TONGUE AND SEAT BELT DEVICE USING SAME

• US 20150173461A1
• Filed: 07/16/2013
• Published: 06/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Joyson Safety Systems Japan GK (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Okano, Motonori, Tabata, Yuuki, Kawai, Yoshihiko
• Granted Patent: US 9,615,632 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A44B 11/2546 Details
• CPC Class Codes: A44B 11/2561 Tongue elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/1812 Connections between seat belt and buckle tongue
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/18 Anchoring devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/45241 Slot and tab or tongue

Abstract

[Object] To enable a tongue to be more compact in size even when a seat-belt locking member is disposed and to achieve satisfactory mountability.

[Solution] A tongue 7 includes a resin mold portion 12 having seat belt lock guide holes 21 and 22. The resin mold portion 12 is provided with a seat belt lock 13 such that it is movable between an unlocking position where it does not lock a seat belt 4 and a locking position where it locks the seat belt 4 while being guided by the seat belt lock guide holes 21 and 22, and the seat belt lock 13 is set in the unlocking position under normal conditions and is set in the locking position in emergency. The seat belt lock 13 is continuously urged toward the unlocking position by a torsion spring 14. In emergency, the seat belt lock 13 is set in the locking position by a pressing force from the seat belt 4 against the urging force of the torsion spring 14.

Claims

1. A tongue slidably supported on a seat belt, the tongue being engageable in a buckle, the tongue comprising:

a tongue body including a gripping base and an engagement portion, the gripping base having a guide hole, the engagement portion being engageable in the buckle;

a resin mold portion on the gripping base in the tongue body;

a seat-belt locking member around which the seat belt is wound, the seat-belt locking member being movable between an unlocking position where the seat-belt locking member does not lock the seat belt and a locking position where the seat-belt locking member locks the seat belt while being guided by the guide hole, the seat-belt locking member being set in the unlocking position under normal conditions and being set in the locking position in emergency; and

a torsion spring configured to continuously urge the seat-belt locking member to the unlocking position,

wherein in the emergency, the seat-belt locking member is set in the locking position by a pressing force from the seat belt.

2. The tongue according to claim 1, wherein the torsion spring comprises a single wire having springiness.

3. The tongue according to claim 2, wherein the torsion spring includes at least a torsion portion and a pair of locking-member connection portions, the torsion portion is made of one turn of the wire and is torsionally deformable, and the pair of locking-member connection portions are connected to opposite end portions of the seat-belt locking member, respectively.

4. The tongue according to claim 1, wherein the guide hole has a guide surface allowing the seat-belt locking member to slide thereon, and at least the guide surface is made of resin.

7. A seat belt device comprising at least a seat belt;

a seat belt retractor configured to retract the seat belt;

a tongue slidably supported on the seat belt; and

a buckle allowing the tongue to be engaged therein, the seat belt device being attached to an occupant by engagement of the tongue into the buckle,

wherein the tongue comprises the tongue according to claim 1.

5. A tongue slidably supported on a seat belt, the tongue being engageable in a buckle, the tongue comprising:

a tongue body including a gripping base and an engagement portion, the gripping base having a guide hole, the engagement portion being engageable in the buckle;

a resin mold portion on the gripping base in the tongue body;

a seat-belt locking member around which the seat belt is wound, the seat-belt locking member being movable between an unlocking position where the seat-belt locking member does not lock the seat belt and a locking position where the seat-belt locking member locks the seat belt while being guided by the guide hole, the seat-belt locking member being set in the unlocking position under normal conditions and being set in the locking position in emergency; and

a torsion spring configured to continuously urge the seat-belt locking member to the unlocking position,

wherein the seat-belt locking member includes a tubular locking member around which the seat belt is wound and a locking-member supporting shaft member, the locking member being configured to lock the seat belt, the locking-member supporting shaft member penetrating through an inner hole of the locking member, supporting the locking member while disabling relative rotation thereof, and penetrating through the guide hole,

the locking-member supporting shaft member is urged by the torsion spring, and

in the emergency, the seat-belt locking member is set in the locking position by a pressing force from the seat belt.

6. A tongue slidably supported on a seat belt, the tongue being engageable in a buckle, the tongue comprising:

a tongue body including a gripping base and an engagement portion, the gripping base having a guide hole, the engagement portion being engageable in the buckle;

a resin mold portion on the gripping base in the tongue body;

a seat-belt locking member around which the seat belt is wound, the seat-belt locking member being movable between an unlocking position where the seat-belt locking member does not lock the seat belt and a locking position where the seat-belt locking member locks the seat belt while being guided by the guide hole, the seat-belt locking member being set in the unlocking position under normal conditions and being set in the locking position in emergency; and

a torsion spring configured to continuously urge the seat-belt locking member to the unlocking position,

wherein the seat-belt locking member includes a tubular locking member around which the seat belt is wound and a locking-member supporting shaft member, the locking member being configured to lock the seat belt, the locking-member supporting shaft member penetrating through an inner hole of the locking member, supporting the locking member while disabling relative rotation thereof, and penetrating through the guide hole,

the locking member includes a seat-belt pinching reduction portion configured to reduce a possibility that the seat belt is pinched,

the locking-member supporting shaft member is urged by the torsion spring, and

in the emergency, the seat-belt locking member is set in the eking position by a pressing force from the seat belt.