GB1189985A - Improved Safety Harness for a Motor Vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

1,189,985. Safety harness. E. J. LEECH. 1 Nov., 1967 [1 Aug., 1966; 15 Nov., 1966], Nos. 34368/66 and 51168/66. Heading A3V. [Also in Division A4] A vehicle safety seat arrangement comprises curved arms 21, 22 mounted, at waist level of a seat occupant, fixedly and movably respectively on the seat back, or a rigid frame asociated therewith, and a further body restraint member such as at least one curved arm 23 extending from the seat back over the occupant's shoulder. The fixed arm is preferably nearer the centre line of the vehicle and movement of the outer arm 22 is linked to the opening and closing of the vehicle door. A vertical shaft 24 on which the arm 22 is mounted is connected by a rack and pinion (32), (33), Figs. 4 and 5 (not shown), to a bar 31 linked to a lever 28 which can be turned about the door hinge axis by means of a bracket 29 secured to the door. Movement of the arm 23 may be coupled to movement of the arm 22 by means such as bevel gearing 27 between the shaft 24 and a shaft 25, pivotably mounted in brackets 26, on which the arms 23 are mounted. To allow the arms 22 and 23 to be moved to the out-of-use position when the door is closed and to allow forward and rearward movement of the seat when the door is open the pinion (33) may be disengaged from the rack (32) by depression of the shaft 24 against the action of a spring (34). If the seat back is inclined the teeth of the rack and pinion may be correspondingly inclined. Alternatively when the seat back is also angularly adjustable the connecting bar 31 may be telescopic to accommodate forward and rear movement of the seat and have at its rear end a longitudinally extending rack meshing with a pinion which also engages a transversely extending rack having teeth curved so that the pinion at the lower end of the side shaft moves angularly about the curved teeth while remaining in mesh with them when the angle of the seat back is adjusted. The arms may be progressively more resilient towards their free ends and may be padded. There may be releasable latch means to hold the movable arms in their out-of-use positions. In a simpler embodiment (Figs. 1-3, not shown) a hinged arm (3) weakly spring- biased to out-of-use position is connectible to a fixed arm (2) by quick release means (12)-(14) and a strap (15) preferably stiffened adjacent its mounting on the seat back is adjustably secured to the arms, preferably to the fixed arm near its free end.