JPH06284914A - Automatic buckle device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the tongue of a seat belt device and a buckle to be automatically coupled. CONSTITUTION:A tongue 2 can be inserted into a buckle 4 in a no-load state (without resistance) by the function of an eject solenoid 78. A limit switch detects the position of the tongue 2 to actuate a latch solenoid 66 and automatically brings about a latch hold state. When the latch solenoid 66 is reactuated, an eject spring 86 is energized, so that the tongue 2 retreats from the buckle 4. Therefore, when the tongue 2 is inserted into the buckle 4, the tongue and the buckle are automatically coupled and latched. A switching operation can release this latch. Thus, the tongue and the buckle can be very easily attached and released.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a connecting mechanism between a tongue and a buckle of a seat belt device mounted on an automobile or the like. More specifically, when the tongue is brought close to the buckle, the tongue is automatically buckled. And an automatic buckle device configured to be coupled to the automatic buckle device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In automobile seat belt devices,
The operation of inserting the tongue on which the seat belt is hung into the buckle is performed manually by an occupant.

[0003]

In the conventional seatbelt device, when the occupant wears the seatbelt, the tongue is placed inside the buckle in an unreasonable posture in which the upper half of the body is twisted by the buckle arranged on the side of the seat. I had to squeeze into it. Further, even when the seat belt is disengaged, the disengagement press button provided on the buckle side has to be pressed, which makes the operation cumbersome.

[0004]

An automatic buckle device according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a tongue having a latch hole at a tip end thereof,
What is claimed is: 1. An automatic buckle device comprising: a receiving opening into which the tongue is inserted; and a buckle having a tongue entry path continuing to the receiving opening, wherein the buckle is movable in the tong insertion and removal direction in the tong entry path. An ejector, an eject spring for urging the ejector in the tongue removal direction, an eject solenoid for moving the ejector in the tong insertion direction, and a tip end side capable of advancing into the tongue entry path, and The tip has a latch that can enter the latch hole of the tongue and is arranged in the vicinity of the latch. By moving forward, the latch is pressed to advance the latch tip side into the tongue entry path, and Stops at the forward limit position to prevent the latch tip side from exiting from the approach path, and moves backward to move the latch tip side from the approach path. A lock plate to allow egress is made provided with a latching solenoid for retracting movement of the lock plate, a lock spring that biases the lock plate in the forward movement direction.

The automatic buckle device of claim 2 is the automatic buckle device of claim 1.
In the above, in the latch plate, the leading end is arranged on the entrance side of the approach passage, and the rear end is arranged on the far side of the approach passage, and the latch plate is located between the front end and the rear end. The intermediate portion is rotatable by a pivot portion extending in the width direction of the approach passage, and extends in a direction oblique to the approach direction of the approach passage at a tip side of the pivot plate of the latch plate. An existing slope portion is provided, and the latch plate urging member includes a lock member that is in contact with the slope portion, and a locking spring that presses the lock member against the slope portion. is there.

[0006]

In the automatic buckle device of the first aspect, the latching operation and the ejecting operation of the tongs are performed by the respective dedicated solenoids. When trying to wear the seat belt, the inside of the buckle is automatically in the unlatched state and the ejector retracted state, and the tongue can be inserted with no load (no resistance). When the tongue is inserted deep into the buckle to the defined position, it automatically latches.

When the seat belt is disengaged, the tongue is automatically or manually unlatched by the energization, and the tongue is pushed out of the buckle by the ejector urged by the eject spring.

In the automatic buckle device of claim 2,
On the back side of the latch plate, on the tip side of the pivot portion of the latch plate, there is provided a sloped portion extending in the direction oblique to the approaching direction of the approach path, and the latch member is brought into contact with the sloped portion to hold the latch hold. It becomes possible to do it.

[0009]

EXAMPLES Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tongue 2 and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the buckle 4.

