Quick Release Buckle

Abstract

Quick Release Buckle (QRB) is an automated seatbelt system. QRB utilizes a power source and control unit software incorporated into pre-existing components within the vehicle's transmission or by micro-switch. QRB automatically disengages the seatbelt upon placing the vehicle in park, regardless of the ignition setting for law enforcement/military vehicles. While in park, an electrical signal energizes a solenoid releasing the buckle. The control unit contains proprietary software that records every engage/disengage of the seatbelt. Electronic records can be downloaded at any time, using an integrated micro-scan disk (SD) module/card. During a collision, the system ceases to record activity, showing electronic proof the seatbelt was engaged/disengaged. Civilian application includes accident investigations, insurance inquiries, and private company regulation compliance. Civilian QRB differs slightly as the transmission must be placed in park and the ignition must be in off for system operation.

Claims

1. The QRB system is an automatic seatbelt which can be disengaged when the transmission of a vehicle is placed in the park position (the ignition may remain in the on position for the system to work.) In the civilian variant the vehicle must be in the park position with the ignition in the off position. a. The Micro Control Unit (MCU) is connected to the QRB system and therefore controls and operates the entire system. b. The MCU shall be connected to vehicle electrical system, and the transmission. Furthermore, the seatbelts shall contain manual and electronic/electromagnetic releasing capability.

2. The QRB system is designed for the front seats, however, can be adapted to the rear seats by programming the MCU to operate multiple seatbelts within the given vehicle. In addition, such programing shall have the ability to be turned on and off by the operator.

3. QRB is specifically designed for simplistic implication to any manufactured vehicle. The system shall be powered by existing electrical systems and shall not interfere with standard operation of such systems.

4. While installed in a law enforcement vehicle, the QRB system shall disengage the seat belt when the officer places the patrol vehicle transmission into the park position while having the option to leave the ignition in the on position if desired.

5. While installed in a civilian vehicle, the QRB system shall disengage the seat belt when the operator places the vehicle transmission in the park position and disengages the ignition to the off position.

6. The QRB system is designed to be connected to the MCU and shall be connected to the vehicle transmission allowing the seatbelt to disengage when an electronic signal is sent through the MCU once the transmission is in park, therefore releasing the seatbelt mechanism which has the ability to record each operation and can be downloaded when necessary.

7. The QRB shall have an override button located near the driver door instrument cluster to allow first responders to disengage the QRB in the event of an accident or other emergency situation.

8. The QRB system's simplistic design shall include all of the aforementioned features while maintaining the ability to operate the seatbelt manually as originally designed.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DESIGN/DRAWINGS AND SKEMATICS

[0015] For a clear and better understanding of the QRB; reference and description with accompanying

[0016] Circuit DesignFIG. 1 contains the circuit design of the QRB system. The Physical CircuitFIG. 2 depicts the solenoid controlling the buckle that is controlled by a five-volt relay receiving control signals from an Arduino (microcontroller unit) MCU. The relay was selected to switch power on or off to the buckle depending on the conditions of the vehicle. The positive output of the 12-volt power supply was connected to the common output pin of the relay and the input voltage (Vin) pin of the Arduino MCU. The negative output of the 12-volt power supply was connected to negative wire of the actuator and the ground (GND) pin of the Arduino MCU. The positive wire of the actuator was connected to the normally open output pin of the relay.

[0017] The five-volt relay's input pins were the input voltage pin (VCC), signal input (IN), and ground (GND). The VCC pin was connected to the five-volt output pin of the Arduino MCU. The IN pin was connected to a digital pin of the Arduino MCU to receive signals. The GND pin of the relay was connected to the ground of the Arduino MCU. Three switches were connected to digital pins of the Arduino MCU. The three switches were tied together at one end to ground and used the Arduino MCU's onboard pullup resistances. This method was used to eliminate the need for connected to a 32-kilobyte memory chip. The memory chip was connected to the five-volt and GND pins of the Arduino MCU physical resistors and reduce number of wires.

