JP2001030876A - Shoulder height adjuster for seat belt - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain the foreign sound generated between the lock pin for adjusting the height of a sash guide and an engaging hole formed on the guide rail and engage the lock pin with an engaging hole stably. SOLUTION: In the engaging holes 1a∼1d of a guide rail 1 of this shoulder height adjuster, the opening shape of a lock pin insertion port side is formed in a long hole shape having a long axis in a guide direction, a slope S slanted in the direction in which the long axis size is shortened as being the insertion direction the of the lock pin 4 is provided on its upper edge 12 and in the engaging state of the lock pin 4, the tip upper edge of the lock pin is contacted to the slope S and the lower side surface of the lock pin is contacted to the lower edge 11 of the engaging hole under such state that the energizing force to the guide rail 1 side is left. Thereby, the lock pin 4 is energized in the engaging holes 1a∼1d without clearance and held and the rattling of the lock pin 4 in the engaging holes 1a∼1d can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shoulder height adjuster for a three-point seat belt mounted on an automobile or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a three-point seat belt device mounted on an automobile or the like, generally, one end of a webbing of a seat belt is fixed to a wrap outer anchor provided below a side wall of a vehicle interior, and a webbing of an upper portion thereof is provided. After passing through the inside of the sash guide supported by the shoulder anchor of the center pillar portion, the other end is wound by the winding device.
Then, by engaging a tongue plate provided at an intermediate portion of the webbing of the seat belt with a buckle device fixed to the wrap inner anchor, the seat belt is put on.

[0003] Further, in a device having a function of adjusting the height position of a shoulder anchor according to the height of the shoulder and the seat position of the occupant in a seated state, a guide rail is provided on the shoulder anchor, and the guide rail is provided on the guide rail. A shoulder height adjuster in which an anchor bolt for supporting a sash guide is fixed to a slider that is slidably supported and has a fixing mechanism that can be fixed at any sliding position. An apparatus is provided.

[0004] As a mechanism for adjusting and fixing the position of the slider with respect to the guide rail in such a shoulder height adjuster, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 3-1176 or Japanese Examined Utility Model No. 3-21616, a guide for the guide rail is disclosed. While a plurality of engaging holes (locking holes) are provided along the direction, a lock pin (locking pin) that can be inserted into the engaging hole is urged toward the guide rail side of the slider. A structure in which an operation knob is provided at the top of the lock pin, that is, at the base end opposite to the tip on the insertion side into the engagement hole, is practically used.

Further, among the techniques described in the above publications,
In the former Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-1176, the insertion portion of the lock pin into the engagement hole is covered with a resin material over a required length, and in the latter Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-21616,
By adopting a configuration in which the inner surface of the engagement hole is covered with a resin material, even when the lock pin rattles in the engagement hole due to vibration during traveling of the vehicle, generation of an abnormal noise is suppressed.

[0006]

According to the techniques described in the above publications, it is necessary to always provide a gap between the lock pin and the engagement hole.
Although there is an effect of suppressing the volume of abnormal noise generated by rattling in the engagement hole of the lock pin, its generation cannot be completely suppressed. Further, in the techniques described in these publications, the resin material is provided at a place where the lock pin and the inner surface of the engagement hole rub against each other, and the resin material and the inner surface of the engagement hole or the lock pin that comes into contact therewith have a slight curvature relative to each other. Due to the cylindrical surfaces with different radii, the resin material is gradually shaved and deformed due to the movement of the lock pin from the engagement hole, the load applied when the vehicle body vibrates or the seat belt webbing is pulled, and There is a problem that the sound suppressing effect is lost and durability is poor.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a guide rail having a plurality of engagement holes,
In a shoulder height adjuster for a seat belt including a slider having a lock pin engaged with one of the engagement holes, an abnormal noise generated between the lock pin and the engagement hole is extremely effective as compared with the related art. It is another object of the present invention to provide a shoulder height adjuster for a seat belt that can stably engage a lock pin and an engagement hole of a guide rail.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a shoulder height adjuster for a seat belt according to the present invention is provided for setting a vertical position of a sash guide for inserting a webbing of a seat belt and changing its direction. Shoulder height adjuster for seat belts,
A guide rail fixed in the vehicle cabin with the guide direction substantially along the vertical direction and having a plurality of engagement holes formed in the guide direction, and slidable on the guide rail while holding the sash guide. And the slider is urged toward the guide rail in the axial direction while penetrating the slider in the axial direction, and the leading end side in the urging direction is inserted into and engaged with any of the engagement holes. The position of the slider on the guide rail is thereby fixed, and a lock pin provided with an operation knob is provided on the base end side in the biasing direction. The shape of the opening on the inlet side is a long hole having a long axis in the guide direction, and a slope is formed on the upper edge thereof in such a direction that the long axis dimension becomes shorter as the lock pin passes in the insertion direction. ,the above The lock pin is engaged with the engaging hole in a state where the upper edge portion in the biasing direction abuts the slope of the engaging hole and the lower surface portion abuts the lower edge of the engaging hole in the biased state. (Claim 1).

