JPH0122500Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a buckle device used in a seat belt device for protecting occupants in vehicle emergencies.

In a typical buckle device, the tongue plate attached to the end of the occupant restraint webbing is inserted into the buckle body, and the lock lever in the buckle body engages with the engagement opening of the tongue plate to prevent the tongue plate from being pulled out. It is configured to be in a state where the webbing is attached. Furthermore, when the occupant releases the webbing, the lock lever is separated from the engagement opening of the tongue plate by pressing a release button attached to the buckle body, allowing the tongue plate to be pulled out.

However, with such a conventional buckle device,
When the passenger presses the release button, the tongue plate is designed to have a large pull-out force that urges the lock lever in the opposite direction to the direction in which the passenger presses the release button, so the release button release force is relatively large. It is becoming.

A buckling device capable of weakening the releasing force of the release button is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 54-69020. This buckle device is provided with a lock pin that comes into contact with the lock lever when the tongue plate and the lock lever are engaged and prevents the lock lever from moving in a direction in which the lock lever is disengaged from the tongue plate. The release of the engagement with the lock lever is accomplished by pressing the release button to move the lock pin and release it from contact with the lock lever.

However, this buckle device is configured so that the release button is pressed from a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the tongue plate is inserted and removed. When placed in a narrow space, the release button must be operated within this narrow space, resulting in a problem that operability is impaired.

Taking the above facts into consideration, the present invention allows the engagement between the lock lever and the tongue plate to be released with a small force when releasing the webbing, and also prevents the operability of the release button from being impaired even if it is placed in a narrow space. The purpose is to obtain a buckle device that does not cause any buckling.

In the buckle device according to the present invention, the buckle body and the pawl part provided in a part of the buckle body are moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the tongue plate is inserted into and removed from the buckle body, and engaged with the engaged part of the tongue plate. A lock lever is movable from a locked state in which the tongue plate is prevented from being pulled out, to a released state in which it is separated from the engaged part and allows the tongue plate to be pulled out, and receives a rotational force in the direction of the released state when the tongue plate is pulled out. , a protrusion provided on a part of the lock lever; a lock pin that contacts the protrusion in the locked state to maintain the locked state of the lock lever; and a tongue supported on the buckle body so as to be movable in a direction along the direction of insertion and removal of the tongue plate. It is characterized by having a slide button that moves the lock pin in the tongue plate insertion direction when the lock pin is moved in the tongue plate insertion direction, releases contact with the protrusion, and enables the lock lever to move in the release state direction. .

Therefore, in the locked state in which the engaged portion of the tongue plate and the claw portion of the lock lever are engaged, the lock pin is brought into contact with the protruding portion of the lock lever, thereby preventing the lock lever from moving toward the released state. Also, when the slide button is pressed in the tongue plate insertion direction, the lock pin is also moved in the same direction, releasing the contact with the protrusion, and causing the lock lever's pawl to engage with the engaged part of the tongue plate. is released, thereby releasing the tongue plate from the buckle body.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 show a buckle device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In this buckle device, the buckle body 10 is formed from a thin plate material. The bottom plate 10A of this buckle body 10 has leg plates 12 and 14 from both sides.
are bent at right angles and extended parallel to each other.

The leg plates 12 and 14 are formed with protrusions 16 that protrude in a direction toward each other, and the protrusions 16
The space between the tongue plate 18 and the bottom plate 10A is defined as an insertion space for the tongue plate 18. An end portion of an occupant restraining webbing 20 is locked to the tongue plate 18, and the other end of this webbing 20 is locked to a vehicle body (not shown).

Further, a long hole 22 is formed in the bottom plate 10A, and the elongated hole 22 extends in the direction of insertion and removal of the webbing 20 (direction of arrow AB), and the eject piece 24 is guided by this long hole 22. ing.
This eject piece 24 has a compression coil spring 26 between it and the end of the elongated hole 22. Therefore, the eject piece 24 urges the inserted tongue plate 18 in the direction of ejecting it from the buckle body 10 (in the direction of arrow A).

