Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-15
2004-12-21
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3616)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C242S374000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06832782
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pretensioner device which is used in a seat belt device for a vehicle, and which, at the time of a rapid deceleration of a vehicle such as a collision or the like, tenses a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, in the direction of restraining the vehicle occupant.
The present invention also relates to a three-point seat belt device equipped with the pretensioner device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among seat belt devices for vehicles, there are three-point seat belt devices using a continuous webbing.
In this type of seat belt device, one end portion of the webbing is anchored to a take-up device (retractor), the intermediate portion of the webbing passes through a through-anchor fixed to the upper portion of the center pillar, and the other end portion of the webbing is anchored on an anchor plate. A tongue plate is disposed at the intermediate portion of the webbing between the anchor plate and the through-anchor. By anchoring the tongue plate in a buckle device disposed at the side of a seat, the webbing is pulled out from the retractor and applied to the vehicle occupant.
In this state, the shoulder webbing, which is from the through-anchor to the tongue plate (the buckle device), restrains the upper body of the vehicle occupant, whereas the lap webbing, which is from the tongue plate to the anchor plate, restrains the waist portion of the vehicle occupant.
Among such seat belt devices, there are those which are provided with a pretensioner device for tensing, in the direction of restraining the vehicle occupant, the webbing at the time of a rapid deceleration of the vehicle, such as at the time of a collision or the like. The seat belt device has a shoulder pretensioner device which is generally provided at the retractor and which rotates the take-up shaft of the retractor in a webbing take-up direction at the time of a rapid deceleration of the vehicle, so as to tense the webbing. Moreover, structures are known which, in order to improve the vehicle occupant restraining performance at the time of a rapid deceleration of the vehicle, have, in addition to the shoulder pretensioner device, a lap pretensioner device which pulls the buckle device or the anchor plate in toward the vehicle body so as to tense the webbing.
A structure equipped with a piston which is connected to the buckle device or the like via a wire; a cylinder; a base cartridge; and a gas generating means which is provided at the base cartridge and can supply gas to the cylinder, is known as a lap pretensioner device. The cylinder is cylindrical. The piston is disposed at one end side of the cylinder, and is accommodated within the cylinder so as to be movable toward the other end side of the cylinder. The base cartridge is a member which is connected to the one end side of the cylinder and bends back the intermediate portion of the wire toward the cylinder, and the bent-back intermediate portion of the wire is inserted through the base cartridge.
In this way, when the gas generating means is operated at the time of a rapid deceleration of the vehicle, gas is supplied to the interior of the cylinder. Due to the pressure of the supplied gas, the piston moves within the cylinder along the axial direction thereof toward the other end side, and the buckle device is pulled in toward the vehicle body.
However, in such a lap pretensioner device, because the piston moves rectilinearly within the cylinder and pulls in the wire, there is the problem that the outer shape of the lap pretensioner device (the space for mounting the lap pretensioner device in the vehicle) is large and the mountability of the lap pretensioner device into the vehicle is poor. Moreover, the lap pretensioner device must be mounted to the vehicle body separately from the retractor. The mountability of the overall seat belt device into the vehicle is poor, which results in higher costs.
Moreover, a lap pretensioner device, which has the above-described structure in which the buckle device or the anchor plate is pulled in, is mounted to the floor panel of the vehicle. Therefore, the need arises for special measures for improving the rigidity of the floor panel and the like, and there is the problem that this greatly affects the body structure (design). For example, reinforcing of the floor panel is a cause of preventing lightening of the weight of the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the aforementioned, an object of the present invention is to provide a pretensioner device which is compact and has improved mountability into a vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a seat belt device which is equipped with the above pretensioner device, and with which the space for mounting the seat belt device into a vehicle can be reduced while the ability thereof to restrain the vehicle occupant is maintained.
In order to achieve the above-described first object, a pretensioner device relating to a first aspect of the present invention is provided at another end portion of a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant whose one end portion is anchored to a retractor so as to be freely taken-up and pulled-out, and the pretensioner device tenses the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant in a direction of restraining a vehicle occupant at a time of rapid deceleration of a vehicle. The pretensioner device comprises: a webbing for tensing which is connected to the other end portion of the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant and whose width is narrower than a width of the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant; a spool at which a free end portion of the webbing for tensing is anchored, and which rotates and can take-up the webbing for tensing; and a driving device rotating the spool in a direction of taking-up the webbing for tensing at a time of rapid deceleration of the vehicle.
In the pretensioner device of the present invention, the free end portion of the webbing for tensing, which is connected to the other end portion of the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, is anchored on the spool. The other end portion of the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, which usually can be freely pulled-out and taken-up by the retractor, is fixed and held via the webbing for tensing.
Note that, in a structure in which the webbing for tensing is wound on the spool in an initial state, it is preferable to provide a restricting device which restricts rotation of the spool in the direction of pulling-out the webbing for tensing.
At the time of a rapid deceleration of the vehicle, the driving device operates, and the driving device rotates the spool in the direction of taking-up the webbing for tensing. The webbing for tensing is thereby taken up onto the spool, and tenses the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant in the direction of restraining the vehicle occupant.
Here, because the pretensioner device tenses the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant by taking-up the webbing for tensing, the longitudinal dimension of the pretensioner device is small as compared with a structure in which a wire connected to a piston is pulled in rectilinearly as in the conventional art. Further, because the webbing for tensing has a more narrow width than the width of the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, the widthwise dimension can be prevented from becoming large, and the pretensioner device can be made more compact on the whole.
Because the pretensioner device is structured to take-up the webbing for tensing which is connected to the other end portion of the webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, there is no need to mount the pretensioner device to the floor panel of a vehicle. Accordingly, the range over which the pretensioner device can be mounted in a vehicle is broadened, and the mountability improves. Further, for example, if the pretensioner device is structured so as to be mounted to the lower portion of the center pillar together with the retractor, there are few effects on the body structure.
In thi
Dickson Paul N.
Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Rosenberg Laura B.
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