JP2009255819A - Vehicular seat belt device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular seat belt device capable of adequately controlling a continuous length and a force for an occupant constrained by webbing according to the state of an emergency. <P>SOLUTION: A first actuator unit 13A and a second actuator unit 13B are provided which generate the instantaneous rotational driving forces by the generated gas in an emergency. The actuator units 13A, 13B are connected to a belt reel 11 via centrifugal clutches 17, 22. The actuator units 13A, 13B are selectively operated and controlled by a controller 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle seat belt device having a function of retracting a webbing for restraining an occupant in an emergency.

2. Description of the Related Art As a vehicle seat belt device, there is known a vehicle seat belt device that strengthens the restraint of an occupant by webbing by pulling webbing with an actuator in an emergency. The seat belt device includes a gas generator that instantaneously generates high-pressure gas upon receiving an operation signal, and an actuator that rotates the belt reel by receiving the gas pressure generated by the gas generator. When high pressure gas is generated, the actuator instantaneously pulls in the webbing by the gas pressure (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-271653 A

  However, in this conventional seat belt device, since the driving force obtained by the gas pressure generator is instantaneous and cannot be arbitrarily changed during operation, the passenger restraint by webbing becomes uniform, for example, The continuation length and force of occupant restraint cannot be changed according to the situation of the vehicle collision.

  Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide a vehicle seat belt device capable of controlling the continuation length and force of occupant restraint by webbing according to the situation in an emergency.

The invention according to claim 1, which solves the above problem, is a belt reel (e.g., belt reel 11 in an embodiment described later) on which a webbing (e.g., webbing 4 in an embodiment described later) for restraining an occupant is wound. And an actuator that generates an instantaneous rotational driving force by gas generated in an emergency, and a vehicle seat belt device that rotates the belt reel in the webbing pull-in direction by the rotational driving force of the actuator, wherein the actuator is A plurality of actuator elements (for example, a first actuator unit 13A and a second actuator unit 13B in the later-described embodiment) individually provided with a reaction gas thrust generation unit (for example, a gas generator 20 in the later-described embodiment). And this multiple actuator element Control means for controlling operation in 択的 (e.g., the controller 15 in the embodiment) is characterized in that a configuration with a.
For example, in a situation where a slight collision is predicted, the control means operates only one actuator element, thereby restraining the occupant by webbing for a relatively short time. Further, in a situation where a large collision is expected, the duration of occupant restraint by webbing is increased by operating one actuator element after the control means operates and then operating the other actuator element. Further, depending on the situation, it is possible to obtain a large occupant restraint force by webbing by simultaneously operating a plurality of actuator elements.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle seat belt device according to the first aspect of the present invention, an inertial mass body (for example, in an embodiment described later) operates on the at least one actuator element by a driving force of the actuator element. The flywheel 21) is connected, and the operation of the inertial mass body is transmitted to the belt reel.
When the inertial mass body is actuated by momentary rotational driving of the actuator element, the inertial mass body continuously transmits the inertial action to the belt reel even after the driving force of the actuator element is reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle seat belt device according to the first or second aspect, when the driving force of any one of the plurality of actuator elements is transmitted to the belt reel, the remaining actuators Connection / disconnection means (for example, centrifugal clutches 17 and 22 in embodiments described later) for maintaining the connection between the element and the belt reel in a disconnected state is provided.
As a result, when the driving force of one actuator element is transmitted to the belt reel, the remaining actuator element is not affected by the remaining actuator element even if it is stopped or decelerated.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle seat belt device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the plurality of actuator elements are arranged in series.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle seat belt device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the plurality of actuator elements are arranged in parallel.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle seat belt device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the actuator comprises two actuator elements, and the outputs of the two actuator elements are made different. It is characterized by that.
As a result, it is possible to obtain three-stage operations with different outputs depending on whether each actuator element is operated alone or when both actuator elements are operated simultaneously.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the control means selectively controls the plurality of actuator elements, it is possible to appropriately control the continuation length and force of occupant restraint by webbing according to the emergency situation. it can.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, the instantaneous rotational driving force of at least one actuator element is converted into the inertial operation of the inertial mass body, and the belt reel is continuously rotated by the inertial operation of the inertial mass body. Therefore, occupant restraint by webbing can be continued for a longer time.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, when the driving force of any one of the plurality of actuator elements is transmitted to the belt reel, the connection between the remaining actuator elements and the belt reel is disconnected by the connecting / disconnecting means. Since an increase in rotational resistance due to the remaining actuator can be eliminated, it is possible to improve the efficiency of using the driving force of the actuator element.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the plurality of actuator elements are arranged in series, the outer diameter of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, since the plurality of actuator elements are arranged in parallel, the axial length of the entire apparatus can be shortened.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the outputs of the two actuator elements are made different, it is possible to easily obtain three-stage operation with different outputs by combining the presence or absence of the operation of each actuator element.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 will be described.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a seat belt device 1 according to the present invention together with a vehicle. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a seat on which an occupant m is seated. In the seat belt device 1, the retractor 3 is fixed to a center pillar (not shown), a tongue plate 5 is attached to the webbing 4 pulled out from the retractor 3, and the tongue plate 5 is attached to and detached from the buckle 6 on the vehicle body floor side. It is possible. The webbing 4 is wound around the retractor 3 in the initial state, and the occupant m pulls it out by hand and fixes the tongue plate 5 to the buckle 6 to restrain the chest and abdomen mainly of the occupant m with respect to the seat 2. It becomes like this.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the retractor 3 portion of the seat belt device 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view centering on the retractor 3 portion of the seat belt device 1.
In the seat belt device 1, a retractor 3 that pulls out and winds up the webbing 4 is provided with a lock mechanism 7 that controls abrupt withdrawal of the webbing 4 and a pretensioner 8 that pulls in the webbing 4 in an emergency. .

