JP2001000211A - Buckle device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a buckle device which is capable of surely detecting the webbing mounting state of crew and can contribute to the reduction of the number of wiring and the simplification of wiring work. SOLUTION: A detecting sensor 136 which detects that a tongue plate 30 attains a locked state by engaging a latch fitting and a transmitter which transmits the detection result thereof as a detected radio wave 130 to the receiver 132 are disposed in the buckle device 28. The receiver 132 is connected to a center control unit 126 of an air bag working system 124. As a result, the need for connecting a buckle switch and the center control unit 126 which is heretofore required is eliminated. As a result, the sure detection of the webbing mounting state of the crew is made possible and the reduction of the number of the wiring and the simplification of the wiring work are made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a buckle device provided with a mechanism for detecting an occupant wearing a webbing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A seat belt device is positioned as an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant in the event of a collision. In recent years, from the viewpoint of improving occupant protection performance at the time of a collision, standard equipment of an airbag device positioned as an occupant protection auxiliary device is becoming widespread.

Conventionally, the seatbelt device and the airbag device are often mounted as separate and independent systems. However, in order to realize a higher level of occupant protection performance, some vehicles are mounted as an interlocked system. It is increasing. For example, control is performed to change the operation mode of the airbag device depending on whether or not the occupant wears the seatbelt device.

[0004] Conventionally, whether or not the occupant wears the seat belt device has been detected based on whether or not a buckle switch provided in the buckle device has been turned ON. In this case, when the seating sensor disposed on the seat cushion or the like is turned on and the buckle switch is turned on, the detection signal is output to the center control unit that controls the operation of the airbag device.

[0005] The center control unit controls the deployment of the bag inflation speed, the bag inflation shape, and the like so as to be most suitable for the form of inertial movement when the occupant with the webbing mounted collides. Conversely, if the buckle switch is not turned on even though the seating sensor is turned on, the detection signal is output to the center control unit, and the center control unit uses the occupant without the webbing. The deployment control of the bag inflation speed, the bag inflation shape, and the like is performed so as to be most suitable for the form of inertial movement in the event of a collision.

[0006]

However, the above-described system has the following problems. That is, the center control unit is disposed below the control box as an example,
In order to realize the above-described system, not only a power supply line to the buckle switch in the buckle device is required, but also a connection line for connecting the buckle switch and the center control unit is required. Since such a connection line connects the buckle switch and the center control unit, the wiring length also becomes long. Therefore, according to such wired information transmission / reception, the number of wirings increases and the wiring work (connection work, wiring management work, etc.) becomes complicated. Further, when a connector or the like required in connection with the wiring is included, the weight increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to provide a buckle device capable of reliably detecting a state of mounting an occupant's webbing, reducing the number of wirings and simplifying wiring work. is there.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an insertion opening into which a tongue plate inserted through an intermediate portion of a webbing for restraining an occupant is inserted, and a tongue plate is inserted from the insertion opening. Is inserted by a predetermined amount, thereby engaging with an engagement opening formed in the tongue plate to prevent the tongue plate from being detached from the insertion opening, and locking the tongue plate by the lock means. A release means for releasing the locked state to allow the tongue plate to be removed from the insertion opening, wherein the detection means detects that the tongue plate is locked by the lock means. When,
And transmitting means for transmitting the detection result of the detecting means as radio waves to receiving means disposed in the vehicle.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in order for the occupant to be in the state of mounting the occupant restraining webbing, first, the user holds the tongue plate inserted through the intermediate portion of the webbing with his / her hand, and The plate is inserted into the insertion opening of the buckle device. When the insertion amount of the tongue plate reaches a predetermined amount, the locking means is engaged with the engagement opening formed in the tongue plate. As a result, the tongue plate is prevented from being detached from the insertion opening of the buckle device, and is brought into a locked state.

