JPS6222172Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea] The present invention relates to a buckle assembly.

Many buckle assemblies for seat belts have been proposed so far. All of these seat belt buckle assemblies consist of a tongue and a latching device for locking the tongue, and this latching device usually includes a base member and a biasing means provided in the base member. a latch member biased in a direction to lock the tongue; an operating means for operating the latch member;
and a cover means that surrounds and supports all of these members. However, in these buckle assemblies, the latch member is actuated by an operating means such as a push button that is directly engaged with the buckle member, so the position of the push button is limited to the vicinity of the latch member, and as a result, fingers, etc. The degree of freedom in bringing the exposed surface of the pushbutton to a position that provides excellent operability is limited to some extent. Also, this method of actuating the latch member is not sufficient in terms of the release properties of the buckle assembly because the force applied to the push button is directly used.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a buckle assembly with excellent operability by interposing a lever member between the latch member and the push button to solve the problem mainly related to operability.

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

The embodiments of the drawings are based on the actual application filed by the applicant.
The present invention is applied to the buckle assembly shown in the specification of No. 53-93919.

In the figures, the latching device of the seat belt buckle assembly is designated generally by the numeral 1. The latch device 1 has a lower cover 2 and an upper cover 3 constituting cover means, both of which are combined to form a hollow chamber 5 (FIG. 7) for accommodating the following elements: is forming. Upper and lower cover 3
Notches 7a and 6a are formed in the front side walls 7 and 6 of 2 and 2, respectively, and when the upper and lower covers 3 and 2 are combined, these notches 7
a and 6a form a tongue insertion opening 8 (FIG. 7) which is continuous with the hollow chamber 5. In the front portions of the side walls 3a, 3b and 2a, 2b extending in the front and back of the upper and lower covers 3 and 2, respectively, there are cutouts for forming push button operation openings 17 (FIG. 5). Notches 10a and 9a are formed. This opening 1
7 opens diagonally to the tongue insertion opening.

Horizontal step portions 3c and 2c are formed inside the upper and lower covers 3 and 2 as support surfaces for a base member 14, which will be described later, and the base member 14 is placed there. The base member 14 consists of two parallel plane plates 14a and 14b formed by bending one metal plate, and a tongue insertion gap or tongue guide path 15 is formed between these plane plates. Therefore,
Gap 15 when the base member is fixed in place
is continuous with the tongue insertion opening 8 at its front end, and the thickness of the gap 15 is sufficient to receive and guide the tongue 13. Holes 16 aligned perpendicularly are bored in the rear portions of the parallel plane plates 14a and 14b of the base member, and holes 16 in an iron plate 18, which is a connecting member to a vehicle body, etc., inserted into the gap 15 are inserted into the holes 16. 18a are aligned and rivets 19 are driven thereto to secure these two members together. This method of connecting the base member 14 to the vehicle body is merely an example, and other methods such as webbing, flexible wire, etc. are also possible.

Two substantially rectangular holes 20 and 21 for guiding the latch member are bored in the front part of the flat plate 14b on the base member 14 in a row in the horizontal direction, and these holes 20,
At the center immediately behind 21 is a thin plate spring 30, which will be described later.
The square hole 2 into which the vertical part 31 of the square hole 2 is inserted without interference
2 is drilled. On the other hand, two holes 20, 21 are provided in the portions of the flat plate 14a under the base member that are opposite to the three holes 20, 21, 22, respectively.
A hole 24 with a shape that connects the two, and a hole 23 with the same shape as the hole 22.
is formed. Note that the bent side end surface 14c of the flat plate 14a under the base member 14 comes into contact with the side surface of the protrusion 2d of the lower cover 2, so that the base member 14 can be fixed more reliably within the hollow chamber 5. In addition, the protrusion 2d is connected to the upper and lower covers 3 and 2.
It also functions to ensure that the prescribed union of

The latch member 25, inserted vertically slidably into the holes 20, 21, 24 of the base member, is a U-shaped member having both side portions 26, 27 extending vertically and a connecting portion 28 connecting the lower portions of these. An upward biasing force is applied to the latch member 25 by a thin flat spring 30 fixed to the inner surface of the lower cover 2. The thin flat spring 30 has a vertical portion 31 which is approximately vertical and serves to push out the tongue 13, and a horizontal portion 32 which is approximately horizontal and serves to bias the latch member 25.
A round hole 32a is formed in the lower layer of the horizontal portion 32 of the thin flat spring, and this round hole and the protrusion 4a on the inner surface of the lower cover are aligned, and the protrusion 4a
The flat spring 30 is fixed in place by fitting the lower layer of the horizontal portion of the flat spring between the projections 4b, 4c extending forward and backward from both sides of the flat spring 30. The vertical portion 31 of the flat spring 30 in the specified position passes through the rectangular holes 23, 22 of the base member 14.

