Mystery piece out of front seat belt buckle?

Ok im looking at a buckle I have here and the cover is chipped. I can see the bar in there.The function of it is not apparent. Looks like maybe its just a stop to keep the button from hitting the plastic cover.

Pic 1 of post 3. The bar goes in the cover and rests on those black spring steel pieces. Just to the left of the edge of the button.