GB2471090A

GB2471090A - A connector arrangement

Info

Publication number: GB2471090A
Application number: GB0910328A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dan Folke Lennart Brase; Erik Hjerpe
Original assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Current assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Priority date: 2009-06-16
Filing date: 2009-06-16
Publication date: 2010-12-22
Also published as: GB0910328D0

Abstract

A connector arrangement 1 comprising: a connector adapted to receive a component of a vehicle safety belt; and an elongate length of tape 3 having opposing major surfaces and a width which is significantly greater than its thickness, at least one of the major surfaces having a concave cross-section, the tape having a substantially straight section 3a which extends downwardly from the connector and which is sufficiently rigid to support the connector. Said tape 3 may be anchored by a pretensioner unit 18 and may be deflected through a guide arrangement 12 to the rigid straight section. Said pretensioner unit 18 may also provide a compressive force to the tape 3 to push the connector upwardly and present it to a user.

Description

"A Connector Arrangement" The present invention relates to a connector arrangement.

Almost all modern motor vehicles are provided with safety belts to be worn by vehicle passengers. Typically an upstanding buckle is provided, which is anchored to a part of the vehicle, such as the vehicle floor. A tongue of a safety belt may be releasably retained by the buckle, as is well understood in the art.

Conventionally, the buckle is supported at one end of a thick steel cable. The other end of the cable may be attached directly to the vehicle floor, but may alternatively be connected to a pretensioner and/or force limiter. Pretensioners are often arranged to be approximately horizontal, and so it is necessary to guide the cable through an angle of around 9Q0 between the pretensioner and the upstanding portion that supports the buckle. Steel cables are, however, relatively difficult to bend, and so heavy-duty components are needed to guide the cable.

Steel cable is also heavy and expensive, increasing the weight and cost of the buckle arrangement.

It is an object of the present invention to seek to address at least some of the above difficulties.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a connector arrangement, comprising: a connector adapted to receive and retain a component of a vehicle safety belt; and an elongate length of tape having opposing major surfaces and a width which is significantly greater than its thickness, at least one of the major surfaces having a concave cross-section, the tape having a substantially straight section which extends downwardly from the connector and which is sufficiently rigid to support the connector.

Advantageously, the substantially straight section of the tape is unguided.

Preferably, the concave cross section is a curved cross section.

Conveniently, the other of the major surfaces has a convex cross section.

Advantageously, a guide is provided between the anchor point and the substantially straight section, the tape being deflected as it passes through the guide.

Preferably, the guide comprises a primary guide around which the tape passes for use in pre-pretensioning and/or pretensioning and a secondary guide for use in presenting only.

Conveniently, the concave major surface of the tape passes around the primary guide.

Advantageously, the tape is deflected through at least around 9Q0 as it passes through the guide.

Preferably, an elongate tension member is connected to the connector and extends along the length of at least the straight section of the tape.

Conveniently, the tension member comprises a wire or cable.

Advantageously, the tension member is at least partially received in a recess formed by the concave cross section of the tape.

Preferably, the compressive strength of the tension member is significantly lower than that of the tape.

Conveniently, the tape is anchored at an anchor point.

Advantageously, the anchor point comprises a driver which is operable to apply a tension and/or a compression force to the tape.

Preferably, the driver incorporates a drivable spool, a portion of the tape being Conveniently, the driver incorporates a piston and an end of the tape is attached to the piston.

Advantageously, the driver is operable to drive the tape so that the tape transmits a compressive force to push the connector upwardly, thereby presenting the connector to a user.

Preferably, driving the tape causes the length of the substantially straight section to increase.

Conveniently, the driver is a presenter or a pretensioner.

Advantageously, the driver is a combined presenter and pretensioner.

Preferably, the driver is a combined presenter, pre-pretensioner and pretens io ner.

Conveniently, the driver is a pneumatic presenter and/or a pyrotechnic pretensioner and/or a spring-loaded or pneumatic pre-pretensioner.

Advantageously, the connector is a safety belt buckle.

Preferably, the substantially straight section of the tape comprises a single tape.

Conveniently, the tape is elastically deformable so that the major surfaces thereof bend through at least 9Qo Advantageously, the tape is connected to the connector.

Preferably, the tape has a connection portion which is connected to the connector.

Conveniently, the connection portion is an end of the tape.

Advantageously, the end of the tape is substantially flattened.

Preferably, the end of the tape is substantially flattened during connection to the connector.

