Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Reeling device – With spring motor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-13
2003-02-25
Matecki, Kathy (Department: 3654)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Reeling device
With spring motor
C280S806000, C297S478000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06523769
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to seat belt spooling devices for spooling seat belts for automobiles and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a seat belt spooling device including a pretensioner.
A seat belt spooling device which includes a pretensioner for applying a tensile force (pretension) to a seat belt by spooling the seat belt by a predetermined length in a case of collision or the like is known.
Such a pretensioner is disclosed in, for example, WO95/27638 (incorporated by reference herein), in which balls are moved in the peripheral direction by gas ejected from an inflator, and a locomotive faculty rotates a reel or spool in a direction for spooling the seat belt.
FIGS. 8 and 9
are illustrations of a seat belt spooling device included in the above WO95/27638.
As shown in
FIG. 8
, a pretensioner for rotating a belt spooling shaft (reel)
10
includes a pair of driving wheels
11
and
12
capable of holding balls therebetween which move by an explosive force. The driving wheel
11
is firmly connected to the belt spooling reel
10
. The driving wheel
12
opposes the driving wheel
11
. The wheels
11
and
12
are connected to each other via a gear
31
. A casing
13
is provided between the two driving wheels
11
and
12
. The casing
13
includes sword-shaped guides
14
and
15
. The casing
13
encloses the peripheries of the driving wheels
11
and
12
at an inner face
30
of the casing
13
. As shown in
FIG. 9
, the driving wheels
11
and
12
are provided with cup-shaped concaves
23
disposed in series in the peripheral direction.
A tube
16
bent in a U-shape is provided so as to enclose the casing
13
, the tube
16
receiving balls
18
for rotating the driving wheels
11
and
12
. A gas generator
17
is provided at an end of the tube
16
. Gas ejected from the gas generator
17
pushes the balls
18
out of the tube
16
. A driving piston
19
provided with a seal is disposed at an end of the row of the balls
18
and in the tube
16
. A tube cover
20
is disposed at the other end of the row of the balls
18
. The tube
16
is provided with a cap
22
mounted thereto from the outside.
When the gas generator
17
starts operating, the ejected gas pushes the balls
18
in the tube
16
out of the tube
16
. The balls
18
are guided from an opening
28
by the sword-shaped guide
15
of the casing
13
and are pushed into the cup-shaped concaves
23
of the driving wheels
11
and
12
, thereby driving the driving wheels
11
and
12
to rotate the reel
10
in the seat-belt-spooling direction. The balls
18
are removed by the sword-shaped guide
14
which serves as a scraper and are collected. Reference numeral
29
denotes an outlet region.
With regard to FIGS. 1 and 2 of WO95/27638, the publication does not contain a clear description of the position in which the balls removed by the sword-shaped guide
14
are received. FIG. 8 in WO95/27638 shows a structure of a pretensioner for driving the spooling shaft
10
to rotate by moving the balls
18
by using gas ejected from an inflator
65
, and introducing the balls
18
into a receptacle
71
via a guide nozzle
70
after the balls
18
have been brought into contact with the spooling shaft
10
, as shown in FIG.
10
.
FIGS. 5
to
7
show a known pretensioner of a seat belt spooling device having such a receptacle. In
FIGS. 5
to
7
, a ball-receiving member
2
is formed integrally, by aluminum die-casting or the like, with a case
1
having a substantially circular concave part
1
a
for holding balls (not shown in
FIGS. 5
to
7
). A ball-passing port
3
is provided between a ball-receiving member
2
and the concave part
1
a
. The ball-receiving member
2
is disposed under a reel or spool
9
so that the overall size of a seat belt retractor is as smallest as possible.
The ball-receiving member
2
has an opening
2
a
toward the outside of the case
1
, through which a mold for die-casting is disposed. An inclined guide plate
4
is provided so as to prevent the balls from moving out through the opening
2
a
and to guide the balls coming in from the concave part
1
a
through the passing port
3
to an end of the ball-receiving member
2
. An axle (not shown) of the reel
9
extends to the outside of the case
1
through an axle-pass-through-hole
1
b
formed in the case
1
, and is connected to a return spring (not shown) at the end of the axle of the reel
9
, the return spring urging the reel
9
in the seat-belt-spooling direction.
In the known pretensioner shown in
FIGS. 5
to
7
, the guide plate
4
must be manufactured separately from the case
1
and the ball-receiving member
2
, the case
1
and the ball-receiving member
2
being formed integrally with each other, and be disposed at the opening
2
a
and fixed thereto.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a seat belt spooling device that does not require a separate non-integral guide plate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According an embodiment of the present invention a seat belt spooling device is provided. The device includes a frame having a pair of sidewalls; a reel disposed between the pair of sidewalls, for spooling a seat belt. A resilient member is provided for urging the reel in the spooling direction. The device further includes a pretensioner for driving the reel to rotate in the spooling direction in an emergency; and a locking structure for locking the reel in the emergency. The pretensioner includes a driven shaft connected to the reel; balls disposed along one of the sidewalls and around the periphery of the driven shaft. A gas generator is provided for applying pressure of gas to the balls so as to move around the periphery of the driven shaft. A ball-receiving member for receiving the balls which move into the ball-receiving member is provided. The ball-receiving member extends from the one of the sidewalls to the other one of the sidewalls, and an opening is formed toward an end in the extending direction of the ball-receiving member, the opening opposing the other one of the sidewalls.
The case and the ball-receiving member may be formed integrally with each other by casting so as to have a guide face, so that it is not necessary to use a separate guide plate.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4444010 (1984-04-01), Bendler
patent: 5690295 (1997-11-01), Steinberg et al.
patent: 5881962 (1999-03-01), Schmidt et al.
patent: 5924640 (1999-07-01), Hickey
patent: 6345504 (2002-02-01), Takehara et al.
patent: 6363722 (2002-04-01), Takehara et al.
patent: 2001/0040199 (2001-11-01), Takehara et al.
patent: 2002/0040582 (2002-04-01), Kameyoshi et al.
patent: 2002/0053621 (2002-05-01), Shiotani et al.
patent: 2002/0060261 (2002-05-01), Kameyoshi et al.
patent: 695 14 649.1 (1995-04-01), None
patent: 199 09 938 (2000-08-01), None
patent: 0 680 856 (1995-03-01), None
patent: 11-208415 (1999-05-01), None
patent: WO 95/27638 (1995-10-01), None
patent: WO95/27638 (1995-10-01), None
patent: WO 96/25310 (1996-08-01), None
Hamaue Tetsuya
Takehara Hiroki
Matecki Kathy
Pham Minh-Chau
Takata Corporation
LandOfFree
Seat belt spooling 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 Seat belt spooling device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Seat belt spooling device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3178248