JP2001163148A - Guide device for air belt - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a guide device for an air belt capable of smoothly guiding the air belt even when a wrinkle occurs on a roller-facing surface of the air belt. SOLUTION: The guide device of the air belt comprises a support member 70 and a roller 80 supported by the support member 70. A pair of sleeve portions 72 are projected forward from both sides of a main portion 71 of the support member 70, and the roller 80 is disposed between the sleeve portions 72, 72. This roller 80 is supported by a spindle 90 rotatably in relation to the sleeve portions 72. The roller 80 has the smallest diameter at the center in the axial core line direction and larger diameter with approaching to both ends, and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 80 bends in a recessed shape.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for protecting a vehicle occupant in the event of a vehicle collision or the like, and more particularly to a guide device for an air belt which is expanded by gas from a gas generator. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for guiding an air belt by a roller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an air belt device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 2200 is disclosed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the air belt device of the publication.

The air belt device 1 includes a shoulder belt 2 as an air belt extending from the right side of the occupant.
And one end is connected to one end of the shoulder belt 2,
A lap belt 4 having the other end wound around a seat belt retractor (ELR) 3; and a seat belt retractor (EL).
R) a buckle device 5 disposed on the floor of the vehicle body and the like opposite to 3; a tongue 6 slidably provided on the lap belt 4 to be inserted and locked into the buckle device 5 when the belt is worn; A belt guide 7 provided on a pillar or the like, for guiding the shoulder belt 2, and a reaction gas connected to the other end of the shoulder belt 2, which is operated when an emergency is required such as a vehicle collision and is introduced into the bag-shaped shoulder belt 2. And a adjuster device 9 for adjusting the vertical position of the gas generator 8.

The adjuster device 9 is provided in a vertical direction, and includes a screw shaft 9a to which the gas generator 8 is screwed, and a motor 9b for rotating the screw shaft 9a. When the screw shaft 9a is rotated by the motor 9b, the gas generator 8 moves up and down in accordance with the direction of rotation. In other words, the other end of the shoulder belt 2 moves up and down. You can absorb according to your physique. Accordingly, the shoulder belt 2 and the lap belt 4 can be properly fitted to the occupant by the adjuster device 9.

[0005] In the air belt device configured as described above, the shoulder belt 2 is normally kept in a belt shape at normal times.

In this state, the occupant wears the belt by sitting on the seat and inserting and locking the tongue 6 to the buckle 5. At this time, if the shoulder belt 2 and the lap belt 4 do not fit properly to the occupant, the motor 9b of the adjuster device 9 is driven to move the gas generator 8 up and down so that both belts 2 and 4 fit correctly to the occupant. , Adjust their length.

[0007] In the event of a vehicle collision or the like, the gas generator 8 operates to generate high-pressure gas, thereby inflating and deploying the shoulder belt (air belt) 2.

The occupant is received by the inflated shoulder belt 2, and the occupant is reliably protected from a large impact load. Moreover, the shoulder belt 2 absorbs its slack (slack) by expanding and deploying, so that the occupant restraint performance of the belt is improved.

As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-112200, in the air belt device in which the gas generator 8 is disposed at one end of the bag-shaped shoulder belt 2, the gas generator 8
Can be adjusted by the adjuster device 9 including the screw shaft 9a and the motor 9b, but the elastic belt cannot apply elastic tension to the shoulder belt 2,
The crew feels cramped.

Therefore, an air belt device has been proposed in which the air belt can be freely pulled out (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-7877).
No. 6).

[0011] An air belt device of the same type has an air belt having an inflatable shoulder belt, a gas generator provided inside one end of the shoulder belt, and a belt guide member on which a part of the shoulder belt is hung. In the apparatus, a front end of a webbing is connected to the one end of the shoulder belt, and a retractor for winding a rear end of the webbing is provided.

In such an air belt device, the webbing connected to one end of the shoulder belt is wound up by the retractor, so that when the occupant moves his / her upper body, the shoulder belt is pulled out from the retractor. The upper body movement is not restricted.