Advantageously, the end of the tape maintains the concave cross section of the at least one of its major surfaces whilst connected to the connector.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a connector presenter comprising: a connector adapted to receive and retain a component of a vehicle safety belt; an elongate length of tape having opposing major surfaces and a width which is significantly greater than its thickness, the tape having a substantially straight section which extends downwardly from the connector and which is sufficiently rigid to support the connector; and a driver operable to drive the tape so that the tape transmits a compressive force to push the connector upwardly, thereby presenting the connector to a user.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a method of assembling a connector arrangement comprising a connector adapted to receive and retain a component of a vehicle safety belt; and an elongate length of tape having opposing major surfaces and a width which is significantly greater than its thickness, the method comprising connecting the end of the tape to the connector.

Preferably, the end of the tape is directly connected to the connector inside a housing of the connector.

Conveniently, at least one of the major surfaces has a concave cross-section.

So that the present invention may be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a connector arrangement embodying the present invention and a driver; Figure 2 is a schematic cross section of a tape embodying the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic cross section of another tape embodying the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic cross section of a further tape embodying the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic view of an end of a tape embodying the present invention, a connector being shown in phantom; Figure 6 is a schematic view of a connector arrangement embodying the present invention; Figures 7a, 7b and 7c are schematic views of various driver faces provided with slots through which pass a tape embodying the present invention; Figure 8a shows a connector arrangement embodying the present invention with the connector presented; Figure 8b shows a connector arrangement embodying the present invention with the connector retracted following presentation; Figure 9 is a schematic cross section of a tape embodying the present invention partially housing a tension member; and Figure 10 is a schematic view of a primary guide with the tape and the tension member of Figure 9 partially wound around the guide.

Turning firstly to figure 1, a connector arrangement I embodying the present invention is shown. The connector arrangement I comprises a buckle 2, which may be of any suitable form of connector, particularly a safety belt buckle.

The buckle 2 is supported by a substantially straight, upstanding section 3a of the tape 3 that has a length I. A cross-sectional view of the tape 3 is shown in figure 2. The tape 3 is preferably formed from a resilient material, such as steel, and has a width W that is significantly greater than its thickness T. In an embodiment the tape is 15-20mm wide and around 0.5mm thick, although it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to these dimensions. The tape 3 has opposing major surfaces 4, 5, an inner surface 4 being concave and an outer surface 5 being convex, so the thickness T of the tape is substantially constant across its width. It will be understood that the depth D of the tape is therefore greater than its thickness T. In the embodiment shown in figure 2 the tape 3 is curved. However, it should be appreciated that the tape 3 may take other forms. For instance, as shown in figure 3, the cross-section of the tape 3 may comprise two substantially straight regions 6 which meet one another at an angle, so that the cross-section is generally chevron-shaped.

Alternatively, as shown in figure 4, the cross-section of the tape 3 may comprise a substantially straight main region 7, which has a further straight region 8 extending at an angle from each of its ends, so that the cross-section is concave in shape, generally trough-shaped.

It is important, however, that at least one of the major surfaces has a concave cross-section.

Figure 5 shows a connection end 9 of the tape 3, at which the tape 3 is connected to the buckle 2 (shown in phantom in figure 5). A connection aperture is formed through the connection end 9, which is received in a slot in the lower end of the buckle 2. The slot is substantially straight, and so the tape 3 is flattened out as it is inserted into the slot (the cross-section of the tape 3 at various points along its length is shown to the right-hand side of the figure). Once the connection end 9 has been inserted into the buckle 2, a bolt 11 may be passed through the connection aperture 10 to secure the buckle 2 to the tape 3, as shown in figure 6.

Returning to figure 1, the substantially straight section 3a of the tape 3 extends downwardly from the buckle 2, and passes through a guide arrangement 12 which deflects the tape 3 through around 90°. The guide arrangement 12 comprises a first guide 13, which has a curved outer surface 14 around which the tape 3 passes. A second guide 15, which has a corresponding curved surface 16, opposes the outer surface 14 of the first guide 13, so that an arcuate passageway 17 is defined.

The tape 3 extends away from the guide arrangement 12 and is received in a pretensioner unit 18. The pretensioner unit 18 comprises a generally sealed unit, having a face 19 with a slot 20 through which the tape 3 may pass. Figures 7a, 7b and 7c show different forms that the slot 20 may take. In the example shown in figure 7a, the slot 20 is generally straight and extends substantially entirely across the width of the face 19, whereas in the example shown in figure 7b the slot 20 extends only a part of the way across the face 19. In the example shown in figure 7c, the slot 20 is curved, and preferably the curvature of the slot 19 substantially matches the curvature of the tape 3, SO that the tape 3 may pass easily through the slot 20 without being deformed. It should be noted that the concave cross-section of the tape 3 contributes significantly to its compressive strength, and hence that flattening the tape 3 as it passes through the slot 20 may have the undesired effect of reducing the compressive strength of the tape 3.