In the present invention, in the lowermost engaging hole of the guide rail, the upper edge of the lock pin in the biasing direction is in contact with the slope of the lowermost engaging hole. The slider can be configured to be positioned and fixed by abutting the slider against a stopper for regulating a slider sliding lower limit position provided on the guide rail (claim 2).

[0010] When the configuration of the invention according to claim 2 is employed, the stopper and the slider abut on each other via a resin piece provided therebetween, and the stopper and the slider are respectively connected to the resin piece. (Claim 3).

Further, in the present invention, it is desirable to adopt a configuration in which the edge of the leading end of the lock pin in the biasing direction is chamfered.

According to the present invention, the lock pin entrance side opening shape of each engagement hole of the guide rail is a long hole having a long axis in the guide direction, and the upper edge portion of the engagement hole is closer to the lock pin insertion direction toward the front. A slope is formed which is inclined in a direction in which the major axis dimension is shortened, and when the lock pin is in the engaged state, the upper edge of the leading end thereof is in contact with the slope, and the lower surface is in contact with the lower edge of the engaging hole. The contact state enables the lock pin to be engaged with the engagement hole with substantially no gap, thereby achieving an intended purpose.

That is, the lock pin, which is urged in the axial direction and fits into the engagement hole to fix the position of the slider in the vertical direction with respect to the slider guide rail, is formed by the slope formed at the upper edge of the engagement hole. The upper end portion of the leading end in the biasing direction abuts, so that the moving end in the axial direction is regulated while leaving the biasing force, and in this state, the lower side surface portion of the lock pin is located below the engagement hole. Touch the edge. In such a state, the lock pin is sandwiched between the upper edge slope and the lower edge of the engagement hole and is pressed against the slope by the urging force, so that there is substantially no gap. As a result, there is no rattling and no abnormal noise is generated by vibration applied during normal use such as vibration during vehicle running, etc.

In addition, the upper edge of the slope of the engaging hole is guided by the lock pin when the tip of the lock pin abuts on an arbitrary position thereof in a biased state, so that the lower side surface of the slope is the lower edge of the engaging hole. Also, it plays a role of moving it to a certain position where it comes into contact with the vehicle, and a stable engagement state is always obtained. Also, by pushing up the slider, the lock pin moves while being in contact with the slope, disengages from the upper edge of the engagement hole, and has a skip mechanism that can adjust the height by engaging with the upper engagement hole. I have.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the lock pin is engaged with the lowest engagement hole in order to position the slider at the lowest position, the lower limit of the slider sliding position provided on the guide rail is provided. When the slider comes into contact with the stopper, the moving end thereof is regulated, and in a state where the slider is in contact with the stopper, the lock pin contacts the slope at the upper edge of the lowermost engagement hole with an excess of biasing force. Therefore, in a state where the lock pin is engaged with the lowermost engagement hole, the lock pin does not contact the lower edge of the engagement hole with the lock pin, and the lock pin connects the slope at the upper edge of the engagement hole and the slider. As a result, the slider does not rattle as in the state of engagement with the other engagement holes, and the lower limit of the sliding position of the slider is reliably regulated by the stopper. Then, since the lock pin does not move downward beyond the lowest engagement hole, the lock pin is always engaged without fear of erroneous operation. According to this configuration, there is also an advantage that it is not necessary to increase the vertical positional relationship between the stopper for regulating the slider sliding lower limit position and the lower edge of the lowest engaging hole.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a resin piece is interposed between the slider and the slider, which is provided on the guide rail and regulates the lower limit of the sliding position of the slider. Since the occurrence of abnormal noise due to the above is prevented, and the stopper and the slider are configured so as to make surface contact with the resin pieces, respectively.
The resin piece does not make sliding contact with the metal but is merely sandwiched between the front and back surfaces in surface contact, and the resin piece is not shaved and deformed.

