Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-12
2001-04-24
Culbreth, Eric (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S739000, C280S743100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220626
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air belt apparatus in which a belt for constraining an occupant to a seat is inflated with a gas supplied from an inflator in case of a car collision.
An air belt apparatus in which a bag is accommodated in the inside of a seat belt so that the bag is inflated in case of a car collision to constrain an occupant softly, is already known, for example, by a Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 6-56001.
The belt of the aforementioned air belt apparatus has a webbing on its outside, and a bag in its inside. The webbing has a warp-knitting mesh structure so that the webbing follows the inflation of the bag to increase the diameter of the webbing and, at the same time, contract the webbing of the same. Accordingly, a surface of the webbing is so large-meshed as to be felt rough. The feeling obtained when an upper portion of a shoulder belt touches the nape of the occupant's neck directly without interposition of any clothes is not always pleasant.
On the other hand, a vent hole is provided in a bag of such an aforementioned air belt apparatus in such a manner that an excess of gas is discharged through the vent hole after the bag is inflated to thereby adjust the inner pressure of the bag to an appropriate value.
However, if the vent hole is blocked by the occupant's body when the occupant is constrained by the belt, there is a possibility that the gas is not discharged smoothly. There is a problem that it is difficult to discharge an excess of gas in appropriate timing to thereby adjust the inner pressure of the bag.
The present invention is designed on the aforementioned circumstances.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provided an improved air belt apparatus. Particularly, an object of a first aspect of the present invention is to improve the feeling given by a belt of an air belt apparatus. In addition to this, an object of a second aspect of the present invention is to provide an air bag apparatus having a vent hole with an excellent function for discharging an excess of gas from a bag of the air belt apparatus.
The first object can be achieved by an air belt apparatus for constraining an occupant to a seat, according to the present invention, comprising:
a webbing;
a bag accommodated in the webbing and inflated with a gas produced by an inflator in case of collision of a car on which the air belt apparatus is installed; and
a protection material for covering a surface of the webbing.
According to the aforementioned configuration, in which the surface of the webbing of the air belt apparatus is coated with a protection material, the feeling given by the webbing touching the occupant becomes pleasant so that the occupant's unpleasant feeling given when the air belt apparatus is attached can be reduced.
Further, in the above-mentioned air belt apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the protection material comprises:
a pad provided with rifts at both ends thereof, each of the rifts extending in a longitudinal direction of the protection material; and
a belt-like elastic element connecting the rifts and extending in the longitudinal direction in such a manner that the belt-like elastic element allows the protection material to follow an inflation of the webbing on the basis of an expansion of the elastic element when the webbing is inflated together with the bag.
According to the aforementioned configuration, even in the case where the protection material is constituted by an inextensible material, the belt-like elastic element extending in the direction of length of the protection material is stretched so that the protection material can be inflated following the inflation of the bag and webbing.
The above-mentioned object can also be attained by an air belt apparatus for constraining an occupant to a seat, according to the present invention, comprising:
a belt including a webbing and a bag which is accommodated in the webbing and inflated with a gas produced by an inflator in case of a car collision;
a tongue member on which the belt is fixed; and
a buckle member fixed on a car body and coupled with the tongue member,
in which a vent holefor discharging the gas from the inside of the inflated bag is provided on at least one of the belt, the tongue member and the buckle member, and the vent hole is opened and disposed outside a range of interference with the occupant.
With the aforementioned configuration, when the inflator contents are ignited in case of a car collision, a gas produced is supplied to the bag disposed in the inside of the belt. As a result, the bag is inflated, so that the occupant can be constrained softly. When the inner pressure of the bag is increased on this occasion by an excess of gas supplied from the inflator to the bag or by a reaction force of the belt constraining the occupant, the gas in the bag is discharged through the vent hole. Because the vent hole is disposed in a position not facing the occupant, the gas is discharged smoothly so that the inner pressure of the bag can be adjusted to an appropriate value.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3801156 (1974-04-01), Granig
patent: 5108152 (1992-04-01), Reilly et al.
patent: 5871236 (1999-02-01), Bauer et al.
patent: 2269791 (1994-02-01), None
patent: 6-56001 (1994-03-01), None
Akaba Hiroshi
Okazaki Hidetsugu
Utsumi Hidetoshi
Armstrong, Westerman Hattori, McLeland & Naughton
Culbreth Eric
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
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