This tongue 2 is a metal tongue base 6
And a tongue cover 8 made of synthetic resin, which covers the rear side of the tongue base 6. The tongue base 6 is a plate-shaped member made of a material such as steel that is sensitive to magnetic force, and its tip has a narrow width so that it can be inserted into the buckle 4. A latch hole 10 is provided at the tip of the tongue base 6. A belt hole 12 is provided on the rear end side of the tongue 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the buckle 4 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a tongue receiving port 14 into which the tongue 2 is inserted is provided on the tip end surface thereof. Limit switches 16 for determining whether or not the tongue 2 is securely inserted into the buckle 4 are provided on both left and right sides of the tongue receiving opening 14. The buckle 4 is covered from above and below by a synthetic resin upper cover 18 and a lower cover 20. A press button 22 for manually releasing the latch of the tongue 2 is provided directly above the tongue receiving opening 14 of the upper cover 18.

From the rear portion of the buckle 4 (opposite to the surface on which the tongue receiving port 14 is provided), the metal bracket 2 is attached.
4 has a rear end portion protruding. The bracket 24 is a skeleton that supports the components of the buckle 4. This bracket 2
A through hole 26 for connecting the buckle 4 to a vehicle body side anchor member (not shown) is provided at the rear end of the vehicle body 4.

Next, the component construction inside the buckle 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper cover 18 and the lower cover 20 are removed from the buckle 4. FIG. 4 is a front-rear direction of the internal components of the buckle 4 shown in FIG. 3 (left-right direction in the drawing. In this embodiment, the tongue receiving side is referred to as the front side and the solenoid side is referred to as the rear side). FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the shape of each component inside the buckle 4 and the mutual engagement state.

The internal structure of the buckle 4 includes a bracket 24.
It can be roughly divided into an upper solenoid portion and a latch mechanism on the base 28. The bracket 24 is formed by press-molding a metal plate. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a bottom portion 24a extending in the tong insertion / removal direction and a pair of left and right raised from both sides of the bottom portion 24a. It has a U-shaped cross-section with side walls 24b and 24c. On the front side of the bottom surface portion 24a of the bracket 24, a mounting hole 32a into which a fixture 30a for joining with the base 28 is fitted is provided. Further, a mounting hole 32b for mounting the solenoid fixing holder 34 by a fixing tool 30b is provided in the rear portion.

Like the bracket 24, the base 28 is also formed by press-molding a metal plate, and has a bottom surface portion 28a extending in the tong insertion / removal direction, and a pair of left and right raised from both sides of the bottom surface portion 28a. It has a U-shaped cross-section with side walls 28b and 28c. As clearly shown in FIG. 4, the rear side of the bottom surface portion 28a of the base 28 is connected to the bracket 24 by the fixture 30a.

Lock plates 32 are attached to the side walls 28b and 28c so that the lock plates 32 can slide in the tong insertion / removal direction.
Lock plate slit 34 and lock bar slit 3
6 is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the lock plate 32 is a U-shaped metal fitting having a size capable of straddling the side wall portions 28 b and 28 c of the base 28.

Both legs 32a of the lock plate 32,
A lock plate hook 32c for engaging with the lock plate slit 34 of the base 28 is provided at the tip portion of 32b.
Are projected so as to approach each other. Further, a lock bar hole 32d into which the lock bar 40 is inserted is provided at approximately the center of the legs 32a and 32b of the lock plate 32.

The lock plate 32 has legs 32a,
32b is provided along the outside of the side wall portions 28b and 28c of the base 28, and the lock plate hooks 32c at the ends of the leg portions 32a and 32b are attached to the base 28 so as to engage with the lock plate slits 34 of the base 28. It Then, in this state, the lock bar 40 traverses the lock bar slit 36 of the base 28 and the lock plate 3
The two legs 32a, 32b are fitted into the lock bar holes 32d.

Claws 44 for locking the plate 42 are provided on the front edges of the side walls 28b and 28c of the base 28 so as to project toward each other. In addition, the side walls 28b, 2
A plate bar hole 46 is opened on the front side of 8c. The plate 42 is positioned by using the claw portion 44, and then the plate bar 48 is passed through the plate bar hole 46, so that the plate 42 is fixed to the base 28.

Protrusions 49 are provided on the upper surfaces of the front edges of the side walls 28b and 28c of the base 28. The projection 49 engages with a guide slit 50 on a guide that extends horizontally behind the press button 22.

A button spring 52 is provided between the press button 22 and the plate 42 so that the press button 22 is always biased toward the front of the buckle 4 regardless of whether the latch is held or released. ing.

