DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The embodiments herein generally relate to mounting arrangement for a seat belt assembly in vehicles, and more particularly to a rear seat belt mounting assembly for a vehicle, which facilitates mounting of a seat belt retractor unit (seat belt emergency locking retractor unit) and a seat belt top anchorage unit (Seat belt D-ring) to a tailgate (lift gate) of the vehicle, and meets corresponding load requirements exerted by occupant on the seat belt of the vehicle.

BACKGROUND
[002] In today’s competitive world, providing customer with a sub 4 meter vehicle saves the excise duty. So there is a need to manage the packaging space of the vehicle very judiciously. Due to sub 4 meter vehicle having three rows of seating position, the seat belt top anchor was not able to be packaged in the body in white structure (BIW). Also, the seat belt retractor unit was not able to be packaged inside the seat as since this would increase the seat weight, and the occupant space would reduce if the retractor unit were packaged inside the seatback.
[003] One of the conventional rear seat belt mounting assemblies discloses a retractor fixing structure for a rear seatbelt assembly, which relates to a structure that fixes a seat belt retractor unit to a rear roof rail of the vehicle body. However, the aforementioned retractor fixing structure is employed in vehicles where the roof of the vehicle is extending beyond the passenger head. Another conventional rear seat belt mounting assembly discloses a vehicle safety seat belt system that employs a seat belt retractor unit which is mounted adjacent to the top of the vehicle seat back. Another convention solution employs a seat belt routing via roof mount where the seat belt is routed through a belt guide mounted to a roof arch above the seat. However, the aforementioned conventional seat belt mounting assemblies not able to meet the load requirements exerted by occupant on the seat belt of the vehicle.
[004] Therefore there exists a need for a rear seat belt mounting assembly for a vehicle, which facilitates mounting of a seat belt retractor unit (seat belt emergency locking retractor unit) and a seat belt top anchorage unit (Seat belt D-ring) to a tailgate (lift gate) of the vehicle, and meets corresponding load requirements exerted by occupant on seat belt. Further, there exists a need for a rear seat belt mounting assembly, which obviates the aforementioned drawbacks.

