Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Takashi Kawaharazaki

Toshiaki Shimogawa

Masayuki Morita

Yuji Nishimura

Noritada Yoshitsugu

Kenji Matsui

Jun Yasumatsu

Keiichi Tamura

Katsuki Asagiri

Hiroshi Tsuge

Yasutaka Watanabe

Shinji Mori

Toshihiro Takei

Tatsushi Kubota

Fuminori Teraoka

Akinori Fujiwara

Makoto Yamada

Toshio Gyoda

Eiji Takakuwa

Koubun Tanaka

Kobun Tanaka

An automatic seat belt system in which a slider supported by a guide rail and adapted to be worn by a vehicle occupant is moved from a webbing-application canceling position to a webbing applying position so as to apply the webbing around the occupant. The automatic seat belt system includes a slider holding portion for retaining the slider at the webbing applying position and movable along the guide rail in the retaining state, and a lock pin for retaining the slider holding member onto a chassis by being inserted in a hole provided in the chassis and for setting the slider holding member in a movable state as the lock pin is pulled out of the hole. Also provided is a controller for moving the slider by a predetermined distance from the webbing applying position toward the webbing-application canceling position by reversely rotating the motor before the lock pin is pulled out of the hole. Accordingly, when the lock pin is pulled out of the hole, a large frictional force does not act between the lock pin and an inner peripheral portion of the hole.

Automatic seat belt system

An apparatus for driving an intermediate portion of a webbing for use in a seatbelt system for restraining an occupant of a vehicle by means of a webbing having one end accommodated in a webbing accommodating device through a biasing force is arranged to withdraw the webbing from the accommodating device in opposition to the biasing force. Accordingly, when an occupant is to apply the webbing to himself by withdrawing it from the accommodating device, the webbing can be withdrawn and applied with a small manual force.

Apparatus for driving an intermediate portion of webbing

Disclosed is an automatic seatbelt apparatus which is capable of automatically applying, or canceling the application of, a webbing around an occupant of a vehicle, wherein a limit switch for detecting that a slider, which guides the webbing along a guide rail between a stopping position on the forward side and a stopping position on the rearward side of the vehicle, has arrived at the stopping position on the forward side of the vehicle is disposed in such a manner as not to hamper any further movement of the slider toward the front of the vehicle. Accordingly, the stopping position of the slider on the rearward side of the vehicle can be changed regardless of the stopping position at which the slider is located.

Automatic seatbelt apparatus

Disclosed is an automatic seatbelt apparatus which is capable of automatically applying, or canceling the application of, a webbing around an applicant of a vehicle as a slider to which one end of the webbing is retained along a guide rail disposed in the vicinity of the roof of the vehicle is moved in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle via a flexible elongated member driven by the driving force of a driving means. A switch, when located in its webbing-application position, is adapted to stop a motor by detecting the application of the webbing and is so disposed at this time as to be capable of moving in accordance with the bending of a flexible guide member. Accordingly, since the switch can be moved when the guide member bends, the webbing-application position can be altered even in the webbing-applied state.

An apparatus for driving a wire for actuating a webbing of an automatic seatbelt system includes a guide member and guide means. The guide member is prevented from rotating relative to a rotary drum on which the wire is wound, but allowed to move in the axial direction of the drum. One end of the wire is retained by the guide member, and this guide member is moved in response to the rotation of the rotary drum by the action of the guide means. Accordingly, the wire is tightly or closely wound on the rotary drum at all times.

Webbing driving apparatus

A tension apparatus for tensing a webbing of a seatbelt system for a vehicle in an emergency situation of the vehicle, thereby allowing the webbing to be tightly fitted to the occupant's body. When an emergency situation of the vehicle occurs, a relatively large spiral spring for rotating a webbing take-up shaft with a relatively strong force so that the webbing is wound up is connected to a worm wheel. A worm which is subjected to a force for winding up the large spiral spring is movable between a position at which it is engaged with the worm wheel and a position at which it is separated therefrom. Accordingly, the worm is engaged with the worm wheel only when the large spiral spring is to be wound up, and there is no risk of the worm obstructing the operation of the large spiral spring at the time of an emergency situation of the vehicle.

Tension apparatus

In a webbing lock device, there are provided a pair of lock members for clamping the intermediate portion of an occupant restraining webbing so as to bring an occupant into a restrained state in the event of an emergency situation of a vehicle, and resin material deformable in accordance with irregularities on the surfaces of the webbing, when the webbing is clamped, is provided on the surface of at least one of the lock members, whereby frictional resistances between the webbing and the lock members are increased and concentration of stress is avoided.

Webbing lock device

A lock ring journalled on a takeup shaft for winding an occupant restraining webbing is adapted to guide a plurality of lock plates provided around the takeup shaft in directions opposite to each other, and an engageable device subjected to a turning force of the takeup shaft in an emergency situation of a vehicle drives the lock plates in directions opposite to each other due to a lag in rotation of the lock ring from the takeup shaft and pushes the lock plates against an internally toothed ratchet wheel to thereby stop the takeup shaft from rotating in the webbing unwinding direction.