  In the retractor 3, a belt reel 11 around which the webbing 4 is wound is rotatably supported by the retractor frame 10, and the lock mechanism 7 and the belt reel 11 are arranged in the webbing winding direction on one end side in the axial direction of the belt reel 11. A winding spring 12 to be urged is disposed, and main components of the pretensioner 8 are disposed on the other end side in the axial direction of the belt reel 11.

  The pretensioner 8 outputs an operation command to the actuator 13 upon receiving a detection signal from the actuator 13 that generates a rotational force using gas pressure as a driving source, an emergency state detection unit 14 such as a millimeter wave radar, and the emergency state detection unit 14. And a controller 15 (control means). In the seat belt device 1, the actuator 13 is configured by two actuator units 13A and 13B (actuator elements) each having a gas generator 20 (thrust generating unit). These actuator units 13A and 13B (hereinafter referred to as “first actuator unit 13A” and “second actuator unit 13B”, respectively, in order to distinguish them) are the other end sides of the belt reel 11 in the axial direction. The gas generators 20 are operated under the control of the controller 15.

In the case of this embodiment, the controller 15 is one of the following (a) to (c) according to the detection signal from the emergency state detection means 14, that is, according to the predicted magnitude of the collision or the like. Select and execute an action.
(A) Single operation of the first actuator unit 13A.
(B) Continuous operation of the first actuator unit 13A and the second actuator unit 13B (each gas generator 20 is operated with a time lag).
(C) Simultaneous operation of the first actuator unit 13A and the second actuator unit 13B.

  Both actuator units 13A and 13B are provided with an actuator body 16 having the same configuration, and the actuator body 16 of the first actuator unit 13A is connected to the belt reel 11 via a centrifugal clutch 17 (connection / disconnection means). The actuator body 16 of the second actuator unit 13B is connected to the speed increasing mechanism 19 via the one-way clutch 18. The flywheel 21 is connected to the high speed rotation side of the speed increasing mechanism 19, and the belt reel 11 is connected to the low speed rotation side of the speed increasing mechanism 19 via a centrifugal clutch 22 (connection / disconnection means).

