US-12617368-B2 - Seat belt buckle assemblies for use with a seat belt of a vehicle

Abstract

A seat belt buckle assembly for use with a seat belt of a vehicle includes a bracket having a first portion configured to be fixed to a chassis of the vehicle and a second portion extending from the first portion away from the chassis. The seat belt buckle assembly further includes a buckle mounted to the second portion of the bracket and configured to selectively couple with a tongue of the seat belt. The bracket is configured to restrains motion of the buckle during a vehicle event. The seat belt buckle assembly further includes a receptacle defining an aperture extending therethrough, with the buckle at least partially disposed within the aperture and held by the receptacle for spatially locating the buckle within the vehicle.

Inventors

• Tiffany M. Sontag
• Ryan M. Mahn
• Mark D. Clauser
• Juliana M. Said
• Yi-Ru C. Sosnowski

Assignees

• TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20241031

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A seat belt buckle assembly for use with a seat belt of a vehicle, the seat belt buckle assembly comprising: a bracket having a first portion configured to be fixed to a chassis of the vehicle and a second portion extending from the first portion away from the chassis; a buckle directly mounted to the second portion of the bracket and configured to selectively couple with a tongue of the seat belt, wherein the bracket is configured to restrain motion of the buckle during a vehicle event; and a receptacle defining an aperture extending therethrough between a first end and a second end of the receptacle, with the buckle at least partially disposed within the aperture and circumferentially surrounded by the receptacle, the buckle held by the receptacle for spatially locating the buckle within the vehicle, the second portion of the bracket extending into the receptacle from the first end.
2. 2 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the buckle is disposed outside of the aperture at the second end of the receptacle.
3. 3 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 1 , wherein the receptacle has a shoulder at the first end of the receptacle configured to abut the chassis and support the receptacle.
4. 4 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the bracket comprises a flange configured to lie along the chassis and support the buckle.
5. 5 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 4 , wherein the buckle and the second portion of the bracket are aligned along an axis, with the flange of the first portion of the bracket extending laterally from the axis.
6. 6 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 1 , wherein the buckle and the second portion of the bracket are aligned along an axis, with the first portion of the bracket comprising a fastener interface laterally spaced from the axis and configured to fix the bracket to the chassis.
7. 7 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 6 , further comprising: a second bracket extending along the first portion of the bracket and configured to be fixed to the chassis of the vehicle at the fastener interface; and a second buckle mounted to the second bracket, wherein the receptacle defines a second aperture extending therethrough, with the second buckle at least partially disposed within the second aperture and held by the receptacle for spatially locating the second buckle within the vehicle.
8. 8 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 7 , wherein the first portion of the bracket defines an opening and the second bracket extends from the fastener interface through the opening to position the second buckle in the second aperture.
9. 9 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 8 , further comprising webbing extending between and mounted to each of the second bracket and the second buckle.
10. 10 . A seat belt buckle assembly for use with a seat belt of a vehicle, the seat belt buckle assembly comprising: a bracket having a first portion configured to be fixed to a chassis of the vehicle and a second portion extending from the first portion away from the chassis; a buckle mounted to the second portion of the bracket and configured to selectively couple with a tongue of the seat belt, wherein the bracket is configured to restrain motion of the buckle during a vehicle event; and a receptacle defining an aperture extending therethrough, with the buckle at least partially disposed within the aperture and held by the receptacle for spatially locating the buckle within the vehicle, the aperture extending between a first end and a second end of the receptacle, the second portion of the bracket extending into the receptacle from the first end, and the receptacle having a shoulder at the first end of the receptacle configured to abut the chassis and support the receptacle.
11. 11 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 10 , wherein a portion of the buckle is disposed outside of the aperture at the second end of the receptacle.
12. 12 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 10 , wherein the first portion of the bracket comprises a flange configured to lie along the chassis and support the buckle.
13. 13 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 12 , wherein the buckle and the second portion of the bracket are aligned along an axis, with the flange of the first portion of the bracket extending laterally from the axis.
14. 14 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 10 , wherein the buckle and the second portion of the bracket are aligned along an axis, with the first portion of the bracket comprising a fastener interface laterally spaced from the axis and configured to fix the bracket to the chassis.