Further, the same publication discloses a device having a rotatable roller around which a belt is hung as a guide for the air belt. With the belt guide having the rollers as described above, the resistance for guiding the air belt is extremely small.

FIG. 5 (a) is a perspective view of the inside of a vehicle provided with an air belt device according to an embodiment of the same invention, FIG. 5 (b) is a perspective view showing the air belt device, and FIG. It is a perspective view of a belt guide.

As shown in FIG. 5, the seat 10 includes a seat cushion 12 and a seat back 14 rising from a rear portion of the seat cushion 12.

An air belt device for protecting a vehicle occupant sitting on the seat 10 includes a shoulder belt 16 as an air belt, a webbing 18 connected to one end of the shoulder belt 16, and a winding belt 18 for winding the webbing 18. A shoulder retractor 20, a lap belt 22 connected to the other end of the shoulder belt 16, a lap retractor 24 for winding the lap belt 22, and a lap belt passage opening 26a
And a buckle 28 to which the tongue 26 is attached. Further, the air belt device includes a gas generator 30 disposed inside one end of the shoulder belt 16, a retainer 32 integrally gripping the gas generator 30 and the shoulder belt 16, and a vertical A guide rail 34 for guiding the movement is provided, and a belt guide 36 on which an intermediate portion in the length direction of the shoulder belt 16 is hung.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the belt guide 36 is provided in a convex portion 38 adjacent to the headrest 37 above the seat 10. The belt guide 36
One end side of the shoulder belt 16 and the webbing 18 extending downward from the guide rail 34, and the shoulder retractor 20 are arranged in the seat back 14, respectively. The other end of the shoulder belt 16 extending forward from the belt guide 36 is drawn out to the front side of the seat back 14 from an opening 39 on the front surface of the projection 38.

As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 6, the belt guide 36 is formed by pivotally supporting a plurality of rollers 60 for guiding the shoulder belt 16 to a roller housing 62. Each roller 60 has an axial direction parallel to each other, and the shoulder belt 16 is routed in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of each roller 60. A plurality of ridges 66 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller 60 and extend in a direction parallel to the axis of the roller 60. By providing the ridges 66, even if the curved shoulder belt 16 has wrinkles, the belt 16 can be guided along the rollers 60 without meandering. The roller 6
A plurality of zeros are arranged in parallel to reduce the curvature of the curvature of the belt 60 so that the belt 16 is not bent as much as possible.

A slide block 64 is provided on the belt guide 36 so as to be vertically movable above the shoulder belt 16. On the inner surface of the roller housing 62, a block guide groove 68 for guiding the slide block 64 extends in the vertical direction. The slide block 64 is for moving the shoulder belt 16 along the roller 60. In addition, the shoulder belt 16
When is expanded, the sliding block 64 is pushed upward by the expanding shoulder belt 16, and the gas smoothly flows through the entire inside of the shoulder belt 16.

The operation of the thus constructed air belt device will now be described.

After the occupant is seated on the seat 10, the tongue 2
6 is attached to the buckle 28. At this time, the webbing 18
And the lap belt 22 are retractors 20, 24, respectively.
Drawn from. After the tongue 26 is attached to the buckle 28 and the occupant turns to the front, the extra portions of the webbing 18 and the lap belt 22 are respectively retracted by the retractors 20 and
The shoulder belt 16 and the lap belt 22 lightly fit the occupant of the seat 10, respectively.
By pressing a press button 28a (see FIG. 1 (b)) provided on the buckle 28, the tongue 26 can be disaggregated from the buckle 28. When the tongue 26 is disaggregated from the buckle 28, the webbing 18 and the lap belt 22 are wound around the retractors 20, 24, respectively. When the webbing 18 is pulled out or wound up from the retractor 20, the retainer 32 holding the gas generator 30 moves up and down along the guide rail.

