Seat belt system
First Claim
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1. A seat belt system for protecting an occupant inside a vehicle by a seat belt, comprising:
- an emergency locking seat belt retractor for selectively setting a tensile force giving mode to provide tensile force to the seat belt and a tensile force cancel mode to cancel the tensile force, andseat detection means for detecting at least one of sliding of a seat, changing of a reclining angle and changing of posture of the occupant, said seat belt retractor, based on a signal from the seat detection means, providing for a time the tensile force giving mode and after predetermined time, changing to the tensile force cancel mode to provide a predetermined slack of the seat belt,said seat belt retractor including;
a retractor body,a reel shaft for winding the seat belt and rotationally situated in the retractor body, said reel shaft having a side portion protruding from the retractor body,a gear plate fixed to the reel shaft and having internal teeth and an external circumference,a disk-shaped gear hold having a central hole, external teeth at an external circumference thereof, and a support axis at a side face thereof, said central hole being rotationally situated over the reel shaft,a cover attached to the retractor body to cover the gear plate and the gear hold,a spiral return spring connected between the cover and the reel shaft for biasing the reel shaft to rotate in a belt-winding direction,a spiral memory spring connected between the gear hold and the reel shaft to urge the reel shaft to rotate in the belt-winding direction relative to the gear hold,an idle gear rotatably supported by the support axis of the gear hold, said idle gear having teeth and a protruding portion both formed at an external circumference thereof, said teeth engaging the internal teeth of the gear plate,a hook having a base end side and a tip side, said base end side being rotatably supported at a peripheral portion of the gear plate and said tip side being able to protrude outwardly and to retreat inwardly from the external circumference of the gear plate, said hook being able to engage with the protruding portion of the idle gear, said tip side, when the hook it engaged with the protruding portion, protruding over the external circumference of the gear plate,a hook spring for urging the tip side of the hook inwardly from the external circumference of the gear plate,a protruding portion formed at the gear hold, said protruding portion engaging the tip side of the hook when the tip side of the hook protrudes over the external circumference of the gear plate, said protruding portion and the hook being arranged such that the gear hold may rotate freely in the belt-winding direction and the protruding portion may contact with the hook when the gear hold rotates in a belt-unwinding direction,a partial teeth gear having partial teeth at an external circumference thereof, said partial teeth engaging the external teeth of the gear hold, anddrive means for operating the partial teeth gear, said drive means having a stop position for locking the gear hold by force transmitted from the partial teeth gear,wherein when the partial teeth gear rotate such that the teeth of the partial teeth gear and the external teeth of the gear hold shift from a non-engagement state to an engagement state, the gear hold is rotated in the belt-unwinding direction for a predetermined small angle and the gear plate together with the reel shaft is rotated in the direction of unwinding the seat belt for a predetermined small angle to thereby allow the seat belt to extend outwardly for a predetermined amount,when the partial teeth gear stops in the non-engagement state, the gear hold is locked by the drive means, and the gear plate and the reel shaft are prevented from rotating in the belt-winding direction to provide a tensile force cancel mode, andin the tensile force cancel mode, when the partial teeth gear is rotated in the non-engagement state, the gear hold becomes to rotate freely, and the reel shaft is urged by the return spring to rotate in the belt-winding direction to provide the tensile force giving mode.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A seat belt system for protecting and binding an occupant inside a vehicle which comprises an emergency locking seat belt retractor which can be selectively set to be in a tensile force giving mode to give tensile force to a seat belt or in a tensile force cancel mode to cancel the tensile force and a seat movement detector, characterized in that according to a signal from the seat movement detector, the emergency lock system seat belt retractor is for a time in the tensile force giving mode and after a predetermined length of time, said emergency locking seat belt retractor is in the tensile force cancel mode with an appropriate slack of the seat belt.
