Buckle and frame for restraint system resistant to a harsh environment

1. A buckle for a restraint system resistant to a harsh environment, the buckle comprising:

a frame having a base wall, the base wall includes a debris exit opening;

a cover which encloses the frame and forms at least one vent opening and at least one passage which couples the debris exit opening to the vent opening, whereby debris, dust and other foreign objects which find there way into the buckle are not necessarily trapped but rather are presented with a means of exiting the buckle via the vent opening and

a tubular shaped bellow having an opening at opposite ends, a buckle connector extends within the bellow with a connector tongue extending out one end of the bellow and arranged to be compressed as the tongue is inserted into the buckle, the compressive force of the bellows forcing air into the buckle and out of the vent opening, thus blowing dirt and other debris out of the buckle and simultaneously seals off the buckle, and whereby compression of the bellow produces a spring force which assists in the ejection of the connector.

2. The buckle of claim 1 , wherein the cover includes an inner face having ribs extending parallel along a length of the cover from the debris exit opening to the vent opening and forms the passage having channels formed between adjacent ribs.

3. The buckle of claim 2 , wherein the ribs form a lower limit of a guide for a tongue upon being inserted into the buckle.

4. The buckle of claim 1 , wherein the cover includes a bottom portion and a top portion, the cover, when assembled, defines a mouth at one end for receiving a tongue, and a vent opening at the other end, the bottom portion includes an inner face having a plurality of ribs extending parallel along a length of the cover to define channels extending from the opened mouth to the vent opening, the channels extending past, and opening to, the debris exit opening, whereby dust and debris and other foreign object may exit from within the buckle, into and through one of the channels and out of the buckle via the opened mouth or vent opening, particularly via the vent opening via gravity when the buckle is oriented with the mouth facing a direction generally upwards and the vent opening facing a direction generally downward.

5. The buckle of claim 1 , wherein the frame includes a pair of flanges extending toward one another in a common plane, each flange having a notch, the flanges adapted for receiving a button release slide adapted to release a tongue from the frame, the button release slide having a groove on each side to be received by the respective flange, the groove formed in part by tabs extending outward and in engagement with the flanges, whereby sliding action of button release slide causes dirt and other debris to fall through the notch and avoid being lodged between the flange and the button release slide.

6. The buckle of claim 1 , further comprising a support rib formed in the cover to define a cavity to receive and retain an electrical switch, whereby the switch is arranged so as to be activated upon a belt connector having been fully inserted into the buckle, so as to produce a signal to indicate a locked condition.

7. The buckle of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of support walls formed in the cover and extending from a bottom portion of the cover to a top portion of the cover, the support walls arranged to engage the frame and retain the frame in position with respect to the cover, whereby the support walls do not form ledges which attract and retain debris.

8. The buckle of claim 1 , further comprising a button release slide slideably secured to the frame and adapted to release a connector from the frame, the button release slide having a button face at one end, the button face includes a front surface which is substantially flush with a front surface of the cover, and a top surface which is at approximately a right angle to the front surface and is substantially flush with a top surface of the cover, whereby a large surface area of the button face is exposed and readily actuated by a user even if the user is wearing heavy gloves.

9. The buckle of claim 1 , wherein a hole is located in the base wall toward the rear of the frame and along the centerline of the base wall, the frame having side walls extending up from the base wall, and a pair of slots located in the side walls and in opposed facing relationship and on either side of the hole, the buckle further comprising a bracket extending across the frame with a first end extending through one of the side wall slots and a second end extending through the other side wall slot, the bracket further having a hole located in a central portion of the bracket, a button spring retainer extending up from the central portion and having an end extending forward toward the mouth of the buckle, and a pair of downwardly bent tabs opposite the hole in the bracket, the buckle further having a cable with a cable end fitting at the end, the fitting having a hole, the fitting secured between the frame base wall and the bracket with a fastener extending through the bracket, fitting and frame, with the downwardly bent tabs surrounding and trapping the fitting in position.