REUSABLE AND AUTOMATICALLY RESETTABLE ENERGY DISSIPATING DEVICE

• US 3,765,700 A
• Filed: 10/28/1971
• Issued: 10/16/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: American Safety Equipment Corp (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Joseph C. Littmann
• Inventors: Littmann, Joseph C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Friaglia, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eisenzopf, Reinhard
• Application Number:
  US05/193,358
• Time in Patent Office: 719 Days
• Field of Search: 280/15SB,179A,179R 188/1C,1R 293/DIG.3 297/385,386,216 267/161,162
• US Class Current: 297/471
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/341 comprising energy-absorbing means

Abstract

The device includes a safety belt retractor frame having a rearwardly extending slotted tongue with a centrally located axial protrusion extending forwardly into the slot; a pair of vehicle mounted slotted anchor members sandwiched around the tongue and having centrally located axial protrusions aligned with and extending oppositely to the tongue protrusion; and a plurality of coned washer springs positioned in the slots on the protrusions for being deformed, upon forward movement of the retractor due to impact of the vehicle, to provide generally linearly increasing load deflection characteristics for evenly applying and cushioning the restraining load of the safety belt on a person and for dissipating the majority of the energy of the person due to the impact with energy remaining in the coned washer springs automatically returning the retractor frame to its pre-impact position. The coned washer springs may be positioned in consecutive pairs with like ends engaging or additional coned washer springs may be stacked or nested outwardly from at least one such pair of springs.

Claims

1. A reusable and automatically resettable energy dissipating device for anchoring a safety belt adapted to be secured about a person to a vehicle body mount to restrain the person from injurious contact with the vehicle during impact of the vehicle, said device comprising:

a first member having the belt secured thereto and a load receiving surface facing the belt, a second member for mounting to the vehicle body mount and having a load receiving surface facing the vehicle body mount, said members being positioned with said load receiving surfaces facing each other and wherein each of the members includes a protrusion extending from each load receiving surface towards the other load receiving surface, and reusable energy dissipating means positioned between the first and second members for providing, upon impact of the vehicle, generally linearly increasing load deflection characteristics wherein the energy dissipating means includes coned washer spring means positioned between the load receiving surfaces, said surfaces moving towards each other upon impact to deflect the coned washer spring means therebetween, and wherein the coned washer spring means include a plurality of coned washer springs, each of which has a central opening therein, and said springs are positioned on said members by said protrusions slidably extending through said spring openings.

2. The invention as in claim 1 wherein the members each have a slot with a forward edge of the slot of one member and the rearward edge of the slot of the other member being the load receiving surfaces and having said protrusions extending therefrom.

3. The invention as in claim 2 wherein the protrusions terminate at least a washer spring thickness from the end of the slot to permit insertion of the washer spring into the slot for assembly onto the protrusions.

4. A reusable and automatically resettable energy dissipating device for anchoring a safety belt adapted to be secured about a person to restrain the person from injurious contact with the vehicle during impact of the vehicle, said device comprising:

a safety belt mounting reel retractor having a frame with a tongue member, a second member for mounting to the vehicle, and wherein the second member includes upper and lower portions for receiving the tongue member sandwiched therebetween, said upper and lower portions being mounted to the vehicle body in spaced relationship to each other, and reusable energy dissipating means positioned between portions of the tongue and second members for providing, upon impact of the vehicle, generally linearly increasing load deflection characteristics, for cushioning the restraining load of the belt on the person and for dissipating the majority of the energy of the person due to the impact, with the energy remaining therein automatically returning the energy dissipating means, and thereby said members, to their pre-impact position.

5. A reusable and automatically resettable energy dissipating device for anchoring a safety belt adapted to be secured about a person to a vehicle body mount to restrain the person from injurious contact with the vehicle during impact of the vehicle, said device comprising:

a first member having the belt secured thereto and a load receiving surface facing the belt, a second member for mounting to the vehicle body mount and having a load receiving surface facing the vehicle body mount, said members being positioned with said load receiving surfaces facing each other, the second Member including identical upper and lower portions for receiving the first member sandwiched therebetween, said upper and lower portions being mounted to the vehicle body mount in spaced relationship to each other, and reusable energy dissipating means positioned between the first and second members for providing, upon impact of the vehicle, generally linearly increasing load deflection characteristics, for uniformly applying the cushioning the restraining load of the belt on the person, said energy dissipating means including coned washer spring means positioned between the load receiving surfaces, said surfaces moving towards each other upon impact to deflect the coned washer spring means therebetween, and wherein the upper and lower portions each have a protrusion extending from its load receiving surface, and wherein the first member has a protrusion extending from its load receiving surface, said protrusions being aligned and oppositely extending to receive the coned washer spring means thereon.

6. In a safety belt retractor for mounting a selectively extensible and retractable safety belt to a vehicle, said safety belt adapted to be secured about a person to restrain the person from injurious contact with the vehicle during impact of the vehicle, said retractor including a belt mounting reel and a frame in which the reel is rotatably mounted, the improvement comprising the provision of:

a tongue on said frame having a slot therein bounded at one end by a load receiving surface, an anchor member for mounting to the vehicle, said anchor member also having a slot therein bounded at one end by a load receiving surface, the tongue of the frame being located adjacent the anchor member to align the two slots with the two load receiving surfaces facing each other, and reusable energy dissipating means positioned between the retractor frame and the anchor member for providing, upon impact of the vehicle, generally linearly increasing load deflection characteristics for uniformly applying and cushioning the restraining load of the belt on the person, wherein the energy dissipating means includes at least a pair of coned washer springs located in the slots between the load receiving surfaces to be deformed thereby as said surfaces move towards each other due to impact.

7. The invention as in claim 6 wherein a protrusion extends from each load receiving surface towards the other load receiving surface and wherein each coned washer spring has a central opening therein, said protrusions being aligned when the slots are aligned to slidably receive thereon the washer springs to keep the washer springs between the load receiving surfaces.

8. The invention as in claim 7 wherein the protrusions terminate at least a washer spring thickness from the end of the slot to permit insertion of the washer springs into the slots for assembly onto the protrusions.

9. The invention as in claim 6 wherein the anchor member includes an upper and a lower portion, said tongue on the retractor being sandwiched therebetween.

10. The invention as in claim 6 wherein the coned washer springs each have a large end, a small end and a body therebetween, at least one pair of the coned washer springs having like ends engaging, with the other like ends facing the load receiving surfaces.

11. The invention as in claim 10 wherein a plurality of coned washer springs are provided, at least some of the washer springs, other than the initial pair, having opposite ends adjacent each other.