may be matched to the dimensions of the buckle 100 whereby the protuberance 70 is maintained directly overtop the button 102 when the buckle 100 abuts the inner side 54. A simple squeeze by the user then effects depression of the button 102 and release of the restraints 104.
In the example embodiment depicted herein, attachment member 56 is disposed upon an outer side 54 of the mid-portion 50 to enable interconnection with a key ring, or example, or another article, item, or accouterment, suited for porting or storing the present device 10.
User's who are unable to sufficiently grasp the device 10 to manually effectuate compressing the first and the second wing 30, 40 together with ease are therefore enabled to slide a hand under the arcuate body 80 and thence effectuate operation of the device 10 by pressing the palm of the hand engaged under the arcuate body 80 to compress the first wing 30 and thus effectuate release of the restraints.
This continuing application claims the benefit of continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 16/675,305, filed on 6 Nov. 2019, which claimed the benefit of continuing application Ser. No. 16/278,021, filed on 15 Feb. 2019, which in turn claims the benefit of nonprovisional application Ser. No. 15/699,198, filed on 8 Sep. 2017.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5282737 | Ray | Feb 1994 | A |
10791801 | Lambarth | Oct 2020 | B2 |
20110308057 | Abrams | Dec 2011 | A1 |
20160166014 | Soenen | Jun 2016 | A1 |
20170209150 | Shelton, IV | Jul 2017 | A1 |
20180116344 | Riley-Carter | May 2018 | A1 |
20180132571 | Lambarth | May 2018 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220203509 A1 | Jun 2022 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62394080 | Sep 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 17237231 | Apr 2021 | US |
Child | 17696987 | US | |
Parent | 16675305 | Nov 2019 | US |
Child | 17237231 | US | |
Parent | 15699198 | Sep 2017 | US |
Child | 16278021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 16278021 | Feb 2019 | US |
Child | 16675305 | US |