JPH085363B2 - Safety devices for occupant restraint systems - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] <Industrial field of application> The present invention mainly tightens the slack of the seat belt automatically in order to minimize the movement of an occupant during a collision accident. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a safety device for an occupant restraint system, and more particularly to a safety device for prohibiting the operation of the occupant restraint system corresponding to an unused seat belt.

<Prior Art> A seat belt for restraining movement of an occupant is provided in a seat of an automobile in order to prevent the occupant from being thrown forward in a collision accident or the like. This seat belt has a relatively small feeling of restraint in normal times, and it is desirable that the seat belt is tensioned only when a deceleration of a predetermined value or more is applied. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-229746 discloses such a seat belt. In the above, there has been proposed a preloader device that causes the seat belt to be excessively tensioned only at the time of a collision.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In the seat belt preloader device disclosed in the above publication, the firing pin normally held in a non-operating position is operated by a weight that displaces due to inertial force when a vehicle collides. It is used to shoot toward the detonator, which ignites propellant,
The seat belt is pulled by the combustion pressure.

That is, the conventional type preloader device detects the deceleration at the time of collision and ignites propellant regardless of whether or not the seat belt is used. Even if the seat belt itself is not in use, the preloader device still operates. Since this preloader device is practically impossible to reuse once it is operated, the expensive device must be wasted.
This is an extremely unfavorable inconvenience from the viewpoint of saving resources and imposing an unnecessary burden on the user.

The present invention has been devised to improve such inconvenience, and an object thereof is to provide a safety device for preventing the preloader device from operating when the seat belt is not used.

[Configuration of the Invention] <Means for Solving the Problems> According to the present invention, such a purpose is to provide a retractor device for retracting the seat belt when not in use, and a occupant who tightens the seat belt when a vehicle collides. For increasing the restraining force of the vehicle, and a weight whose upper end is pivotally supported and elastically supported in a floating manner to detect the fact that a deceleration of a predetermined value or more has acted on the vehicle to operate the preloader apparatus. A safety device for an occupant restraint system having a collision detection device equipped with a weight, wherein the retractor device according to the retracted amount of the seat belt with respect to the retractor device is detected in order to detect that the seat belt is rolled out. Detecting means displaceable in the radial direction of the winding shaft, and a position for preventing displacement of the weight due to a collision impact so as to selectively set a movable state and a stationary state of the collision detection device. And a setting means that is displaceable between a non-blocking position and the setting means so that the displacement of the detection means is transmitted to the setting means so that the collision detection device can be operated only when the seat belt is in the extended state. This is achieved by providing a safety device for an occupant restraint device, characterized in that it has a seesaw-pivoted lever member in its middle part.

<Operation> In this way, the operation of the collision detection device corresponding to the seat belt in the unused state is prohibited. Therefore, since the seat belt preloader device that is not used at the time of vehicle collision does not operate, it can be reused at the time of collision.

<Examples> The configuration of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific examples shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 schematically show the entire seat belt preloader device to which the present invention is applied. The seatbelt preloader device 1 is normally equipped with the seatbelt 2
Retractor device with an automatic emergency lock device of a well-known type for winding and storing the
3 and usually does not interfere with the operation of the ELR device 3,
A vehicle collision is detected by a towing device 4 for tensioning the seat belt 2 only at the time of a vehicle collision, a power generation device 5 for rotationally driving the towing device 4, and a shocking deceleration acting on the vehicle body. And a collision detection device 6, which is mounted and fixed to the lower part of the center pillar 7.

On the other hand, the seat belt 2 pulled upward from the ELR device 3 via the traction device 4 passes through the through ring 8 fixed to the upper part of the center pillar 7, and then extends downward.
An end portion of the seat is fixed to a rear side surface of the seat (not shown) or an appropriate position of the side sill 9.

The pulling device 4 is provided with a pulley 11 (FIG. 1) pivotally attached to one side wall of a frame 10 integrally formed with the casing of the ELR device 3 by bending a metal plate (FIG. 1) and the other side wall. Also, for example, a reverse rotation preventing mechanism 12 including a ratchet wheel and a ratchet pawl (FIG. 2) and a clamp mechanism 13 provided by connecting the facing surfaces of the pulley 11 and the reverse rotation preventing mechanism 12 to each other are provided. On belt 2
The part fed out from the ELR device 3 is clamped and then wound. The pulley 11 is wound around a pulley 14 having one end connected to the power generation device 5 and the other end fixed to a proper position of the pulley 11. In addition, the seat belt 2, the ELR device 3, the traction device 4, the power generation device 5
With regard to the configuration, etc., a publicly known format can be basically applied, and since it is not directly related to the essence of the present invention, further description will be omitted.