A shaft plate 32 protruding in the width direction from one end of a lock lever 30 is inserted into a shaft support hole 28 formed in the leg plates 12, 14. This allows the lock lever 30 to rotate within the buckle body 10. A long hole 34 is bored in the middle part of the lock lever 30, and a long hole 34 whose longitudinal direction is in the direction of insertion and removal of the tongue plate is bored in the center of the tip part. The claw portion 36 protrudes. This claw portion 36 is connected to the tongue plate 18 which is inserted into and removed from the buckle body 10.
The tongue plate 18 is inserted into the engagement opening 38 of the tongue plate 18 by moving in a direction substantially perpendicular to the tongue plate 18 . The state in which the claw portion 36 is engaged with the engagement opening 38 is a locked state, and the tongue plate 18 is prevented from being pulled out from the buckle body 10, and the lock lever 30 rotates and the claw portion 36 is separated from the engagement opening 38. This state is a released state, and the tongue plate 18 can be extracted from the buckle body 10.

On both sides of the tip of the lock lever 30, there are small protrusions 40 projecting at right angles, and these protrusions 40 correspond to lock pins 42. This lock pin 42 is a long hole 4 formed in the leg plates 12 and 14 in the longitudinal direction in the tongue plate insertion and removal direction.
4 and is movable in the direction of inserting and removing the tongue plate. A state in which this lock pin 42 is disposed near one end of the elongated hole 44 and abuts against the surface of the protrusion 40 on the side opposite to the buckle body bottom plate 10A is a locked state, and the lock lever 30 is prevented from moving in the release direction. The state of engagement with the tongue plate 18 is ensured. When the lock pin 42 moves to the vicinity of the other end of the elongated hole 44 and is released from contact with the protrusion 40, the lock lever 30 enters the released state and rotates in the direction in which the claw 36 is pulled out from the engagement opening 38. It becomes possible.

A holder 46 is attached to a longitudinally intermediate portion of the lock pin 42, and a compression coil spring 48 is interposed between the lock pin 42 and the vicinity of the center of rotation of the lock lever 30. This allows the holder 46 to hold the small piece 40
The lock pin 4 is biased in the direction of engagement with the lock pin 4.
2 pushes the inclined surface 40A of the small piece 40 to move the lock lever 30 toward the bottom plate 10A.

Both ends of the lock pin 42 protruding from the elongated hole 44 are fixed to a slide button 50 attached to the outside of the buckle body 10. The slide button 50 is movable in the direction of insertion and removal of the tongue plate 18 by being guided by a protrusion 51 projecting outward from the buckle body leg plates 12, 14 inserted into a long hole 49 provided near one end. Although the compression coil spring 48 urges the tongue plate along with the lock pin 42 in the tongue plate removal direction, the tongue plate insertion direction (arrow B) resists this urging force.
direction), the lock pin 42 can be moved to the released state.

A connecting plate 54 is fixed to the bottom plate 10A of this buckle device with rivets 52, and the other end of the connecting plate 54 is fixed to the body of an automobile (not shown). This allows the buckle device to stand up from the floor of the vehicle body. Further, the buckle device has a synthetic resin lever covered with the exception of the slide button 50 and the tongue plate insertion hole.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. When the rider inserts the tongue plate 18 attached to the end of the webbing into the buckle body 10 when riding, the tongue plate 18 moves while pushing the eject piece 24, and when the amount of insertion reaches a predetermined value, the engaging opening is closed. The claw portion 36 of the lock lever 30 is inserted into the lock lever 38. As a result, the lock lever 30 becomes locked, and the claw portion 36 prevents the tongue plate 18 from being pulled out. In addition, in this locked state, the lock pin 42 corresponds to the protrusion 40 of the lock lever 30 and prevents the lock lever 30 from rotating, so even if a large tension generated in the webbing 20 is applied to the tongue plate 18 in a vehicle emergency, the lock lever 30 does not rotate in the direction of extraction from the engagement opening 38, ensuring that the occupant is restrained. In particular, the claw portion 36 of the lock lever 30 is designed to move in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the tongue plate 18 is inserted and removed, and the movement of the lock lever 30 is prevented by the lock pin 42. Only a small component of the force in the pull-out direction is acting.

Therefore, when the passenger wants to release the webbing, he or she moves the slide button 50 and locks the lock pin 4.
2 from the corresponding position of the protrusion 40, the operating force is extremely small, and the released state can be easily achieved.

In this released state, as shown in FIG. 2, the eject piece 24 pushes out the tongue plate 18 from the buckle body 10, allowing the occupant to release the webbing.

Next, FIGS. 4 to 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention. Lock lever 56 of this embodiment
A pair of leg plates 58 are bent at right angles from both sides and extend parallel to each other, a shaft pin 60 passes through these leg plates 58, and both ends of this shaft pin 60 are pivotally supported by the buckle body 10. . This allows the lock lever 56 to rotate around this shaft pin 60.