It will, of course, be understood that the shape of the slot 20 shown in figure 7c is appropriate in the case where the tape 3 has a curved shape. If the tape 3 has a different cross-sectional shape, as shown for example in figure 3 or 4, then the shape of the slot 20 may be chosen to correspond to this cross-sectional shape.

Preferably, one or more seals are provided around the slot 20 or the slot itself provides the seal, to help prevent gas from leaking out of the pretensioner unit 18 through the slot 20. It is anticipated that it will be significantly simpler to effect a seal of this nature around a generally flat tape 3 of this type than with a round cable.

Within the pretensioner unit 18, the tape 3 is fixed to a piston 21, which is slidably received within a cylinder 22. Preferably, in an initial configuration the piston 21 is located in a middle region of the cylinder 22, so that the piston may move towards either the front or rear end 23, 24 of the cylinder 22. A drive gas inlet 25 is connected to supply high-pressure gas to the rear of the cylinder 22, and a tensioning gas inlet 26 is connected to supply high-pressure gas to the front of the cylinder 22. The drive or tensioning gas inlets 25, 26 may be connected to respective sources (or the same source) of compressed gas. Alternatively, or in addition, one or more pyrotechnic devices may be provided to generate high-pressure gas to be delivered through one or both of the inlets 25, 26.

Use of the connector arrangement I will now be described.

In certain circumstances it may be desired to raise the height of the buckle 2, for instance to assist a vehicle occupant to fasten their safety belt. To achieve this high-pressure gas is delivered to the rear of the cylinder 22 through the drive gas inlet 25. The effect of this is to drive the piston 21 towards the front end 23 of the cylinder 22, thus pushing an additional length of tape 3 out of the cylinder 22.

The compressive force applied to the tape 3 by the piston 21 is transmitted along the length of the tape 3. It will be appreciated that the first and second guides 13, of the guide arrangement 12 guide the tape 3 as it is driven, so that the length I of the substantially straight section 3a increases, as shown in figures 8a and 8b.

The buckle 2 is thus driven upwardly. In the example shown in these figures, the length I increases by a distance P, and in preferred embodiments the buckle 2 may be raised by a distance that is in the order of centimetres, for instance 10cm.

When the buckle has been presented to a user as in Figure 8b, the user inserts the tongue of the safety belt into the buckle 2 and the buckle and connected belt collapse towards the user's body. The concave nature of the tape 3 allows the straight section of the tape to collapse readily so that the buckle presses towards the user.

When a crash situation is detected or predicted by vehicle sensors (not shown), it may be desired to apply pre-pretensioning, or pretensioning, to the safety belt, to hold a vehicle occupant more closely against their seat. In these circumstances, pressurized gas is delivered to the front of the cylinder 22 through the tensioning inlet 26. The effect of this will be to drive the piston 21 towards the rear end 24 of the cylinder 22, thus drawing a length of the tape 3 into the pretensioning unit 18.

The guide arrangement 12 will guide the tape 3 as this occurs, so that the result is the buckle 2 being pulled substantially directly downwardly, reducing the length I of the substantially straight section 3a of the tape 3.

If reversible pre-pretensioning is required, then gas may be introduced into the cylinder 22 from a source of compressed gas. If pretensioning is required in anticipation of an accident then, as discussed above, a pyrotechnic device may be fired to generate the compressed gas, thus driving the piston 21 rearwardly with increased force.

In an embodiment, a tension member 27 is provided to increase the tensile strength of the tape 3. The tension member 27 may take the form of a cable 27 or rope, as shown in figure 9, which lies alongside the tape 3 and is attached to the tape 3. In an embodiment the tension member 27 comprises a metal cable, for instance a steel cable. In preferred embodiments the tension member 27 is at least partially received in the recess formed by the concave shape of the tape 3.

The tension member 27 helps ensure that the tape 3 can withstand high extensive forces acting on the tape 3, for example if (as discussed above) the pretensioner unit 18 applies a large retractive force to the tape 3. It should be understood, however, that the tension member 27 preferably does not contribute significantly to the compressive strength of the tape. Preferably, the compressive strength of the tension member 27 is significantly lower than that of the tape 3.

Figure 10 shows a modified first guide 13 for use with a tape 3 that has a tension member 27 provided therewith. The curved surface 14 around which the tape 3 passes has a generally straight portion 28, against which the tape 3 lies, with an additional groove 29 being formed in the generally straight portion 28 to accommodate the tension member 27.

It will be understood that the tape 3 will be flexible, and may readily be elastically deformed to bend. In embodiments, a quantity of the tape may be wound around a spool, for instance within a pretensioning unit. When it is desired to pay out some tape, the spool may be driven to rotate in a first direction to dispense some tape. Conversely, when it is desired to retract the tape, the spool may be driven in a second, opposite direction to wind more of the tape onto the spool. It is envisaged that this technique may be applied when using electrically-driven pretensioners, but the technique will also be compatible with other types of pretensioners, for instance pneumatic pretensioners. It will be understood that the flexibility and low width of the tape will make the tape particularly suited to being stored on, and dispensed from, a spool in this manner.

