Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6558027
-
Patent Number
6,558,027
-
Date Filed
Friday, March 2, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 6, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Tarolli, Sundheim, Covell & Tummino L.L.P.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 362 84
- 362 103
- 362 253
- 362 108
- 362 483
- 024 163 K
- 024 633
- 224 163
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A buckle (10) for a vehicle seat belt system (12) comprises a latch mechanism (26) for connection with a tongue assembly (14) of the seat belt system. The latch mechanism (26) has a latched condition and a released condition. The buckle (10) also comprises a manually engageable pushbutton (40) connected with the latch mechanism (26). The pushbutton (40) is movable between a first position in which the latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which the latch mechanism is in the released condition. The buckle (10) contains an illumination mechanism (46) comprising an electroluminescent panel (50) which may or may not be movable with the pushbutton when the pushbutton moves between the first and second positions.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an illuminated seat belt buckle for use in a seat belt system of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A seat belt system for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle typically includes seat belt webbing, a tongue assembly on the webbing, and a buckle. The tongue assembly is inserted and locked in the buckle to secure the webbing about a vehicle occupant. Such a seat belt system may also include a mechanism for illuminating the buckle to help the vehicle occupant locate the buckle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a buckle for a vehicle seat belt system. The buckle comprises a latch mechanism for connection with a tongue assembly of the seat belt system. The latch mechanism has a latched condition and a released condition. The buckle also comprises a manually engageable pushbutton connected with the latch mechanism. The pushbutton is movable between a first position in which the latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which the latch mechanism is in the released condition. The pushbutton contains an illumination mechanism comprising an electroluminescent panel movable with the pushbutton when the pushbutton moves between the first and second positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art to which the present invention relates upon consideration of the following description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a vehicle occupant protection apparatus including a tongue assembly and a seat belt buckle in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a side view, partly in section, of the buckle and a part of the tongue assembly, showing the buckle in a latched condition;
FIG. 3
is a view similar to
FIG. 2
showing the buckle in a released condition;
FIG. 4
is a schematic view of portions of an electroluminescent panel that forms part of the buckle of
FIG. 1
; and,
FIG. 5
is an enlarged view of portions of the buckle of FIG.
1
.
DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT
The present invention relates to an illuminated seat belt buckle for use in a vehicle. The present invention is applicable to various seat belt buckle configurations. As representative of the invention,
FIG. 1
illustrates a seat belt buckle
10
that forms part of a vehicle occupant protection apparatus, or seat belt system,
12
. The buckle
10
(described below in detail) is anchored in the vehicle in a known manner, such as by an anchor or length of belt webbing
18
.
The seat belt system
12
includes a tongue assembly
14
that is supported on a length of belt webbing
16
. The tongue assembly
14
includes a latch plate
20
having a latching opening
22
.
The buckle
10
includes a housing
30
. The housing
30
supports a pushbutton
40
for sliding movement in the housing
30
between a first position as shown in
FIG. 2 and a
second position as shown in FIG.
3
.
The pushbutton
40
has surfaces
42
(
FIG. 5
) that define a recess or chamber
44
in the pushbutton. The buckle
10
includes an illumination mechanism
46
located in the chamber
44
, for illuminating a portion of the buckle. The illumination mechanism
46
includes an electroluminescent (“EL”) panel
50
and a lens
52
.
The EL panel
50
, or EL lamp, is a film made of several functional sheets layered together. The EL lamp
50
may be made in several different manners.
FIG. 4
illustrates in exploded form the structure of one type of EL lamp
50
. Other types of EL lamps
50
that would function in the buckle
10
are available from manufacturers such as BKL Inc., of King of Prussia, Pa.
The EL lamp
50
(
FIG. 4
) includes a phosphor layer
54
sandwiched between a transparent or translucent front electrode
56
and a rear electrode
58
. A dielectric layer
60
is disposed between the phosphor layer
54
and the rear electrode
58
.
A front lead
62
is connected with the front electrode
56
. A rear lead
64
is connected with the rear electrode
58
. Lead wires
65
(
FIG. 1
) extend along the anchor
18
for carrying electric current to the leads
62
and
64
and, thereby, to the EL panel
50
.
A rear plate
66
(
FIG. 4
) acts as a substrate and support for the electrodes
56
and
58
and the phosphor layer
54
. A thin layer of a transparent or translucent polymer, such as polyester
68
, overlies and protects the front electrode
56
. Alternatively, the front electrode
56
may be formed by deposition of a thin conductive layer directly on the inner surface of the top layer
68
of the structure.
When an electric potential is applied between the electrodes
56
and
58
, the phosphor layer
54
is excited and produces light. The light can illuminate the pushbutton
40
or other portion of the buckle
10
. The lens
52
helps to protect the EL lamp
50
and to diffuse the light generated by the EL lamp.
The lens
52
(
FIG. 5
) is located at least partially in the chamber
44
in the pushbutton
40
. The lens
52
covers and protects the EL lamp
50
and has an outer surface
70
that is manually engageable by an occupant of the vehicle to actuate the pushbutton
40
. The lens
52
has an inner surface
72
that is presented toward the EL lamp
50
.
The buckle
10
(
FIGS. 1-3
) has an insertion slot
24
for receiving the latch plate
20
. The buckle
10
also includes a latch mechanism
26
(FIG.
2
), including a movable latch member
28
.
When the tongue assembly
14
is inserted into the buckle
10
, the latch member
28
moves into the latching opening
22
, as shown in
FIG. 2
, to lock the tongue assembly to the buckle. The latch mechanism
26
is in a latched condition, and the pushbutton
40
is in a first position.