Further, a notch 62 is formed in the side surface of the leg plate 58 of the lock lever 56 so as to correspond to the lock pin 42. That is, the flat surface 64 between the notch 62 and the tip of the leg plate 58 corresponds to the lock pin 42 and prevents the lock lever 56 from rotating, similar to the protrusion 40 of the previous embodiment. Further, when the notch 62 corresponds to the lock pin 42, the lock lever 56 becomes rotatable in the release direction as shown in FIG.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the leg plate 1 of the buckle body
A holder 66 that is stretched across 4 and 16 constitutes one stopper of the compression coil spring 48, and a compression coil spring 68 is interposed between the holder 66 and the slide button 50, and the slide button 50 is connected to the tongue plate. It is biased in the ejection direction.

Therefore, in this embodiment as well, the claw portion 36 of the lock lever 56 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of insertion and removal of the tongue plate 18, so that the lock pin 42 reliably prevents the movement of the lock lever 56 in the release direction and when the slide button 50 is operated. With a light operating force, the lock pin 42 can be moved into the notch 62, and the lock lever 56 can be moved in the release direction.

7 and 8, a third embodiment of the present invention is shown, which embodiment is used to determine the specific arrangement of the lock lever 70 and lock pin 42. The lock lever 70 of this embodiment has a U-shaped bent portion 72 at one end, and the buckle body bottom plate 10
By being hooked to the opening 74 of A, it is possible to rotate around the rotation center O inside the U-shaped bent portion. Further, a claw portion 76 bent at a right angle at the other end of the lock lever 70 is inserted into the tongue plate engagement opening 38 similarly to the previous embodiments to prevent the tongue plate from being pulled out, and prevents the tongue plate from being pulled out.
A lock pin 42 corresponds to the top surface of the lock lever 70 similar to the lock lever 70 to prevent rotation of the lock lever 70.

In this embodiment, the balance of forces around the rotation center O of the lock lever 70 generated by the pull-out force F of the tongue plate 18 is F ₁ · l ₁ = F ₃ · l ₃ ... (1) Therefore, F ₃ =F ₁ l ₁ /l ₂ ...(2) Also, the force F ₁ of the tongue plate extraction force F to rotate the lock lever 70 is F ₁ =Fsinθ ...(3) Therefore, F ₃ =Fsinθ・l ₁ / l ₂ <F (4) This shows that it is preferable to determine each value so that Sinθ×l ₁ /l ₂ is minimized.

In each of the above embodiments, the claw part of the lock lever is inserted into the engagement opening of the tongue plate to prevent the tongue plate from being pulled out. However, the lock lever engages with the engaged part of the tongue plate and locks the buckle body. Any structure may be used as long as it prevents the device from being pulled out.

As explained above in each of the embodiments, the buckle device according to the present invention has a structure in which the tongue plate engaging claw portion of the lock lever moves in a direction substantially perpendicular to the tongue plate insertion/removal direction, and the lock pin prevents this movement of the lock lever. This has the excellent effect of reliably preventing the tongue plate from being pulled out when the tongue plate is engaged, and significantly reducing the force required to release the tongue plate when the occupant releases the webbing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of the buckle device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 1 in an operating state, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the first embodiment of the buckle device according to the present invention. A sectional view showing the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
6 is an exploded perspective view of the second embodiment, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the main parts of the third embodiment. FIG. 10...buckle body, 18...tongue plate, 20...webbing, 30, 56, 70...
...Lock lever, 36...Claw portion, 38...Engagement opening, 40...Protrusion portion, 42...Lock pin, 50
...Slide button, 76...Claw portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The buckle body and a claw part that is pivotally supported by the buckle body and provided in a part move in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the tongue plate is inserted into and removed from the buckle body, and engages with the engaged part of the tongue plate to prevent the tongue plate from being pulled out. a lock lever which is movable from a locked state in which the tongue plate is engaged to a released state in which the tongue plate is separated from the engaged portion and receives a rotational force in the direction of the released state when the tongue plate is extracted; a lock pin that contacts the protrusion in the locked state to maintain the locked state of the lock lever; and a lock pin that is supported by the buckle body so as to be movable in the direction along the direction of inserting and removing the tongue plate, and when moved in the direction of inserting the tongue plate. A buckle device comprising: a slide button that moves the lock pin in the tongue plate insertion direction to release the lock pin from contact with the protrusion, and allows the lock lever to move in the release state direction.