Safety belt tensioner for motor vehicles

• US 5,588,677 A
• Filed: 06/19/1995
• Issued: 12/31/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Takata (Europe) Vehicle Safety Technology GmbH (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Takata (Europe) Vehicle Safety Technology GmbH (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hage, Gunther, Kopetzky, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P.
• Application Number:
  US08/492,286
• Time in Patent Office: 561 Days
• Field of Search: 280/806, 280/801.1, 280/808, 297/480, 297/483, 297/468, 297/486
• US Class Current: 280/806
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/1952 Transmission of tensioning power by cable; Return motion locking means therefor

Abstract

A safety belt tensioner for motor vehicles which is securable to the vehicle chassis (12) has an elongate drive device (11) which acts on a flexible draw element (13) displaceable in its longitudinal direction. The flexible draw element is guided from the guide device (11) via a deflection member (14) secured to the chassis to a belt lock part (15) and is attached there for the transmission of a tensile force. The deflection member (14) is simultaneously designed as the mounting element which secures the drive device (11) to the chassis (12).

Claims

1. Safety belt tensioner for motor vehicles which can be mounted on a vehicle chassis (12), the tensioner comprising an elongate drive device (11) which is to be arranged substantially horizontally in the motor vehicle, a flexible draw element (13) which is displaceable in its longitudinal direction by the drive device (11) and which is guided upwardly from the drive device (11) via deflection member (14), which is secured to the vehicle chassis (12), to a belt lock part (15) which cooperates with a counter-piece (17) arranged at the end of a three-point belt or of a lap belt (16) and which is mounted there so as to transmit a tensile force, characterised in that:

the deflection member (14) is simultaneously designed as a mounting element which secures the drive device (11) to the vehicle chassis (12), and is directly and firmly connectable to the vehicle chassis (12);

the deflection member has a bolt or sleeve section (14'"'"') mountable to the vehicle chassis (12) and a deflection section (14"); and

the deflection section (14") has a round peripheral surface which is dimensionally matched to the draw element (13) and which projects radially outwardly beyond the bolt or sleeve section (14'"'"') to form ring step (14'"'"'") between the bolt or sleeve section and the deflection section; and

a projection (20) of the drive device (11) having a through bore (19) through which the bolt or sleeve section can be inserted with the ring step abutting and pressing against the projection.

2. Safety belt tensioner in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the bolt section (14'"'"') is provided with an external thread or sleeve section is provided with an internal thread and the bolt section can be screwed into a threaded bore (18) of the vehicle chassis (12) or the sleeve section can be screwed onto a threaded spigot of the vehicle chassis (12).

3. Safety belt tensioner in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that a head and guiding section (14'"'"'") which extends radially beyond the deflection section (14") is provided on the deflection member (14) at the end of the deflection section (14") remote from the bolt or sleeve section (14'"'"').

4. Safety belt tensioner in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the projection (20) and the deflection member (14) are secured to the vehicle chassis and are provided directly at the side of the drive device (11) where the draw element (13) emerges.

5. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the flexible draw element (13) is a wire cable.

6. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the drive device (11) is a piston-in-cylinder (25, 26) arrangement which is to be horizontally disposed in the vehicle, with the piston (25) being fixedly connected to a force engagement end of the flexible draw member (13) and being loadable from this mounting side by the pressure generated by a pyrotechnical charge (31).

7. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that a roller is rotatably arranged on the deflection section (14").

8. A tensioner for tensioning seat belts of motor vehicles with the belt tensioner capable of being mounted to the vehicle chassis, the tensioner comprising:

an elongated drive device having a lengthwise axis and which is to be arranged substantially horizontally in the motor vehicle;

a deflection member secured to the vehicle chassis adjacent one end of the drive device;

a flexible draw element extending from the one end of the drive device for being pulled and exerting a tensioning force on the seat belt, the flexible draw element being guided upwardly from the drive device by the deflection member; and

a deflection element which is arranged to be operatively connected to the seat belt, the deflection element guiding a return part of the flexible draw element downwardly back towards the deflection member with a free end of the flexible draw element being secured to the drive device.

9. The tensioner of claim 8, wherein the drive device includes a projection attached thereto at the one end thereof and extending therefrom in the direction of its lengthwise axis.

10. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 9, wherein said deflection member includes a deflection section and the draw element includes a leading part extending upwardly from the deflection member towards the deflection element along one side of the deflection section with the return part of the draw element being guided to the deflection member (14) preferably at the same side thereof as the leading part of the draw element and is at least partly wrapped around the deflection and is secured by its free end to the projection.

11. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 10, wherein a roller is rotatably arranged on the deflection section.

12. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 8 further including securing means between the drive device and the vehicle chassis at the ether end of the drive device to prevent a rotation of the drive device about the deflection member.

13. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 8, wherein the flexible draw element is a wire cable.

14. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 8, wherein the drive device is a piston-in-cylinder arrangement which is to be horizontally disposed in a vehicle, with the piston being fixedly connected to a force engagement end of the flexible draw member and being loadable from this mounting side by the pressure generated by a pyrotechnical charge.

15. Safety belt tensioner for motor vehicles which can be mounted on a vehicle chassis (12), the tensioner comprising an elongate drive device (11) which is to be arranged substantially horizontally in the motor vehicle, a flexible draw element (13) which is displaceable in its longitudinal direction by the drive device (11) and which is guided upwardly from the drive device (11) via a deflection member (14) secured to the vehicle chassis (12) to a belt lock part (15) which cooperates with a counter-piece (17) arranged at the end of a three-point belt or of a lap belt (16) and which is mounted there so as to transmit a tensile force, characterised in that a projection (20) extends from the drive device (11) where the draw element (13) emerges up to and into the region of the deflection member (14) which is directly secured to the vehicle chassis (12);

and in that the projection (20) has an upwardly directed angled portion (21) at which the belt lock part (15) is elastically and resiliently retractably arranged relative to the angle portion (21) via a spring cuff (22).

16. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 15, characterised in that further securing means (40) are provided between the drive device (11) and the vehicle chassis (12) at the end region of the drive device (11) remote from the deflection member (14), said securing means being configured to prevent a rotation of the drive device (11) about the deflection member (14).

17. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 15, characterised in that the flexible draw element (13) is a wire cable.

18. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 15, characterised in that the drive device (11) is a piston-in-cylinder (25, 26) arrangement which is to be horizontally disposed in the vehicle, with the piston (25) being fixedly connected to a force engagement end of the flexible draw member (13) and being loadable from this mounting side by the pressure generated by a pyrotechnical charge (31).

19. Belt tensioner in accordance with claim 15, characterised in that a roller is rotatably arranged on the deflection section (14").

20. Safety belt tensioner for motor vehicles which can be mounted on a vehicle chassis (12), the tensioner comprising an elongate drive device (11) which is to be arranged substantially horizontally in the motor vehicle, a flexible draw element (13) which is displaceable in its longitudinal direction by the drive device (11) and which is guided upwardly from the drive device (11) via a deflection member (14) secured to the vehicle chassis (12) to a belt lock part (15) which cooperates with a counter-piece (17) arranged at the end of a three-point belt or of a lap belt (16) and which is mounted there so as to transmit a tensile force, characterised in that the deflection member (14) is simultaneously designed as a mounting element which secures the drive device (11) to the vehicle chassis (12), and is directly and firmly connectable to the vehicle chassis (12);

and

further including securing means (40) between the drive device (11) and the vehicle chassis (12) at the end region of the drive device (11) remote from the deflection member (14), said securing means being configured to prevent rotation of the drive device (11) about the deflection member (14).