Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-09
2001-04-17
Rice, Kenneth R. (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217063
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat belt for protecting a vehicle occupant during a vehicle collision and, more particularly, to an inflatable belt which is capable of being inflated with gas.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inflatable belt device of this type is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication H05-85301 and is shown in FIGS.
6
(
a
) and
6
(
b
). This passenger protective device
1
includes a shoulder belt
2
extending diagonally from the right side to the left side of a passenger, a lap belt
3
extending from the right side to the left side of the passenger, a buckle
4
fixed to, for example, a vehicle floor, a tongue
5
to be inserted into and engaged with the buckle
4
when the passenger wears the belt, and an intermediate guide
6
for guiding the shoulder belt
2
.
The shoulder belt
2
includes a normal webbing
2
a
, which is the same as a typical conventional seat belt, and an inflatable belt
2
b
connected to an end of the webbing
2
a.
The webbing
2
a
is slidably hung in the intermediate guide
6
. The other end of the webbing
2
a
is connected to a shoulder belt retractor
7
with an emergency locking mechanism (ELR), which is fixed to the vehicle body. The webbing
2
a
is arranged such that it is wound into the shoulder belt retractor
7
.
The inflatable belt
2
b
is positioned so that it contacts the passenger and is connected to the tongue
5
at an end opposite to the end connected to the webbing
2
a.
The lap belt
3
is composed of a normal webbing, which is the same as a typical conventional seat belt, having one end is connected to the tongue
5
and the other end connected to a lap belt retractor
8
(ELR), which is fixed to the vehicle body. A gas generator
9
is connected to the buckle
4
. The gas generator
9
is actuated in emergency situations, e.g., vehicle collisions, to generate high-pressure gas. The tongue
5
and the buckle
4
are each provided with passages for introducing gas from the gas generator
9
into the inflatable belt
2
b.
The inflatable belt
2
b
of the shoulder belt
2
includes a belt body
2
c
formed in an envelope-like shape and a cover
2
d.
The belt body
2
c
is folded, shown in solid lines in FIG.
6
(
b
), and then covered by the cover
2
d.
The ends of the cover
2
d
are then connected to each other by stitching
2
e
so that the inflatable belt
2
b
is maintained in a band-like configuration. The stitching
2
e
of the cover
2
d
is easily torn by the force of the shoulder belt
2
expanding when the gas generator
9
is actuated so that the inflatable belt
2
b
is deployed, shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
6
(
b
).
The belt body
2
c
is made of, for example, rubber coated fabric and the cover
2
d
is made of a flexible knit with excellent stretchability.
The conventional inflatable belt feels very stiff when touched by a vehicle occupant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an inflatable belt having an improved feeling when it is touched by a vehicle occupant.
A preferred embodiment of the includes a belt body into which a gas is introduced; a cover enclosing the belt body; and a cushion layer between the cover and the belt body.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description of the preferred embodiments and, in part, will be obvious from the description or through practicing the invention. The objects and advantages may be realized through the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5466002 (1995-11-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 5466003 (1995-11-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 0 041 368 (1981-12-01), None
patent: 2 694 529 (1994-02-01), None
patent: 5-85301 (1993-04-01), None
patent: 97/23367 (1997-07-01), None
Foley & Lardner
Rice Kenneth R.
Takata Corporation
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