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the actuator body 16 of each actuator unit 13A, 13B.
As shown in the figure, the actuator main body 16 of each of the actuator units 13A and 13B is provided in a housing 23 and a gas generator 20 that instantaneously generates a reaction gas upon receiving an operation command from the controller 15, and is rotatably provided in the housing 23. A rotor 24 having a plurality of blade portions 24a on the outer periphery, a guide pipe 25 forming a curved guide passage from the gas generator 20 toward the blade portions 24a of the rotor 24, and a plurality of steels filled in the guide pipe 25 And a ball 26. The actuator main body 16 is continuously driven toward the blade portion 24a of the rotor 24 by receiving the gas pressure of the reaction gas generated by the gas generator 20 from the plurality of steel balls 26 in the induction pipe 25. Steel balls 26 rotate the rotor 24 continuously.
2 and 3, the actuator body 16 of the second actuator unit 13B has an accumulator 28 connected to the gas generator 20 via a branch pipe 27, and the accumulator 28 has a pressure accumulation function. The supply duration is extended.

  The flywheel 21 of the second actuator unit 13B has a bottomed cylindrical hollow structure that is open at one end in the axial direction. The flywheel 21 is disposed adjacent to the actuator body 16 so that the opening on one end side faces the actuator body 16, and is rotatably supported by a housing 23 of the actuator body 16 via a bearing (not shown). Has been.

  In addition, a small-diameter external gear 30 is provided integrally with the flywheel 21 at an axial center facing the hollow portion 21 a of the flywheel 21, and the hollow portion 21 a of the flywheel 21 is provided on the tooth surface of the external gear 30. A bottomed cylindrical internal gear 31 housed and disposed therein is meshed. The external gear 30 and the internal gear 31 constitute the speed increasing mechanism 19 so that the rotation of the internal gear 31 is increased to a ratio corresponding to the gear ratio and transmitted to the external gear 30 (flywheel 21). It has become.

  The internal gear 31 is connected to the rotor 24 of the second actuator unit 13B via the one-way clutch 18. The one-way clutch 18 allows transmission of rotational power in the webbing pull-in direction from the actuator body 16 (rotor 24) of the second actuator unit 13B to the speed increasing mechanism 19 (internal gear 31), and the speed increasing mechanism 19 ( Transmission of power from the internal gear 31) to the actuator body 16 (rotor 24) is cut off.

The internal gear 31 is integrally provided with a connecting shaft 31 a, and the connecting shaft 31 a can be connected to and disconnected from the belt reel 11 via the centrifugal clutch 22. The centrifugal clutch 22 maintains the internal gear 31 and the belt reel 11 in a disconnected state while the rotation of the connecting shaft 31a is stopped, and when the connecting shaft 31a rotates according to the rotation of the flywheel 21, The internal gear 31 and the belt reel 11 are brought into a connected state by the centrifugal force.
By the way, the connecting shaft 31a of the internal gear 31 is arranged coaxially with the rotation axis P2 of the belt reel 11, and the internal gear 31 is meshed with the external gear 30 in the hollow portion 21a of the flywheel 21. Yes. Therefore, the rotational axis P1 of the flywheel 21 is arranged offset in the radial direction with respect to the rotational axis P2 of the belt reel 11.

Here, the structure of the centrifugal clutch 22 that connects and disconnects the connecting shaft 31a (internal gear 31) and the belt reel 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 6. FIG.
The centrifugal clutch 22 is connected to the connecting shaft 31 in a state allowing rotation of a set angle, and a pin holding block 41 that holds the plurality of connecting pins 40 so as to be able to advance and retract, and a pin attached to the tip of the connecting shaft 31. A control plate 42 that controls the forward / backward movement of the connecting pin 40 of the holding block 41, a pin receiving block 44 that is connected to the belt reel 11 so as to be integrally rotatable and has a fitting hole 43 (see FIG. 6) of the connecting pin 40; It is equipped with.

  The pin holding block 41 is provided with a plurality of pin receiving holes 45 that open toward the pin receiving block 44 along the circumferential direction. In each pin receiving hole 45, a connecting pin 40 and the connecting pin 40 are provided. A biasing spring 46 that biases the projection in the protruding direction is accommodated. The fitting hole 43 on the pin receiving block 44 side is formed so as to correspond to each connecting pin 40 of the pin holding block 41. The control plate 42 is formed with through holes 47 (see FIG. 6) corresponding to the connecting pins 40 of the pin holding block 41.

