Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R22/00—Safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles
  • B60R22/34—Belt retractors, e.g. reels
  • B60R22/46—Reels with means to tension the belt in an emergency by forced winding up
  • B60R22/4628—Reels with means to tension the belt in an emergency by forced winding up characterised by fluid actuators, e.g. pyrotechnic gas generators
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R22/00—Safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles
  • B60R22/34—Belt retractors, e.g. reels
  • B60R22/46—Reels with means to tension the belt in an emergency by forced winding up
  • B60R22/4676—Reels with means to tension the belt in an emergency by forced winding up comprising energy-absorbing means operating between belt reel and retractor frame
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R22/00—Safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles
  • B60R22/34—Belt retractors, e.g. reels
  • B60R22/46—Reels with means to tension the belt in an emergency by forced winding up
  • B60R22/4628—Reels with means to tension the belt in an emergency by forced winding up characterised by fluid actuators, e.g. pyrotechnic gas generators
  • B60R2022/4642—Reels with means to tension the belt in an emergency by forced winding up characterised by fluid actuators, e.g. pyrotechnic gas generators the gas directly propelling a flexible driving means, e.g. a plurality of successive masses, in a tubular chamber
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
  • B60R21/013—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over

Definitions

• the present invention refers to an improved safety belts for vehicles, of the type having a pre-tensioning device and, more specifically, to a triggering means including technical and functional improvements particularly introduced in the safety belt disclosed in Brazilian patent application No. PI 9003144, filed on 14/08/90, entitled “IMPROVED SAFETY BELT WITH DOUBLE LOCK AND RETRACTION MECHANISM”. Description of the Prior Art
• the present invention refers to a safety belt for vehicles of the type having a safety mechanism known in the art as pre-tensioning device, which purpose is to completely eliminate any possible slack which may there exist between the strap of the safety belt and the passenger.
• any slack in the strap of the safety belt can seriously jeopardize the safety of the passenger, since when such a sudden disacceleration occurs its body tends to continue to move forward until said slack is completely taken, which may cause a strong impact.
• the purpose of the present device is to completely eliminate any such slack before the body of the passenger has the time to move, thereby considerably enhancing the safety of the passenger.
• said retractable safety belts having a traction spring always allow a small slack at the free end of the strap, whereby there exists the possibility that the passenger may not be securely "fastened” to the seat of the vehicle when of a sudden disacceleration, thereby being susceptible to being injured when the sudden disacceleration results in a collision.
• the pre-tensioning device actuated by the firing of the triggering means eliminates any slack that may there exist on the free end of the strap of the retractable safety belt having a traction spring in a very short time period, of no more than a few milliseconds .
• a major drawback of the retractable safety belts having a pre-tensioning device as described above is the coupling between the pre-tensioning device and the traction spring, which may cause the housing of the belt mechanism to become too bulky and therefore not suitable for use in a vehicle having a modern design where the use of all available inner space is a requirement.
• the device as described above has proved to work very satisfactorily, it still showed a number of drawbacks, starting with the response time, which has not reached a desired level of promptness, and also its configuration, which although extremely simplified still is characterized by defining a system that works by applying traction on a steel cable, whereby the explosive charge has to be substantially big.
• the force resulting from the expansion or pressure of the gases causes a displacement of the toothed belt, which runs as a projectile being fired within the "U" shaped conduct, said displacement causing a rotation of the toothed gear engaged therewith, which acts as a "flywheel” to further cause a rotation of the winding wheel in a direction to wind the strap of the safety belt enough to fasten the body of the passenger against the seat of the vehicle, thereby eliminating any slack that may eventually be a hazard to the safety of the passenger.