Here, according to the present invention, when the tongue plate is locked by the lock means, the fact is detected by the detection means. That is, the detection means detects that the occupant is in the webbing mounted state.
The result of detection by the detection means is transmitted as radio waves by the transmission means to the reception means disposed in the vehicle.

As described above, according to the present invention, the result of detection by the detecting means is transmitted and received in the form of radio waves. Therefore, the connection line between the buckle switch in the buckle device and the center control unit, which is required in the conventional system, is provided by the present invention. Is no longer necessary.

When the occupant releases the mounted state of the webbing, the occupant may operate the releasing means to release the locked state of the tongue plate by the locking means. When the locked state is released by the release means, the tongue plate is allowed to separate from the insertion opening of the buckle device.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A seat belt device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 schematically shows the entire structure of the seat belt device 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the seat belt device 10 includes an anchor plate 14 fixed to the indoor side near the lower end of the center pillar 12, and a lower center garnish 16 provided at the lower end of the center pillar 12. A webbing take-up device 18 covered, a shoulder anchor (through anchor) 20 arranged above the center pillar 12, and a stay 26 on the side of the seat cushion frame 24 of the front seat 22 (on the floor tunnel side). The buckle device 28 includes a buckle device 28 disposed in an upright position, a tongue plate 30 engaged with the buckle device 28, and a webbing 32 for restraining an occupant.

One end of the webbing 32 is fixed to the anchor plate 14, an intermediate portion of the webbing 32 is inserted into a shoulder anchor (through anchor) 20 and folded back, and the other end of the webbing 32 is webbed. The take-up device 18 is fixed to a take-up shaft. The winding shaft is normally urged to rotate in the webbing winding rotation direction by the urging force of a mainspring disposed on one side of the frame.

A tongue plate 30 formed in a substantially T-shape when viewed from the front is slidably inserted into an intermediate portion of the webbing 32. The tongue plate 30 is made of a high-strength member, and the webbing 3
1 through the opening 34 (FIG. 1).
), And a rectangular engaging opening 36 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) to be engaged with the buckle device 28 is formed on the tip end side.

Accordingly, the occupant holds the tongue plate 30 in his hand and holds the webbing 32 against the urging force of the mainspring spring.
Is pulled out from the webbing retractor 18 and the tongue plate 30 is engaged with the buckle device 28, so that the occupant can be in the state of wearing the webbing of the three-point seat belt device 10. In other words, the occupant's chest is restrained by the shoulder-side webbing 32A from the shoulder anchor (through anchor) 20 to the tongue plate 30.
The lap of the occupant can be restrained by the webbing 32B on the lap side up to 4.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show the buckle device 2 described above.
8 are shown. As shown in these figures, the buckle device 28 includes an anchor member 40 fixed to the tip of the stay 26 with a rivet 38. The anchor member 40 is formed by bending a belt-like high-strength member at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction, and includes an upper plate 42 and a lower plate 44 arranged in parallel with each other. Further, an insertion opening 46 for the tongue plate 30 is formed at the bent end of the anchor member 40. The tongue plate 30 is inserted from the insertion opening 46 to form two upper plates 42. Lower plate 44
And is to be inserted between.

A resin ejector 48 is accommodated inside the anchor member 40 so as to be slidable along the longitudinal direction of the anchor member 40. An elongated columnar spring support 50 is integrally formed at the center of the ejector 48, and one end of an eject spring 52 constituted by a compression coil spring is inserted and locked to the spring support 50. . The other end of the eject spring 52 is abutted and locked inside the anchor member 40. Therefore, the eject spring 52
The ejector 48 is constantly urged toward the insertion opening 46 side.

On both sides of the ejector 48, a pair of square pieces 54 are formed in parallel with the spring support 50. Correspondingly, the upper plate 42 and the lower plate 44 of the anchor member 40 are formed with a pair of upper rail portions 110 and lower rail portions 111 swelling in directions approaching each other, respectively. The ejector 48 is slidably supported along the lower rail 111. A step 56 is formed integrally with the inside of the longitudinal middle portion of the square piece 54, and a claw 58 is formed integrally with the outside of the longitudinal end of the square piece 54. I have.