Both corner parts of the latch member 25 are the left and right side parts 26, 27.
Latch portions 29a, 29 that protrude upward continuously from
b. The latch parts 29a, 29b both have a front inclined cam part and a rear vertical locking part. The latch member 25 first contacts the front end 13a of the tongue 13 inserted through the tongue insertion opening 8, and is pushed downward to allow the tongue 13 to be inserted, and the tongue end 13a passes through the notch. Part 13
When b and 13c come to a position where they overlap vertically with the latching parts 29a and 29b, they are raised by the thin plate spring 30 and the tongue 13 is locked at the rear vertical locking part.

The push button 35 is located in the notch 10 of the upper and lower covers 3 and 2.
It is fitted into a hollow chamber extending from an opening 17 formed by a and 9a. The push button 35 is
It has an exposed surface portion 36 against which a finger or the like is pressed during operation, two leg portions 37 and 38 extending parallel to the slide direction of the push button, and a bridge portion 39 connecting these leg portions. Inclined cam surfaces 37a and 38a that are parallel to each other are formed on the upper surfaces of the two leg portions 37 and 38, respectively. The push button 35 is a compression coil spring 50
The opening 17 is biased outwardly by the opening 17. This spring 50 has one end connected to the protrusion 40 of the push button 35.
and the other end is placed in position by being placed on the end wall 11b of the projection 11 of the lower cover 2. Note that the U-shaped groove 11a of the protrusion 11 that received the spring 50 is moved over the protrusion 12 of the upper cover 3.
is passed across to prevent the spring 50 from jumping out of the groove 11a. Further, by the projection 11 of the lower cover 2 entering the space surrounded by the two legs 37 and 38 and the bridge portion 39, the push button 35 is moved into the opening 17.
It prevents it from flying outward.

Reference numerals 41 and 45 are levers that are the main parts of this embodiment. The levers 41 and 45 are formed at shaft portions 42 and 46, respectively, engaging portions 44 and 48 that project downward from the end of the long arm and engage the cam surfaces 37a and 38a of the push button, and the end of the short arm. The latch member 25 has engaging portions 43 and 47 that engage with the upper ends of both side portions 26 and 27 of the latch member 25. The shaft portions 42 and 46 of the lever are respectively connected to the bearing portions 3e and 3 of the upper cover.
f, thus allowing the lever to tilt within the hollow chamber 5 over a suitable angular range. There are levers 41 and 4 on the stepped inner surface 3d of the upper cover 3.
This step is to prevent the lever from interfering with the upper cover 3 during the tilting movement of the lever. These levers 41, 45 and the above-mentioned push button 35 constitute a latch member operating means.

A tongue guide 51 is inserted into the gap 15 of the base member 14 and guides the tongue 13.
The tongue guide 51 has a recess 5 that engages with the front end of the base member 14 to fix the guide 51 in a predetermined position.
It consists of a front part in which 4a, 54b, 55a, and 55b are formed, and a U-shaped part extending rearward from this front part. In position, the U-shaped portion extends to the rear of the square holes 22, 23 in the base member 14, with the opposing surface 53 of the narrower portion serving as a guide surface for the tongue and the latch member extending within the wider portion 52. 25 slides up and down.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained based on the above configuration. Figures 5 and 7a show the latching device 1 in the disengaged state. In this state, the latch member 25 is in a position where it is slid upward by the flat spring 30. At the same time, the engagement parts 43 and 47 of the short arms of the levers 41 and 45 are pushed up, and the engagement parts 44 and 48 of the long arms are pushed down. Therefore, the latching portions 29a, 29b of the latching member 25 extend beyond the level of the hole 24 drilled in the plane plate 14a below the base member 14 and reach the gap 15 between the parallel plane plates.