To release the latch mechanism
26
, a vehicle occupant manually engages the outer surface
70
of the lens
52
. Force applied to the lens
52
is transmitted through the lens into the EL lamp
50
and into the other portions of the pushbutton
40
. The pushbutton
40
moves from the first position to a second position, or released position, as shown in FIG.
3
. The illumination mechanism
46
moves with the pushbutton
40
during movement of the pushbutton between the first and second positions.
As the pushbutton
40
moves from the first position to the second position, the latch member
28
is lifted out of the latch opening
22
in the tongue assembly
14
. The tongue assembly
14
is released for movement relative to the buckle
10
. An ejector mechanism
32
moves the tongue assembly
14
out of engagement with the buckle
10
.
A typical EL lamp
50
that may be used on the face of a seat belt buckle pushbutton as shown in
FIGS. 1-3
may have the following dimensions:
Thickness: 0.15 mm to 0.5 mm or more
Width: 20 mm to 100 mm or more
Height: 5 mm to 25 mm or more
The dimensions of the chamber
44
in the pushbutton
40
are selected to receive an EL panel
50
, and lens
52
, of the appropriate size. The dimensions can vary depending upon the size of the pushbutton and the buckle. The EL panel
50
can be sized to cover up to 90% or more of the exposed end surface area of the pushbutton
40
.
The EL lamp
50
is easily formable to a non-planar contour, such as a non-planar contour of a portion of the buckle
10
, an example of which is the non-planar portion of the buckle extending around the edge of the insertion slot
24
for the latch plate
20
. The EL lamp
50
can be injection molded, insert molded, or otherwise assembled with other parts of the pushbutton. In addition, the EL lamp
50
can be fabricated in almost all colors, including white, and is extremely durable and vibration resistant. Also, the EL lamp
50
has no significant heat emission, exhibits little or no color change over the life of the product, consumes little electric power, and produces a uniform intensity of light over its surface. For these reasons, the EL lamp
50
is advantageous for use in illuminating a portion of a seat belt buckle
10
.
From the above description of the invention, those skilled in the art will perceive improvements, changes and modifications in the invention. For example, the illumination mechanism
46
may be located in a portion of the buckle
10
other than the pushbutton
40
. Thus, an illumination mechanism
46
may be located along the upper surface
80
of the buckle
10
as shown schematically at
82
in FIG.
1
. Alternatively, the illumination mechanism
46
may be located around the edge of the pushbutton
40
to define visibly the pushbutton for an occupant, or around the edge of the insertion slot
24
for the latch plate
20
to define visibly the insertion slot. Also, the EL panel
50
or the lens
52
may be configured with a design, such as lettering, rather than being configured to glow in one solid uniform area. Such improvements, changes and modifications within the skill of the art are intended to be covered by the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A buckle for a vehicle seat belt system, said buckle comprising:a latch mechanism for connection with a tongue assembly of the seat belt system, said latch mechanism having a latched condition and a released condition; and a manually engageable pushbutton connected with said latch mechanism and movable between a first position in which said latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which said latch mechanism is in the released condition; said pushbutton containing an illumination mechanism comprising an electroluminescent panel movable with said pushbutton when said pushbutton moves between the first and second positions.
- 2. A buckle as set forth in claim 1 wherein said electroluminescent panel comprises first and second electrode layers and an inner layer disposed between said electrode layers, said inner layer comprising an electroluminescent material that produces light when an electric potential is applied between said electrode layers.
- 3. A buckle as set forth in claim 2 wherein said illumination mechanism further comprises a lens covering said electroluminescent panel, said lens having an outer surface that forms an outer manually engageable surface of said pushbutton.
- 4. A buckle as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pushbutton has surfaces defining a chamber in said pushbutton, said electroluminescent panel being disposed in said chamber.
- 5. A buckle as set forth in claim 4 wherein said illumination mechanism further comprises a lens covering said electroluminescent panel and disposed at least partially in said chamber in said pushbutton, said lens having an outer surface that forms an outer manually engageable surface of said pushbutton.
- 6. A buckle as set forth in claim 1 wherein said electroluminescent panel covers up to about 90% or more of an exposed end surface area of said pushbutton.
- 7. A buckle as set forth in claim 1 wherein said electroluminescent panel has a non-planar configuration.
- 8. A buckle as set forth in claim 1 wherein said electroluminescent panel has a size in the range of from about 20 mm to about 100 mm wide and from about 5 mm to about 25 mm high.
- 9. A buckle for a vehicle seat belt system, said buckle comprising:a latch mechanism for connection with a tongue assembly of the seat belt system, said latch mechanism having a latched condition and a released condition; and a manually engageable pushbutton connected with said latch mechanism and movable between a first position in which said latch mechanism is in the latched condition and a second position in which said latch mechanism is in the released condition; said buckle containing an illumination mechanism comprising an electroluminescent panel for illuminating a portion of said buckle.
- 10. A buckle as set forth in claim 9 wherein said electroluminescent panel has a non-planar configuration.
- 11. A buckle as set forth in claim 9 wherein said electroluminescent panel is located on said pushbutton of said buckle.
- 12. A buckle as set forth in claim 9 wherein said electroluminescent panel comprises first and second electrode layers and an inner layer disposed between said electrode layers, said inner layer comprising an electroluminescent material that produces light when an electric potential is applied between said electrode layers.
US Referenced Citations (5)