Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-21
2001-04-10
Swann, J. J. (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S806000, C297S468000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213509
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a belt tensioner comprising a piston/cylinder unit, on a vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a device of this type which is designed as a screw connection, with a thread formed on the shell of the cylinder and with a counter-thread provided on a part fixed to the vehicle, onto which counter-thread the cylinder is screwed.
Hitherto, belt tensioners were fastened to the vehicle for example by the provision of a flange welded to the cylinder. The flange is screwed to a counter-flange on the vehicle side. Irrespective of whether the flange is arranged laterally or on the end face of the cylinder facing away from the belt engaging means, this type of fastening increases the space required in the vehicle for the installation of the cylinder. In addition, the usual welding on of the fastening flange makes the manufacture of the belt tensioner more expensive.
From FR-A-2 239 870 a belt tensioner comprising a cylinder is known, which is provided with an external thread at its lower end and can be screwed into a receiving cup. This receiving cup has on its rear side a receiving lug provided with a port, by which lug the belt tensioner can be pivotally fastened to the vehicle. However, due to this receiving cup, the belt tensioner has a relatively long structural dimension.
The same drawback is exhibited by the belt tensioner disclosed in FR-A-2 213 231, in which the device for fastening the belt tensioner is likewise comprised of an external thread on the outside of the shell of the cylinder and a receiving cup having a female thread. This receiving cup is secured to the vehicle via a fastening flange.
The invention provides a device for fastening the belt tensioner, which has a short axial overall length, is designed as a screw connection, and with the aid of which the belt tensioner can be installed easily and quickly in the vehicle. In addition, the device according to the invention can be manufactured at low cost. This is achieved in a belt tensioner of the type initially mentioned in that the counter-thread is provided in a depression in the vehicle floor. The thread may be provided on the exterior or interior of the shell of the cylinder or the thread and may be screwed onto a counter-thread. Receiving cups or intermediate flanges the provision of which was still common in the prior art mentioned above can be dispensed with in the device according to the invention, which allows a very low-cost manufacture of the entire fastening device.
The fastening by means of screws or bolts which was usual hitherto is dispensed with, likewise the provision of flanges on the vehicle which serve for the fastening of the belt tensioner. Therefore, fewer individual parts are necessary, which reduces the expenditure with regard to manufacture and installation and also the weight. A further possibility for achieving these advantages consists in designing the device according to the invention as a bayonet closure, including at least one tongue protruding laterally on the exterior of the shell of the cylinder and a bayonet fitting which is provided on a part fixed to the vehicle and into which the cylinder can be screwed.
Finally, the invention provides a belt tensioner comprising a piston/cylinder unit, which is fastened to the vehicle using a bayonet closure, by at least one tongue protruding radially from the exterior of the shell surface of the cylinder, the tongue being part of the bayonet closure for fastening the belt tensioner to the vehicle.
The device according to the invention, with the thread, and the device according to the invention, with the radially protruding tongue on the exterior of the cylinder, have in common the idea that the outer contour of the cylinder already serves as part of the fastening device and thereby fewer individual parts are required for the fastening of the belt tensioner than is the case hitherto. Thereby, the belt tensioner as a whole can be constructed smaller, which facilitates its being accommodated in the vehicle.
According to a preferred embodiment, the thread extends over the entire shell surface of the cylinder.
In addition, a locking member against rotation can be provided, which prevents rotation of the belt tensioner after it has been fastened in the vehicle. Such a locking member preventing rotation can, for example, be a coating of the thread on the cylinder, a counter-nut or another conventional nut lock.
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Shriver J. Allen
Swann J. J.
Tarolli, Sundheim, Covell Tummino & Szabo L.L.P.
TRW Occupant Restraint Systems GmbH & Co. KG
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