Air belt devices

• US 6,062,597 A
• Filed: 09/02/1998
• Issued: 05/16/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Suyama, Yoji
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson, Paul N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRITTON, MICHAEL NMN
• Application Number:
  US09/145,295
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 280/733, 280/807, 280/808
• US Class Current: 280/733
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/18 the inflatable member formed as a belt or harness or combined with a belt or harness arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/276 with means to vent the inflation fluid source, e.g. in case of overpressure B60R21/30 takes precedence; venting means on inflatable member walls B60R21/239

Abstract

Ducts 66 are housed in a housing 46 of a buckle 12. When plugs 20 of a tongue 10 are inserted into plug receiving bores 48, gas outlets 72 of ducts 66 engage plugs 20. Check doors 50 that open and close are arranged on the plug receiving bores 48 of the buckle 12. Check covers 74 including flexible pieces 76 are arranged at tips of the ducts 66 and are open by gas pressure. When a gas generator 16 is actuated with the tongue 10 separated from the buckle 12, gas is discharged downward from gas relief ports 60. The check doors 50 and the check covers 74 prevent the entrance of foreign matters.

Claims

1. An air belt device including an inflatable air belt, a tongue to which an end of the air belt is connected, a buckle engagable with the tongue, gas passages respectively formed within the buckle and the tongue and a gas generating device for supplying gas to the gas passage of the buckle, said air belt device being characterized in that said tongue includes plugs each having the gas passage therein,

said buckle includes plug receiving bores each receiving the plug and having a check door inwardly openable based on reception of the plug and outwardly unopenable;

said buckle includes a gas release port for discharging the gas from the gas supplying device downward or sideward; and

said gas is introduced into the plug upon the operation of the gas generating device in a tongue-connecting state in which the plug is inserted in the buckle, and released from the gas release port upon the operation of the gas generating device when the check door is in a closed position and the tongue is separated from the buckle.

2. An air belt device as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that ducts and valves are respectively disposed in the buckle;

each of said ducts includes a gas inlet and a gas outlet, wherein said gas outlet is located in the vicinity of the associated plug receiving bore;

each of said valves is disposed in the gas outlet of the duct, wherein said valve is open based on gas pressure and closed without load of the gas pressure; and

said plug received in the buckle and the gas outlet of the duct are capable of communicating with each other when the tongue is received in the buckle.

3. An air belt device as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that said valve comprises a plurality of shoulder portions each deformable to open the gas outlet based on the gas pressure.

4. An air belt device as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that each of said shoulder portions has a distal end entering the plug received in the buckle when the shoulder portion is deformed by the gas pressure in case the tongue is coupled to the buckle.

5. An air belt device as set forth in claim 4, characterized in that said relief bore is directed downward in a lower portion of the buckle.