Seat belt webbing energy management device
First Claim
1. A vehicle safety apparatus comprising:
- a length of seat belt webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant;
a seat belt webbing retractor having a spool on which said seat belt webbing is wound, said seat belt webbing extending from said retractor in a first direction;
a crush plate secured to said retractor, said crush plate comprising means for crushing material;
means for mounting said retractor on the vehicle for movement, including guide means for constraining movement of said retractor and said crush plate to only said first direction; and
a crushable energy absorbing material disposed in the path of movement of said crush plate and remaining in the path of movement of said crush plate during crushing by said crush plate for controlling movement of said retractor in the first direction.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A seat belt webbing retractor (22) includes a spool (72) on which a length of belt webbing (16) is wound. A stop member (100) is fixed in position on a vehicle. A crush plate (60) is secured to the retractor (22), and both the retractor (22) and the crush plate (60) are movable in a direction (132) toward the stop member (100). A crushable energy absorbing material, preferably a honeycomb (130), is disposed in the path of movement of the crush plate (60). The crushable material (130) controls movement of the crush plate (60) relative to the stop member (100), reducing the abruptness of the load on a vehicle occupant during a collision. In a second embodiment, the resistance provided by a crushable member (280) may be controlled in response to a sensed characteristic (310) of the vehicle occupant.
31 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A vehicle safety apparatus comprising:
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a length of seat belt webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant; a seat belt webbing retractor having a spool on which said seat belt webbing is wound, said seat belt webbing extending from said retractor in a first direction; a crush plate secured to said retractor, said crush plate comprising means for crushing material; means for mounting said retractor on the vehicle for movement, including guide means for constraining movement of said retractor and said crush plate to only said first direction; and a crushable energy absorbing material disposed in the path of movement of said crush plate and remaining in the path of movement of said crush plate during crushing by said crush plate for controlling movement of said retractor in the first direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A vehicle safety apparatus comprising:
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a length of seat belt webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant; a seat belt webbing retractor having a spool on which said seat belt webbing is wound; a crush plate secured to said retractor; means for mounting said retractor on the vehicle for movement of said retractor and said crush plate in a first direction;
p1 a crushable energy absorbing material disposed in the path of movement of said crush plate for controlling movement of said retractor in the first direction;sensing means for sensing a characteristic of the vehicle occupant; and control means for controlling the resistance provided by said crushable energy absorbing material in response to the sensed characteristic of the vehicle occupant; said crushable energy absorbing material including first and second discrete honeycombs, said control means comprises means for selectively crushing one or both of said first and second honeycombs in response to the sensed characteristic of the vehicle occupant, said crush plate including a first crush plate member for crushing said first honeycomb and a second crush plate member for crushing said honeycomb, and said control means comprising means for selectively interconnecting said second crush plate member for movement with said first crush plate member for crushing both said first and second honeycombs.
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13. A vehicle safety apparatus comprising:
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a length of seat belt webbing for restraining an occupant of the vehicle; means for defining a stop member adapted to be fixed in position on the vehicle; means for defining a movable mechanism that is movable with the seat belt webbing in a first direction toward said stop member; a crushable energy absorbing material disposed in the path of movement of said movable mechanism for controlling said movement of said movable mechanism in the first direction by providing a resistance to said movement; means for sensing a characteristic of the vehicle and/or the vehicle occupant; and means for controlling the resistance provided by said crushable energy absorbing material in response to the sensed characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A vehicle safety apparatus comprising:
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a length of seat belt webbing for restraining an occupant of the vehicle; a member adapted to be fixed in position on the vehicle; a mechanism connected for movement with said webbing; and energy absorbing means acting between said member and said mechanism for enabling controlled movement of said mechanism relative to said member due to tension applied to said belt webbing by the vehicle occupant, said energy absorbing means including; means for defining a first energy absorbing device that is actuatable to resist movement of said mechanism relative to said member by a first force; means for defining a second energy absorbing device that is actuatable to resist movement of said mechanism relative to said member by a second force greater than said first force; means for sensing a characteristic of the vehicle occupant; and control means responsive to the sensed characteristic of the vehicle occupant for selectively actuating said first and second energy absorbing devices. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification