Patent Application
20200079316
The present disclosure relates to safety restraint systems for motor vehicles that have devices or methods for securing the seatbelt and, more particularly, the seatbelt latchplate when the seatbelt is not in use.
Safety restraint systems for restraining occupants in a motor vehicle, generally, employ seatbelt retractors. The seatbelt retractors have a spool around which a seatbelt webbing is wound. The seatbelt webbing may be unwound from the spool by a vehicle occupant and secured around the vehicle occupant by inserting a latchplate slidably coupled to the seatbelt webbing into a seatbelt buckle. When not in use the seatbelt retractor, through the aid of a spring, retracts the seatbelt webbing into the retractor and onto the spool. Typically, the latchplate hangs on a vertical length of the seatbelt webbing between the D-ring and the anchor plate and is positioned between a vehicle trim panel and a side of a vehicle seat back or alternately against the seatback when the safety restraint system is not in use. The mass associated with the latchplate causes the latchplate contact the trim panel and/or the side of the seat back creating noise and vibration issue for the vehicle occupants. Conventional safety restraint systems and methods employ a loop of seatbelt fabric sewn onto the seatbelt webbing and positioned adjacent the latchplate between the latchplate and the vehicle trim panel to prevent the latchplate from hitting the trim panel.
Thus, while current seatbelt restraint systems achieve their intended purpose, there is a need for a new and improved safety restraint system and method for preventing the latchplate from hitting a component of a vehicle, such as a seat side panel or a B-pillar trim panel. The new and improved system and method should reduce or eliminate noise and vibration issues associated with the latchplate banging against the side of the seatback or the vehicle trim panel while locating the latch plate in an easily accessible location for the vehicle occupant.
According to several aspects, a safety restraint system for a motor vehicle is provided. The safety restraint system includes a seatbelt retractor fixedly secured to the motor vehicle, a seatbelt webbing, a D-ring fixedly secured to the motor vehicle, a latchplate slidably engaged with the seatbelt webbing, a buckle for releasably capturing the latchplate, and a first magnet attached to a vehicle component. The seatbelt retractor has a frame rotatably supporting a spool. The seatbelt webbing is at least partially wound around the spool. The D-ring is slidably engaged with the seatbelt webbing to change a seatbelt webbing routing direction. The latchplate has a ferro-magnetic portion. The first magnet generates a magnetic field to attract and hold the ferro-magnetic portion of the latchplate against the vehicle component.
In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the vehicle component is a vehicle trim member.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a second magnet is attached to the vehicle trim member.
According to several aspects, a third magnet is attached to the vehicle trim member.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the vehicle component is a vehicle seat member.
According to several aspects, a second magnet is attached to the vehicle seat member.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a third magnet is attached to the vehicle seat member.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a stop member is attached to the seatbelt webbing to prevent the latchplate from sliding past the stop member.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the stop member is a woven seatbelt material sewn on the seatbelt webbing to prevent the latchplate from sliding past the woven seatbelt material.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the stop member is a button attached to the seatbelt webbing to prevent the latchplate from sliding past the button.
In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for storing a component of a safety restraint system for a motor vehicle is provided. The method includes fixedly securing a seatbelt retractor to the motor vehicle, providing a seatbelt webbing, fixedly securing a d-ring to the motor vehicle, slidably engaging a latchplate with the seatbelt webbing, releasably capturing the latchplate with a buckle, and attaching a first magnet to a vehicle component. The seatbelt retractor has a frame rotatably supporting a spool. The seatbelt webbing is at least partially wound around the spool. The D-ring slidably engages the seatbelt webbing to change a seatbelt webbing routing direction. The latchplate has a ferro-magnetic portion. The first magnet generates a magnetic field for attracting and holding the ferro-magnetic portion of the latchplate against the vehicle component.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
Referring to
D-ring 16 is fixedly secured to the motor vehicle, generally, towards the top of the B-pillar of the motor vehicle. A slot 32 is provided in D-ring 16 that receives and slidably engages the seatbelt webbing 14. The seatbelt webbing 14 generally extends from the retractor 12 up and along the B-pillar 24 and is threaded or routed through D-ring 16 where the seatbelt webbing 14 is directed down toward the base of the seat 26 and is secured at a terminal end 34 to a structural member of the motor vehicle or to the seat base of the seat 26.
The latchplate 18 has a slot 36 through which the seatbelt webbing is threaded to slidably engage the latchplate 18 with the seatbelt webbing 14. The latchplate 18 is located on the seatbelt webbing 14, generally, between the D-ring 16 and the terminal end 34 of the seatbelt webbing 14. Latchplate 18 has a ferro-magnetic portion 38 and a non-ferro-magnetic portion 40. The buckle 20 is configured to releasably capturing the latchplate 18. Typically, latchplate 18 is pressed into a slot in buckle 20. After the latchplate 18 is fully inserted into the buckle 20 the latchplate 18 is locked in the buckle 20. A button on the buckle 20 is depressed to release the latchplate 18 from buckle 20.
The magnet 22 is attached to a vehicle component such as the B-pillar 24 or the seat 26. The magnet 22 is located vertically in an area between the D-ring 32 and the retractor 12. The magnet 22 generates a magnetic field sufficient to attract and hold the ferro-magnetic portion 38 of the latchplate 18 against the vehicle component, such as B-pillar 24 or seat 26. As shown in
With reference now to
Referring now to
With continuing reference to
A seatbelt fabric loop 130 is sewn on the seatbelt webbing 14. Loop 130 is sized to prevent the latchplate 18 from sliding further down the webbing 14. In other words, loop 130 is larger than the slot 36 in the latchplate 18 such that the latchplate 18 is not able to slide past the loop 130. However, the size of the loop 130 is much smaller than conventional loops. Conventional loops are much larger as they are designed to function as a buffer between the latchplate 18 and the vehicle side structure 104. Conventional loops need to be sized to substantially cover the latchplate 18 to prevent any part of the latchplate 18 from hitting the vehicle side structure 104 and causing noise and vibration issues. Advantageously, the loop 130 of the present embodiment is much smaller than conventional loops and thus is more aesthetically appealing than conventional loops. Loop 130 only has one function and that is to prevent the latchplate 18 from sliding down the webbing toward the retractor and to a location that would be difficult for a vehicle passenger to access easily. Alternatively, a button 132 or similar device may be attached to webbing 14 at a predetermined position in place of loop 130. Button 132 is larger than the slot 36 in the latchplate 18 such that the latchplate 18 is not able to slide past the button 132.
The features of the safety restraint systems 10, 60, and 100 of the present disclosure offers several advantages. These include the reduction or elimination of noise and vibration issues caused by the latchplate 18 hitting or contacting adjacent vehicle components, such as the vehicle seat 26, seat back 64 or structural supports such as the B, C or D-pillars. Moreover, the aspects of the present disclosure allow the vehicle occupant to locate the latchplate 18 in a convenient location for the occupant. Different occupants may have a preference where the latchplate 18 is located or stored based on the size of the occupant or other factors.
The description of the present disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the present disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