[0018] Logic CodeFIG. 3 represents the logic flowchart of how the QRB operates. The first decision is whether or not the car is a law enforcement or civilian vehicle. If the car is a law enforcement vehicle, the MCU checks if the car is in park. If the car is in park, then the buckle is released. If the car is a civilian vehicle, the MCU checks if the car is in park or not. If the car is in park, the MCU checks if the ignition is on or not. If the ignition is off, then the buckle is released. QRB contains a data logging system that records a value of 255 to the next memory address whenever a pulse is recorded. This simulates recording the belt unbuckling using the vehicle's real-time clock. The current design also records a value of 127 to the next memory address once the buckle resets to simulate recording the time that the buckled was re-engaged. When the memory is full, the values are overwritten starting at the initial location. The code also allows for a fourth switch to be added that simulates an accident. If an accident occurs, the event is logged, and the memory is software-locked to prevent tampering. Appendix A contains the commented code that the MCU uses to operate the QRB.

[0019] Buckle Release DesignFIG. 4 is the method which the process of releasing the QRB with the Arduino MCU. Once the decision is made by the Arduino MCU to release the belt buckle, a 12-volt solenoid is pulse activated wherein a cable attached between the solenoid and buckle slider is configured to be pulled as the solenoid compresses electromagnetically. The cable will then move the buckle slider from the locked to the unlocked position releasing the buckle tongue. Once the action is initiated, the solenoid will decompress as the 12-volt pulse is over returning the buckle slider back to the original position.

[0020] Most automakers outsource the design and construction of personal safety restraint systems to third party vendors; therefore, the design was created using a seat belt assembly from a Ford Taurus which was easily sourced. The intent of the QRB is to be easily implemented in any vehicle that is used by LEOs, the choice of which seat belt assembly was chosen was not a crucial element.

[0021] An important element in the design is selecting a mechanism to be able to pull the seat belt release slide with enough force to release the seat belt buckle. The average release button for a seat belt needs to be depressed one-half inch and requires 3 lbf (pounds of force) to release the buckle. An important aspect that was considered when looking at options was for the mechanism to use enough force to operate the seat belt assembly but not so forceful as to cause damage to the buckle release mechanism or the QRB. Since it was important to find easily sources parts, a 12-volt solenoid was chosen. The solenoid has a one-inch stroke and pulls with at least five (5) pounds of force which is strong enough to effectively accomplish releasing the buckle.

[0022] To connect to buckle release slide to the actuator there was a couple of factors to consider. One factor is the cable has the flexibility to be capable of being incorporated into the design of the buckle release and existing wiring. The second factor is the cable needing to be strong to handle the force releasing the buckle and rigid enough to allow the solenoid actuator to pull the cable allowing the buckle slide release. A brake cable was chosen for both strength and dexterity since its design is meant to be robust enough to repeatedly pull the release slide without breaking yet be flexible enough to follow the sensor wiring and car frame cable restraints. FIG. 5 represents a Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawing of the buckle.

REFERENCES CITED

[0023]

TABLE-US-00001 U.S. Patent Documents 3,134,154 A * May 1964 Smith et al. .sup.24/116 R 3,146,846 A * September 1964 Gutshall 180/268 3,168,158 A * February 1965 Schoeffler et al. 180/270 3,194,582 A * July 1965 Kutz 180/268 3,311,188 A * March 1967 Gutshall 180/270 3,729,059 A April 1973 Redmond 3,963,090 A * June 1976 Hollins 180/268 4,162,715 A * July 1979 Coulombe .sup.280/801.1 4,413,384 A * November 1983 Lassche 24/603 4,432,119 A February 1984 Schwark et al. 4,553,625 A * November 1985 Tsuge et al. 180/268 4,574,911 A * March 1986 North 180/270 4,691,939 A * September 1987 Sato 208/806 4,742,886 A * May 1988 Sato 180/268 5,123,673 A * June 1992 Tame .sup.280/801.1 5,181,738 A * January 1993 Shimizu et al. 5,182,836 A February 1993 Burkat 5,274,890 A January 1994 Shimizu et al. 5,765,660 A * June 1998 Ambrosi 180/268 6,123,166 A * September 2000 Verellen 180/268 6,428,049 B1 * August 2002 Nichols .sup.280/801.1 6,988,297 B2 * January 2006 Willard et al. 24/633 2012/0279794 A1 November 2012 Clayton et al. 180/269 2005/0087973 A1 * April 2005 Cornell .sup.280/801.1