Further, when the edge of the lock pin in the biasing direction is chamfered as in the invention according to claim 4, stress concentration on the edge at the time of sliding contact of the lock pin with the guide rail is relieved, and Can be prevented from being worn or damaged, and the movement of the upper edge of the engagement hole relative to the slope can be made smooth.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a lock pin 4 is engaged with a lowermost engagement hole 1d. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state where the lock pin 4 is engaged with the engagement hole 1a other than the lowest one. In FIG. 1, illustration of the anchor bolt 5 and the sash guide 6 is omitted to avoid complication of the drawing.

A plurality of engaging holes 1a to 1d are formed in the guide rail 1 in the guide direction (longitudinal direction).
It is fixed to a side wall in a vehicle interior such as a center pillar, for example, with the guide direction substantially along the vertical direction. Slider 2
Are slidably supported along the guide rail 1. The guide rail 1 further includes a stopper 1 for regulating the slider sliding lower limit position further below the lowermost engaging hole 1d.
e is formed at a substantially central portion in the width direction so as to protrude toward the slider 2, and the upper surface of the stopper 1e for regulating the slider sliding lower limit position is a flat surface. Reference numeral 21 denotes a thin resin piece for smooth sliding between the slider 2 and the guide rail 1.

A slider cover 3 made of resin is mounted on the slider 2 to cover its surface. This slide cover 3
Are fixed to the slider 2 by a plurality of claws 3a to 3c formed so as to protrude toward the slider 2 to cover the slider 2, and by extending portions 3d and 3e extending to both upper and lower sides of the slider 2, Guide rail 1 is covered.

The slider 2 is formed with a through hole 2a for penetrating the lock pin 4 and a long slot 2b for penetrating a nut 51 for fixing an anchor bolt 5 to be described later. At the approximate center of the end face in the width direction, a stopper abutting portion 2c that abuts on the slider sliding lower limit position regulating stopper 1e at the sliding lower limit position with respect to the guide rail 1 is formed so as to protrude toward the guide rail 1. Have been. The lower surface of the stopper contact portion 2c is a flat surface, and the slide cover 3 has
The stopper abutting portion 2 in the mounted state with respect to the slider 2
3g of cushion piece that covers the lower surface of c in close contact with the surface
Are integrally formed. The lower surface of the cushion piece 3g is a flat surface, and comes into surface contact with the upper surface of the slider lower limit sliding position stopper 1e formed on the guide rail 1.

The lock pin 4 is inserted into the through hole 2a of the slider 2 while being housed in the upright portion 3f formed in the slide cover 3, and is inserted between the upright portion 3f and the ceiling. The compression coil spring 41 supports the slider 2 and the slide cover 3 while being urged in the axial direction toward the guide rail 1, and the leading end side in the urging direction is one of the engagement holes 1 a to 1 d of the guide rail 1. The slider 2 can be positioned and fixed on the guide rail 1 by being inserted into the guide rail 1 and being engaged. As shown in FIG. 3, the edge of this lock pin in the biasing direction is R1
The chamfered portion 4b having a radius of about 1 mm is formed uniformly.

Further, a flange 4a is formed at the top of the lock pin 4, that is, at the end on the base end side in the urging direction, and the flange 4a is formed at the side opening of the upright portion 3f of the slide cover 3. , And is engaged with the operation knob 42 placed over the upright portion 3f. Therefore,
By grasping and pulling the operation knob 42, the lock pin 4 can be disengaged from the engagement holes 1 a to 1 d of the guide rail 1 against the urging force of the compression coil spring 41.

The anchor bolt 5 is fixed to the slider 2 by being screwed through the slide cover 3 into a nut 51 which is inserted into the elongated through hole 2b of the slider 2 and is prevented from rotating. A sash guide 6 is swingably supported by the anchor bolt 5, and the sash guide 6 has a slit 6a for inserting a webbing W of a seat belt at a distal end thereof, and a sash guide 6 at a base thereof. Through hole 6 into which anchor bolt 5 is inserted
b is formed, and the portion except for the vicinity of the through hole 6b is covered with a resin. The base of the anchor bolt 5 and the sash guide 6 is formed of a sash guide cover 7 made of resin.
Covered by The sash guide cover 7 has an opening 7a for exposing the operation knob 42 to the inside of the vehicle interior, and a state in which the tip of the support portion 7b is in contact with the surface of the slide cover 3. And is fixed to the slide cover 3 by claws 7c and 7d formed on both upper and lower sides thereof.

