Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Yasuho Kitazawa

Tomonori Nagata

Kazuhiko Aihara

Hitoshi Takamatsu

Masaki Yasuda

Toshio Nakashima

Kenji Matsui

Shinji Mori

Toshimasa Yamamoto

Seiji Hori

Katsuki Asagiri

Sumikazu Sasaki

Makoto Sekizuka

Takuya Nezaki

Kazuyoshi Ishiguro

Kiyoka Matsubayashi

Yasutaka Watanabe

Seiji Nishide

Keiichi Kato

Takeaki Kato

Shigekazu Imanaka

Keiichi Katoh

Naohiro Tsukiyama

Kenji Gotou

A webbing take-up device comprising: a take-up shaft that takes up a webbing belt; a metal frame that axially supports the take-up shaft; and a lock mechanism comprising a lock plate that blocks rotation in the pullout direction of the webbing of the take-up shaft by engaging the take-up shaft directly or indirectly. The lock plate is formed by performing press-punch and press-bend processing on a metal plate and has a connecting portion formed so that one end side thereof is continuous with a lock, which engages the take-up shaft. The connecting portion spans between one side and the other side of the frame.

Webbing take-up device

In a pretensioner device, engaging teeth of a pinion (rotating body) have first projections which project-out toward the other side in the peripheral direction of a cam portion. Meshing claws of a clutch plate have second projections which project-out toward a one side in the peripheral direction of the cam portion, and whose gear portion side end surfaces face the first projections. In a state before operation of the pretensioner device, movement of the clutch plate toward one side in the axial direction with respect to the pinion is restricted due to the second projections engaging with the first projections. Accordingly, in the pretensioner device, in the state before operation, even if some type of external force is applied to the clutch plate, positional offset of the clutch plate toward the one side in the axial direction with respect to the pinion can be prevented.

Pretensioner device

A webbing retractor which can prevent gas, which is for rotating a take-up shaft in a take-up direction, from affecting other structural parts. In the webbing retractor, when a pretensioner mechanism operates, gas for operation within a cylinder is exhausted toward a pinion via a gas venting hole formed in a flange portion of a piston. Because a blocking wall is provided between the pinion and an acceleration sensor, exhausted gas passes between the pinion and the blocking wall, and is exhausted to an outer side of the webbing retractor from an upper end side of a cover plate or the like. In this way, blowing-out of the exhausted gas onto the acceleration sensor is blocked, and the exhausted gas can be prevented from affecting the acceleration sensor.

Webbing retractor

A fixture is disclosed which can reliably attach an attachment member, such as a cylinder, to an attachment site, such as a frame. The fixture includes a fixing portion, which faces the attachment site at the side of the attachment site and is fixed to the attachment site, and a contact portion, which is disposed at the side opposite from the attachment site, with the attachment member therebetween. The contact portion is integrally coupled to the fixing portion, point-contacts or line-contacts the attachment member, and is configured to push the attachment member to the attachment site in a state where the fixing portion is fixed to the attachment site. A webbing take-up device including this fixture is also disclosed.

Fixture and webbing take-up device

A pinion of a pretensioner is provided at a side of a torsion shaft, which side is opposite a side connected integrally to a spool via a sleeve. A base lock of a lock mechanism is connected to the pinion. Due to the lock mechanism operating, a leg plate side end portion of the torsion shaft is locked. In this way, due to operation of the pretensioner, the pinion, which is connected to a rotating portion of a sleeve, also is locked by the locking mechanism. Therefore, a piston of the pretensioner is not lowered, and internal pressure of a cylinder does not affect deformation of the torsion shaft.

A webbing retractor is provided. When assembled, due to a positional relationship which is such that insert-in portions are formed between a tubular portion of a lock base and a spool shaft, grooves are formed at the tubular portion and a portion of the spool shaft. An elastically deformable terminal end portion is formed at a stopper which is press-fit into an insert-in hole. In a state in which the stopper also is installed, not only press-in load in a thrusting direction, but also press-in load in a radial direction is applied between the lock base and a spool such that a structure is fixed.

A webbing retractor is provided. A wire for increasing force limiter load spans between a spool and a lock base. A concave groove is formed in one end portion of the wire. A push nut of a lock plate cover engages with the concave groove and the wire is fixed. One engagement piece of the push nut is longer than other engagement pieces so as to push the one end portion of the wire toward the other engagement pieces.

Shear ribs are formed at a bottom portion of a fitting hole of a spool for positioning a lock base, and respective end portions of the positioning portion abuts on a shear rib. Further, ribs are formed between the shear ribs. When the spool rotates in an unwinding direction with respect to the lock base, the end portion of the positioning portion deforms and breaks a shear rib, a rib and then another shear rib in that order. By being able to combine the effects of energy absorption due to deformation of the ribs with that of energy absorption due to twisting deformation of the torsion bar, a force limiter load immediately increases as soon as the spool starts to rotate.

