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One of the more annoying businesses of driving is getting the metal tongue of the seat belt to align with the locking slot. It calls for a precise alignment to get the tongue to slip into the lock but since the lock is usually down below the seat level it is difficult to see. A simple lead-in funnel to guide the tongue into the slot would make the process easier and more automatic.
sand, Sep 30 2005
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2 things.
1. Do you have the same problem in bed?
2. Maybe you shouldnt be driving if your coordination is so off.
I know that people have difficulty in accurately and quickly locking their seat belts where it is difficult to see where the mating mechanism is located. It is a real problem with me and others. Irrelevant comments on my driving and sexual capabilities are not helpful nor are they civil.
It seems that this funnel could be bulky, which would annoy a number of people. I tseems that this would be best as an attachment, rather than being built into the belt fastener.
The funnel could extend only about a half inch beyond the slot and a half inch wide to guide the belt tongue into position. The material could be about 2mm thick so it would be only slightly larger than the original receptacle and not bulky at all.
Perhaps the guiding could be facilitated by reverse polarity magnets. If there was a thin magnet strip at the lead edge of the tongue, and a repelling magnet strip at each side of the receptacle, this could conceivable guide the tongue home.
Not only that, but the magnets would make it easier to find dropped paper clips as well as bathing your butt in healing magnetic forces. . .
From my eye, the "Japanese" style seat belt latches have a finnel like entrance.
Typically front buckles are required to allow one-handed insertion due to use of cables or metal plate to afix buckle to the seat frame, whereas rear buckles require the occupant to hold the buckle during tongue insertion due to use of webbing to afix buckles to seat/car frame.
Unfortunately such funnels would also funnel all the loose change, dust, and other items that would afll out of your pockets into the buckle slot and block up the buckle preventing you from using your seatbelt. As everyone know, driving without using your seatbelt greatly increases the chances of you getting killed should you have an accident.
As for magnets, unfortunately, many seatbelt systems nowadays have complicated buckle sensors which work using the Hall-effect principle to control airbag and pretensioner deployment, (this uses a magnetic field to activate/deactivate the buckle switch when the tongue is inserted/released). While these systems are tested using the most commonly available commercial magnets, any other magnets in the vacibity could disrupt nortmal function.
Some seatbelt assembly suppliers offer increased easy latching buckles, i.e. the area the tongue can be sucessfully introduced in order to latch is increased.