JPH0414290Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an energy absorbing belt that has the function of absorbing an impact load acting on an occupant due to a vehicle collision or the like.

(Prior art) Seat belt 1 for restraining an occupant as shown in Fig. 6
A folded part 2 is formed by partially loosening the intermediate part of the folded part 2, and the folded part 2 is sewn with a suture thread 3 to form an energy absorbing tongue piece 4.
Energy absorbing belts have been known in the art, which absorb impact energy at the time of a vehicle collision by cutting the suture thread 3, thereby protecting the occupant with the seat belt. It is known to be extremely effective in allowing horizontal movement and reducing injuries to the head and chest. (For example, JP-A-55-118764,
(Refer to Japanese Utility Model Application No. 59-182352) (Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in general, when the conventional energy absorbing belt as described above is sewn with the suture thread 3, it cannot be used with an industrial lockstitch sewing machine. A lockstitch machine is used to perform lockstitch (also called lockstitch), but while a lockstitch machine can usually supply needle thread continuously, the continuous supply of bobbin thread depends on the size of the bobbin for bobbin thread. As a result, it is necessary to frequently replenish the bobbin thread, resulting in a problem that work efficiency is significantly reduced.

Furthermore, conventional energy-absorbing belts absorb impact energy by cutting stepwise multiple rows of sutures applied to the energy-absorbing tongue, but generally, lock-stitched sutures are used to absorb impact energy. There was no margin for elongation, the cutting load for each row varied greatly, and there was a problem that energy could not be efficiently distributed, leaving room for further improvement in this respect.

The present invention focuses on the problems that conventional energy-absorbing belts have, and aims to improve the efficiency of sewing work by applying multiple rows of chain stitches to the folded portion of the seat belt using a chain stitch sewing machine. In addition, by utilizing the elongation of chain-stitched chain stitches, the cutting load of the sewing thread is dispersed and load fluctuations are smoothed out, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A configuration for achieving the above object will be explained based on FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

The seat belts 11, 11', which are fixed at one end to the vehicle body via the strength members 15, 17, are folded into a ring shape with their intermediate portions partially loosened, and a chain stitch sewing machine is used for the folded portion 18. It has energy absorbing tongues 20, 20' formed by chain stitching multiple rows of suture threads 19.

Further, the energy absorbing tongue pieces 20, 20' are
Among its outer surfaces, at least the surface where the chain seam of the suture thread 19 is exposed is provided with means for covering the seam and preventing the suture thread 19 from fraying. Measures to prevent fraying include applying hot melt tape such as fabric tape coated with heat-sealable synthetic resin or non-woven fabric tape made of heat-sealable fibers, or applying adhesive directly to the seams. This method corresponds to the method of binding threads together by letting them join together.

(Function) The energy absorbing belt having the above structure prevents the suture thread 19 from being partially cut or frayed due to friction etc. by the fraying prevention means 22 provided on the energy absorbing tongues 20, 20', and forms a chain. In addition to protecting the seams, when an excessive tensile load is applied to the energy absorbing tongues 20, 20' in the event of a vehicle collision, etc., the chain-stitched suture 19
The slight elongation of the chain seam disperses the impact load, smoothes load changes during cutting, and enhances the energy absorption effect.

(Embodiments) Examples of the present invention will be described in detail above based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing an example of an energy absorbing belt according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a seat belt device using the same energy absorbing belt.

In these figures, reference numeral 11 denotes a continuous shoulder-to-shoulder seatbelt 13 whose one end is hooked to a take-up reel of a known emergency lock-type take-up device 12 installed at the bottom of the vehicle body, and which is stored so as to be able to be pulled out and retracted. 14 is a through anchor that guides the seat belt 11 in a slidable manner at the upper part of the vehicle body; 14 is a seat belt 1;
A tongue 15 inserted between the shoulder portion 11a and the waist portion 11b of the seat belt 11 is an anchor fitting that connects the tip of the seat belt 11 to the lower part of the vehicle body. Furthermore, the buckle 16 that is engaged and connected to the tongue 14 is
The lower end is attached to the upper end of an auxiliary seat belt 11' connected to the vehicle body via an anchor fitting 17.

The shoulder and waist continuous seat belt 11 and the auxiliary seat belt 11' are connected to the anchor member 15, respectively.
In the vicinity of 17, the webbing is partially loosened and folded into an annular shape, and the folded portion 18 is chain-stitched with multiple rows of suture threads 19. ', and the energy absorbing tongue piece 20,
A tube-shaped cover member 21,
21' is fitted.

Note that the stitches using the suture thread 19 are usually made by arranging a plurality of belt webbings in parallel, and using an industrial chainstitch sewing machine to sew them continuously in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the belt, and then sewing the adjacent webbings together. The webbing is formed by cutting the intervening suture 19 and separating the webbing individually.

The energy absorbing tongues 20, 20' have at least a chain stitch (also referred to as a chain stitch) of the chain stitched suture 19 on the outer surface thereof.
A hot melt tape 22, which is a fabric coated with a synthetic resin adhesive having heat-fusibility, is applied to the exposed side of the suture thread 19, and both ends of the hot melt tape 22 are used to secure the cut end of the suture thread 19. is covered.

On the other hand, among the cover members 21 and 21' fitted on the outer periphery of the energy absorbing tongue pieces 20 and 20',
The one on the shoulder-waist continuous belt 11 side is inserted into the middle part of the seat belt 11 with the energy absorbing tongue piece 20 covered, as shown in FIG. 3A, and has both ends 21a,
21b are sewn or glued integrally with the webbing continuous to the front and back of the energy absorbing tongue piece 20, and a large number of small holes 23 are formed in the intermediate part.
It has a break section 24 that is easy to cut and is formed by continuously drilling.

