Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Reeling device – With spring motor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-06
2001-03-20
Jillions, John M. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Reeling device
With spring motor
C242S384600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202952
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The invention relates to a safety belt apparatus.
Safety belt apparatuses of this kind are widespread and are eg. known from GB 2 131 279 B. They have an acceleration sensor which consists for example of a movable ball and a pivot arm with a latching pawl and which allows the pawl to move outwardly at specific accelerations and/or tiltings of the vehicle, through which the rotation of the position control gear which normally takes place together with the belt roller is stopped. In so far as the belt roller is then rotated further in the draw-out direction by the draw force at the safety belt, a transmission mechanism which is placed between the position control gear and the belt roller is set in motion, which allows a main pawl to engage into a main blocking tooth crown. Since the main pawl is rotationally fixedly connected to the belt roller and the main blocking tooth crown is fixed to the housing, the draw-out movement of the belt roller is stopped in this manner. In this it is essential that the teeth of the auxiliary pawl and of the main pawl stand relative to one another in the peripheral direction in such a manner that after the latching in of the auxiliary pawl into the auxiliary blocking tooth crown the main pawl is located just between two teeth of the main blocking tooth crown and can thus latch in between two teeth of the main blocking tooth crown when moving outwards as a result of the action of the acceleration sensor.
The action of the acceleration sensor is based, as mentioned, on the fact that a ball is normally held in a depression of the auxiliary pawl and is moved more or less out of this depression through accelerations, with the auxiliary pawl being pivoted into the extension direction and finally engaging into the auxiliary blocking tooth crown of the position control gear. As a result of this mode of action the acceleration sensor must be arranged horizontally in the vehicle in such a manner that the ball is moved out of the depression which ensures the unlatching only during horizontal accelerations.
The belt rollers of safety belt apparatuses are now however increasingly being arranged in the vehicle not only in a horizontal arrangement, for example at the vehicle floor, but also at the most varied of angles to the horizontal. In these cases the acceleration sensor would already respond in the state of rest, that is, no longer be capable of functioning, if it is not—in deviation from the usual arrangement—attached in another manner at the housing of the belt roller in such a manner that that it only responds to horizontal accelerations of the movable mass, which is designed in particular as a ball, but otherwise leaves the auxiliary blocking tooth crown unstressed however. A known solution of this problems provides that the acceleration sensor can be secured at different points of the periphery of the position control gear at the housing of the belt winder with it being possible to take into account different installation positions of the belt winder in respect to the horizontal. This embodiment is however constructionally complicated and expensive because space for a desired attachment of the acceleration sensor must be present all about the position control gear.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention consists in providing a safety belt apparatus of the initially named kind in which a specific place is provided for the acceleration sensor, but which can equally at any time be displaced, in particular tilted, relative to the housing in such a manner that it reacts only to horizontal accelerations and tiltings of the vehicle.
The idea of the invention is thus to be seen in that the auxiliary pawl of the acceleration sensor is no longer allowed to grip on directly at the position control gear, but rather at a hollow secondary gear which is rotationally fixedly coupled to, in particular meshed with, the latter and has the blocking teeth on its inner side. In this way the outer toothing of the position control gear is not—as is usual—designed as a ratchet toothing which cooperates directly with a pawl, but rather as a normal gear toothing.
The acceleration sensor is thus arranged in the interior of the secondary gear and can be pivotally fixed ultimately in any manner desired about one or more axes so that it can always be displaced into the horizontal position required for its functioning no matter how the belt roller is installed into the vehicle. In this the auxiliary pawl must be shaped in such a manner that it can arrive into engagement with the auxiliary tooth crown in any installation position of the acceleration sensor.
It is particularly important that the numbers of teeth of the main and auxiliary blocking tooth crown stand in the relationships described below in order always to ensure an unobjectionable engaging of the main pawl into the main tooth crown after the latching in of the auxiliary pawl of the acceleration sensor.
In order to be able in any case to produce an unobjectionable relative starting position between the auxiliary and the main tooth crown, a procedure described further below can be followed. Thus although the two tooth crowns are no longer arranged at gears which are coaxial with one another and rotate in the same way, an unobjectionable driving in of the main pawl into the main tooth crown can be ensured in this manner.
Preferred diameter relationships of the secondary and position control gear are as described below.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4087059 (1978-05-01), Lindblad
patent: 5289986 (1994-03-01), Hoshihara
patent: 5351908 (1994-10-01), Umezawa et al.
patent: 5791582 (1998-08-01), Ernst
patent: 25 23 675 (1975-11-01), None
patent: 41 09 179 (1991-09-01), None
patent: 195 28 387 (1997-02-01), None
patent: 195 31 320 (1997-02-01), None
patent: 2073578 (1981-10-01), None
Foley & Lardner
Jillions John M.
Takata (Europe) Vehicle Safety Technology GmbH
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