In an embodiment, the tape is connected to, or is an extension of, a band that is extended by a pretensioner to retract the safety belt. For instance, a pretensioner may comprise a piston carrying a roller, over which the band is passed. At one end the band is fixed, and at the other it is connected, directly or indirectly, to a safety belt. To activate the pretensioner the piston is extended, so that the end of the band that is connected to the safety belt is pulled inwardly.

When used in this specification and claims, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A connector arrangement, comprising: a connector adapted to receive and retain a component of a vehicle safety belt; and an elongate length of tape having opposing major surfaces and a width which is significantly greater than its thickness, at least one of the major surfaces having a concave cross-section, the tape having a substantially straight section which extends downwardly from the connector and which is sufficiently rigid to support the connector.
2. A connector arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the substantially straight section of the tape is unguided.
3. A connector arrangement according to claim I or 2, wherein the concave cross section is a curved cross section.
4. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the other of the major surfaces has a convex cross section.
5. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein a guide is provided between the anchor point and the substantially straight section, the tape being deflected as it passes through the guide.
6. A connector arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the guide comprises a primary guide around which the tape passes for use in pre-pretensioning and/or pretensioning and a secondary guide for use in presenting only.
7. A connector arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the concave major surface of the tape passes around the primary guide.
8. A connector arrangement according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the tape is deflected through at least around 9Q0 as it passes through the guide.
9. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein an elongate tension member is connected to the connector and extends along the length of at least the straight section of the tape.
10. A connector arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the tension member comprises a wire or cable.
11. A connector arrangement according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the tension member is at least partially received in a recess formed by the concave cross section of the tape.
12. A connector arrangement according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the compressive strength of the tension member is significantly lower than that of the tape.
13. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the tape is anchored at an anchor point.
14. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the anchor point comprises a driver which is operable to apply a tension and/or a compression force to the tape.
15. A connector arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the driver incorporates a drivable spool, a portion of the tape being wound around the spool.
16. A connector arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the driver incorporates a piston and an end of the tape is attached to the piston.
17. A connector arrangement according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the driver is operable to drive the tape so that the tape transmits a compressive force to push the connector upwardly, thereby presenting the connector to a user.
18. A connector arrangement according to claim 17, wherein driving the tape causes the length of the substantially straight section to increase.
19. A connector arrangement according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the driver is a presenter or a pretensioner.
20. A connector arrangement according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the driver is a combined presenter and pretensioner.
21. A connector arrangement according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the driver is a combined presenter, pre-pretensioner and pretensioner.
22. A connector arrangement according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the driver is a pneumatic presenter and/or a pyrotechnic pretensioner and/or a spring-loaded or pneumatic pre-pretensioner.
23. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the connector is a safety belt buckle.
24. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the substantially straight section of the tape comprises a single tape.
25. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the tape is elastically deformable so that the major surfaces thereof bend through at least 90°
26. A connector arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the tape is connected to the connector.
27. A connector arrangement according to claim 26, wherein the tape has a connection portion which is connected to the connector.
28. A connector arrangement according to claim 27, wherein the connection portion is an end of the tape.
29. A connector arrangement according to claim 28, wherein the end of the tape is substantially flattened.
30. A connector arrangement according to claim 29, wherein the end of the tape is substantially flattened during connection to the connector.
31. A connector arrangement according to claim 29, wherein the end of the tape maintains the concave cross section of the at least one of its major surfaces whilst connected to the connector.
32. A connector presenter comprising: a connector adapted to receive and retain a component of a vehicle safety belt; an elongate length of tape having opposing major surfaces and a width which is significantly greater than its thickness, the tape having a substantially straight section which extends downwardly from the connector and which is sufficiently rigid to support the connector; and a driver operable to drive the tape so that the tape transmits a compressive force to push the connector upwardly, thereby presenting the connector to a user.
33. A method of assembling a connector arrangement comprising a connector adapted to receive and retain a component of a vehicle safety belt; and an elongate length of tape having opposing major surfaces and a width which is significantly greater than its thickness, the method comprising connecting the end of the tape to the connector.
34. A method according to claim 33, wherein the end of the tape is directly connected to the connector inside a housing of the connector.
35. A method according to claim 33 or 34, wherein at least one of the major surfaces has a concave cross-section.
36. A connector arrangement, a presenter, a pre-pretensioner, or a pretensioner substantially as hereinbefore described and/or as illustrated in the accompanying figures.
37. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.