A webbing retractor is disclosed. One end portion of a plate is fixed to a hollow cylindrical portion of a spool. An intermediate portion of the plate is entrained around an engaging pin and the like of a gear which can rotate relatively to the spool. A pawl provided at the gear abuts the plate, and is held at a position of non-engagement with stopper teeth against urging force of a coil spring. When the spool and the gear rotate relatively, the plate, whose widthwise dimension decreases toward a final end portion thereof, is taken-up onto the hollow cylindrical portion while being rubbed by the engaging pin and the like. A force limiter load in an energy absorbing process is decreased. The pawl, whose engagement with the plate is released, meshes with the stopper teeth such that rotation of the spool is impeded.

A webbing retractor comprises a spool around which a webbing capable of being unwound therefrom is wound; a pretensioner for rotating said spool in a webbing winding direction when a deceleration of a predetermined value or more is applied during a sudden deceleration of a vehicle; an energy absorbing member put in a coupled state with said spool, rotated integrally with said spool and deformed by said spool to prevent an increase in tension of the webbing when rotational force in a webbing unwinding direction acts upon said spool after said spool has been rotated in said webbing winding direction by said pretensioner; and a cancelling portion applied with the rotational force in said webbing unwinding direction via said energy absorbing member when the energy absorbing member is deformed by the rotational force in said webbing unwinding direction, for cancelling the state in which rotation of said spool in the webbing unwinding direction is stopped by said pretensioner. Therefore, after the spool is rotated in the webbing winding direction by the pretensioner, the spool is rotatable in the webbing unwinding direction.

There is provided a webbing take-up device in which a load required to rotate a spool in a webbing drawing direction with reference to a shaft is stabilized in the process of rotating the spool, a stable load can be achieved with small deformation, and miniaturization can be achieved. In an ordinary state, an EA plate keeps its original shape, and the shaft and spool are rotated together with each other. When the shaft is prevented from being rotated in the webbing drawing direction in vehicle sudden deceleration, the EA plate is plastically deformed by a webbing drawing force, and the EA plate is pushed in an internal-angle portion of the spool with rotation of the spool in the webbing drawing direction with reference to the shaft. The EA plate is bent by a U-shaped portion and then wound around the outer periphery of the shaft. The other end portion of the EA plate is pushed into the internal-angle portion at a winding start end portion of the EA plate around the shaft to prevent the subsequential rotation of the spool in the webbing drawing direction with reference to the shaft. Thus, when the webbing is prevented from being drawn, the webbing is drawn by a predetermined length, and energy absorption can be achieved.

In a push-type safety lever, a contact surface between a safety lever and a trigger lever is slanted. In a rotation-type safety lever, its circumferential surface is gradually increased in radiuses from an area in which a safety lever does not contact a trigger lever to an area in which it contacts the trigger lever. A mechanical ignition sensor is thereby provided so as to prevent the safety lever and the trigger lever from catching on each other and to reliably operate the safety device.

Mechanical ignition sensor

Upon a sudden deceleration of a vehicle, if an inertial body moves a predetermined amount against the urging force of a return spring, the trigger means will be released from engagement with the firing pin. Under the urging force of a spring, the firing pin is released from engagement with the trigger means, strikes and ignites a detonator so as to activate the actuator. The trigger means will not move until the inertial body has moved by the predetermined amount. Only after the inertial body has moved the predetermined amount, will the trigger means start to move suddenly and quickly. Therefore, friction at the time the inertial body engages the trigger means is kept constant. The stable operation of the sensor is thereby assured.

Mechanical sensor

In an automatic seat belt apparatus, a first tape is connected to a drive source. A second tape is connected to a slider and transmits a driving force from the drive source to the slider via the first tape. When a webbing is applied, a slide piece abuts a stopper. The slide piece moves relatively with respect to a lock plate against an urging force of a compression coil spring. Along with movement of the slide piece, the maintenance of the tapes at a connected position of the lock plate is cancelled. The lock plate rotates due to the urging force of the compression coil spring, and a separated position, at which the first tape and the second tape are separated, is maintained.

Automatic seat belt apparatus

A seat belt system has a plurality of seat belt units with buckle apparatuses each having a tongue plate and a buckle plate for receiving and engaging the tongue plate. The seat belt system includes a first tongue plate having a first insert portion, a first buckle body having a first ejector movable by the insertion of the first insert portion and a first lock plate operative in response to the movement of the first ejector and capable of locking the first insert portion, a second tongue plate having a second insert portion, and a second buckle body having a second ejector movable by the insertion of the second insert portion and a second lock plate operative in response to the movement of the second ejector and capable of locking the second insert portion. The first buckle body has a first insertion path with a restricted portion of a width smaller than that of the second insert portion. The lengths of the first and second insert portions in the direction of insertion and the lengths of the first and second ejectors in the direction of movement of the ejectors are determined to meet the conditions of: direction of length of first insert portion plus movable direction length of first ejector=direction of length of second insert portion plus movable direction length of second ejector; direction of length of second insertion portion&gt;direction of length of first insert portion; and movable direction length of first ejector&gt;movable direction length of second ejector. With this arrangement, erroneous insertion of the second tongue plate into the first buckle body is prevented, while erroneous insertion of the first tongue plate into the second buckle body cannot activate the lock plate in the second buckle body.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi-ken, Japan

Yasuho Kitazawa