Safety belt devices for vehicles

• US 4,029,339 A
• Filed: 10/30/1975
• Issued: 06/14/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Nishikawa, Takehiko, Teraoka, Fuminori, Kubota, Tatsushi, Kaneko, Yuichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Song, Robert R.
• Application Number:
  US05/627,379
• Time in Patent Office: 593 Days
• Field of Search: 280/745, 280/747, 297/388, 297/389
• US Class Current: 280/803
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/04 Passive restraint systems, i.e. systems both applied and removed automatically, e.g. by movement of the vehicle door

Abstract

A safety belt device for use in vehicles, having at least one belt extending across the body of a passenger sitting on a seat, in which the belt is held in a disengaging position forwardly of the seat irrespective of the door opening and closing operation when the passenger is not sitting on the seat, providing for the passenger to get into the vehicle, and is placed in an engaging position when the passenger has sat down on the seat and closed the door, restraining the body of the passenger, and is retracted to the disengaging position when the passenger sitting on the seat has opened the door providing for alighting of the passenger from the vehicle.

Claims

1. A safety belt device for vehicles, comprising:

a safety belt retractor secured on the inner surface of a door of a vehicle at a location opposite the outer side of a seat adjacent said door, said inner surface of the door having a slit defined therein extending slantingly from the location in which said safety belt retractor is secured to the upper portion of said door;

a three point safety belt having a waist belt and a shoulder belt which are branched from a common belt connected at one end to said retractor and extending slantingly from said retractor from the lower to the upper portion of said door, the other end of said waist belt being secured to the central portion of a vehicle body and the other end of said shoulder belt being fixed to the inner portion of the backside of said seat;

a belt driving mechanism provided in the door and comprising a door switch operated by the door opening and closing operation, a motor set in motion upon actuation of said door switch, belt drawing means for drawing said common belt by the drive of said motor, said belt drawing means being in the door substantially along said slit and comprising a gear train connected to said motor and a drawing belt having one end fixedly connected to the common belt and the other end connected to the gear train, whereby when the door is closed, said waist and shoulder belts are retracted through said common belt into said retractor and placed in their engaging positions to restrain the waist portion and the shoulder portion, respectively, of a passenger sitting on said seat, and when the door is opened said motor is set in motion so that said common belt is withdrawn from said retractor through said belt drawing means to hold said waist and shoulder belts in their disengaging position.

2. A safety belt device for vehicles as defined in claim 1, in which the other end of said drawing belt is secured to a winding reel in association with said motor.

3. A safety belt device for vehicles as defined in claim 1, in which said waist belt is connected with said common belt by means of a first coupler, and said shoulder belt is connected to said first coupler through a second coupler which is pivotably connected to said first coupler by means of a pin.

4. A safety belt device for vehicles as defined in claim 1, in which the said other end of said shoulder belt is provided with an anchor and connected to said backside of said seat by way of said anchor.

5. A safety belt device for vehicles, comprising:

a safety belt retractor secured on the inner surface of a door of a vehicle at a location opposite the outer side of a seat adjacent said door, said inner surface of the door having a slit defined therein extending slantingly from the location in which said safety belt retractor is secured to the upper portion of said door;

a three point safety belt having a waist belt and a shoulder belt which are branched from a common belt connected at one end to said retractor and extending slantingly from said retractor from the lower to the upper portion of said door, said waist belt being connected at one end with said common belt by means of a first coupler and secured at the other end to the central portion of a vehicle body, and said shoulder belt being connected at one end with said first coupler through a second coupler which is pivotably connected to said first coupler by means of a pin and fixed at the other end to the inner portion of the backside of said seat by an anchor;

a belt driving mechanism provided in the door and comprising a door switch operated by the door opening and closing operation, a motor set in motion upon actuation of said door switch, belt drawing means including a drawing belt having one end fixed to the common belt of said three point safety belt and the other end secured to a winding reel in association with said motor, said belt drawing means being in the door substantially along said slit and comprising a gear train connected to said motor, whereby when the door is closed, said waist and shoulder belts are retracted into said retractor through said common belt running along said slit and placed in their engaging positions to restrain the waist portion and the shoulder portion, respectively, of a passenger sitting on said seat, and when the door is opened said motor is set in motion so that said common belt is withdrawn from said retractor through said belt drawing means along said slit to hold said waist and shoulder belts in their disengaging position.