Webbing retractor

An improved buckle arrangement for a seat belt for use in a motor vehicle or the like in which retaining portions provided on a frame of the buckle for retaining a locking member are formed into a plate-like shape, while the face of the retaining portions at the side for contacting the locking member are inclined so that, when a force is applied to a tongue portion of the seat belt in the direction of withdrawal, a component force in a direction for unlocking is produced on the tongue portion member, and thus, the locking may be released by a small operating force, even when the unlocking is effected under the state where the tongue portion is subjected to the force in the direction of withdrawal.

Buckle arrangement for seat belts

A webbing locking device for clamping the intermediate portion of an occupant restraining portion by means of a pair of friction members provided on a frame and a lock lever, respectively, in an emergency of a vehicle, including a roller, around which the intermediate portion of the webbing is guided. This roller smoothly guides the webbing by use of holding means during normal running condition of a vehicle, however, in an emergency of the vehicle, moves in the radial direction thereof to come into contact with frictional contact means to thereby be subjected to a friction resistance, whereby a tension in the webbing in the clamped portion is reduced, so that the webbing in the clamped portion can avoid breakage.

Webbing locking device

A buckling device for a vehicle seat belt comprises a locking portion arranged within a buckle so as to lock a tongue plate, a lock controlling mechanism to selectively hold said locking in a locked position where it is engageable with said tongue plate and in an unlocked position where it is unengageable with said tongue plate, and an actuating unit to dislodge the locking condition between said tongue plate and said locking portion. With the structure as stated, the lock controlling mechanism is adapted to move said locking portion from the unlocked position to the locked position associated with the inserting operation of said tongue plate into said buckle, while return said locking portion to the original unlocked position associated with the unlocking operation by unit of said actuating means.

Buckling device for vehicle seat belt

A seat belt retracting and winding device in which a seat belt may be automatically retracted and wound on a winding reel under restoring or unwinding spring force of spiral springs. A cylindrical ratchet wheel is coaxially rotatably supported on a shaft of a winding reel, and is covered with a case attached to one of the side plates of a frame of the device. There are provided a first spiral spring disposed in a doughnut-shaped space defined between the case and the ratchet wheel, and a second spiral spring disposed in the ratchet wheel. The first spring has one end fixed to the case and the other end fixed to the ratchet wheel, while the second spring has one end fixed to the ratchet wheel and the other end fixed to the shaft of the reel. The ratchet wheel is formed with a plurality of ratchet teeth on its periphery, and a ratchet is pivotally disposed in the case for releasable engagement with the ratchet wheel teeth. While the seat belt is being paid out both the first and the second springs are wound, however, after the seat belt has been fastened to the vehicle occupant the engagement of the ratchet with the ratchet wheel locks the ratchet wheel against rotation, thereby preventing the first spring from exerting the unwinding spring force to the winding reel, thus reducing unpleasant restraining force applied to the vehicle occupant.

Seat belt retracting and winding device

A seat belt winding apparatus for a vehicle comprises a winding reel and spring means having one end connected to the winding reel and the other end connected to a stationary part of the apparatus. The spring means is constituted by two spiral springs connected to each other though an interposed ratchet gear rotatably mounted on a stationary part of the apparatus. There is provided for controlling rotation of the ratchet gear controlling means which includes a pawl adapted to releasably engage with the ratchet gear, electro-magnetic means for selectively actuating the pawl and a switch which responds to the states of the vehicle to selectively energize the electro-magnetic actuator means, thereby to control the combined force of the first and second springs in dependence on whether the pawl is engaged with the ratchet gear or not and hence in dependence upon the prevailing states of the vehicle.

Seat belt winding and retracting apparatus

An emergency buckle device used in a seatbelt system wherein the outer end of an occupant restraining webbing is engaged with a door, whereby the intermediate portion of the webbing is adapted to approach or recede from the seated occupant in accordance with the closing or opening action of the door so as to automatically fasten the webbing to or unfasten same from the occupant. A tonque plate secured to the outer end of the webbing is inserted into a main body of the buckle, where said tongue plate is held in a clamp like manner between a lock pin and a release pin. When the tongue plate is to be inserted, the lock pin is separated from the release pin to form therebetween a path for receiving the tongue plate, and, when the tongue plate is to be extracted, the release pin is separated from the lock pin to form therebetween a path for allowing the tongue plate to escape therethrough, so that the device as a whole can be rendered compact in size and an anchor point for the outer end of the webbing can be disposed comparatively backwardly in the vehicle.

Emergency buckle device

A pair of lock members are provided for directly locking the intermediate portion of an occupant restraining webbing, and at least one of said pair of lock members is provided at the clamping surface thereof with a curvature, whereby a sharp change in tension in the clamped webbing is avoided to prevent the webbing from being ruptured, thus enabling to reliably restrain an occupant.

Growing community of inventors

Toyoake, Japan

Takashi Kawaharazaki