Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-19
2002-01-08
Mai, Lanna (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S808000, C297S483000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06336662
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tongue hooking mechanism for a seat belt.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A technique has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 61-203864. As shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9
, a conventional seat belt
101
having a tongue hooking mechanism
100
taught by the Publication No. Hei. 61-203864 includes a buckle
107
, a seat belt
101
, a through anchor portion
103
, a retractor
105
and a tongue
106
. The buckle
107
is disposed on a side of a seat
102
adjacent to a central portion of a cabin of a vehicle. The seat belt
101
has a fixed portion formed at an end thereof and disposed on the wall of the cabin. The through anchor portion
103
is disposed in an upper portion of the wall and arranged to support an intermediate portion of the seat belt
101
. The retractor
105
is disposed below the through anchor portion
103
and arranged to wind-up the seat belt thereon. The tongue
106
is joined to an intermediate portion of the seat belt
101
and arranged to be bitten by the buckle so that the abdomen and the breast of an occupant are held.
In addition to this, a stopper
108
is slidably joined to the belt
101
. Moreover, a hooking projection
109
is provided for the stopper
108
. When the belt
101
is wound up by a winding unit
105
, the stopper
108
is upwards moved to a belt hooking member
103
. In the foregoing state, the tongue
106
is hooked by the hooking projection
109
of the stopper
108
so as to suspend the belt
101
.
Since the tongue
106
is simply hooked by the hooking projection
109
, there is apprehension that the tongue
106
is separated from the hooking projection
109
owning to vibrations of the car body during running.
There is apprehension that vibrations of the car body during running result in the tongue
106
being vibrated and brought into contact with the stopper
108
, causing noise to be produced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique which is capable of eliminating the possibility of separation of the tongue during running of a vehicle and vibration of the tongue.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tongue hooking mechanism for a seat belt incorporating a buckle disposed on a side of a seat adjacent to a central portion of a cabin of a vehicle; a seat belt having a fixed portion formed at an end thereof and disposed on the wall of the cabin; a through anchor portion disposed in an upper portion of the wall and arranged to support an intermediate portion of the seat belt; a retractor disposed below the through anchor portion and outer than the fixed portion and arranged to wind the seat belt up; and a tongue joined to an intermediate portion of the seat belt and arranged to be bitten by the buckle so that the abdomen and the breast of an occupant are held, the tongue hooking mechanism for a seat belt comprising: a fixing member with which the through anchor portion is joined to the wall, wherein a hook having a claw facing upwards is provided for the fixing member or a cover which covers the fixing member, and the tongue is permitted to be hooked by the hook.
In the state in which the tongue is hooked by the hook, a tension is applied to the seat belt by the retractor. As a result, the possibility that the tongue is separated from the hook during running can be eliminated. Also the possibility of noise which is produced owning to vibrations of the tongue can be eliminated.
Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a recess for receiving the tongue is provided for the fixing member or the cover.
Since the tongue is received in the recess, undesirable projection of the tongue into the cabin space can be prevented.
Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that an upper wall portion forming the recess is a slant downwardly extending from the central portion of the cabin along the wall.
The tongue is guided or the tongue is separated from the hook along the slant upper wall. Thus, attachment/detachment can easily be performed.
Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the lower end of the tongue is positioned upper than the lower end of the through anchor portion in a state in which the tongue is hooked by the hook.
The tension of the seat belt enables the tongue to reliably be pressed against the hook. As a result, the possibility that the tongue is separated from the hook during running can be eliminated. Since vibrations of the tongue can reliably be prevented, a silent state in the cabin can be maintained.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description of the preferred emodiments described in conjunction with the attached drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3130466 (1964-04-01), Carter
patent: 3243233 (1966-03-01), Davis
patent: 3258293 (1966-06-01), Sharp
patent: 3401980 (1968-09-01), Nicholas
patent: 3457603 (1969-07-01), Romanzi, Jr. et al.
patent: 3583763 (1971-06-01), Settimi
patent: 4547018 (1985-10-01), Cunningham
patent: 4993746 (1991-02-01), Hagelthorn
patent: 53-82930 (1978-07-01), None
patent: 59-69748 (1984-05-01), None
patent: 61-18776 (1986-02-01), None
patent: 61-157047 (1986-09-01), None
patent: 61-203864 (1986-12-01), None
patent: 63-98861 (1988-06-01), None
patent: 63-98862 (1988-06-01), None
patent: 63-104161 (1988-07-01), None
patent: 63-104261 (1988-07-01), None
patent: 1-131662 (1989-09-01), None
patent: 1-149850 (1989-10-01), None
patent: 1-149851 (1989-10-01), None
patent: 5-1580 (1993-01-01), None
patent: 5-29871 (1993-04-01), None
patent: 7-38026 (1995-08-01), None
patent: 8-464 (1996-03-01), None
Kamida Kouji
Kurita Makoto
Mori Takahiro
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Mai Lanna
Phan Hau
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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