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US 8,661,625 B2Granted
Slidable seatbelt buckle with integral ribbed cover
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsJim Carene, Robert Andrew Mical
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A slidable buckle for a seatbelt includes a cover which has a number of ribs extending from the cover. The ribs function to limit noise caused by the buckle and webbing coming in contact with a vehicle's interior trim, while at the same time providing a softer, grippable surface for the buckle.
Claims3
A slidable buckle for a seatbelt, comprising:
- a metallic base having a webbing slot and a plurality of surfaces;
- an engagement tang extending from said base;
- and
- a cover generally enclosing said base, with said cover comprising:
- a relatively stiffer plastic bonded directly to a first portion of said base and including a webbing slot coincident with the webbing slot of said base;
- and
- a plurality of ribs extending from a plurality of surfaces of said base, with said plurality of ribs comprising a relatively more compliant plastic bonded directly to a second portion of said base, wherein said plurality of ribs comprises a root section extending through at least one aperture formed in said base, with said plurality of ribs further comprising grippable rib elements cantilevered from said root section.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.