A safety device 15 for preventing the collision detection device 6 from operating when the seat belt 2 is not paid out from the ELR device 3 is attached to the surface of the frame 10 on the vehicle interior side. The safety device 15 includes a seat belt 2 with a lever member 16 pivotally mounted in a seesaw manner at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the frame 10.
Is transmitted to the collision detection device 6 to selectively set the movable state and the stationary state of the collision detection device 6 depending on whether the seat belt 2 is used or not used.

The lower end of the lever member 16 is immersed in the ELR device 3 and
The LR device 3 is slidably in contact with the web surface of the seat belt 2 and its upper end is engaged with a slide pin (described later) incorporated in the collision detection device 6. Also, the lever member
A torsion coil spring 18 is attached to a pivot 17 provided on the frame 10 to support the 16 and elastically urges the lower end side of the lever member 16 in a direction to press the web surface of the seat belt 2. There is. As a result, the tilt angle of the lever member 16 changes according to the change in the winding amount of the seat belt 2 with respect to the ELR device 3, as shown by the solid line and the phantom line in FIG. In this way, the lower end of the lever member 16 which is displaced in the radial direction of the winding shaft of the ELR device 3 according to the winding amount of the seat belt 2 constitutes a detecting means for detecting the unwinding of the seat belt 2. . The tilting angle of the lever member 16 in the seat belt unwinding state is defined by the stopper 19 provided on the frame 10 so that the tilting angle does not change after the predetermined amount of the seat belt 2 is pulled out. ing.

3 and 4 show in detail a collision detection device 6 constructed according to the invention. A pair of pendulums 23a and 23b as weights are suspended on both sides of the upper part of the sensor body 22 of the collision detection device 6 so as to be swingable about the upper end of the pendulums 23a and 23b. These pair of pendulums 23a and 23b
Both have a U-shaped cross section with the upper side open, and both end portions 25a, 25b, 26a, 26b located above are supported by support shafts 24a, 24b that are installed in parallel with each other, and the inside and outside They are doubly combined so that they can swing independently without interfering with each other's movements.

At the intermediate portion 27 of the sensor body 22 that protrudes inside the space defined by the U-shaped portions of the two pendulums 23a and 23b, the front is along the tangential direction to the swing locus of the two pendulums 23a and 23b. An open cylindrical guide hole 28 is formed. Inside the guide hole 28, a firing pin 29 for igniting a detonator of propellant as a drive energy source of the traction device 4
Has been inserted.

The firing pin 29 includes a tip 30 and a bottomed cylindrical plunger 31 that is loosely fitted in the guide hole 28. A coil spring 32 that is contracted between the bottom of the plunger 31 and the bottom of the guide hole 28 allows the firing pin 29 to There is a constant blast towards the 28 openings.

A swing arm 33 is pivotally supported at the rear portion of the intermediate portion 27 of the sensor body 22 so as to be swingable downward. The free end portion 34 of the swing arm 33 is engaged with a bottom portion 35 immediately below the support shaft 24b of the inner pendulum 23b in the non-actuated position, whereby its downward swing is restricted.

A trigger arm 37 is supported on the free end side of the swing arm 33 via a support shaft 36 so that the swing arm 33 can swing in a seesaw manner. The trigger arm 37 has a crank shape when viewed from the side and a U shape when viewed from the front.
The upper open end 39 is made to project into the guide hole 28 from the notch 38 formed in the intermediate part 27 of the lower part, and the open end 39 is attached to the engaging part 40 formed in the plunger 31 part of the firing pin 29. It is adapted to be engaged.

A protrusion 42 is provided at the bottom of the U-shaped portion of the outer pendulum 23a so as to engage with the bottom of the U-shaped end 41 of the trigger arm 37 substantially directly below the support shaft 24a. There is. Then, the free end portion 34 of the swing arm 33 is engaged with the bottom portion 35 of the inner pendulum 23b, the U-shaped end 41 of the trigger arm 37 is engaged with the protrusion 42 of the outer pendulum 23a, and the trigger arm 37
By engaging the open end 39 of this with the engaging portion 40 of the firing pin 29, the firing pin 29 is held stationary against the biasing force of the coil spring 32.

