Release device for a mechanical energy storage means

• US 5,377,554 A
• Filed: 03/12/1992
• Issued: 01/03/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Autoliv AB (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Autoflug GmbH & Co. Fahrzeugtechnik
• Inventors: Reulein, Hermann, Kock, Hans-Otto, Lacher, Bernd, Eckmann, Peter, Liensdorf, Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Herrmann, Allan D.
• Application Number:
  US07/850,489
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 74/2, 297/480, 137/38, 280/806
• US Class Current: 74/2
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/00 Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles B60R22/00; devices, apparatus or methods for life-saving in general A62B; safety devices for propulsion unit control specially adapted for, or arranged in, vehicles B60K28/00; seats constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats, B60N2/42; energy-absorbing arrangements for hand wheels for steering vehicles B62D1/11; energy-absorbing arrangements for vehicle steering columns B62D1/19; harnessing in aircraft B64D25/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/4623 the cable being pulled by mechanical means, e.g. pre-stressed springs, bumper displacement during crash
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 292/22 Inertia operated
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/11 Tripping mechanism

Abstract

A device for releasing a mechanical energy storage device from an initial locked position in a release situation is comprised of a housing having a bearing connected thereto, a locking device for securing the energy storage device in the initial locked position and a supporting device deflectable in the release situation and connected to the bearing. The locking means is connected to the housing and rests on the supporting device in a prestressed manner in the initial locked position, whereby the supporting device is deflected in the release situation by forces created by its own inertia. The supporting device may be in the form of a spring, two springs with an inertia member therebetween, two bodies with inertia member therebetween, or a ball in a ball socket. Another embodiment uses rollers and roller bearings.

Claims

1. A device for releasing a mechanical energy storage means from an initial locked position in a release situation, said device comprising:

a housing;

a bearing provided at said housing;

a locking means for securing said energy storage means in said initial locked position, said locking means connected to said housing;

a supporting means deflectable in said release situation and connected to said bearing, said locking means resting on said supporting means in a prestressed manner in said initial locked position, and said supporting means being deflected in said release situation by forces created by its own inertia, wherein said supporting means is comprised of two rollers arranged atop one another, a displaceable roller bearing, positioned between said two rollers, and a sensor body connected to said roller bearing.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said roller bearing is in the form of a plate and said sensor body is in the form of a cylinder, and wherein said bearing has a bore and a sensor spring arranged in said bore, with said sensor body being arranged in an axially displaceable manner in said bore against an elastic force of said sensor spring.

3. A device for releasing a mechanical energy storage means from an initial locked position in a release situation, said device comprising:

a housing;

a bearing provided at said housing;

a locking means for securing said energy storage means in said initial locked position, said locking means connected to said housing;

a supporting means deflectable in said release situation and connected to said bearing., said locking means resting or said supporting means in a prestressed manner in said initial locked position, and said supporting means being deflected in said release situation by forces created by its own inertia, wherein said supporting means is comprised of a roller and a displaceable roller bearing connected in a slidable manner to said bearing, and a sensor body connected to said roller bearing.

4. A device for releasing a mechanical energy storage means from an initial locked position in a release situation, said device comprising:

a housing;

a bearing provided at said housing;

a locking means for securing said energy storage means in said initial locked position, said locking means connected to said housing;

a supporting means deflectable in said release situation and connected to said bearing, said locking means resting on said supporting means in a prestressed manner in said initial locked position, and said supporting means being deflected in said release situation by forces created by its own inertia, wherein said supporting means is comprised of a roller and a roller cage, said roller being inserted into said roller cage, and further a cylindrical sensor body and a push rod, said push rod connecting said sensor body to said roller cage, and wherein said bearing has a bore and a sensor spring arranged in said bore, with said sensor body being arranged in an axially displaceable manner in said bore against an elastic force of said sensor spring.

5. A device for releasing a mechanical energy storage means from an initial locked position in a release situation, said device comprising:

a housing;

a bearing provided at said housing;

a locking means for securing said energy storage means in said initial locked position, said locking means connected to said housing;

a supporting means deflectable in said release situation and connected to said bearing, said locking means resting on said supporting means in a prestressed manner in said initial locked position, and said supporting means being deflected in said release situation by forces created by its own inertia, wherein said supporting means is comprised of a roller and a cylindrical sensor body, said sensor body having a step for receiving said roller, and wherein said bearing has a bore and a sensor spring arranged in said bore, with said sensor body being arranged in an axially displaceable manner in said bore against an elastic force of said sensor spring.