A release button 60 made of resin is provided above the anchor member 40 described above. The release button 60 includes a pair of outer plates 62 arranged in parallel with each other.
And a pair of inner plates 64 arranged parallel to each other inside the outer plates 62, and these four outer plates 62 and the inner plates 64
Press plate 6 for connecting the ends on the side of the insertion opening 46 in FIG.
6 are included. At the lower end of the outer plate 62, a locking claw 68 directed toward the inner plate 64 is integrally formed.
The locking claw 68 is connected to the upper plate 42 of the anchor member 40.
The release button 60 is slidably attached along the longitudinal direction of the anchor member 40 (the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 5 and the opposite direction) by being fitted between the lower plate 44 and the lower plate 44.

On the upper side of the release button 60, a resin holding block 70 is mounted inside the pair of outer plates 62 and straddling the pair of inner plates 64. The holding block 70 includes a block-shaped main body 74 separated by a pair of holding plates 72 arranged in parallel with each other. From the front side of the main body 74, a pair of arms 76 extending in parallel with each other and having a tip bent in a hook shape are integrally formed. The arms 76 are attached to the upper plate 42 of the anchor member 40. A pair of elongated holes 78 formed
Inserted into. A pair of leaf spring pieces 80 formed in a curved shape are integrally formed from the back side of the main body 74. The tips of the leaf spring pieces 80 are in contact with the pressing plate 66 of the release button 60, and apply a biasing force to the release button 60 in the release direction (the direction opposite to the arrow A direction in FIG. 5). . Accordingly, an appropriate resistance is generated when the release button 60 is pressed.

A latch member 82, which is formed in a substantially U shape when viewed from the front, is mounted on the main body 74 of the holding block 70 described above. The latch fitting 82 includes an engagement piece 84 formed at a middle portion in the width direction, and a pair of contact pieces 86 formed on both sides of the engagement piece 84. The latch metal 82 is accommodated between the pair of holding plates 72 of the main body 74, thereby preventing the movement of the anchor member 40 in the longitudinal direction, and in the engagement direction (the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 5) and the release direction (the figure). 5 in the direction opposite to the arrow B direction). The engaging piece 84 of the latch fitting 82 is shaped to be insertable into the engaging opening 36 of the tongue plate 30, and the engaging piece 84 is further inserted into the upper plate 42 and the lower plate 44 of the anchor member 40. An upper side opening 88 and a lower side opening 90 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) for making the holes are formed, respectively.

A projection 92 is integrally formed on the opposing surfaces of the pair of inner plates 64 of the above-described release button 60 at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction. When the tongue plate 30 is not inserted, the lower surface (inclined surface) of the pair of contact pieces 86 of the latch metal 82 comes into contact with the upper surface (inclined surface) of the protrusion 92, so that the engagement direction of the latch metal 82 (see 5
(In the direction of arrow B) is prevented (see FIG. 5). On the other hand, when the tongue plate 30 is inserted, the lower surface (horizontal surface) of the projection 92 is positioned on the upper surface (horizontal surface) of the pair of abutting pieces 86 of the latch metal member 82, so that the latch metal member 82 is released (see FIG. 6). The movement in the direction opposite to the arrow B direction is prevented (FIG. 6).
reference).

Further, a release surface 94 is integrally formed on the opposing surfaces of the pair of inner plates 64 of the release button 60 on the pressing plate 66 side of the projection 92. The release surface 94 is configured as an inclined surface having a rising gradient from the protrusion 92 toward the pressing plate 66. When the release button 60 is pressed, the release surface 94 is sunk under the lower surfaces (inclined surfaces) of the pair of abutting pieces 86 of the latch fitting 82, whereby the release fitting 94 is moved from the release face 94 to the latch fitting. A pressing force in the release direction (the direction opposite to the direction of arrow B in FIG. 6) is applied to 82.