OBJECTS
[005] The principal object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide a rear seat belt mounting assembly for a vehicle, which facilitates mounting of a seat belt retractor unit (seat belt emergency locking retractor unit) and a seat belt top anchorage unit (Seat belt D-ring) to a tailgate (lift gate) of the vehicle, and meets corresponding load requirements exerted by occupant on the seat belt of the vehicle.
[006] Another object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide a rear seat belt assembly mounted to a tailgate of the vehicle, which comprises a plurality of seat belt latch units (seat belt tongue) detachably connected to corresponding seat mounted buckles of the vehicle, where one buckle is adjacent to the left side of a seat of the vehicle and the other buckle is adjacent to the right side of the seat.
[007] Yet another object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide a plurality of buckles mounted to corresponding side of a seat of the vehicle, which serves as a twin lower anchorage point for a rear seat belt assembly mounted to a tailgate of the vehicle.
[008] These and other objects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[009] The embodiments of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, through out which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 depicts an exploded view of a rear seat belt mounting assembly and a rear seat belt assembly assembled to a tailgate inner panel of the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[0011] FIG. 2 depicts another exploded view of the rear seat belt mounting assembly and the rear seat belt assembly assembled to the tailgate inner panel of the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[0012] FIG. 3 depicts a front view of a tailgate inner panel of a tailgate assembly of the rear seat belt mounting assembly, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[0013] FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of the rear seat belt mounting assembly and a plurality of rear seat belt assemblies of the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[0014] FIG. 5 depicts another perspective view of the rear seat belt mounting assembly and the rear seat belt assembly in assembled condition, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[0015] FIG. 6 depicts a transparent front view of the rear seat belt mounting assembly and a plurality of buckles in seat belt engaged position, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein; and
[0016] FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of a method of mounting a rear seat belt assembly in a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0018] The embodiments herein achieve a rear seat belt mounting assembly for a vehicle, which facilitates mounting of a seat belt retractor unit (seat belt emergency locking retractor unit) and a seat belt top anchorage unit (Seat belt D-ring) to a tailgate (lift gate) of the vehicle, and meets corresponding load requirements exerted by occupant on the seat belt of the vehicle. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 7, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0019] FIG. 1 depicts an exploded view of a rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 and a rear seat belt assembly 20 assembled to a tailgate inner panel 12 of the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the vehicle (not shown) includes a rear seat belt mounting assembly 100, a plurality of rear seat belt assemblies 20, a plurality of buckles B (as shown in fig. 6), a plurality of seats (not shown) and may include other standard components/system as present in standard vehicle.
[0020] FIG. 2 depicts another exploded view of the rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 and the rear seat belt assembly 20 assembled to the tailgate inner panel 12 of the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. FIG. 3 depicts a front view of a tailgate inner panel 12 of a tailgate assembly 10 of the rear seat belt mounting assembly 100, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 includes a tailgate assembly 10. The tailgate assembly 10 includes a tailgate inner panel 12 and a tailgate outer panel 14. In an embodiment, the tailgate inner panel 12 includes a plurality of retractor mounting portions 12a, a plurality of anchorage mounting portions 12b, a top reinforcement portion 12c and a plurality of webbing clearance portion 12d. In an embodiment, each retractor mounting portion 12a of the tailgate inner panel 12 is used to facilitate mounting of a seat belt retractor unit 22 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 therein to removably connect the seat belt retractor unit 22 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 to corresponding retractor mounting portion 12a of the tailgate inner panel 12. In an embodiment, each retractor mounting portion 12a of the tailgate inner panel 12 can be considered to a pocket. In another embodiment, each retractor mounting portion 12a of the tailgate inner panel 12 can be considered to an opening or a cavity. In an embodiment, each anchorage mounting portion 12b of the tailgate inner panel 12 is used to facilitate mounting of a seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 therein to removably connect the seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 to corresponding anchorage mounting portion 12b of the tailgate inner panel 12. The top reinforcement portion 12c of the tailgate inner panel 12 is extending between each anchorage mounting portion 12b of tailgate inner panel 12. The top reinforcement portion 12c of the tailgate inner panel 12 is adapted to provide stiffness to each anchorage mounting portion 12b of tailgate inner panel 12 therein to absorb the seat belt anchorage loads transferred to the anchorage mounting portion 12b of the tailgate inner panel 12 from the seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 in an event of collision or sudden deceleration of the vehicle. Each webbing clearance portion 12d of the tailgate inner panel 12 is adapted to provide predetermined clearance between a seat belt webbing 26 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 and the tailgate inner panel 12.
[0021] FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of the rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 and a plurality of rear seat belt assemblies 20 of the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. FIG. 5 depicts another perspective view of the rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 and the rear seat belt assembly 20 in assembled condition, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. Each rear seat belt assembly 20 includes a seat belt retractor unit 22, a seat belt top anchorage unit 24, a seat belt webbing 26, a seat belt first latch unit 28, a seat belt second latch unit 29 and may include other standard components as present in standard seat belt assembly of the vehicle. The seat belt retractor unit 22 of each rear belt assembly 20 is used for retracting the seat belt webbing 26 when the seat belt first latch unit 28 and the seat belt second latch unit 29 is detached from corresponding seat belt buckle B. The seat belt retractor unit 22 of each rear belt assembly 20 also serves to lock up in the event of a collision to help restrain the passenger in the vehicle. In an embodiment, the seat belt retractor unit 22 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is removably mounted to corresponding retractor mounting portion 12a of the tailgate inner panel 12. The seat belt retractor unit 22 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is at least a seat belt emergency locking retractor (ELR) unit. The In an embodiment, seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is used to transfer the seat belt anchorage loads received by the seat belt webbing 26 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 to corresponding anchorage mounting portion 12b of the tailgate inner panel 12 in event of collision or sudden deceleration of the vehicle. The seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is removably mounted to corresponding anchorage mounting portion 12b of the tailgate inner panel 12. The seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is at least a seat belt D-ring. One end of the seat belt webbing 26 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is be provided to the seat belt retractor unit 22 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 and the other end of the seat belt webbing 26 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is provided through the seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 and detachably connected to corresponding buckle B through corresponding seat belt first latch unit 28 and seat belt second latch unit 29 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20. The seat belt first latch unit 28 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is movably connected to the seat belt webbing 26 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20. The seat belt first latch unit 28 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is detachably connected to corresponding buckle B thereby detachably connecting the seat belt webbing 26 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 to corresponding buckle B, where the corresponding buckle B is adjacent to the left side of corresponding seat (not shown) of the vehicle. The seat belt first latch unit 28 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is at least a seat belt tongue. The seat belt second latch unit 29 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is movably connected to the seat belt webbing 26 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20. The seat belt second latch unit 29 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is detachably connected to corresponding buckle B thereby detachably connecting the seat belt webbing 26 of corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20 to corresponding buckle B, where the corresponding buckle B is adjacent to the right side of corresponding seat (not shown) of the vehicle. The seat belt second latch unit 29 of each rear seat belt assembly 20 is at least a seat belt tongue.
[0022] The plurality of buckles B are mounted to corresponding side of the corresponding seat (not shown), where one of the buckle B is adjacent to left side of corresponding seat (not shown) and the other buckle B is adjacent to right side of corresponding seat (not shown). Each buckle B serves as a lower anchorage point for corresponding rear seat belt assembly 20. Each seat (not shown) is used for supporting/seating corresponding occupant in the vehicle.
[0023] FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of a method 200 of mounting a rear seat belt assembly 20 in a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the method 200 of mounting a rear seat belt assembly 20 in a vehicle is as follows, the method 200 comprising, providing a seat belt retractor unit 22 of the rear seat belt assembly 20 removably mounted to a retractor mounting portion 12a of a tailgate inner panel 12, where at least a portion of the seat belt retractor unit 22 is disposed between the tailgate inner panel 12 and a tailgate outer panel 14 (step 202); and providing a seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of the rear seat belt assembly 20 removably mounted to a anchorage mounting portion 12b of the tailgate inner panel 12 (step 204).
[0024] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
,CLAIMS:CLAIMS
We claim,
1. A rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 for a vehicle comprising at least one rear seat belt assembly 20, said rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 comprising:
a tailgate inner panel 12 having a retractor mounting portion 12a adapted to facilitate mounting of a seat belt retractor unit 22 of said rear seat belt assembly 20 therein to removably connect the seat belt retractor unit 22 to the retractor mounting portion 12a of said tailgate inner panel 12, and an anchorage mounting portion 12b adapted to facilitate mounting of a seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of said seat belt assembly 20 therein to removably connect the seat belt top anchorage unit 24 to the anchorage mounting portion 12b of said tailgate inner panel 12,
wherein
at least a portion of the seat belt retractor unit 22 is disposed between said tailgate inner panel 12 and a tailgate outer panel 14.