15. 15 . A seat belt buckle assembly for use with a seat belt of a vehicle, the seat belt buckle assembly comprising: a bracket having a first portion configured to be fixed to a chassis of the vehicle and a second portion extending from the first portion away from the chassis; a buckle mounted to the second portion of the bracket and configured to selectively couple with a tongue of the seat belt, the buckle and the second portion of the bracket being aligned along an axis, with the first portion of the bracket comprising a fastener interface laterally spaced from the axis and configured to fix the bracket to the chassis, wherein the bracket is configured to restrain motion of the buckle during a vehicle event; a receptacle defining an aperture extending therethrough, with the buckle at least partially disposed within the aperture and held by the receptacle for spatially locating the buckle within the vehicle; a second bracket extending along the first portion of the bracket and configured to be fixed to the chassis of the vehicle at the fastener interface; and a second buckle mounted to the second bracket, wherein the receptacle defines a second aperture extending therethrough, with the second buckle at least partially disposed within the second aperture and held by the receptacle for spatially locating the second buckle within the vehicle.
16. 16 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 15 , wherein the aperture extends between a first end and a second end of the receptacle, wherein the second portion of the bracket extends into the receptacle from the first end.
17. 17 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 15 , wherein the first portion of the bracket comprises a flange configured to lie along the chassis and support the buckle.
18. 18 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 15 , wherein the first portion of the bracket defines an opening and the second bracket extends from the fastener interface through the opening to position the second buckle in the second aperture.
19. 19 . The seat belt buckle assembly of claim 18 , further comprising webbing extending between and mounted to each of the second bracket and the second buckle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present specification generally relates to seat belt buckle assemblies for use with a seat belt of a vehicle and, more specifically, seat belt buckle assemblies having a bracket for mounting to a chassis of a vehicle. BACKGROUND Seat belts utilized in vehicles commonly provide a buckle that selectively couples a tongue of the seat belt thereto for securing an occupant within a vehicle seat. Traditionally, the buckle is attached to the vehicle chassis by a length of webbing. The webbing is typically formed of a material having a tensile strength sufficient for retaining the occupant within the seat during a crash event, aggressive braking and handling, etc. However, the webbing may allow for relative movement between buckle and the vehicle chassis before and during such an event, which may limit some of the effectiveness of the seat belt. Accordingly, a need exists for alternative seat belt buckle assemblies for use with a seat belt of a vehicle. SUMMARY In one embodiment, a seat belt buckle assembly for use with a seat belt of a vehicle includes a bracket having a first portion configured to be fixed to a chassis of the vehicle and a second portion extending from the first portion away from the chassis. The seat belt buckle assembly further includes a buckle mounted to the second portion of the bracket and configured to selectively couple with a tongue of the seat belt. The bracket is configured to restrain motion of the buckle during a vehicle event. The seat belt buckle assembly further includes a receptacle defining an aperture extending therethrough, with the buckle at least partially disposed within the aperture and held by the receptacle for spatially locating the buckle within the vehicle. These and additional features provided by the embodiments described herein will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which: FIG. 1 schematically depicts a perspective view of a vehicle having a seat belt and a seat belt buckle assembly, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 2 schematically depicts a perspective view of the seat belt buckle assembly of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and FIG. 3 schematically depicts a bottom elevational view of the seat belt buckle assembly of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 generally depicts a seat belt buckle assembly for use with a seat belt of a vehicle. The seat belt buckle assembly includes a bracket having a first portion configured to be fixed to a chassis of the vehicle and a second portion extending from the first portion away from the chassis. The seat belt buckle assembly further includes a buckle mounted to the second portion of the bracket and configured to selectively couple with a tongue of the seat belt. The seat belt buckle assembly further includes a receptacle defining an aperture extending therethrough, with the buckle at least partially disposed within the aperture. Previous seat belt buckle assemblies utilize webbing to attach buckles to the vehicle chassis. However, the webbing may allow for relative movement between the buckle and the vehicle chassis before and during a vehicle event (such as a crash event, aggressive braking and handling, etc.) which limits some of the effectiveness of the seat belt. The embodiments described herein overcome these limitations by utilizing the bracket, which is configured to restrain motion of the buckle during a vehicle event. Furthermore, the buckle is held by the receptacle for spatially locating the buckle within the vehicle. Various embodiments and benefits of the seat belt buckle assembly, and the operation of the seat belt buckle assembly, will be described in more detail herein. Referring now to FIG. 1, a seat belt buckle assembly 20 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The seat belt buckle assembly 20 may be used with a seat belt 22 of a vehicle 24. More specifically, the seat belt 22 may include a belt webbing 26 that is fixed to the vehicle 24 and configured to selectively extend across an occupant O disposed within a seat 28 of the vehicle 24. The belt webbing 26 may have a tensile strength suitable for retaining the occupant O within the seat 28 during a vehicle event. The vehicle event may include any acceleration of the vehicle 24 that causes the occupant O to move relative to the seat 28. The vehicle event may include, but is not limited to, aggressive br