On the opposite side of the release button 60 from the pressing plate 66, a bridge-like spring mounting portion 96 is provided.
The base end of a lock spring 98 configured as a bow-shaped leaf spring is inserted and locked in the spring mounting portion 96. The distal end of the lock spring 98 is in contact with the upper surface of the engaging piece 84 of the latch fitting 82, and constantly presses and biases the engaging piece 84 of the latch fitting 82 in the engaging direction (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5). ing.

Further, an intermediate arm 100 is attached to an intermediate portion of the lock spring 98 in the longitudinal direction. The intermediate arm 100 has a base 102 formed in a U-shape in plan view, a pair of legs 104 bent down from both ends of the base 102, and bent in directions away from the lower ends of the legs 104. And the opposing wall 106. The intermediate arm 100 has its base 102
Is fixed to a middle portion of the lock spring 98 in the longitudinal direction with a rivet 108 so as to be integrated with the lock spring 98.

The pair of legs 104 is inserted into a pair of long holes 78 formed in the upper plate 42 of the anchor member 40. In the inserted state, the pair of opposing walls 106
Faces the tip portions of the pair of square pieces 54 of the ejector 48 (see FIG. 5). Accordingly, when the tongue plate 30 is inserted and the ejector 48 slides toward the stay 26, the opposing wall 106 is pressed by the step 56 of the square piece 54 of the ejector 48 and moves toward the stay 26.

A tubular cover 112 is attached to the above-described anchor member 40, and the cover 112 covers functional parts of the buckle device 28 including the anchor member 40.

In the above configuration, the anchor member 4
0, the latch fitting 82, and the lock spring 98 correspond to "locking means" in the present invention, and the ejector 48, the eject spring 52, and the release button 60 provided with the release surface 94 correspond to "release means" in the present invention.

Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a configuration for detecting the occupant's mounting state of the webbing is added in the buckle device 28 described above. There is a feature of the embodiment.

More specifically, a slider 114 made of resin is slidably provided on the locus of movement of the claw 58 of the one corner piece 54 of the ejector 48. The slider 114 has a rectangular parallelepiped block shape, and its rear surface 114A (see FIG. 2) is pressed by the claw 58 of one of the square pieces 54 when the ejector 48 slides. The front surface 114B of the slider 114 (FIG. 2)
), A columnar pressing projection 116 is integrally formed.

Further, a transmitter (transmitter) 118 as “transmitting means” is fixed at a position facing the slider 114. On the front surface 118A of the transmitter 118, a push button type cylindrical detection switch 120 is set at a position facing the pressing protrusion 116. A compression coil spring 122 is wound between the pressing protrusion 116 and the detection switch 120. Therefore, the compression coil spring 122 always urges the slider 114 in a direction away from the transmitter 118. Also, a predetermined position of the lower plate 44 in the anchor member 40 (on the side of the insertion opening 46 in the lower rail portion 111).
Is formed with a protrusion that can interfere with the rear surface 114A of the slider 114, and the stopper 123 restricts the protrusion in the stroke of the slider 114 in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction.
(See FIGS. 2 and 3).

In the present embodiment, the compression coil spring 122 is used as the return spring. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a spring such as a tension coil spring can be used. Any element that can be grasped is applicable.

On the other hand, FIG. 1 shows a buckle device 2 to which a configuration for detecting the above-described state of mounting the webbing is added.
8 shows a schematic configuration of an airbag actuation system 124 including the configuration shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, the airbag activation system 124 is broadly referred to as a "control means".
And a center control unit 126 which is grasped as. The center control unit 126
Although the installation location differs depending on the type of vehicle, it is generally often installed near the lower part of the console box.