As shown in FIG. 5, the latch 54 is a metal plate having a substantially S-shaped cross section, and a latch pivot shaft 56 protruding left and right has a latch pivot groove 58 of the base 28.
Be pivoted to. At the tip of the latch 54, when the tongue 2 is inserted into the buckle 4, the latch hole 10 of the tongue 2 is inserted.
A latch hook 60 is provided so as to engage with the. A latch projection 64 for connecting the latch 54 to the lock plate 32 by a latch spring 62 is provided at the rear end of the latch 54, and the latch 54 is configured to interlock with the lock plate 32. There is.

The lock plate 32 is connected to a latch plunger 68 which is housed in a latch solenoid 66 and moves forward and backward by an electromagnetic force. As shown in FIG. 5, the latch plunger 68 has a rectangular flat plate-shaped main body 68.
It has a shape in which two legs 68b project from one side of a. Engaging portions projecting from the tips of the legs 68 b in a direction approaching each other are locked to the lock plate 32. Reference numeral 70 is a yoke of the latch solenoid 66, and 72 is a sleeve.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the plunger 68 is
The flat plate-shaped main body portion 68a is inserted into the sleeve 72 and is slidable in the front-rear direction. A ring-shaped stopper 74 and a lock spring 76 are fitted and inserted into the two leg portions 68b of the latch plunger 68. The stopper 74 abuts on the front surface 72a of the sleeve 72 to lock the lock spring 76 and the stopper 74 and the lock plate 32.
Holding in between. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the lock plate 32 is always biased forward by the biasing force of the lock spring 76. Similarly, the biasing force of the lock spring 76 is also applied to the latch plunger 68 to bias the main body portion 68a of the latch plunger 68 toward the front side in the sleeve 72.

An eject solenoid 78 is provided below the latch solenoid 66. Like the latch solenoid 66, the eject solenoid 78 also has a yoke 80.
And a sleeve 82. An eject plunger 84 is included in the sleeve 82. As shown in FIG. 4, the eject plunger 84 has substantially the same shape as the latch plunger 68 described above, and includes a rectangular main body portion 84a and two legs 84b. A ring-shaped stopper 74 and an eject spring 86 are provided on the two legs 84b.
Is inserted. Further, the tip ends of the legs 84b are sandwiched from above and below by the upper side portion 88a and the lower side portion 88b which form the ejector 88. Eject spring 86
Urges the ejector 88 and the eject plunger 84 connected thereto forward, as shown in FIG.

The latch solenoid 66 and the eject solenoid 78 are stacked vertically in two stages to form the bracket 24.
It is installed between the side wall portions 24b and 24c of and is fixed to the bracket 24 by the holder 34.

The operation of the automatic buckle device of this embodiment having the above construction will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the operation when the seat belt is worn will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 6, the buckle 4 is in the unlatched state. That is, the tongue 2 is not inserted into the buckle 4, and the latch solenoid 66 and the eject solenoid 78 are both off. The ejector 88 is positioned by the biasing force of the eject spring 86 at the forward limit of the leading side (front surface, left side in the drawing) of the buckle 4. Since the ejector 88 is located on the leading side of the buckle 4, the latch 54 is provided on the upper surface of the ejector 88.
The latch hook 60 comes into contact with the latch hook 60, and the latch hook 60 is retracted from the tongue entry path.

In this state, the lock bar 40 is in contact with the slope of the upper surface of the latch 54. The lock bar 40
Like the ejector 88, the lock plate 32 through which the lock bar 32 extends is biased toward the front side of the buckle 4 by the biasing force of the lock spring 76. Are pressed against.

Further, the latch spring 62 interposed between the lock plate 32 and the latch projection 64 of the latch 54 also presses the lock bar 40 against the back surface of the latch 54.

In the state shown in FIG. 6, the lock bar 40 is in contact with the slope of the back surface of the latch 54 (the slope in the direction in which the tongs are inserted and removed), so that the springs 62 and 7 are provided.
The biasing force of 6 acts to push the latch hook 60 downward in FIG. 6, and the latch hook 60 is pressed against the ejector 88.