44 Citations
2 Claims
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1. A seat belt system for protecting an occupant inside a vehicle by a seat belt, comprising:
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an emergency locking seat belt retractor for selectively setting a tensile force giving mode to provide tensile force to the seat belt and a tensile force cancel mode to cancel the tensile force, and seat detection means for detecting at least one of sliding of a seat, changing of a reclining angle and changing of posture of the occupant, said seat belt retractor, based on a signal from the seat detection means, providing for a time the tensile force giving mode and after predetermined time, changing to the tensile force cancel mode to provide a predetermined slack of the seat belt, said seat belt retractor including; a retractor body, a reel shaft for winding the seat belt and rotationally situated in the retractor body, said reel shaft having a side portion protruding from the retractor body, a gear plate fixed to the reel shaft and having internal teeth and an external circumference, a disk-shaped gear hold having a central hole, external teeth at an external circumference thereof, and a support axis at a side face thereof, said central hole being rotationally situated over the reel shaft, a cover attached to the retractor body to cover the gear plate and the gear hold, a spiral return spring connected between the cover and the reel shaft for biasing the reel shaft to rotate in a belt-winding direction, a spiral memory spring connected between the gear hold and the reel shaft to urge the reel shaft to rotate in the belt-winding direction relative to the gear hold, an idle gear rotatably supported by the support axis of the gear hold, said idle gear having teeth and a protruding portion both formed at an external circumference thereof, said teeth engaging the internal teeth of the gear plate, a hook having a base end side and a tip side, said base end side being rotatably supported at a peripheral portion of the gear plate and said tip side being able to protrude outwardly and to retreat inwardly from the external circumference of the gear plate, said hook being able to engage with the protruding portion of the idle gear, said tip side, when the hook it engaged with the protruding portion, protruding over the external circumference of the gear plate, a hook spring for urging the tip side of the hook inwardly from the external circumference of the gear plate, a protruding portion formed at the gear hold, said protruding portion engaging the tip side of the hook when the tip side of the hook protrudes over the external circumference of the gear plate, said protruding portion and the hook being arranged such that the gear hold may rotate freely in the belt-winding direction and the protruding portion may contact with the hook when the gear hold rotates in a belt-unwinding direction, a partial teeth gear having partial teeth at an external circumference thereof, said partial teeth engaging the external teeth of the gear hold, and drive means for operating the partial teeth gear, said drive means having a stop position for locking the gear hold by force transmitted from the partial teeth gear, wherein when the partial teeth gear rotate such that the teeth of the partial teeth gear and the external teeth of the gear hold shift from a non-engagement state to an engagement state, the gear hold is rotated in the belt-unwinding direction for a predetermined small angle and the gear plate together with the reel shaft is rotated in the direction of unwinding the seat belt for a predetermined small angle to thereby allow the seat belt to extend outwardly for a predetermined amount, when the partial teeth gear stops in the non-engagement state, the gear hold is locked by the drive means, and the gear plate and the reel shaft are prevented from rotating in the belt-winding direction to provide a tensile force cancel mode, and in the tensile force cancel mode, when the partial teeth gear is rotated in the non-engagement state, the gear hold becomes to rotate freely, and the reel shaft is urged by the return spring to rotate in the belt-winding direction to provide the tensile force giving mode.
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2. A seat belt system for protecting an occupant inside a vehicle by a seat belt, comprising:
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an emergency locking seat belt retractor for selectively setting a tensile force giving mode to provide tensile force to the seat belt and a tensile force cancel mode to cancel the tensile force, and seat detection means for detection at least one of sliding of a seat, changing of a reclining angle and changing of posture of the occupant, said seat belt retractor, based on a signal from the seat detection means, providing for a time the tensile force giving mode and after predetermined time, changing to the tensile force cancel mode to provide a predetermined slack of the seat belt, said seat belt retractor including; a retractor body, a reel shaft for winding the seat belt and rotationaly situated in the retractor body, said reel shaft having a side portion protruding from the retractor body, a gear connected to the reel shaft, a motor having a clutch, said motor being connected to the gear through the clutch to rotate the same, a gear hold connected to the reel shaft and having a ratchet therearound, a catching member pivotally attached to the retractor body, said catching member being able to engage the ratchet of the gear hold to prevent the reel shaft from rotating in a belt-winding direction, actuating means for moving the catching member, a rotation actuation sensor pivotally attached to the catching member to prevent the catching member to engage the ratchet of the gear hold, a tooth switch for switching on/off condition of the motor, said tooth switch being actuated by the catching member, a cover attached to the retractor body to cover the large and small gears, and a spiral return spring connected between the cover and the reel shaft for biasing the reel shaft to rotate in the belt-winding direction, wherein when the seat belt is worn by the occupant, the tooth switch is actuated to rotate the motor so that the gear is rotated in the direction of unwinding the seat belt for a predetermined small angle to thereby allow the seat belt to extend outwardly for a predetermined amount, when the gear is rotated in a belt-unwinding direction, the rotation actuation sensor is actuated to allow the catching member to engage with the ratchet of the gear hold and the motor is stopped by the tooth switch so that the reel shaft is prevented from rotating in the belt-winding direction to provide the tensile force cancel mode, and in the tensile force cancel mode, when the seat detection means is actuated, the actuating means is released to disengage the catching member from the ratchet and the reel shaft is urged by the return spring to rotate in the belt-winding direction to provide the tensile force giving mode.
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Specification
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Current AssigneeTakata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
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Original AssigneeTakata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
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InventorsHamaue, Tetsuya
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Primary Examiner(s)Rice, Kenneth R.
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Assistant Examiner(s)GRAYSAY, TAMARA L
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Application NumberUS07/605,322Time in Patent Office469 DaysField of Search280/801, 280/806, 280/807, 280/808, 242/107US Class Current280/806CPC Class CodesB60R 2022/444 the additional retraction d...B60R 22/44 with means for reducing bel...