The center control unit 126 is connected to a seating sensor 128 disposed on a seat cushion or the like of a front seat (not shown). Also,
The center control unit 126 includes a transmitter 118
A receiver 132 is connected as an “receiving means” provided with an antenna for receiving the detection radio wave 130 sent from the communication system. The location of the receiver 132 is arbitrary.
Further, an airbag device 134 is connected to the center control unit 126. In the present embodiment, an electric ignition type airbag device is used in which the inflator is operated by supplying an operating current to the ignition device, and the folded bag is inflated by gas ejected from the inflator. .

In FIG. 1, the transmitter 118 as the "transmitting means" and the detection sensor 136 as the "detecting means" are described separately and independently, and both are connected by the signal line 138. When viewed in relation to the buckle device 28, the detection sensor 136 corresponds to the detection switch 120 of the transmitter 118 and the pressing protrusion 116 of the slider 114 pressing the switch.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the tongue plate 30
Before the buckle device 28 is engaged with the buckle device 28, the ejector 48 is positioned near the insertion opening 46 by the urging force of the eject spring 52. At this time, the urging force in the engaging direction is applied to the engaging piece 84 of the latch fitting 82 by the lock spring 98, but the projection 92 of the release button 60 is moved by the pair of contact pieces of the latch fitting 82. The latch fitting 82 is held in the non-engaged position because it is sunk below the 86.

When the tongue plate 30 is inserted into the insertion opening 46 of the buckle device 28 from this state,
As shown in FIG. 6, the ejector 48 is pushed by the tongue plate 30 and moves toward the stay 26 (in the direction of arrow A) against the urging force of the eject spring 52. During the movement of the ejector 48, the step 5 of the ejector 48
6 abuts against the opposing wall 106 of the intermediate arm 100 and presses the opposing wall 106 toward the stay 26. Therefore, the opposing wall 106 of the intermediate arm 100 moves in the direction of arrow A,
Accordingly, the lock spring 98 is slightly swung in the direction of arrow C. Since the pressing force in the direction of arrow A acts on the spring mounting portion 96 of the release button 60 due to the swinging operation of the lock spring 98, the release button 60 slightly moves in the direction of arrow A. As a result, the projection 92 of the release button 60 escapes from the pair of contact pieces 86 of the latch fitting 82 and separates. As a result, the engagement piece 84 of the latch metal 82 moves in the engagement direction (the direction of the arrow B) by the urging force of the lock spring 98 and is engaged with the engagement opening 36 of the tongue plate 30 to be locked.

The engaging piece 84 of the latch metal 82 is connected to an upper opening 88 (see FIG. 4) formed in the upper plate 42.
5) through the lower plate 44, the load acting on the tongue plate 30 via the webbing 32 at the time of a collision is absorbed by the upper plate 42. And the lower plate 44 are equally distributed, and transmitted to the stay 26 to reliably support the same.

When the engaging piece 84 of the latch fitting 82 is engaged with the engaging opening 36 of the tongue plate 30, the projection 92 of the release button 60 is engaged with the latch fitting 82.
The latch metal 82 does not accidentally move in the direction of releasing the engagement since the pair of abutting pieces 86 are climbed above the pair of abutting pieces 86. Further, in a state where the engagement piece 84 of the latch metal 82 is engaged with the engagement opening 36 of the tongue plate 30, the distal end of the lock spring 98 is displaced downward. A predetermined gap 14 between the tip of the square piece 54 of the ejector 48 and
0 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The existence of the gap 140 prevents the release button 60 from moving in the direction of arrow A even if the tongue plate 30 is slightly pushed toward the stay 26 in the locked state, and the tongue plate 30 moves in the direction of arrow A. Can be absorbed.
This prevents the protrusion 92 of the release button 60 from retreating from above the pair of abutting pieces 86 of the latch fitting 82, thereby preventing the latch fitting 82 from being movable in the release direction (the direction opposite to the arrow B direction). In.

