Safety lock for seat belt buckle
AssigneeP. J. Salcone's Inc.
InventorPaul J. Salcone, II
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A safety lock for a seat belt buckle includes a housing for receiving and containing the seat belt buckle therein and a locking portion for releasably retaining the housing in a closed position wherein the buckle is substantially enclosed therein. When the safety lock is assembled in the closed position on a seat belt buckle and the buckle is utilized for detachably interconnecting first and second seat belt sections, the safety lock restricts access to the buckle in a manner which normally prevents a small child from disconnecting the seat belt sections but nevertheless permits the seat belt sections to be easily disconnected by an adult.
Claims8
A safety lock for a seat belt buckle wherein the buckle is of the type utilized for detachably interconnecting first and second seat belt sections and includes a body portion and a release button on said body portion for disconnecting said seat belt sections, said safety lock comprising a housing having hingeably connected first and second housing sections which are hingeable between a closed position wherein they cooperate to define an open interior cavity dimensioned for receiving and containing said buckle therein and an open position wherein said buckle is removable from said housing, said housing sections further cooperating to define first and second openings at opposite extremities of said housing for passing said first and second seat belt sections, respectively, outwardly therethrough when said buckle is received in said housing, said openings being dimensioned to prevent the passage of said buckle therethrough, while nevertheless permitting at least one of said seat belt sections to be removed from said housing when the said seat belt sections are disconnected, and key operated locking means mounted in one of said housing sections, said locking means being operable for releasably retaining said housing sections in said closed position and also being inwardly depressible to disengage said locking means from at least one of said housing sections to enable said housing sections to be hinged to said open position.
In combination, a seat belt comprising first and second seat belt sections and a buckle for detachably interconnecting said first and second seat belt sections, said buckle including a body portion and a release button on said body portion for disconnecting said seat belt sections, and a safety lock comprising a housing having hingeably connected first and second housing sections which are hingeable between a closed position wherein they cooperate to define an open interior cavity dimensioned for receiving and containing said buckle therein and an open position wherein said buckle is removable from said housing, said housing sections further cooperating to define first and second openings at opposite extremities of said housing for passing said first and second seat belt sections, respectively, outwardly therethrough when said buckle is received in said housing, said openings being dimensioned to prevent the passage of said buckle therethrough, while nevertheless permitting at least one of said seat belt sections to be removed from said housing when the said seat belt sections are disconnected, and key operated locking means mounted in one of said housing sections, said locking means being operable for releasably retaining said housing sections in said closed position and also being inwardly depressible to disengage said locking means from at least one of said housing sections to enable said housing sections to be hinged to said open position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.