• the safety belt according with the present invention is able to provide a higher safety level to the passenger, including the additional protection provided by the pre-tensioning device, without interfering with freedom of movement the system provides to the passenger within the vehicle, as long as these movements are done at a speed below the predetermined levels where the belt is activated.
• the improved safety belt according with the present invention also includes a pair of locking teeth associated in a single piece, which engages with toothed washers formed on the winding wheel for the strap.
• Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a safety belt having a pre-tensioning device according with the prior art.
• the safety belt according with the present invention can be incorporated into a number of different types of safety belts, such as the one shown in Figures 1 and 2.
• this safety belt comprises a "U" shaped metallic housing 1 defining a central portion and two side walls 2 provided with spacing bars 3 at its distal ends, each side wall 2 having an outwardly projecting area 4 slightly curved, each with a centrally cut bore 5 where tubular projections 6 surrounding a housing 7 of the traction spring and a housing 8 of the locking mechanism are fitted, said projections 6 being surrounded by slots 9 formed on the housings 7 and 8 in order to allow a small relative movement between the projections 6 and the housings 7 and 8.
• a shaft 17 for the traction spring is received inside the spring housing 7, said shaft 17 being coupled to main shaft 15 through projecting pins 18 formed in one end thereof which engage one end of the main shaft 15.
• a shaft 19 for the locking mechanism is also coupled with the main shaft 15 through pins 20 formed in one end thereof which engage the opposite end of said main shaft 15, as shown in Figure 1.
• Said double lock shaft 37 may be forced to rotate by a disacceleration sensor also known as a strap sensor and/or by a vehicle sensor, both coupled to the safety belt assembly by the mechanism core 27 and by its shaft 29.
• a disacceleration sensor also known as a strap sensor and/or by a vehicle sensor
• the body 42 has a cavity where a locking member 43 is received, said locking member 43 having a bore 44 which serves as a pivot for a pin (not shown) formed on the inner face of the disk member 40, the locking member 43 also being provided with a groove 45 where a pin 64 of said inner disk 42 is received, with a guide 47 of the locking member 43 allowing a controlled displacement of the locking member within a groove 48.
• a spring 49 is mounted to pins provided in both said disk member 40 and said inner body 42, with the locking member 43 engaging a series of teeth 50 formed inside a circular protruding wall 51 of said mechanism core 27, with the disk member 40 being provided with a central projection received in a matching hole formed on the shaft 19 for the locking mechanism.
• this constructive arrangement allows the position of the inner body 42 relative to said disk member 40, as determined by the tension exerted by spring 49, to be such that the locking member 43 is perfectly housed inside the recess formed in the body 42.
• winding wheel 10 rotates until it reaches a predetermined speed, at which moment the combination of the forces acting on the spring 49 in one end, and the inertial movement of said body 42, which has a suitably dimensioned mass, at the other end, allows a relative movement of said body 42 relative to said disk 40, whereby it is displaced outwardly of its housing in the locking member 43 in order to engage the teeth 50 of the core 27 forcing it to rotate around its axle against the force of a spring 52 positioned between the housing 27 and the housing 8, causing a displacement of projection 35 and, accordingly, of the double lock 37 in order to safely lock the mechanism.
• the wheel can be minimally displaced by deforming said housings 7, 8 in the area of the slots 9, thereby causing the winding wheel 10 to rest upon the metallic housing 1 and providing a higher level of resistance to the mechanism, avoiding a failure of the more fragile components, the assembly returning to its original position after the loads are removed.
• the springs 49, 52 return the strap sensor to its original rest position when the loads that caused the displacement stop .
• the vehicle sensor comprises a cradle member 53 for a sphere 54, said cradle being mounted by its ends on projections 55 formed on the housing 8, the cradle 53 being formed with upwardly facing projections 56 where an actuating lever 57 pivots, said lever 57 resting against the upper side of the sphere 54 and being formed with a projection 58 on its upper surface that engages a locking member 59 which pivots around a pin 60 on the mechanism core 27, next to said spring 52, said locking member 59 having an end shaped as a tooth which engages the teeth 41 on said disk member 40.