Inside the sensor body 22 facing the front end faces 43a and 43b of the bottoms of the two pendulums 23a and 23b, the orientation is on the vertical center of the two pendulums 23a and 23b and parallel to the axis of the guide hole 28. Thus, the pair of bias springs 44a and 44b are arranged in parallel. These bias springs 44a and 44b are attached to the corresponding pendulums 23a and 2b through the guide caps 45a and 45b, respectively.
The bottom front end surfaces 43a and 43b of the 3b are in contact with each other, whereby the two pendulums 23a and 23b are constantly elastically urged rearward.

The spring constants of the bias springs 44a and 44b are set in balance with the force that attempts to swing the two pendulums 23a and 23b forward by the inertial force that acts during deceleration. In other words, the pendulum is held stationary under the deceleration of a normal sudden stop, and under the relatively large deceleration that acts at the time of a vehicle collision at a certain speed or more, the pendulum loses its inertial force and bends. It is supposed to be.

In this way, the protrusion 42 of the outer pendulum 23a engages with the U-shaped end 41 of the trigger arm 37, and the inner pendulum 23b
The engagement between the bottom portion 35 and the free end portion 34 of the swing arm 33 is always maintained.

The sensor body 22 assembled with these members is covered with a casing 46.

A hole 51 is formed in a portion of the sensor body 22 in front of the firing pin 29 set in the guide hole 28 and across the lower portion of the guide hole 28. And in this hole 51,
A slide pin 52 as a setting means having a substantially round bar shape is fitted. The slide pin 52 includes an axial groove 53 formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof and a projection 54 formed on the inner surface of the hole 51.
The rotation of the sensor body is prevented by the engagement with
The compression coil spring 55 is always elastically biased in a direction to be retracted into the sensor 22, and most of the sensor is retracted into the sensor body 22 when an external force does not act on the slide pin 52.

A flat surface 56 having an appropriate axial length is formed on the upper surface on the inner end side of the slide pin 52, and a recess 58 having a U-shaped cross section is formed on the pendulum-side surface of the intermediate portion. . Further, the slide pin 52 has one end protruding from one side surface of the casing 46, and the pin 52a protrudingly provided at the end thereof.
The fork claw 16a formed on the upper end of the lever member 16 is engaged with this. The lever member 16 can slide in the axial direction within a predetermined range in association with the tilting movement of the lever member 16 according to the winding amount of the seat belt 2.

On the other hand, projections 57a and 57b are respectively provided on the front end faces of the side portions of the pendulums 23a and 23b facing the slide pin 52 toward the outer peripheral surface of the slide pin 52.

Next, the operation procedure of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

When the occupant is seated and the seat belt 2 is pulled out from the ELR device 3 so as to be passed over the body, the winding amount of the seat belt 2 is reduced. Here, a torsion coil spring 18 that urges the lower end of the lever member 16 against the web surface of the seat belt 2
Is a compression coil spring that biases the slide pin 52 inward.
Since the elastic force is set to be larger than 55, the lever member 16 tilts to the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
52 is displaced outward following the displacement of the fork claw 16a at the upper end of the lever member.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, the flat surface 56 at the inner end of the slide pin 52 is aligned with the guide hole 28, and at the same time, the left projection 52a of each pendulum 23a, 23b in FIG.
The inner end of the slide pin 52 is disengaged from the position of 57b, and the recess 58 faces the right protrusions 57a and 57b. Therefore, the movements of both the pendulums 23a and 23b and the firing pin 29 are not hindered.

Under this condition, when deceleration of a predetermined value or more acts in the vehicle traveling direction, the bias springs 44a and 44b corresponding to the respective decelerations are applied.
The inertial force of the pendulums 23a and 23b overcomes the urging force of the pendulums 23a and 23b, and the pendulums 23a and 23b tilt so as to swing out the lower ends thereof toward the front. As a result, the U-shaped end 41 of the trigger arm 37 engages with the protruding piece 42 of the outer pendulum 23a (FIG. 6), or the free end 34 of the swing arm 33 and the bottom 35 of the inner pendulum 23b engage. At least one of the engagements (FIG. 7) is released. Then, the restraint force acting on the trigger arm 37 is released, and the firing pin 29 pushes away the open end 39 of the trigger arm 37 by the elastic force given from the coil spring 32, and is installed inside the power generation device 5. It is ejected toward the detonator F.