That is, in FIG. 6, in the inside of the buckle 4 in the unlatched state, a vertically downward biasing force is applied to the latch hook 60 about the latch pivot shaft 56 of the latch 54, and the latch hook 60 is ejected by the ejector 88. It shows a state of contacting the back surface and retracting from the tongue approach path.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, when the tongue 2 is inserted into the receiving port 14 of the buckle 4, a limit switch (not shown) provided inside the receiving port 14 is actuated to operate the latch solenoid. 66 and eject solenoid 78
Both are turned on. The latch solenoid 66 attracts the latch plunger 68 to operate the latch mechanism connected to the latch plunger 68, and holds the latch 54 as it is in the retracted position. The eject solenoid 78 attracts the eject plunger 84 and maintains a state in which the ejector 88 connected to the eject plunger 84 is pulled toward the rear side.

The tongue 2 is further inserted into the buckle 4 as shown in FIG. Since the inside of the buckle 4 continues to maintain the state shown in FIG. 7, the tongue 2 is inserted with no load (no resistance) until the tip of the tongue 2 contacts the ejector 88. That is, when inserting the tongue 2 into the buckle 4, it is not necessary to push and retract the eject spring 86, and the tongue 2 is inserted into a so-called empty tongue entry path.

In FIG. 9, the tongue 2 is fully inserted in the buckle. Limit switches 16 are provided on both left and right sides of the inlet 14 of the buckle 4 (see FIG. 2). The limit switch 16 is actuated by the contact of the tongue cover 8 of the tongue 2, the latch solenoid 66 is immediately turned off, and the eject solenoid 78 is also turned off after a predetermined time.

In FIG. 9, the latch solenoid 66 is OF
F, the eject solenoid 78 is in the ON state. When the latch solenoid 66 is turned off, the latch hook 60 is biased downward as described with reference to FIG. 6, so that the latch hook 60 enters the latch hole 10 of the tongue 2.

When the latch hook 60 enters the latch hole 10, the lock bar 40, which was in contact with the slope of the rear surface of the latch 54, is locked together with the lock plate 32 by the urging force of the lock spring 76 and the latch spring 62. Buckle 4 Move to the front side. As shown in FIG. 9, the moved lock plate 32 remains on the portion of the back surface of the latch 54 which is parallel to the tongs 2 and the latch 54 is moved.
Lock in the latch hold state. That is, FIG. 9 shows a state in which the latch solenoid 66 is turned off and the tongue 2 is latched and held in the buckle 4.

FIG. 10 shows a state after a predetermined time has elapsed from the state shown in FIG. That is, the eject solenoid 78 which is ON in FIG. 9 is OFF together with the latch solenoid 66 in FIG. Since the eject solenoid 78 is turned off, the ejector 88 and the eject plunger 84
Is urged toward the front side of the buckle 4 by the urging force of the eject spring 86. That is, the ejector 88 abuts on the tip end portion of the tongue 2 in the latch hold state and urges the tongue 2 to the front side of the buckle 4. When the tongue 2 is slightly retracted, the latch hole 1 of the tongue 2
The latch hook 60 of the latch 54 is hooked on the inner wall portion of 0, and the tongue 2 is latched and held in the buckle 4 as it is. The buckle 4 is in the state shown in FIG.
The insertion of the tongue 2 into the inside is completed.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12 and 6, the disassembly of the seat belt device of this embodiment will be described.

The disengagement of the seat belt device is started by releasing the latch from the insertion completed state of the tongue 2 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, both the latch solenoid 66 and the eject solenoid 78 are OFF. To release the latch, the latch solenoid 66 must be turned on and the latch hook 60 of the latch 54 must be pulled out from the latch hole of the tongue 2.

FIG. 11 illustrates a state in which the latch solenoid 66 is turned on for a predetermined time by remote control. The latch solenoid 66 is turned on, and the latch plunger 68 is pulled into the latch solenoid 66. With the operation of the latch plunger 68, the lock plate 32 also moves to the right in FIG. As a result, the projection for attaching the latch spring 62 on the rear end side of the lock plate 32 contacts the latch projection 64 of the latch 54. As a result, the latch 54 rotates clockwise about the latch pivot shaft 56 pivotally mounted in the latch pivot groove 58 of the base 28 as shown in FIG. 11, and the latch hook 60 moves into the latch hole of the tongue 2. It is pulled out from 10 and the latch is released.

