The present invention relates to a safety belt buckle, and more specifically, to a safety belt buckle which can stably detect whether a driver's safety belt is fastened even when foreign materials or water is introduced into the buckle in the case of being fastened with a tongue of a safety belt.

In the safety belt buckle according to the present invention, a switch that detects whether a tongue of a safety belt is fastened is blocked from coming into direct contact with water or foreign materials, which are introduced from the outside, so as to stably detect fastening or unfastening of the tongue of the safety belt, and thus the safety belt buckle can be stably operated even when mounted in a seat exposed to the outside such as a seat of a forklift or a tractor.

A connector including: first part designed to be connected to crown of protective helmet, second part designed to be connected to crown of protective helmet and fitted in removable manner on first part, connecting part mechanically connecting first part and second part so as to form first mechanical connection, movable part moving between first and second positions and configured: to prevent first and second parts from coming detached from one another when the parts are subjected to first threshold tensile force, when movable part is in first position, to enable first and second parts to be detached from one another when the parts are subjected to second threshold tensile force lower than that of first threshold tensile force, when movable part is in second position. The invention also relates to protective helmet provided with one such connector, as well as to an assembly method of such connector.

A chinstrap harness for a safety helmet, the chinstrap harness comprising first and second elongate side sections of flexible material (12a, 12b, 12c), each side section having a first end and an opposing second end, wherein said first end comprises means (3a, 3b) to connect said chinstrap harness to a safety helmet, and the opposing second end of each side section includes means (1) for releasably coupling said side sections adjacent a user's face. In use, said first side section (12b, 12c) incorporating along its length, and intermediate its first and second ends, a safety device (10) coupled across a break in said second side section (12b, 12c), said safety device (10) being selectively configurable between a first configuration, in which said safety device is free to release when a tensile force applied to said chinstrap harness exceeds a first predetermined threshold, and a second configuration, in which it can sustain, without releasing, a tensile force of at least a second predetermined threshold, said second predetermined threshold being greater than said first predetermined threshold.

An electrically releasable buckle assembly (12) for a motor vehicle restraint (10) may include latch components (18) configured to releasably engage a tongue member (14B) of the motor vehicle restraint (10), a release button (16) operatively coupled to the latch components (18), the release button (16) having a latched position in which the latching components engage the tongue member (14B) and a release position in which the latch components (18) release the tongue member (14B), an electrical energy source (32), at least one shape memory alloy component (26) operatively coupled to the release button (16), the at least one shape memory alloy component (26) responsive to heating thereof by electrical energy supplied by the source (32) to a temperature at or above a transition temperature thereof to move the release button (16) from the latched position to the release position, and means (34) for selectively supplying electrical energy from the electrical energy source (32) to the at least one shape memory alloy component (26).

The present invention relates to a belt buckle (10) for a length-adjustable aircraft safety belt, wherein the belt buckle (10) comprises: a main body (12) which defines a receiving space (20); a holder (14) for attaching a belt strap (16) of an aircraft safety belt; and a locking device (18) for latching a buckle tongue on the main body (12) for closing the aircraft safety belt,
wherein the main body (12) comprises a base plate (40) and side cheeks (42) projecting therefrom at two opposite sides, wherein the base plate (40) forms a substantially plane base surface (44), and
wherein the holder (14) is mounted on the side cheeks (42) in a movable manner and a clamping edge (38) of the base plate (40) facing the holder (14) projects from the base surface (44) in the direction of the holder (14), so that the holder (14) is drawn to the clamping edge (38) when a tensile load is applied to the belt strap (16) and the belt strap (16) is clamped between the clamping edge (38) and the holder (14), so that a length change of the aircraft safety belt is blocked.

A safety belt lock unit includes a belt lock and a belt lock tongue which is connected to a safety belt. The belt lock has a locking arrangement with a locking mechanism which brings about a positive-locking engagement with the belt lock tongue. The belt lock has an unlocking mechanism where the locking mechanism can be brought out of engagement with the belt lock tongue by applying an unlocking force. A pressure-relief mechanism is disposed between the belt lock tongue and the belt lock. The pressure-relief mechanism moves the belt lock tongue into the belt lock when the belt lock tongue tilts in the belt lock which occurs in a vehicle collision by a tensioning triggered by a belt tensioning device of the safety belt and/or takes up some of a tensile force which is brought about by the belt tensioning device.

A seatbelt tongue includes a tongue plate, a latch plate, a guide pin and a first retention bump. The tongue plate includes a belt slot. The latch plate is slidably connected with the tongue plate and is translatable between a first position and a second position. The guide pin is fixed to one of the tongue plate and the latch plate. The guide pin slidably passes through a pin slot in the other of the tongue plate and the latch plate. The first retention bump in the pin slot defines a pin pocket receiving the pin in the first position.

A buckle assembly includes a frame, a latch plate, and a tongue. The frame includes a latch opening and a slot for receiving the tongue. The latch plate is configured to be linearly displaced within the frame between a locked position and an unlocked position and includes a latch portion. The tongue includes a tongue opening having an angled leading end. When the tongue is inserted into the frame slot, the latch plate is biased to the locked position such that the latch portion of the latch plate traverses the angled leading end of the tongue opening until the angled leading end of the latch portion of the latch plate is secured in the latch opening in the locked position. In preferred embodiments, the buckle assembly includes a seat belt connected to the tongue for securing a user to a seat of a vehicle.

Methods and apparatus for determining seatbelt status are disclosed. An example system includes a plurality of seats including seatbelts. Each of the seatbelts includes a sensor to detect a position of a respective seatbelt, the position including at least one of a fastened position or an unfastened position, and a transceiver to wirelessly communicate the position of the respective seatbelt. The system includes a remote monitoring unit to receive the positions of the seatbelts. The remote monitoring unit is to determine if one or more seats are occupied and, in response to determining that one or more seats are occupied, the remote monitoring unit is to display an overview the seats and the respective positions of the seatbelts for the one or more occupied seats.

Buckle assemblies and associated systems and methods for use with child seats and other restraint systems are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a buckle assembly includes a housing having an opening shaped to receive a first tongue of a first web connector and a second tongue of a second web connector. The buckle assembly also includes a spring having a first ejector arm carrying a first magnet and a second ejector arm carrying a second magnet. A switch assembly is positioned within the housing, and insertion of the tongues into the housing to latch the buckle assembly moves the magnets toward the switch assembly to activate switches in the switch assembly and produce a signal confirming buckle engagement.