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US 10,863,799 B2Granted
Seatbelt buckle assembly
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorCarter Chen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of forming a seatbelt buckle assembly comprises forming a housing by injection molding with a first mold cavity, allowing the injection molded housing to cool and cure, placing the housing into a second mold cavity, forming a debris shield by over-molding the debris shield directly onto portions of an outer surface of the housing within the second mold cavity, allowing the over-molded debris shield to cool and cure, and removing the housing with the over-molded debris shield from the second mold cavity.
Claims11
A seatbelt buckle assembly comprising:
- a housing, the housing including a body and a cover;
- a latching mechanism positioned within the housing, wherein the cover is removably attachable to the body to enclose the latching mechanism therein;
- an opening formed within the body;
- and
- a debris shield over-molded directly onto the body of the housing, and covering portions of the body including the opening, the debris shield including:
- a closed end covering the opening in the body of the housing, the closed end including a first flange and a second flange being in an overlapping relationship to define a slot formed along a portion of the closed end, the first and second flanges each adapted to flex during insertion of a seatbelt tongue to create a temporary gap which substantially conforms to the seatbelt tongue periphery, whereby the slot is adapted to allow the passage of the seatbelt tongue and resist the passage of other objects or fluids;
- and
- at least one side wall extending from the closed end, wherein the at least one side wall is configured to cover a portion of a corresponding section of an outer surface of the body.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.