The guide rail 1 is formed by pressing a flat metal member. Each of the engaging holes 1a to 1d has a perspective view shown in FIG. (B), as shown in the BB cross-sectional view, the opening shape on the lock pin insertion side is a long hole shape having a long axis in the guide direction of the guide rail 1, and approximately half of the lower edge 11 side is formed. It is punched and penetrated, and its lower edge 11 is the guide rail 1
Is formed by the inner surface of the cylinder orthogonal to the surface of. A substantially half of the upper edge 12 side is formed by a bent piece 13 formed by bending a part of the flat metal member forming the guide rail 1 by about 30 ° toward the back side in the insertion direction of the lock pin 4. . Therefore, the upper edge 12 of each of the engagement holes 1a to 1d is
The slope S formed by the surface of the bending piece 13, that is, the engagement holes 1a to 1
A slope S inclined in a direction in which the major axis dimension of d becomes shorter is formed. In each of the engagement holes 1a to 1d, the major axes of the three upper engagement holes 1a to 1c are equal to each other, and the major axes of the lowermost engagement holes 1d are equal to those of the upper three engagement holes. The holes 1a to 1c are slightly longer than the major axis.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, the slider 2 is slid along the guide rail 1 in a state where the operation knob 42 is pulled against the urging force of the compression coil spring 41, and the desired engagement hole 1a is formed. When the operating knob 42 is released at the position where the lock knob 4 is formed, the lock pin 4 is urged toward the guide rail 1 by the compression coil spring 41. At this time, the leading edge of the lock pin 4 abuts on an arbitrary position of the slope S at the lock pin insertion side entrance of the engagement holes 1a to 1d, so that the lock pin 4 is brought into contact with the slope S by the urging force of the compression coil spring 41. It is guided and moves downward together with the slider 2 and the like, and contacts the lower edge 11 of the engagement holes 1a to 1d,
The lock pin 4 is engaged with the slope S of the engagement holes 1a to 1d and the lower edge 11 in a biased state. At this time, since the chamfered portion 4b is formed at the leading end edge of the lock pin 4 on the biasing side, the lock pin 4 slides smoothly on the slope S, and both are damaged when the slide contact is made on the guide rail 1. Such a problem does not occur.

When the lock pin 4 is in the engagement holes 1a to 1
When the lock pin 4 is engaged with the lock pin 4 which is guided by the slope S and moves downward, the lower surface of the lock pin 4 is engaged with the engagement hole 1a (or 1b, 1c). The same applies to the following, the lower edge 11 stops when it comes into contact with the inner surface of the cylinder, and enters the engaged state. The lock pin 4 in the engaged state has a chamfered portion 4b at the tip thereof having an engagement hole 1a.
The compression coil spring 4 is brought into contact with the slope S of the upper edge 12 and the lower side surface of the compression coil spring 4 in contact with the lower edge 11 of the engagement hole 1a.
1 is in a state where the urging force is still acting on the lock pin 4. Therefore, in this state, the lock pin 4 is sandwiched between the slope S of the engagement hole 1a and the lower edge 11 with the biasing force of the compression coil spring 41 remaining substantially without any gap, and the vehicle There is no rattling due to vibration or the like during running, and no abnormal noise is generated.

On the other hand, the lock pin 4 is located at the lowest engagement hole 1d.
When the lock pin 4 is guided by the slope S and the lock pin 4 moves downward together with the slider 2, as shown in FIG. 2, the stopper contact portion 2c of the slider 2 has a cushion piece 3g made of resin. The guide rail 1 is stopped by coming into contact with the stopper 1e for regulating the slider sliding lower limit position of the guide rail 1 via the guide rail 1 to be engaged. In this engaged state, the slider 2 abuts the slider sliding lower limit position regulating stopper 1e while sandwiching the cushion piece 3g, and the lock pin 4 leaves the urging force of the compression coil spring 41 in the same manner as described above. In this state, the lower edge 11 of the engagement hole 1d abuts on the slope S of the engagement hole 1d, and therefore, also in this case, the major axis dimension is longer than the other engagement holes 1a to 1c.
Although a gap is actually formed between the slider 2 and the lock pin 4, the slider 2 supporting the lock pin 2 and the slide cover 3 are lowered by the slider lower limit position stopper 1e via the cushion piece 3g. As described above, the lock pin 4 does not rattle in the engagement hole 1d due to vibration or the like during traveling of the vehicle, and no abnormal noise occurs.

Here, since the cushion piece 3g made of resin is interposed between the stopper 1e for restricting the slider sliding lower limit position and the stopper abutting portion 2c, no noise is generated due to the contact between the metals. In addition, this cushion piece 3g
Are merely brought into surface contact with the slider lower limit position stopper 1e and the stopper abutting portion 2c, and are not slidably contacted. Therefore, deformation due to abrasion or the like hardly occurs.