On the other hand, when the occupant releases the mounted state of the webbing, the release button 60 of the buckle device 28 is released.
May be slid toward the stay 26 (in the direction of arrow A). When the release button 60 is slid toward the stay 26, the protrusion 92 of the release button 60 is separated from the upper side of the pair of contact pieces 86 of the latch fitting 82 in the direction of the arrow A. Thereby, the latch metal 82 can be moved in the release direction (the direction opposite to the direction of arrow B). When the release button 60 is further moved in the direction of arrow A,
The upper surface (inclined surface) of the release surface 94 of the release button 60 goes under the lower surface (inclined surface) of the pair of abutting pieces 86 of the latch metal 82, and presses the latch metal 82 in the release direction.
As a result, the latch metal 82 comes out of the engagement opening 36 of the tongue plate 30, and the locked state is released.
After the lock state is released, the ejector 48 is pressed toward the insertion opening 46 by the urging force of the ejection spring 52, and pushes the tongue plate 30 out of the insertion opening 46.

Here, in the present embodiment, the occupant wearing state of the webbing is detected as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, when the tongue plate 30 is not engaged with the buckle device 28, the ejector 48 is urged by the eject spring 52 so that the buckle device 2
Since the slider 114 is located in the vicinity of the insertion opening 46, the slider 114 is also held at the initial position where it comes into contact with the stopper 123 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 122. Therefore, the detection switch 120 of the transmitter 118 is also turned off.
It is in the state of F.

In this state, when the occupant inserts the tongue plate 30 into the insertion opening 46 of the buckle device 28 to mount the webbing 32, the ejector 48 moves to the stay 26 side (arrow). A direction side). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the claw 58 formed at the tip of one of the square pieces 54 moves toward the stay 26 together with the ejector 48. Therefore, the claw 58 of the ejector 48 presses the rear surface 114A of the slider 114, and slides the slider 114 in the direction of arrow A against the urging force of the compression coil spring 122. Then, the latch metal 82 is inserted into the engagement opening 36 of the tongue plate 30.
When the engagement pieces 84 are locked by being engaged,
Pressing protrusion 1 formed on front surface 114B of slider 114
16 presses the detection switch 120 of the transmitter 118.

In other words, when the tongue plate 30 is engaged with the buckle device 28, the claw portion of the ejector 48 is pressed so that the detection switch 120 of the transmitter 118 is pressed by the pressing protrusion 116 of the slider 114 to be turned on. 5
8 and the distance from the pressing protrusion 116 of the slider 114 to the detection switch 120 of the transmitter 118 are set.

The detection switch 120 of the transmitter 118 is turned on
Then, the detection radio wave 130 is transmitted from the transmitter 118. The transmitted detection radio wave 130 is received by the receiver 132 shown in FIG. 1, converted into an electric signal, and output to the center control unit 126. In the center control unit 126, a detection signal indicating that the occupant is seated on the front seat 22 is output by a seating sensor 128.
From the receiver 132, and in this state, it is confirmed that the detection signal of the occupant's webbing wearing state has been input from the receiver 132.
34 is set in an operable state and waits. If a collision occurs in this standby state, an operating current is supplied from the center control unit 126 to the ignition device of the inflator of the airbag device 134 to operate the inflator. As a result, gas flows into the folded bag, and the bag is expanded toward the occupant.

As described above, in this embodiment, the slider 1 that slides together with the ejector 48 in the buckle device 28
14 and the detection switch 120 is turned on by the slider 114, and a transmitter 118 for transmitting a detection signal of the occupant's webbing mounting state to the receiver 132 as a radio wave is installed. A connection line between the detecting means (buckle switch of the conventional system) for detection and the center control unit 126 for operating the airbag device 134 is not required. As a result, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reliably detect the occupant's mounting state of the webbing, and to reduce the number of wirings and simplify the wiring work (connection work and wiring management work). it can. Further, since the connection line is not required, a connector for the connection line is not required, and a weight reduction effect can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a so-called direct lock type buckle device which urges the latch metal 82 in the engaging direction. The present invention may be applied to a so-called indirect lock type buckle device in which the latch metal is engaged with the tongue plate against the urging force by another component when the tongue plate is inserted.

