Autoliv Asp, Incorporated

Trw Vehicle Safety Systems Inc.

Timothy J Cahill

Jon E Burrow

Jeff A Russell

Bin Wang

Robert P Ellis

Keith R Ball

Carl M Petersen, Iii

Robert E Ver Hoven

Matthias Bäker

Christopher S Koprowicz

Michael Dziengowski

Charles W Sorenson

Regis Dutell

A tongue for a motor vehicle seat belt restraint system providing high friction restraining belt webbing transfer through the tongue in an impact condition. The tongue incorporates a deformable element which maintains the webbing away from contact with high friction elements in the normal use of the belt system. In a crash condition in which significant tension loads are applied to the belt webbing, the deformable element yields to provide contact between the belt webbing and a high friction surface which restricts the transfer of the webbing from the shoulder belt portion of the webbing to the let belt portion of the webbing which is normally more highly loaded in an impact condition. Several embodiments of deformable elements are described.

Grip tongue latch plate for seatbelt

A guide that can be included as part of a pretensioner for a motor vehicle belt restraint system. The pretensioner includes a frame having walls that define an interior compartment. Located within the interior compartment is a piston assembly having a gas generator in communication with a piston. The gas generator creates an expanding gas that causes movement of the piston and applies tension to a seatbelt of the belt restraint system. The guide includes an opening through which the seatbelt passes and that causes the seatbelt to form a reduced width configuration upon exiting the guide.

Reduced width linear pretensioner for motor vehicle seatbelt restraint systems

A slider bar for use with two-door style motor vehicles for anchoring the lap belt for front seat occupants. The slider bar allows the lower anchorage point of the lap belt to freely move in the fore and aft direction to enhance rear seat compartment passenger ingress and egress. The slider bar further incorporates a pyrotechnic lap pretensioner (PLP) function for exerting pretensioning motion of the lap belt in response to a vehicle impact. The slider bar incorporates an internal piston which acts on the belt webbing position on the outside of the slider bar tube. Various embodiments are described incorporating alternate means of mounting the lap belt lower end to the slider bar, as well as various configurations for transferring the motion of the internal piston to the lap belt lower anchorage.

Pyrotechnic lap belt pretensioner with slider bar function

A linear seat belt pretensioner () has a frame () and an axial cavity () rigidly connected to the frame (), a gas generator () in fluid communication with the axial cavity (), and a piston () movably arranged in the axial cavity (). An actuating profile () movable with the piston () pulls a length of seat belt webbing () into the frame () that corresponds to twice the piston stroke (D). The pretensioner device having a locking ramp arrangement () configured to form a one-way clutch allowing an increase and resisting a reduction of the length of belt webbing () received by the pretensioner ().

Linear seat belt pretensioner

A locking tongue seat belt assembly includes a tongue plate with a pair of side portions, an end flange that extends along the rear of the tongue plate, a pair of spaced apart side flanges that extend from the tongue plate along respective side portions of the tongue plate, and a lock bar that extends between the two side flanges. The ends of the lock bar are guided in respective slots of the side flanges such that the lock bar is movable between a locked position and an unlocked position. The lock bar and the end flange are configured to receive seat belt webbing between the lock bar and the end flange. The seat belt webbing is cinched between the lock bar and the end flange when the lock bar is in the locked position.

Free falling locking tongue

A seat belt buckle (16) for use with a seat belt pretensioner (30) has an inertia locking mechanism (52). A latch member (64) in the buckle (16) has a locking position for engaging a seat belt locking tongue (14) to block removal of the tongue (14) from the buckle (16). A pushbutton (22) moves the latch member (64) out of the locking position against a bias of a spring (70). The inertia locking mechanism (52) includes a blocking structure (82) which moves into blocking contact with the latch member (64) in response to a predetermined amount of deceleration which occurs when the buckle (16) decelerates and stops moving under the influence of the pretensioner (30).

Seat belt buckle with inertia locking mechanism

A pretensioner (40) is connected with a seat belt buckle (32) and is operable to move the buckle through a pretensioning stroke to remove slack from a seat belt. Movement of an actuator member (36) from an unactuated position to an actuated position under the influence of its own inertia at the end of a pretensioning stroke is resisted by a pair of counterbalance assemblies (162, 164) disposed in the buckle (32). The counterbalance assemblies (162, 164) include masses (168, 176) having inertia which results in the application of force against counterbalance cams (212, 232) connected with the actuator member (36). This force resists movement of the actuator member (36) to an actuated position at the end of the pretensioning stroke. Upon the application of manual force against an outer end portion of the actuator member (36) to release the buckle, the masses (168, 176) are pivoted by the counterbalance cams (232, 212). Cam followers (196) connected with the masses then slide along longitudinally extending side surfaces (216, 240) of the counterbalance cams (212, 232). The counterbalance masses (168, 176) are mounted between elongated sections (132, 134, 148 and 150) of the actuator member (36).

Growing community of inventors

Dryden, MI, United States of America

Timothy J Cahill