2. The rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat belt retractor unit 22 is at least a seat belt emergency locking retractor (ELR) unit.

3. The rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat belt top anchorage unit 24 is at least a seat belt D-ring.

4. The rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retractor mounting portion 12a of said tailgate inner panel 12 is at least one of a pocket, an opening and a cavity.

5. The rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tailgate inner panel 12 defines a top reinforcement portion 12c adapted to provide stiffness to the anchorage mounting portion 12b of said tailgate inner panel 12 therein to absorb the seat belt anchorage loads transferred to the anchorage mounting portion 12b of said tailgate inner panel 12 from the seat belt top anchorage unit 24 in an event of at least one of a collision and a sudden deceleration of the vehicle.

6. The rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 as claimed in claim 5, wherein said tailgate inner panel 12 defines a webbing clearance portion 12d adapted to provide predetermined clearance between a seat belt webbing 26 and said tailgate inner panel 12.

7. The rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rear seat belt assembly 20 includes a seat belt first latch unit 28 detachably connected to corresponding buckle B of the vehicle, where the corresponding buckle B is adjacent to left side of a seat of the vehicle.

8. The rear seat belt mounting assembly 100 as claimed in claim 7, wherein said rear seat belt assembly 20 includes a seat belt second latch unit 29 detachably connected to corresponding buckle B of the vehicle, where the corresponding buckle B is adjacent to right side of the seat of the vehicle.

9. A method 200 of mounting a rear seat belt assembly 20 in a vehicle, said method 200 comprising:
providing a seat belt retractor unit 22 of said rear seat belt assembly 20 removably mounted to a retractor mounting portion 12a of a tailgate inner panel 12; and
providing a seat belt top anchorage unit 24 of said rear seat belt assembly 20 removably mounted to a anchorage mounting portion 12b of said tailgate inner panel 12,
wherein
at least a portion of the seat belt retractor unit 22 is disposed between said tailgate inner panel 12 and a tailgate outer panel 14.

10. The method 200 as claimed in claim 9, wherein said seat belt retractor unit 22 of said rear seat belt assembly 20 is at least a seat belt emergency locking retractor (ELR) unit.