When the vehicle causes a collision or the like with the tongue 26 mounted on the buckle 28, an operating current is supplied to the gas generator 30 by a signal from the collision detection sensor, and the gas generator 30 operates to generate gas. . This gas rapidly expands the shoulder belt 16 composed of an air belt. Then, the expanded shoulder belt 16
As a result, the occupant is restrained by the seat 10, and the shock applied to the occupant's body from the shoulder belt 16 is reduced. In addition, the shoulder belt 1
Since the length of the belt 6 is reduced, the shoulder belt 16 comes into close contact with the occupant, and the occupant can be extremely firmly restrained by the seat 10.

In this air belt device, the webbing 18 is connected to one end of the shoulder belt 16 and the webbing 18 is wound up by the shoulder retractor 20, so that the occupant sitting on the seat 10 moves his / her upper body. The shoulder belt 16 can be freely pulled out and retracted from the opening 39 of the convex portion 38 when the vehicle is in use, so that the movement of the occupant is hardly restrained and the occupant is extremely comfortable. Also, the belt guide 36
Is provided with the ridges 66, the wrinkles of the shoulder belt 16 are removed, and the shoulder belt 16
Can be pulled out or pulled out of the opening 39 very smoothly.

[0024]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the belt guide of No. 776, a plurality of rollers 60 are employed to reduce the curvature of the curvature of the air belt so as to minimize wrinkles in the air belt. An object of the present invention is to provide an air belt guide device that can smoothly guide an air belt without being affected by wrinkles of the air belt even with one roller.

[0025]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air belt guide device having a roller for hanging an air belt and a support member rotatably supporting the roller. The roller is characterized in that it has a small diameter at the central portion in the axial direction and gradually increases in diameter toward both ends in the axial direction. Preferably, the roller has a concave cross-sectional shape in the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface (claim 2).

In such an air belt guide device, since the outer peripheral surface of the roller is concave, both sides of the roller facing surface of the air belt hung on the roller are mainly strongly pressed against the roller. Since the wrinkles generated on the roller-facing surface of the air belt are not strongly pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the roller, the wrinkles do not catch on the rollers, and the air belt is smoothly guided by the rollers.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air belt guide device having a roller for hanging an air belt and a support member rotatably supporting the roller. The large diameter portion and the small diameter portion are repeatedly provided in a linear direction. In this case, the cross-sectional shape of the outer peripheral surface of the roller is preferably a sine curve.

In such an air belt guide device, wrinkles generated on the roller facing surface of the air belt enter the small-diameter portion of the outer peripheral surface of the roller, so that the wrinkles are less likely to be caught on the outer peripheral surface of the roller. As a result, the air belt is smoothly guided by the rollers.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air belt guide device having a roller for hanging an air belt and a support member rotatably supporting the roller. It is characterized in that a large number of projections are provided. It is preferable that the projections are arranged at intervals in both the axial direction and the circumferential direction.

In such an air belt guide device, wrinkles generated on the roller facing surface of the air belt enter between the projections, and the roller rotates smoothly in synchronization with the air belt. As a result, the air belt is smoothly guided by the rollers.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a guide device for an air belt according to a first embodiment, and FIG.
(B) is a right side view.

The guide device for the air belt includes a support member 70 and a roller 80 supported by the support member 70. The support member 70 has a pair of sleeves 72 projecting forward from both sides of the front main plate portion 71.
A roller 80 is disposed between the two. The roller 80 is rotatably supported on a sleeve 72 by a support shaft 90.

An opening 73 is provided in the main plate portion 71 behind the roller 80, and an air belt (not shown) passes through the opening 73 and is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the roller 80.

A bracket 74 projects upward from the upper side of the main plate 71, and a bolt hole 75 for attaching the support member 70 to a body member (not shown) such as a B pillar is provided in the bracket 74. ing. This body member is B
Pillars such as pillars and C pillars may be used,
A vertically movable member attached to the pillar so as to be vertically adjustable may be used. In this embodiment, the guide device is attached to the pillar. However, the present invention can be applied to a guide device provided on a seat back or a rear member of the seat back as shown in FIG.