FIG. 12 shows the unlatched tongue 2 after the latch hook 60 has slipped out of the latch hole 10. The latch solenoid 66 is still ON.
The latch hook 60 is located at the uppermost limit, and the latch hook 60 and the ejector 88 do not interfere with each other.
For this reason, the ejector 88 has the eject spring 86.
Is pushed forward by the urging force of. The tongue 2 is retracted from the buckle 4 by the ejector 88 that advances to the forward limit.

After FIG. 12, the process returns to FIG. FIG. 6 shows the buckle 4 in the unlatched state as described above. Latch solenoid 66 that was turned on in FIG.
Has been turned off after a predetermined time has elapsed. As a result, the latch 54 pivots slightly downward, and the latch hook 60 comes into contact with the ejector 88.

Although the seat belt mounting and dismounting operations have been described above, the automatic buckle device of the present embodiment is manually mounted and disassembled even when the battery is de-energized. be able to.

That is, in the state shown in FIG. 6, the eject plunger 84 can freely slide within the eject solenoid 78. Therefore, when the tongue 2 is pushed into the buckle 4 from the receiving port 14, the ejector 88 is pushed deeply while the tip of the tongue 2 is in contact with the ejector 88. When the tongue 2 is fully inserted into the buckle 4, the latch hook 60 is biased vertically downward, so that the latch hook 60 enters the latch hole 10 of the tongue 2. The latch mechanism constituted by the lock plate 32 and the like also operates as described in FIG. 9, and the tongue 2 is latched and held in the buckle 4.

When manually releasing the latch, the press button 22 is pushed in the state shown in FIG. Then, the rear portion of the press button 22 comes into contact with the lock plate 32,
The lock plate 32 is moved to the right side of the drawing. The lock plate 32 moved to the right rotates the latch 54 and flips up the latch hook 60 as described with reference to FIG. As a result, the latch is released and the ejector 88 pushes the tongue 2 out of the buckle.

[0047]

As described above, according to the automatic buckle device of the present invention, the tongue is inserted into the buckle with no load (no resistance), and thereafter the tongue is automatically latched by the buckle. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary for the occupant of the vehicle to twist the upper half of the body and insert the tongue into the buckle, and the seat belt device can be easily worn. Further, even when the tongue is disengaged from the buckle, this can be performed only by operating the switch, and the actuation operation of the seat belt device can be performed extremely easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a tongue according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a buckle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of an automatic buckle device.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the automatic buckle device.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view showing an internal configuration of the automatic buckle device.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the automatic buckle device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the automatic buckle device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view showing the operation of the automatic buckle device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the automatic buckle device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the automatic buckle device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the automatic buckle device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the automatic buckle device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 tongs 4 buckle 10 latch hole 14 receiving port 22 press button 32 lock plate 40 lock bar 54 latch 66 latch solenoid 78 eject solenoid 88 ejector

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic buckle device comprising: a tongue having a latch hole at a front end thereof; and a buckle having a receiving opening into which the tongue is inserted and a tongue entrance path continuing to the receiving opening. The buckle includes an ejector capable of moving in the tongue insertion / withdrawal direction in the tongue entry path, an eject spring biasing the ejector in the tongue withdrawal direction, and an eject solenoid for moving the ejector in the tongue insertion direction. , A latch whose tip side can advance into the tongue entry path and whose tip can enter the latch hole of the tongue, and is arranged in the vicinity of the latch, and pushes the latch by moving forward. Together with the latch tip side to advance into the tongue approach path and stop at the forward limit position to prevent the latch tip side from exiting from the approach path. , A lock plate that allows the latch tip to retreat from the approach path by moving backward, a latch solenoid for moving the lock plate backward, and a biasing force for the lock plate in the forward movement direction. An automatic buckle device including a lock spring. 2. The latch plate according to claim 1, wherein the leading end of the latch plate is located on the inlet side of the approaching passage and the rear end of the latching plate is located on the far side of the approaching passage. A pivot portion extending in the width direction of the approach passage is rotatable at an intermediate portion between the leading end and the rear end, and the approach passage is provided closer to the tip side than the pivot portion of the latch plate. An inclined surface portion extending obliquely with the approach direction is provided, and the latch plate biasing member includes a lock member that abuts against the inclined surface portion and a locking member that presses the lock member against the inclined surface portion. Automatic buckle device with spring.