Further, the presence of the stopper 1e for regulating the slider sliding lower limit position allows the lock pin 4 to move to the lowermost engaging hole 1e.
d, the lock pin 4 always engages with the lowermost engagement hole 1d, and in this engagement state, the lock pin 4 engages the lower edge 11 of the engagement hole 1d. Since the lower side surfaces do not need to be in contact with each other, there is no need to make the vertical positional relationship between the slider sliding lower limit position regulating stopper 1e and the lower edge 11 of the engagement hole 1d strict.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the opening diameter of the slider holding the sash guide is gradually reduced in the upper edge of the engaging hole for positioning and fixing on the guide rail in the locking pin insertion direction. In the engagement state with the engagement hole, the top edge of the tip abuts on the slope in a state where the biasing force to the guide rail side is left, in the engagement state with the engagement hole, In addition, since the lower surface comes into contact with the lower edge of the engagement hole, the lock pin is substantially urged by the slope of the upper edge of the engagement hole and the lower edge of the engagement hole with no gap therebetween, and is in a state of being pinched. Also, there is no rattling due to vibration or the like during running of the vehicle, and no abnormal noise is generated.

Further, a stopper is provided on the guide rail for regulating the slider sliding lower limit position, and when the lock pin is engaged with the lowest engaging hole, the slider is prevented from moving downward by the stopper. If the lock pin is configured to be in a state in which the lock pin abuts on the slope of the upper edge of the engagement hole with an excess of the urging force, the same effect as described above is exerted even in the engagement state with the lowest engagement hole. And the lock pin does not move below the lowermost engagement hole.
And in this case, between the stopper and the slider,
By providing the resin pieces (cushion pieces) that are in surface contact with each other, it is possible to prevent the generation of abnormal noise due to the contact between the stopper and the metal between the sliders, and the resin pieces are deformed due to wear and the like due to long-term use. Can also be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a lock pin 4 is engaged with a lowermost engagement hole 1d.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a lock pin 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention is engaged with an engagement hole 1a other than the lowest one.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a structure of engagement holes 1a to 1d formed in the guide rail 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention;
(A) is a perspective view, (B) is the BB sectional view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Guide rail 1a-1d Engagement hole 1e Slider lower limit position stopper 11 Lower edge 12 Upper edge 13 Bending piece S slope 2 Slider 2c Stopper contact part 3 Slide cover 3g Cushion piece 4 Lock pin 4b Chamfered part 41 Compression Coil spring 42 Operation knob 5 Anchor bolt 51 Nut 6 Sash guide 7 Sash guide cover

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A shoulder height adjuster for a seat belt for setting a vertical position of a sash guide for inserting and changing the direction of a webbing of a seat belt, the guide direction being substantially along the vertical direction. A guide rail having a plurality of engagement holes formed in a guide direction thereof, a slider which holds the sash guide and is slidably supported by the guide rail, and a shaft mounted on the slider. The guide rail is urged in the axial direction toward the guide rail in a state where the slider penetrates in the direction, and the leading end side in the urging direction is inserted into any one of the engagement holes to be engaged with the guide rail of the slider. And a lock pin provided with an operation knob on the base end side in the biasing direction. The shape of the opening on the inlet side is a long hole having a long axis in the guide direction, and a slope is formed on the upper edge thereof in such a direction that the long axis dimension becomes shorter as the lock pin passes in the insertion direction. The lock pin is engaged in a state where the upper edge portion in the biasing direction of the lock pin is in contact with the slope of the engagement hole and the lower side portion is in contact with the lower edge of the engagement hole in the biased state. A shoulder height adjuster for a seat belt, wherein the adjuster engages with a hole. 2. In the lowermost engagement hole of the guide rail, the slider moves the guide with the upper edge of the lock pin in the biasing direction in contact with the slope of the lowermost engagement hole. 2. The shoulder height adjuster for a seat belt according to claim 1, wherein the slider is positioned and fixed by contacting a stopper for regulating a slider sliding lower limit position provided on the rail. . 3. The stopper and the slider are in contact with each other via a resin piece provided therebetween, and the stopper and the slider are each in surface contact with the resin piece. The shoulder height adjuster for a seatbelt described in the above. 4. The shoulder height adjuster for a seat belt according to claim 1, wherein a chamfer is applied to an edge of the lock pin in the biasing direction.