  In the initial state, the control plate 42 is arranged such that each through hole 47 is shifted in the circumferential direction with respect to the connecting pin 40, and restricts the projecting displacement of each connecting pin 40 in a region where there is no through hole 47. Therefore, in this state, the pin holding block 41 and the pin receiving block 44 are in a non-contact state, and the speed increasing mechanism 19 and the belt reel 11 are in a power cut-off state.

  When the second actuator unit 13B suddenly operates due to the generation of gas in the gas generator 20 from this state, the pin holding block 41 and the control plate 42 deviate by a set angle in the circumferential direction, and the pin holding block 41 side The plurality of connecting pins 40 pass through the through holes 47 of the control plate 42 and are fitted into the corresponding fitting holes 43 of the pin receiving block 44. Thereby, the pin holding block 41 and the pin receiving block 44 are connected, and the speed increasing mechanism 19 and the belt reel 11 are brought into a power transmission state.

In the above configuration, when the emergency state detection unit 14 detects an emergency state during traveling of the vehicle, the controller 15 selects and executes any one of the operations (a) to (c).
When the operation (a) is selected, an operation signal is output from the controller 15 to the gas generator 20 of the first actuator unit 13A, as shown in FIG. A high pressure reaction gas is generated in the rotor 24 to rotate the rotor 24 instantaneously. When the rotor 24 rotates in this way, the rotation is transmitted to the belt reel 11 via the centrifugal clutch 17 and rotates the belt reel 11 in the webbing take-up direction.
Therefore, when the operation (a) is selected, it is possible to deal with a relatively minor collision.

When the operation (b) is selected, the controller 15 outputs an operation signal to the gas generator 20 of the first actuator unit 13A, and then generates a gas from the second actuator 13B with a slight time lag. An operation signal is output to the device 20 (see FIG. 6). As a result, the rotor 24 of the second actuator unit 13B instantaneously rotates following the first actuator unit 13A, and the rotation is transmitted to the internal gear 31 of the speed increasing mechanism 19 via the one-way clutch 18. . The rotation of the internal gear 31 at this time operates the centrifugal clutch 22 to rotate the belt reel 11 in the webbing take-up direction and is transmitted to the flywheel 21 through the external gear 30 as accelerated rotation. . As a result, the webbing 4 is pulled in by the driving force of the actuator body 16 by the gas pressure, and the rotational energy of the actuator body 16 is stored in the flywheel 21.
Immediately after this, when the actuator body 16 of the second actuator unit 13B decelerates due to the end of driving of the steel ball 26, the actuator body 16 is separated from the speed increasing mechanism 17 by the function of the one-way clutch 18, and the flywheel 21 Continues to rotate without being influenced by the actuator body 16. Thereby, even after the actuator main body portion 16 is decelerated, the webbing 4 is continuously retracted by the belt reel 11 due to the inertial energy of the flywheel 21.
Therefore, when the operation (b) is selected, the inertial energy of the occupant m can be efficiently absorbed in a sufficient time at the time of a large collision.

When the operation (c) is selected, an operation signal is simultaneously output from the controller 15 to the gas generators 20 of both actuator units 13A and 13B, and the driving force of both actuator units 13A and 13B is centrifuged. It is simultaneously transmitted to the belt reel via the clutches 17 and 22.
Therefore, when the operation (c) is selected, the occupant m can be restrained rapidly with a large force in an emergency.

  In the seat belt device 1, the controller 15 selectively controls the first actuator unit 13A and the second actuator unit 13B according to the vehicle situation as described above, and therefore, the continuation length of the occupant restraint by the webbing 4 is increased. The sheath force can be appropriately controlled according to the situation.

  In the seat belt device 1, the rotational force of the second actuator unit 13 </ b> B is converted into the inertial rotation of the flywheel 21 and transmitted to the belt reel 11. It can be continued for a long time, and the inertia energy of the passenger can be absorbed more efficiently.

