Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Hideki Tanaka

Kenji Matsui

Seiji Nishide

Kouji Sakakura

Yuji Nishimura

Tatsushi Kubota

Noritada Yoshitsugu

Jun Yasumatsu

Yoshio Tsujiuchi

Fuminori Teraoka

Mitsuaki Katsuno

Yasutaka Watanabe

Tatsuo Yamashita

Masahiro Isobe

Toshio Gyoda

Kunihiro Hurumoto

Tatsuo Yamashitas

Katsuo Sakurai

Sumio Okazaki

A steering device equipped with an air bag, in which the air bag is completely inflated and expanded in a state in which a steering wheel has been moved in a direction toward a driver when a vehicle suddenly decelerates. The steering device equipped with the air bag has a driving device which tilts the steering wheel toward the driver when the vehicle suddenly decelerates and includes a pawl, a tilt cam, a connected member, a wire, and a pretensioner and a holding device which maintains a tilted state of the steering wheel and includes a lock member and a lock plate. When the vehicle suddenly decelerates, the wire is pulled, the tilt cam rotates, and the pawl moves away from a steering support. The steering wheel is tilted a maximum amount toward the driver, this state is maintained by the holding device, and the air bag inflates and expands. Accordingly, the steering wheel is oriented toward the driver and an expanded air bag is oriented toward the driver such that kinetic energy of the driver is effectively absorbed.

Steering device equipped with air bag

A shoulder anchor structure capable of reliably absorbing energy when a predetermined large load acts thereon and also capable of adjusting its energy absorption characteristic according to vehicle model. The shoulder anchor structure includes an energy absorbing member having a pair of deformation amplifying portions formed thereon. The deformation amplifying portions ensure a predetermined displacement stroke of an intermediate portion of the energy absorbing member. Further, the deformation amplifying portions can deform so as to absorb a load acting on an occupant during a secondary collision. Accordingly, there is no fear of separation of the energy absorbing member from a pillar inner panel before a predetermined amount of energy is absorbed. This makes it possible to reliably absorb the load acting on the occupant during the secondary collision.

Energy absorbing shoulder anchor structure

A reversing preventing device for preventing the reversing of an object which is driven during a sudden deceleration of a vehicle includes: a gear which rotates and is connected to a driving member for driving the object; a pawl for preventing rotation of the gear, the pawl being supported by a base in such a manner as to be able to mesh with the gear, the pawl meshing with the gear when the object is tending to reverse; and a receiving portion provided in the base at a portion different from a portion for supporting the pawl, the receiving portion being adapted to receive part of a load acting on the pawl. Accordingly, the load acting on the pawl is dispersed to the portion for supporting the pawl and the receiving portion.

Reversing preventing device

A shoulder anchor structure having: a slip joint disposed at a vehicle inner side of a side wall of a vehicle, and supporting a longitudinal direction intermediate portion of a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant; and an anchor bolt fixed to the side wall in a state of passing through the slip joint, and supporting the slip joint, the shoulder anchor structure featuring: a slip joint cover fixed to the slip joint with a predetermined gap being formed between the slip joint cover and a vehicle inner side direction end portion of the anchor bolt so as to cover at least the vehicle inner side direction end portion of the anchor bolt, the slip joint cover deforming due to load from a vehicle inner side so as to absorb the load; and a garnish disposed between the side wall and the slip joint with a predetermined gap being formed between the garnish and the side wall, the garnish deforming due to load from the slip joint so as to absorb the load. Accordingly, load applied from the vehicle inner side to the slip joint cover is absorbed both by the slip joint cover and by the garnish.

Shoulder anchor structure

A preloader apparatus retracts, upon quick deceleration of a vehicle, a buckle apparatus with which a tongue plate for supporting a webbing is engaged so as to fasten the webbing onto an occupant of the vehicle. The preloader apparatus has a flexible wire connected to the buckle apparatus and used to retract the buckle apparatus and a supporting member which supports the wire so as to maintain a predetermined portion of the wire in the standing state and whose supporting function is canceled upon retraction of the buckle apparatus. Accordingly, the buckle apparatus can be maintained in a predetermined standing state.