• This sensor detects any change in the movement of the vehicle, whether an acceleration, a disacceleration or a change of direction.
• the sphere 54 positioned between the cradle 53 and the actuating lever 57 causes the lever to move upward to displace the locking member 59 in such a way that its end 61 engages the teeth 41 on the disk member 40, thereby causing a displacement of the mechanism core 27 as in the case of the strap sensor.
• the sphere 54 returns to its rest position in the center of the cradle member 53 and the locking engagement is interrupted.
• the spring 52 on the mechanism core 27 returns the locking member to its rest condition.
• Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the additional features of the improved safety belt with pre-tensioning device according with the present invention.
• a torsion bar 63 is positioned inside the metallic shield 14, said torsion bar 63 having a locking pin 64 in one end and a outer portion formed with teeth 65 on its opposite end, said bar 63 being positioned in such a way that both its ends project outwardly of the corresponding radially projecting lugs 11 and the toothed washers 16, which are mounted on the ends of the metallic shield 14.
• torsion bar 63 After the torsion bar 63 is positioned, its locking pin 64 is coupled to a modified shaft end 66 which, by its turn, is coupled to the corresponding washer 16 on the right side, the end 66 for mounting the locking mechanism (SV) being closed by a lid 62, while the teeth of its opposite end 65 engage the inner teeth of- a second modified shaft end 67 which likewise is coupled to the corresponding washer 16 on the left side, with the shaft 17 for the traction spring 23 positioned within housing 7 and closed by lid 22 as described above.
• a modified shaft end 66 which, by its turn, is coupled to the corresponding washer 16 on the right side, the end 66 for mounting the locking mechanism (SV) being closed by a lid 62, while the teeth of its opposite end 65 engage the inner teeth of- a second modified shaft end 67 which likewise is coupled to the corresponding washer 16 on the left side, with the shaft 17 for the traction spring 23 positioned within housing 7 and closed by lid 22 as described above.
• Said second modified shaft end 67 has a portion (D) formed with outer teeth matching the inner teeth (D' ) of a toothed gear 68 which, as shown in Figure 4, is positioned between said housing 7 and a positioning member 69 in such a manner that the gear 68 is surrounded by the driving means 70.
• the driving means 70 comprise a "U" shaped conduct 71 having a substantially quadrangular cross section, one leg thereof projects upwardly and slightly inwardly to define a portion having an enlarged diameter 72 where an outer thread 73 is formed, said larger portion being closed by a lid 74 and housing an explosive charge 75, an helical spring 76 and a piston 77.
• a flexible toothed belt 78 is positioned inside the
• the flexible toothed belt 78 comprises a series of adjacent parallelepipedic blocks 78A, each- having a male-female semi-spherical coupling 80, 81 on opposite sides for matching a similar coupling formed on an adjacent block, and a cut edge on its upper surface for defining a series of teeth 82, facing the inner portion of said "U" shaped conduct 71.
• Conduct 71 by its turn, is formed with a longitudinal slot 83 cut along the inner face of the leg opposite to said upwardly and inwardly projecting leg 72, the teeth 82 of the flexible toothed belt 78 projecting through said slot 83 in order to engage with matching teeth formed on gear 68.
• the torsion bar 63 is dimensioned to receive a pre-determined load and to absorb part of the impact between the strap and the passenger. Under a critical situation, that is, when eventually said load is above a certain level, the toothed washer 16 on the right side turns itself loose from the shaft 15 in order to immediately release the load, adding an extra protection to the passenger.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Automotive Seat Belt Assembly (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=4070277

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Families Citing this family (5)

Family Cites Families (9)

• 1998
  • 1998-08-10 BR BR9803030A patent/BR9803030A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1999
  • 1999-08-04 EP EP99947129A patent/EP1034099A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1999-08-04 WO PCT/BR1999/000066 patent/WO2000009367A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-08-05 AR ARP990103917 patent/AR020122A1/es unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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