The roller 80 has the smallest diameter at the center in the axial direction, and has a larger diameter as approaching both ends, and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 80 is concavely curved.

When the air belt is passed through the guide device constructed as described above, both sides of the air belt are mainly pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the roller 80, and the center in the width direction of the air belt is recessed in the outer peripheral surface of the roller 80. And is hardly abutted on the outer peripheral surface or pressed very lightly. For this reason, even if wrinkles occur on the roller facing surface of the air belt, the air belt is smoothly guided by the guide device without being affected by the wrinkles.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a roller 80A used in the guide device according to the second embodiment.

The roller 80A has a plurality of small-diameter portions 81 and large-diameter portions 82 arranged alternately in the axial direction, and has a sine curve cross section on the outer peripheral surface.

The roller 80A is connected to the support member 70 shown in FIG.
By rotatably supported by the support shaft 90,
The guide device according to the second embodiment is configured. Even in this guide device, most of the wrinkles generated on the roller-facing surface of the air belt enter the small-diameter portion 81, and the wrinkles are substantially not caught by the roller 80A. You will be guided.

FIG. 3 shows a roller 80B used in the guide device according to the third embodiment.
The figure is a front view, and the figure (b) is a sectional view along the line BB in the figure (a).

The roller 80B has a large number of projections 83 provided on the outer peripheral surface. The projections 83 are hemispherical and are regularly arranged at predetermined intervals in the axial direction and circumferential direction of the roller 80B. The projections 83 are arranged in a staggered manner on a developed view in which the outer peripheral surface of the roller 80B is developed.

The roller 80B is connected to the support member 70 shown in FIG.
By rotatably supported by the support shaft 90,
The guide device according to the second embodiment is configured. In this guide device, most of the wrinkles generated on the roller facing surface of the air belt enter the recess between the projections 83,
Since the roller 80B rotates smoothly in synchronization with the air belt, the air belt is guided extremely smoothly to the guide device.

FIGS. 1 to 3 are examples of the present invention, and the present invention may be applied to a form other than the illustrated one. For example, the cross section of the small diameter portion 81 in FIG. 2 is a sine curve shape, but the bottom surface of the small diameter portion 81 may be a flat surface. Also, in FIG. 1, the outer peripheral surface is smoothly concavely shaped like a drum,
The outer peripheral surface may have a substantially V-shaped cross-sectional shape.

[0045]

As described above, according to the air belt guide device of the present invention, even if wrinkles occur on the roller facing surface of the air belt, the air belt can be smoothly guided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a guide device for an air belt according to a first embodiment, wherein FIG. 1 (a) is a front view and FIG. 1 (b) is a right side view.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a roller 80A used in a guide device according to a second embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a roller 80B used in a guide device according to a third embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional air belt device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another conventional air belt device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a guide device of the air belt device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 70 Roller support member 71 Main plate portion 72 Sleeve portion 73 Opening 80, 80A, 80B Roller 81 Small diameter portion 82 Large diameter portion 83 Projection

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An air belt guide device having a roller for hanging an air belt and a support member rotatably supporting the roller, wherein the roller has a small diameter at a central portion in an axial direction, and An air belt guide device having a shape whose diameter gradually increases toward both ends in a linear direction. 2. The air belt guide device according to claim 1, wherein the roller has a concave cross-sectional shape in the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface. 3. An air belt guide device having a roller for hanging an air belt and a support member rotatably supporting the roller, wherein the roller has a large-diameter portion and a small-diameter portion repeated in the axial direction. An air belt guide device having a provided shape. 4. The guide device for an air belt according to claim 3, wherein the roller has a sine curve cross section on the outer peripheral surface. 5. An air belt guide device having a roller for hanging an air belt and a support member rotatably supporting the roller, wherein a number of protrusions are provided on an outer peripheral surface of the roller. Air belt guide device. 6. The air belt guide device according to claim 5, wherein the projections are arranged at intervals in both the axial direction and the circumferential direction.