Preloader apparatus

A preloader apparatus which retracts a buckle upon quick deceleration of a vehicle to tighten a webbing, and then restores the buckle to a position of ordinary vehicle running, to contemplate the improvement in operability of an operation button. The buckle is retracted upon quick deceleration of a vehicle from an ordinary protracted position to a retracted position through wires wound around a drum. After that, when a buckle-retracting force decreases and becomes smaller than a buckle-protracting force, a force F corresponding to a difference between the both acts on a projection, and the projection is broken. Although a meshing portion of a pawl meshes with an external tooth of an external gear to prevent the external gear from rotation in a direction of buckle protraction, the breakage allows the drum to rotate in the direction of buckle protraction, and the buckle can be restored to the protracted position. Projections abut against a stopper at the protracted position, and the buckle is prevented from further protraction.

When gas is generated in an emergency situation of a vehicle and a cylinder is driven, one of wires rotates a pulley via a small diameter portion of the pulley. For this reason, the other wire connected to a large diameter portion of the pulley has a length wound around the large diameter portion, which is longer than that of the one wire. A drive stroke of the cylinder is increased and transmitted to a seat belt buckle. As a result, even if the cylinder is of a small size, a long pulling stroke is applied to a seat belt.

Buckle retractor

When a vehicle accelerates to a predetermined value, a pretensioner mounted to an occupant seat applies a pulling force to a seat belt under a force produced by detonating an explosive material. When the seat is moved in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle in order to adjust the position and the seat comes to a halt at a frontal end position, an acceleration more than or equal to the predetermined value is developed in an acceleration sensor. However, the acceleration sensor is provided with a lock means mounted to the seat. Even if the seat suddenly stops at the frontal end position, the acceleration sensor is restrained from moving and the pretensioner is not actuated. The lock means is actuated even when a walk-in mechanism for directly moving the seat to the frontal end is operated.

Device for controlling acceleration sensor

An automatic seatbelt system for a vehicle, which is designed to restrain the body of an occupant when an emergency situation of the vehicle occurs, has a slider which retains one end of a webbing and which is movable along a guide rail laid on the body of the vehicle between a position at which the webbing is fastened to the occupant's body (hereinafter referred to as a 'webbing fastening position') and a position at which the webbing is unfastened therefrom (hereinafter referred to as a 'webbing unfastening position'), and a continuous member for moving the slider between the above-described two positions. The continuous member and the slider are allowed to move relative to each other by a predetermined amount. In addition, a member is provided at an end of the guide rail on the side thereof which is closer to the webbing fastening position, the member being adapted such that, when the slider is moved to the webbing fastening position, the member inhibits the slider from moving toward the webbing unfastening position, whereas, when the continuous member moves from the webbing fastening position toward the webbing unfastening position, the member is actuated by virtue of the relative movement occurring between the continuous member and the slider so as to allow the slider to move toward the webbing unfastening position. Accordingly, when the slider is at the webbing fastening position, it is inhibited from moving along the guide rail.

Automatic seatbelt system for vehicle

A webbing retaining structure is employed in an automatic seatbelt system for a vehicle which is so designed that one end portion of a webbing which is closer to the outside of the vehicle is moved in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the webbing is thereby automatically fastened to the body of an occupant. A first member which retains the end portion of the webbing is pivotally supported by a second member which is mounted on the vehicle body. A combination of a projection and recesses in which it is selectively fitted is provided between the first and second members. The angle at which the webbing is retained by the vehicle body can be adjusted by changing the position of combination between the projection and the recesses.

Webbing retaining structure

A belt stretching mechanism to adjust the tension in a belt wound around pulleys by turning an adjust bolt and moving a slider which is fastened together with a stay to an adjust bar by means of a stay-fastening bolt, wherein the axis of the adjust bolt and the axis of the stay-fastening bolt are in the same plane, so that no bending moment acts on the adjust bolt and smooth tensioning of V-belt is ensured.

Belt stretching mechanism

A slider for an automatic seat belt arrangement includes a slider main body which can be readily manufactured at low cost in an efficient manner, and yet, is capable of having sufficient strength for use in a motor vehicle.

Slider for automatic seat belt arrangement

A seatbelt system which automatically fastens and unfastens a passenger restraining belt about a passenger including a slider to which is fastened one end of the passenger restraining belt, a guide rail fastened along the body of the vehicle which guides the slider and which has one portion which is vertical, a drive system for moving the slider along the guide rail, a pawl for engagement with the slider when the slider is guided into the vertical portion of the guide rail and an acceleration detector for causing the pawl to engage with the slider during a vehicular emergency whereby movement of the slider is prevented and the belt is maintained in a fastened condition even during a vehicular roll over.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi-ken, Japan

Hideki Tanaka