×

Inflatable seatbelt system

  • US 5,390,953 A
  • Filed: 07/30/1993
  • Issued: 02/21/1995
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1992
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
Patent Images

1. An inflatable seatbelt system for a vehicle including at least:

  • means for generating a gas when deceleration acting on the vehicle exceeds a first set deceleration indicating occurrence of an emergency situation;

    a webbing having a portion brought into contact with an occupant'"'"'s body, at least a part of said contact portion being formed as a bag-shaped portion;

    said webbing being arranged such that when no gas is generated from said gas generating means, said webbing is maintained in the shape of a strap having a predetermined width, and when a gas is generated from said gas generating means, said bag-shaped portion is inflated by the gas;

    a retractor operating such that when the deceleration on the vehicle is not higher than it second set deceleration, which is lower than said first set deceleration, said retractor allows said webbing to be freely wound up and unwound, and when the deceleration on the vehicle exceeds said second set deceleration, said retractor prevents unwinding of said webbing;

    a tongue connected to said webbing; and

    a buckle device with which said tongue is disengageably engaged;

    wherein at least said bag-shaped portion of said webbing is formed of a webbing base fabric made out of a woven fabric, said webbing base fabric having warps disposed in a longitudinal direction of the seatbelt and wefts disposed in a lateral direction of the seatbelt, ;

    said warps having load-elongation characteristics and almost no stretchability such that said bag-shaped portion can function as a seatbelt for restraining the occupant'"'"'s body even when tension is applied thereto by expansion force generated when said bag-shaped-portion is inflated by the gas from said gas generating means upon the, occurrence of said emergency situation, and said wefts being formed so as to be stretchable by a predetermined amount when tension is applied thereto by expansion force generated when said bag-shaped portion is inflated.

View all claims
  • 1 Assignment
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×