Further, among the seat belt 11 including the energy absorbing tongue piece 20 hidden by the cover member 21, the cover member 21
A label 25 is affixed to the portion exposed due to the breakage of the suture thread 19 and the extension of the energy absorbing tongue piece 20, with a warning that the energy absorbing ability has disappeared due to the cutting of the suture thread 19. Although not shown, an indication is also attached to the outer surface of the cover member 21 to remind that the seat belt needs to be replaced with a new one when the cover member 21 is broken.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a cover member 21' provided on the side of the auxiliary seat belt 11'. It has a boot shape that can cover the part and the anchor fitting 17,
One end 21'a is fixed to the vehicle body together with the anchor fitting 17, and the other end 21'b is fixed to the seat belt 11' by means such as sewing or gluing, and has a large number of small holes 23 in the middle part. It has a breaking part 24.

Further, a label displaying a warning similar to that described above is affixed to the surface of the cover member 21' and the seat belt 11' covered by the cover member 21'.

In the above embodiment, hot melt tape 22 is applied to the exposed surface of the chain seam as a means of protecting the chain seam of the chain stitch applied to the energy absorbing tongue pieces 20, 20'. Although the seam fraying prevention means of the present invention is not limited to this, it is also possible to directly apply a relatively flexible adhesive such as a synthetic resin adhesive or a rubber adhesive to the chain seam. and sewing thread 1
It is also possible to bind the energy absorbing tongues 20, 2 to each other, but the degree of binding depends on the energy absorbing tongues 20, 2.
When an impact load is applied to the sewing thread 0', it is effective to provide the sewing thread 19 with enough elongation margin to disperse the energy.

Further, the stitches formed by the suture thread 19 are not limited to being provided perpendicularly and parallel to the longitudinal direction of the belt, but may be formed in vertical or diagonal parallel lines or in various patterns.

Next, the operation of the energy absorbing belt of the present invention having the above structure will be explained.

First, when the seat belt is normally worn, the energy-absorbing tongues 20, 20' are connected to the hot melt tape 22 by the chain seam of the suture thread 19.
The cover members 21, 2
1' to prevent the suture thread 19 from being cut or frayed due to friction with surrounding members.

Now, when a high impact load is applied to the seat belts 11, 11' during a vehicle collision,
The energy-absorbing tongues 20, 20' provided on each seat belt 11, 11' expand and expand when the suture thread 19 is cut, and absorb energy to alleviate the impact, but the chain-stitched suture thread 19 It stretches slightly on the chain seam side due to the tensile load, and then cuts while distributing the load and absorbing energy.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the tensile load acting on the seat belt and elongation.

As can be seen from this graph, in energy absorbing belt A sewn by a conventional lockstitch sewing machine, the load fluctuates greatly every time the seam is cut in each row, and the value changes in a sawtooth pattern. In the energy absorbing belt B of the invention, the graph showing the load each time the seam of each row is cut changes smoothly, and it can be seen that the load is distributed by the elongation of the suture thread 19.

Thus, the energy-absorbing belt of the present invention distributes the load to the adjacent sutures 19 by slightly elongating the chain-stitched sutures 19, and absorbs impact energy by cutting, while the energy-absorbing tongue piece 20 , 20' are expanded and extended to allow horizontal movement of the occupant's waist, thereby alleviating forward tilting of the occupant's head and chest due to inertial force, thereby reducing the injury index as a whole.

(Effects of the invention) As described above, in the energy absorbing belt of the present invention, a suture stitch is applied to the energy absorbing tongue provided in the middle part of the seat belt using a chain stitch sewing machine, and the chain stitch of the suture is Since the exposed surface is equipped with a means to prevent the suture from fraying, it is possible to perform continuous sewing work compared to the conventional method of sewing the energy-absorbing tongue piece with a lockstitch sewing machine. It is possible to improve work efficiency and at the same time prevent fraying of suture threads.
Due to the stretch of chain seams created by chain stitching, the impact load is dispersed and the energy absorption effect is enhanced.
It has the excellent effect of making the occupant protection provided by the seat belt more reliable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view showing an example of the energy absorbing belt according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a seat belt device to which the energy absorbing belt is applied, and Fig. 3 A and B show the energy absorption belt of the present invention. In the external view of the absorption belt, A shows the state before impact load is applied, and B shows the state after impact load is applied. Also, Figure 4 shows
An external view showing another embodiment of the energy absorbing belt of the present invention, Fig. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between load and elongation of the energy absorbing belt of the present invention and a conventional energy absorbing belt, and Fig. 6 is a graph of the conventional energy absorbing belt. FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing an example of a belt. 11, 11'... Seat belt, 15, 17...
... Strength member, 18 ... Folded portion, 19 ... Suture thread, 20, 20' ... Energy absorbing tongue piece, 21,
21'... Cover member, 22... Suture fraying prevention means, 24... Broken portion, 25... Energy absorbing ability extinction warning display.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A folded portion is formed by partially loosening the belt in the intermediate portion of the seat belt connected to the vehicle body via a strength member, and the folded portion is provided with a plurality of suture threads. In the seat belt in which the energy-absorbing tongue is formed by sewing rows, the plurality of rows of sewing are performed by a chain stitch sewing machine, and at least the seams are formed on the outer surface of the energy-absorbing tongue. An energy absorber characterized in that hot melt tape or adhesive is attached to the exposed side of the chain seam of the thread, and the middle part is covered with a tube-like cover member that is easy to cut. belt. (2) Claim 1 of the Utility Model Registration Claim, in which a display warning that the energy absorbing ability of the energy absorbing tongue has disappeared is attached to the portion of the seat belt exposed by cutting the tube-shaped cover member. energy absorbing belt.