  Furthermore, in this seat belt device 1, since the centrifugal clutches 17 and 22 are interposed between the actuator units 13A and 13B and the belt reel 11, one actuator unit 13A (or 13B) is attached to the belt reel 11 alone. Thus, when the driving force is transmitted, the increase in rotational resistance due to the remaining actuator unit 13B (or 13A) can be eliminated.

  Further, in the seat belt device 1 of this embodiment, since the first actuator unit 13A and the second actuator unit 13B are arranged in series on the side of the belt reel 11, the outer diameter of the pretensioner 8 is reduced. Can be achieved.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, although this 2nd Embodiment is described, the same code | symbol shall be attached | subjected to the same part as 1st Embodiment, and the overlapping description shall be abbreviate | omitted.
This embodiment includes a first actuator unit 13A and a second actuator unit 13B that are selectively operated and controlled by a controller as in the first embodiment. The point which is arrange | positioned in parallel at the side part of the belt reel 11 differs from 1st Embodiment.

In the first actuator unit 13A, the rotor 24 of the actuator main body 16 is connected to the first gear 50 via the centrifugal clutch 17, and in the second actuator unit 13B, the rotor 24 of the actuator main body 16 is connected to the centrifugal clutch 117. It is connected to the second gear 51 via. An input gear 53 is integrally provided on the belt reel 11, and the first gear 50 and the second gear 51 are engaged with the input gear 53 via transmission gears 54 and 55 so that power can be transmitted. ing. Each actuator unit 13A, 13B is selectively controlled by a controller in accordance with a detection signal from the emergency state detection means, as in the first embodiment.
The seat belt device 101 of this embodiment can obtain substantially the same effect, although the arrangement of the actuator units 13A and 13B is different from that of the first embodiment. However, since both actuator units 13A and 13B are arranged in parallel, the axial length of the pretensioner 8 can be shortened.

In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various design change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the seat belt device including the two actuator units 13A and 13B has been described. However, three or more actuator units may be provided.
Moreover, when providing a 1st actuator unit and a 2nd actuator unit, you may make it make the output of both actuator units differ. In this case, three-stage operation with different outputs can be easily obtained by the single operation of the first actuator unit, the second operation of the second actuator unit, and the simultaneous operation of both actuators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic block diagram of the seatbelt apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The schematic block diagram centering on the retractor part of the seatbelt apparatus of the embodiment. The typical longitudinal section which centers on the retractor part of the seatbelt apparatus of the embodiment. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the actuator main-body part of the embodiment. The schematic block diagram centering on the retractor part of the seatbelt apparatus of the embodiment. The schematic block diagram centering on the retractor part of the seatbelt apparatus of the embodiment. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view centering on a retractor portion of a seat belt device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101 ... Seat belt apparatus 4 ... Webbing 11 ... Belt reel 13 ... Actuator 13A ... 1st actuator unit 13B ... 2nd actuator unit 15 ... Controller (control means)
17, 22, 117 ... Centrifugal clutch (connection / disconnection means)
20 ... Gas generator (thrust generator)
21 ... Flywheel (inertial mass)

Claims (6)

A belt reel on which a webbing that restrains an occupant is wound;
Equipped with an actuator that generates instantaneous rotational driving force by the generated gas in an emergency,
A vehicle seat belt device that rotates the belt reel in a webbing pull-in direction by a rotational driving force of the actuator,
The actuator,
A plurality of actuator elements each having a thrust generation part by reaction gas;
A vehicle seat belt device comprising a control means for selectively controlling the operation of the plurality of actuator elements.   2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an inertial mass body that is operated by a driving force of the actuator element is coupled to the at least one actuator element, and the operation of the inertial mass body is transmitted to the belt reel. Seat belt device.   When the driving force of any one of the plurality of actuator elements is transmitted to the belt reel, connection / disconnection means is provided for maintaining the connection between the remaining actuator elements and the belt reel in a disconnected state. The vehicle seat belt device according to claim 1 or 2.   The vehicle seat belt device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of actuator elements are arranged in series.   The vehicle seat belt device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of actuator elements are arranged in parallel. The actuator comprises two actuator elements;
6. The vehicle seat belt device according to claim 1, wherein outputs of the two actuator elements are made different from each other.

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