When the tip 30 of the firing pin 29 hits the detonator F, the propellant B is ignited, and the explosive pressure at this time gives a thrust force to the piston body incorporated in the power generation device 5, and the traction device 4 through the cable 14. Rotates and the seat belt 2 is retracted (arrow D in FIG. 2).

On the other hand, when the seat belt 2 is not used and the winding amount of the seat belt 2 with respect to the ELR device 3 is a predetermined amount or more, the lever member 16 tilts to the position shown by the phantom line in FIG. Displaces inward. Such a safety device 15
As shown in FIG. 3, the protrusions 57a and 57b of the two pendulums 23a and 23b have the slide pins 52 under
Since the pendulums 23a and 23b cannot be displaced because they interfere with the outer surface of the, the firing pin 29 is not ejected. Also, if the trigger arm 37 is damaged, each pendulum 23a
When the restraint of the firing pin 29 is released regardless of the displacement of 23b, the outer surface of the slide pin 52 interferes with the path of the firing pin 29, and this also prevents the firing of the firing pin 29.

As described above, according to the present invention, with an extremely simple structure,
The collision detection device does not operate when the seat belt is not used, which is very effective in preventing unnecessary operation of the preloader device.

Moreover, according to the structure described above, the operation of the safety device is performed in conjunction with the operation of the seat belt, so that the operability is not complicated. Further, since the collision detection device does not operate unless the occupant uses the seat belt, for example, it is prevented that the collision detection device malfunctions due to a shock when the door is suddenly closed, and the reliability of the collision detection device is improved. It is effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an elevation view showing a state in which a seat belt preloader device is attached to a vehicle body center pillar, with a part thereof being cut away, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a surface on the opposite side of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view showing an embodiment of the collision detection device according to the present invention with a part thereof being cut away, FIG. 4 is a front view showing a working state of the safety device, and FIG. It is a front view which shows a safety device release state. 6 and 7 are operation explanatory views showing a collision detection state. 1 ... Seat belt preloader device, 2 ... Seat belt, 3 ... ELR device, 4 ... Towing device, 5 ... Power generation device, 6 ... Collision detection device, 10 ... Frame, 11 ... Pulley , 12 …… Ratchet mechanism, 13 …… Clamp mechanism, 14
...... Cable, 15 ...... Safety device, 16 ...... Lever member, 17
…… Axis, 18 …… Torsion coil spring, 19 …… Stopper, 22
...... Sensor body, 23a ・ 23b ...... Pendulum, 28 ...... Guide hole, 29 ...... Tactile needle, 30 ...... Point, 31 ...... Plunger, 32 ...
… Coil spring, 33 …… Swing arm, 37 …… Trigger arm, 51 …… Hole, 52 …… Slide pin, 53 …… Axial groove, 54 …… Protrusion, 55 …… Compression coil spring, 56 …… Flat Surface, 57a / 57b ... Protrusion, 58 ... Recess

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-285439 (JP, A) JP-A-2-189253 (JP, A) JP-A-3-96456 (JP, A) Actual development Sho-60- 115158 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A retractor device for retracting a seat belt when not in use, a preloader device for tensioning the seat belt to increase the restraining force of an occupant when a vehicle collides, and a deceleration of a predetermined value or more acts on the vehicle. A safety device for an occupant restraint system, comprising: a collision detection device having a weight whose upper end is pivotally supported to actuate the pre-loader device to detect the fact that the preloader device is activated and which is elastically supported in a floating manner. A detection means that is displaceable in the radial direction of the retracting shaft of the retractor device in accordance with the amount of retracting the seat belt in order to detect that the seat belt has been pulled out; And a non-moving state for selectively setting the setting means displaceable between a position that prevents displacement of the weight due to a collision impact and a position that does not prevent displacement of the weight, and a displacement of the detection means. A lever member pivotally supported in a seesaw manner at an intermediate portion thereof so that the collision detection device can be operated only when the seat belt is fed out by being transmitted to the setting means. Safety device for occupant restraint systems.