Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Denso Corporation

Mutsumasa Koujiya

Kazuyoshi Isaji

Yutaka Ohasi

Shinichi Iwai

Toshihiro Takei

Yoshihisa Ogata

Tadashi Ozaki

Shingo Wanami

Seiya Ide

Kyojiro Suzuki

Yutaka Ohashi

Minoru Fujioka

Hirokazu Kato

A passenger-protecting device such as an air-bag system is activated upon detection of a vehicle lateral inclination angle exceeding a predetermined critical level. Such detection is performed by a lateral inclination detector having a pair of gravitational acceleration sensors for detecting a static road inclination and an angular velocity sensor for detecting a dynamic roll angle of the vehicle. Sensing directions of the pair of gravitational acceleration sensors are positioned to cross each other with a right angle and to make an angle of 45&deg; with respect to a vehicle floor. The dynamic roll angle is calculated by integrating outputs of the angular velocity sensor. The vehicle inclination angle is obtained to summing up the static inclination angle and the roll angle. The passenger-protecting device is timely activated to protect passengers from overturn impact of the vehicle.

Lateral inclination angle detector for passenger-protecting device for use in automotive vehicle

An air bag system comprises an air bag having an opening through which gas is supplied. The air bag is folded in a predetermined polygonal shape and is then contained in a pad. An expansion restraining member is provided in the air bag system. The expansion restraining member temporarily holds a peripheral portion of the folded air bag so as to suppress rapid expansion thereof when the air bag is developed. Because the expansion of the peripheral portion is delayed by the expansion restraining member, it is possible to prevent the air bag from developing in the straight thin form toward a passenger. That is, the air bag can be developed in a round shape from its center portion when the gas is supplied into the air bag.

Air bag system

A seat belt tensioner includes a wire, a spring retainer connected to a seat belt buckle by the wire, a casing within which the spring retainer is linearly movable, a primary coil spring contacting the spring retainer, a leaf spring for limiting movement of the spring retainer, a secondary coil spring, and a mass body supported relative to the spring retainer through the secondary coil spring in the direction in which an inertial force is applied. The mass body is moved against the action of the secondary coil spring when a predetermined deceleration is applied, the mass body slides and the primary coil spring is released.

Seat belt tensioner

A seat belt fastening device has a seat belt buckle and a single casing in which a compression coil spring for pulling in slack of the seat belt is positioned between a retainer and a flange of a guide member. An inertial mass member is slidably disposed in the guide member. The coil spring is connected by a wire to a pulley unit through the retainer and guide member. The seat belt buckle is connected to the pulley unit by a wire. The wire is usually wound to the pulley unit which is locked by a control lever. When the inertial mass member moves under excessive deceleration, it drives operation levers and the control lever to unlock the pulley unit. As a result, the wire is pulled out from the pulley unit by the released compression spring. Incidentally, the wire is wound to the pulley unit so that the buckle is retracted into the casing and the slack of the seat belt is reduced.

Seat belt fastening device

An arresting hook plate extending from a seatbelt buckle is attached to a buckle plate so that it moves freely along a straight line. When inertia force acts on the mass body inside a pull-in section casing, it leaves a lock state and is caused to move by the spring biasing force. The arresting hook plate attached to the mass body by a wire is caused to be pulled in along with movement of the mass body. A pair of locking pawls included on the buckle plate prevent movement of the arresting hook plate in a pull-out direction when they are in a locked position. There is also an locking pawl holder which is used to select and set the locking or release of the locking pawls. If the locking of the locking pawls is released so that the mass body is returned to the origin position against the spring biasing force by means of the arresting hook plate via the wire, the mass body is placed again in a lock state due to the retainer.

Seat belt tightening device

A tensioning device is provided to realize compactness and simplification of device structure and causes mountability to be improved. A tensioning mechanism to rapidly tension one end of an interconnecting member when deceleration of a vehicle is applied, a reversing-prevention hook plate supported rotatably freely on an arm plate, a buckle joined freely rotatably at a position most proximate to a seat belt in a direction of tension action of the seat belt within a plate surface of the reversing-prevention hook plate, and a reversing-prevention claw to restrict reverse rotation of the reversing-prevention hook plate after the interconnecting member has been pulled out are provided, and a base end of the foregoing arm plate is joined freely rotatably to a frame member. During tensioning operation, the arm plate rotates in the direction of tensioning of the interconnecting member, and along with this the reversing-prevention hook plate rotates in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of the arm plate while pulling out the interconnecting member.

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Toyota, Japan

Mutsumasa Koujiya