Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Utility Patent
1998-07-13
2001-01-02
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S730100, C280S730200, C280S801100
Utility Patent
active
06168195
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an occupant protecting device including an expandable bag housed within a belt for holding back an occupant upon collision of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a system is already known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.6-262996.
The known occupant protecting device is designed so that when a tongue provided on a belt is to be coupled to a buckle mounted on a seat, a tongue pipe integral with the tongue is connected to a gas flow passage provided in the buckle. Therefore, it is necessary to seal the connection between the gas flow passage and the tongue pipe, so that, when a gas generated by an inflater is supplied from the gas flow passage through the tongue pipe to the belt, leakage of the gas may not occur. However, the buckle and the tongue are members which are repeatedly attached and detached, and if a typical seal member such as an O-ring and the like is employed, the following problems occur. The attachment and detachment of the buckle and the tongue are troublesome, because they are obstructed by the seal member, and the durability of the seal member is reduced by the friction produced during the attachment and detachment.
In the above device, a caulking fitment fitted over the outer periphery of an end of the belt is caulked inwards and fixed to the tongue pipe, so that when a large tensile load is applied to the belt upon collision of the vehicle, the coupled portions of the belt and tongue pipe are not separated from each other. But, there is a problem in that it is impossible to reliably prevent the withdrawal of the belt only by the fixing structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to ensure that the sealing of a gas passage at the connection between a buckle and a tongue can be easily and reliably performed.
It is a second object of the present invention to ensure that a belt and a tongue-side duct are firmly fixed to enhance the durability against a tensile load.
To achieve the above objects, according to a first aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided an occupant protecting device comprising a buckle-side duct integral with a buckle supported on a seat, and a tongue-side duct integral with a tongue supported on a belt, the buckle and the tongue being coupled to each other to connect an outlet opening in the buckle-side side duct to an inlet opening in the tongue-side duct, the belt being expanded by supplying a gas generated by an inflater upon collision of a vehicle to the belt through the buckle-side duct and the tongue-side duct, the outlet opening in the buckle-side duct being closed by a membrane-like shaped seal member which is integrally provided with a lip portion at a peripheral edge thereof and a central breakable portion, and the sealing between the outlet and inlet openings being performed by breaking the breakable portion of the seal member by the pressure of the gas generated by the inflater upon collision of the vehicle to bring the lip portion into close contact with the inlet opening in the tongue-side duct.
With the above arrangement, when the gas generated by the inflater due to the collision of the vehicle is supplied to the buckle-side duct, the breakable portion of the seal member closing the outlet opening is broken to bring the lip portion into close contact with the inlet opening. Therefore, the gas in the buckle-side duct can be supplied to the tongue-side duct without being leaked from a gap between the outlet opening and the inlet opening, thereby expanding the belt connected to the tongue-side duct. When the occupant protecting device is in a non-used state in which the tongue is not coupled to the buckle, the outlet opening in the buckle-side duct is covered with the seal member and hence, the entry of dust into the buckle-side duct through the outlet opening can be prevented. Further, when the tongue is attached to or detached from the buckle, the seal member does not rub any other member. Therefore, it is not only easy to attach and detach the tongue, but also the durability of the seal member is enhanced.
In addition to the above first feature, the occupant protecting device is constructed, so that when the buckle and the tongue have been coupled to each other, a gap for venting the gas is defined between the outlet opening in the buckle-side duct and the inlet duct in the tongue-side duct. Therefore, when the supply of the gas from the inflater is stopped, the lip portion of the seal member is moved away from the inlet opening in the tongue-side duct, so that the gas within the belt is discharged through the gap between the outlet opening and the inlet opening. Thus, the gap provides a vent hole function for discharging the gas.
In addition to the first feature, a large number of small bores for permitting the passage of the gas and inhibiting the passage of foreign matters are defined in the inlet opening in the tongue-side duct. Therefore, when the occupant protecting device is in a non-used state in which the tongue is not coupled to the buckle, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the tongue-side duct through the inlet opening.
To achieve the second object, according to a second aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided an occupant protecting device comprising a buckle-side duct integral with a buckle supported on a seat, and a tongue-side duct integral with a tongue supported on a belt, an inlet opening in the tongue side duct being connected to an outlet opening in the buckle-side duct, the belt being expanded by supplying a gas generated by an inflater upon collision of a vehicle to the belt through the buckle-side duct and the tongue-side duct, the belt fitted over an outer periphery of the tongue-side duct being tightened and fixed by a band, and a stopper provided at an end of the belt being brought into engagement with an edge of the band, thereby preventing the withdrawal of the belt from the tongue-side duct.
With the above arrangement, even if a load of an occupant moving forward by inertia upon collision of a vehicle is applied in a direction to withdraw the belt from the tongue-side duct, the withdrawal of the belt due to the load can be reliably prevented, because the end of the belt is clamped and fixed to the outer periphery of the tongue-side duct by the band, and the stopper provided at the end of the belt is in engagement with the edge of the band.
In addition to the second feature, the belt is in a double structure comprising an inner bag and an outer cover, and the stopper is a sewing portion for integrally sewing the bag and the cover to each other. Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide a special stopper, leading to reduce costs.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3682498 (1972-08-01), Rutzki
patent: 3791670 (1974-02-01), Lucore et al.
patent: 3874694 (1975-04-01), Stephenson
patent: 3970329 (1976-07-01), Lewis
patent: 5393091 (1995-02-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 5445411 (1995-08-01), Kamiyama et al.
patent: 5465999 (1995-11-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 5474326 (1995-12-01), Cho
patent: 5597178 (1997-01-01), Hardin, Jr.
patent: 5851055 (1998-12-01), Lewis
patent: 6019388 (2000-02-01), Okazaki et al.
patent: 6-262996 (1994-09-01), None
Kyogoku Osamu
Okazaki Hidetsugu
Otsuka Takeru
Armstrong, Westerman Hattori, McLeland & Naughton
Draper Deanna
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Johnson Brian L.
LandOfFree
Occupant protecting device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Occupant protecting device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Occupant protecting device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2514354