Further, in this embodiment, the transmitter 118 in which a part of the detecting means and the transmitting means are integrated is used.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration may be adopted in which the detection unit and the transmission unit are completely independently set and electrically connected.

Further, in the present embodiment, the slider is pressed against the urging force of the compression coil spring 122 by using a mechanical mechanism (ie, the ejector 48 that slides in the same direction when the tongue plate 30 is inserted). 11
4 is slid to thereby press the detection switch 120 of the transmitter 118) to detect the occupant's mounting state of the webbing, but the invention is not limited to this.
The state where the occupant is mounted on the webbing may be detected by a configuration in which a contact member is closed or opened by moving a moving member such as an ejector. Furthermore, the state of the occupant wearing the webbing may be detected by a non-contact type detection unit. For example,
The occupant's mounting state of the webbing may be detected by optical detection means using a photo sensor or the like, or
The mounting state of the occupant by the webbing may be detected by magnetic detection means using a magnetic sensor or the like.

In this embodiment, the system for transmitting the detection signal of the occupant's mounting state of the webbing to the center control unit 126 of the airbag operating system 124 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is applicable to any system requiring information on the state / non-wearing state.

Further, in this embodiment, the three-point seat belt device 10 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The buckle device according to the present invention may be applied to a two-point seat belt device.

[0054]

As described above, the buckle device according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a detecting means for detecting that the tongue plate is locked by the locking means, and the detection result of the detecting means is converted into a radio wave. Transmission means for transmitting to the receiving means disposed in the vehicle, the connection line between the buckle switch in the buckle device and the center control unit, which was required in the conventional system, becomes unnecessary, and as a result, This has an excellent effect that the state of mounting the webbing of the occupant can be reliably detected, and the number of wirings can be reduced and the wiring work can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an airbag operation system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a positional relationship among an ejector, a slider, a compression coil spring, and a transmitter before a tongue plate is inserted into a buckle device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a positional relationship among an ejector, a slider, a compression coil spring, and a transmitter in a state where a tongue plate is engaged with a buckle device.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the buckle device according to the embodiment to which a configuration for detecting a webbing mounting state is added.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the buckle device in a state before the tongue plate is engaged with the buckle device.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the buckle device in a state where the tongue plate is engaged with the buckle device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view showing a state where the occupant wears the three-point seat belt device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 28 Buckle device 30 Tongue plate 32 Webbing 36 Engagement opening 40 Anchor member (locking means) 46 Insertion opening 48 Ejector (release means) 52 Eject spring (release means) 60 Release button (release means) 82 Latch fitting (lock) Means 94 Release surface (release means) 98 Lock spring (lock means) 114 Slider (detection means) 116 Pressing protrusion (detection means) 118 Transmitter (transmission means) 120 Detection switch (detection means) 130 Detected radio wave 132 Receiver ( 136 detection sensor (detection means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masahiro Taniguchi 3-260 Toyota, Oguchi-machi, Niwa-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Tokai Rika Electric Works, Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinji Mori 3-260 Toyota, Oguchi-cho, Niwa-gun, Aichi Prefecture F term in Tokai Rika Electric Works, Ltd. (reference) 3B090 BC02 BC07 BC22 BC27

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An insertion opening into which a tongue plate inserted into an intermediate portion of an occupant restraining webbing is inserted, and a predetermined amount of the tongue plate is inserted from the insertion opening, whereby the tongue plate is inserted into the tongue plate. Locking means for engaging the formed engagement opening to prevent the tongue plate from being detached from the insertion opening; and releasing the locking state of the tongue plate by the locking means to insert the tongue plate. A buckle device configured to include: a release unit that allows release from the vehicle; a detection unit that detects that the tongue plate is locked by the lock unit; And a transmitting means for transmitting to the receiving means disposed in the buckle device.