Shoulder adjuster

• US 5,280,959 A
• Filed: 03/02/1992
• Issued: 01/25/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nanbu, Yuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Oberleitner, Robert J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bartz, Clifford T.
• Application Number:
  US07/844,161
• Time in Patent Office: 694 Days
• Field of Search: 280/801, 280/804, 280/805, 280/802, 280/807, 280/808, 280/801 A, 244/122 B, 297/464, 297/468, 297/469, 297/473, 297/483
• US Class Current: 280/808
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/203 the locking means being movably mounted on the slider

Abstract

A shoulder adjuster which comprises: a guide rail shaped into a long plate and formed with a longitudinally extending slot at its central portion; a slider arranged along the vehicular compartment side of the guide rail and made slidable in a longitudinal direction of the guide rail; a female thread formed in the slider for mounting a shoulder anchor; and devices for retaining the slider on the guide rail at a predetermined interval. The slider has a cylindrical portion to be fitted in the slot, and the female thread formed in the inner circumference of the cylindrical portion.

Claims

1. A vehicle shoulder adjuster comprising:

a guide rail shaped into a long plate and having a longitudinally extending slot at its central portion and a plurality of holes at both sides of the slot;

a slider arranged along a vehicular compartment side of said guide rail and made slidable in a longitudinal direction of said guide rail, said slider having;

a plate portion facing a front face of said guide rail at said vehicular compartment side,

a cylindrical portion extending rearwardly from the plate portion to be fitted in said slot,

a female thread formed in an inner circumference of said cylindrical portion of said slider for mounting a shoulder anchor, and

holding portions formed at opposite sides of said plate portion extending around opposite sides of said guide rail permitting sliding motion along said sides; and

retaining means for retaining said slider on said guide rail at a predetermined interval, said retaining means including;

a lock plate arranged at a back side of said guide rail opposite to said vehicular compartment side and supported by said slider at one longitudinal side of said lock plate such that its longitudinal other side is made movable toward and apart from said slider;

hooks formed at said lock plate and adapted to engage said holes to block sliding movement of said slider when said other side of said lock plate is brought to said slider; and

a leaf spring supported by said slider and connected to said longitudinal other side of said lock plate for urging said longitudinal other side toward said slider so that when the leaf spring is pushed toward the guide rail, the lock plate inclines backward to disengage the hooks from the holes of the guide rail to allow the slider to smoothly slide along the guide rail without tilting against the guide rail.

2. A shoulder adjuster according to claim 1, wherein said plate portion has a notched recess formed on a lower side thereof and a pair of support portions at an upper portion thereof,

said lock plate has an L-shaped neck extending upwardly from an upper portion thereof and having a pair of laterial extensions and an L-shaped leg extending downwardly from a lower portion thereof and having a pair of lateral extensions, and

said leaf spring has an L-shaped neck extending upwardly from an upper portion thereof and a pair of legs extending downwardly from a lower portion thereof.

3. A shoulder adjuster according to claim 2, further comprising:

a substantially U-shaped upper stopper fitted in a space between said support portions of said slider to secure said L-shaped necks of said lock plate and said leaf spring respectively; and

a substantially C-shaped lower stopper fitted over said L-shaped leg of said lock plate to secure said legs of said leaf spring to said lock plate through said recess of said slider such that when said leaf spring is depressed, said lower portion of said lock plate is retreated backwardly from said guide rail thereby releasing engagement between said hooks of said lock plate and said holes of said guide rail.

4. A shoulder adjuster according to claim 1, wherein said one longitudinal side of said lock plate is positioned at an upper side of said guide rail whereas said other side is positioned at a lower side of said guide rail.

5. A shoulder adjuster according to claim 4, wherein said holes formed in said guide rail are arranged at a constant distance from each other in the longitudinal direction.

6. A shoulder adjuster according to claim 5, wherein said hooks have upper faces sloped down toward their leading ends whereas said holes have upper inner faces sloped to match the slopes of said hooks so that said hooks are naturally released to come out of said holes by said sloped faces, if said slider is pushed up, to allow said slider to move upward.

7. A shoulder adjuster according to claim 6, wherein lower faces of said hooks and lower edges of inner faces of said openings are normal to the face of said guide rail so that said slider is fixedly stopped if said hooks come into engagement with the lower edges of said openings.