Opening 8 for inserting the tongue into the latch device in the disengaged state
Figure 7b shows the state in which the tongue 13 is started to be inserted through the
It is shown in As the tongue 13 begins to be inserted, the latch member 25 is subjected to a downward force. This results in
The latch member 25 slides downward against the force of the thin plate spring 30, and when the tongue notches 13b and 13c finally reach a position where they are vertically overlapped with the latch parts 29a and 29b, the latch member 25 is held down. When the force disappears, the latch member 25 jumps up and the tongue 13 is attached to the latch part 2.
It is locked by the rear vertical locking portions 9a and 29b. This locked condition is shown in FIG. 7c.
In this state, the end of the vertical portion 31 of the thin plate spring 30 is pushed backward by the tongue tip 13a,
The vertical portion 31 is in a compressed state with accumulated restoring force.

Next, the operation of pressing the push button 35 from the locked state to the disengaged state will be described. With the latch device 1 in the locked state, when the push button 35 is pressed as shown in FIG.
4 and 48 are the inclined cam surfaces 3 of the push button 35, respectively.
It is pushed up by 7a and 38a. Then, the engaging portions 43 and 47 of the short arms push the latch member 25 downward against the force of the thin plate spring 30. Therefore, as soon as the rear vertical locking portions of the latch portions 29a and 29b are lowered below the lower surface of the tongue 13, the
The tongue 13, which is urged outward by the vertical portion 31 of the flat spring 30, is no longer held in place, and the tongue flies outward. In this way, after the levers 41 and 45 and the latch member 25 return to their original positions, the disengaged state is achieved.

The present invention has been specifically explained above using examples in which the present invention is applied to a buckle assembly having the feature that it can be assembled by essentially placing each part from above. Of course, it can be easily applied to an assembly. However, it is clear from the description of the above embodiments that by configuring the latch member operating means with a push button and a lever member, a buckle assembly with excellent push button operability is generally realized. Dew. In accordance with the above-mentioned embodiment, by placing the push button operation opening 17 in a position diagonally open with respect to the tongue insertion opening 8, this embodiment can be incorporated into a console box of a vehicle. In this case, the push button operation direction becomes almost vertical when the seat belt is worn, improving the push button operability. Furthermore, if the length from the center of tilt of the lever member to the part that engages with the push button is longer than the length from the center of tilt to the part that engages with the latch member, the force applied to the push button 35 is amplified by the principle of leverage. Naturally, the disassembly property is also improved because it is transmitted to the latch member 25.

Note that the present invention is not necessarily limited to buckles for seat belts, but can also be applied to parts of bags such as school bags, belts, etc. that are required to be releasably engaged.

As described above, the present invention enables a buckle assembly with increased flexibility in the arrangement of pushbuttons and improved operability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a perspective view showing the inner surface of the upper cover of the above embodiment, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the back side of the push button of the above embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the tongue guide of the above embodiment seen from the rear upper side. Figure 5a is a diagram explaining the action of the lever of the above embodiment, Figure 5b is Figure 5a.
6A and 6B are views similar to FIGS. 5A and 5B, respectively, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view with the lever and tongue guide omitted to explain the action of the latch member of the above embodiment. It is a diagram. Explanation of symbols of main parts, 2, 3...Cover means, 8...Tang insertion opening, 17...Push button operation opening, 5...Hollow chamber, 25...Latching member,
14... Base member, 15... Tongue guide path, 3
5...Push button, 41, 45...Lever member.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A cover means; a base member forming a tongue guide path extending in the tongue insertion direction; supported by the base member so as to be movable in parallel in a direction generally perpendicular to the tongue guide path; a latch member having a substantially U-shape having both side portions extending vertically and a continuous portion connecting the lower portion thereof, capable of taking a tongue lock position and an unlocked position, and always biased toward the tongue lock position; a push button that is movable at a predetermined angle with respect to the tongue insertion direction; and a pair of lever members that have two arms and are provided so as to be tiltable around a tilting center;
The pair of lever members each engage the push button in one arm and the upper end of the side of the latch member in the other arm, so that movement of the push button is caused by the push button in the pair of levers. A buckle assembly characterized in that a tilting movement of the member is imparted to the latch member to translate it from the tongue lock position to the unlocked position. 2. The length from the center of tilting of the lever member to the one arm that engages with the push button is longer than the length from the center of tilting to the part that engages with the latch member Claim 1 Buckle assembly as described in.