Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-23
2001-08-21
Swann, J. J. (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S728100, C280S730100, C280S808000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276715
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat belt device for protecting an occupant on a vehicle in a vehicle collision and, particularly, to an inflatable belt device wherein a part of the seat belt is in a shape of an envelope and inflatable with gas from a gas generator.
2. Description of the Related Art
This type of inflatable belt device is previously known, for example, as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. H5-85301.
FIG. 4
is a general perspective view of the inflatable belt device disclosed in this publication.
This inflatable belt device
1
comprises an inflatable belt
2
b
extending diagonally from the right side to the left side of the upper half of an occupant's body, a shoulder belt
2
a
connected to the inflatable belt
2
b
, a lap belt
3
extending from the right side to the left side of the occupant's waist, a buckle
4
arranged, for example, at a floor of a vehicle body, a tongue
5
, which is inserted into and engaged with the buckle
4
when the vehicle occupant wears the seat belt, and a deflector fitting
6
for guiding the shoulder belt
2
a.
The shoulder belt
2
a
comprises a normal webbing
2
, which is the same as a typical conventional seat belt. The proximal end of the shoulder belt is connected to a seat belt retractor
7
with an emergency locking mechanism (ELR) which is fixed to the vehicle body. The shoulder belt
2
a
is arranged in such a manner as to be wound into the seat belt retractor
7
.
The inflatable belt
2
b
is positioned to be in front of the chest of the occupant, and is connected to the tongue
5
at an end opposite to the end connected to the webbing
2
a.
The lap belt
3
is composed of a normal webbing which is the same as a typical conventional seat belt, of which one end is connected to the tongue
5
and the other end is connected to a seat belt retractor (ELR)
8
, which is fixed to the vehicle body. Further, connected to the buckle
4
is a gas generator
9
, which is actuated in case of emergency such as a vehicle collision to generate high-pressure gas.
The tongue
5
and the buckle
4
are provided with passages for introducing gas from the gas generator
9
into the inflatable belt
2
b
. When the gas generator
9
is actuated, the gas is introduced into the inflatable belt
2
b
through this passages so that the inflatable belt
2
b
is inflated.
In the aforementioned conventional inflatable belt device, both the tongue
5
and the buckle
4
are required to have the passages for introducing gas, making the tongue
5
and the buckle
4
expensive compared to a tongue and a buckle of a normal seat belt device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an inflatable belt device of which a tongue and a buckle have simple structures.
An inflatable belt device of the present invention comprises: an inflatable belt which is inflatable and which is arranged to extend diagonally on the upper half of an occupant's body; a gas generator for supplying gas into the inflatable belt through an upper end of the inflatable belt; a shoulder belt which is connected, at a distal end thereof, to a lower end of the inflatable belt in the longitudinal direction; a first retractor for winding up a lower end portion of the shoulder belt; an intermediate member having an opening through which the shoulder belt is passed; a lap belt of which an distal end is connected to the intermediate guide; a second retractor for winding up a lower end portion of the lap belt; and a tongue which the lap belt is passed.
In the aforementioned inflatable belt device, gas is supplied into the inflatable belt through its upper end, thereby eliminating the provision of gas supplying means in the tongue and the buckle. This simplifies the structure of the tongue and the buckle.
In the inflatable belt device of the present invention, when the inflatable belt is inflated, the length of the inflatable belt is shortened in the longitudinal direction as compared to that before the inflation. As a result of this, tension is applied on the shoulder belt and the lap belt according to the inflation of the inflatable belt, thereby securely restraining the occupant in the vehicle seat.
To allow the shoulder belt connected to the inflatable belt to be smoothly passed through the opening of the intermediate member, the intermediate member may be provided with a roller for guiding the shoulder belt which is disposed on an edge of the opening of the intermediate member. Similarly, the tongue may be provided with a roller for guiding the lap belt which is disposed on an edge of the opening of the tongue. The inflatable belt may be provided with a stopper for preventing the inflatable belt from entering through the opening of the intermediate member
In the present invention, a deflection fitting may be disposed on the way of the shoulder belt. The deflection fitting is fixed to a pillar or a seat back of a vehicle body.
In the present invention, a mounting plate may be connected to the upper end of the inflatable belt in the longitudinal direction and may be fixed to the pillar or the seat back of the vehicle body. In this case, a pipe for introducing gas from the gas generator into the inflatable belt may be supported by the mounting plate. This structure facilitates the installation of the pipe and the gas generator.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3888503 (1975-06-01), Hamilton
patent: 3933370 (1976-01-01), Abe et al.
patent: 4348037 (1982-09-01), Law et al.
patent: 5288104 (1994-02-01), Chen
patent: 5303953 (1994-04-01), Kamiyama et al.
patent: 5466002 (1995-11-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 5870816 (1999-02-01), McFalls et al.
patent: 5947513 (1999-09-01), Lehto
patent: 6059311 (2000-05-01), Wipasuramonton et al.
patent: 6082763 (2000-07-01), Kokeguchi
patent: 6116637 (2000-09-01), Takeuchi et al.
patent: 6126194 (2000-10-01), Yaniv et al.
patent: 6189921 (2001-02-01), Takeuchi
patent: 4211209A1 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 0901945 A2 (1999-03-01), None
patent: 5-85301 (1993-04-01), None
patent: 6-64493 (1993-06-01), None
Foley and Lardner
Shriver J. Allen
Swann J. J.
Takata Corporation
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