Through anchor and method of manufacture thereof

• US 7,201,400 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2004
• Issued: 04/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai RIKA Denki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Hattori, Yasunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn; David R.
• Application Number:
  US10/843,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20040227341A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,063 Days
• Field of Search: 280/808, 280/801.1, 297/463.1, 297/482, 297/483, 297/468
• US Class Current: 280/801.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/1818 Belt guides
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/24 secured to the side, door, or roof of the vehicle

Abstract

In a through anchor, a configuration of first grooves (or second grooves) of a region on a surface of a piece, which region is where a webbing is particularly strongly fit tightly to and slides when a vehicle rapidly decelerates (i.e., a region at a vehicle front side and a vehicle compartment inner side), runs along a direction of application of the webbing to a vehicle occupant, and is formed so as to smoothly curve toward a rear of the vehicle. Therefore, the webbing, which slides in a state of being strongly fit tightly to the first grooves (or the second grooves) on the surface of the piece, slides while a direction of sliding thereof is pulled back (corrected) toward the rear of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A through anchor for supporting, at a vehicle, a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, the through anchor comprising:

a main body portion which is formed of metal, and in which is formed an insert-through hole through which the webbing is inserted;

a piece that is assembled to a peripheral edge of the insert-through hole of the main body portion and structuring a portion of the insert-through hole, a surface of the piece being a region around which the webbing is trained, and the piece having a plurality of grooves in the surface; and

a covering portion that is molded, together with the piece, integrally at a periphery of the insert-through hole of the main body portion, and covering the periphery of the insert-through hole,

wherein, among the plurality of grooves of the surface of the piece, at least the plurality of grooves at a region which is disposed at a front side of the vehicle and at an inner side of a vehicle compartment run along a direction of application of the webbing to a vehicle occupant and are formed in configurations which smoothly curve toward a rear of the vehicle, and

wherein the piece has a positioning portion means for engaging with an eject pin of a mold at a time of molding the covering portion to avoid positional offset of the piece with respect to said mold.

2. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the piece has a concave portion whose surface is smooth, at a region of the surface of the piece which region corresponds to a width direction central portion of the webbing.

3. The through anchor of claim 2, further comprising:

a convex portion provided at a surface of the main body portion at the periphery of the insert-through hole; and

an engaging portion provided at the piece, and engaging with the convex portion of the main body portion in a state in which the piece is assembled to the main body portion.

4. The through anchor of claim 1, further comprising:

a convex portion provided at a surface of the main body portion at the periphery of the insert-through hole; and

an engaging portion provided at the piece, and engaging with the convex portion of the main body portion in a state in which the piece is assembled to the main body portion.

5. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the piece has an anchor portion at a portion of an inner side of the piece, and the piece is assembled to the main body portion by the anchor portion being anchored on a bottom end of the main body portion.

6. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the piece is formed of resin.

7. The through anchor of claim 6, wherein the covering portion is formed of resin, and

a coefficient of friction of the resin forming the piece is lower than a coefficient of friction of the resin forming the covering portion.

8. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the piece is formed of metal.

9. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein curved configurations of the plurality of grooves are curved configurations which s-well extend toward a top of the vehicle.

10. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of grooves are formed so as to have line symmetry with respect to a first central line which is positioned at a substantially central portion in a longitudinal direction of the piece and which extends so as to divide the piece in two in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

11. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of grooves are formed at the surface of the piece so as to have line symmetry with respect to a second central line which extends in a longitudinal direction of the piece at a substantially central portion in a width direction of the piece and which divides the piece into a vehicle compartment inner side portion of the piece and a vehicle compartment outer side portion of the piece.

12. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of grooves are formed so as to be asymmetrical across a second central line which extends in a longitudinal direction of the piece at a substantially central portion in a width direction of the piece and which divides the piece into a vehicle compartment inner side portion of the piece and a vehicle compartment outer side portion of the piece.

13. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of grooves are shaped as stripes formed from one width direction end of the piece to another width direction end of the piece, and are formed so as to be lined up at regular intervals, and are inclined with respect to a width direction of the piece.

14. The through anchor of claim 13, wherein angles of inclination of the plurality of grooves change at a second central line which extends in a longitudinal direction of the piece at a substantially central portion in a width direction of the piece and which divides the piece into a vehicle compartment inner side portion of the piece and a vehicle compartment outer side portion of the piece.

15. The through anchor of claim 14, wherein the angles of inclination of the plurality of grooves disposed at the vehicle compartment inner side of the piece are angles of inclination along the direction of application of the webbing to a vehicle occupant, and

the angles of inclination of the plurality of grooves disposed at the vehicle compartment outer side of the piece are angles of inclination along a direction in which a webbing retractor is disposed.

16. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of grooves are rectilinear when the piece is viewed in top view, and are curved when the piece is viewed in front view.

17. The through anchor of claim 1, wherein said positioning portion means is located on a member that extends in a direction opposite from said surface of said piece.

18. The through anchor of claim 17, wherein said positioning portion means includes a groove disposed at an end of said member that extends in a direction opposite from said surface.

19. The through anchor of claim 18, wherein said positioning portion means includes a portion of said groove disposed orthogonally to a direction that said member extends away from said surface.

20. A through anchor for supporting, at a vehicle, a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, the through anchor comprising:

a main body portion which is formed of metal, and in which is formed an insert-through hole through which the webbing is inserted;

a piece that is assembled to a peripheral edge of the insert-through hole of the main body portion and structuring a portion of the insert-through hole, a surface of the piece being a region around which the webbing is trained, and the piece having a plurality of grooves in the surface; and

a covering portion that is molded, together with the piece, integrally at a periphery of the insert-through hole of the main body portion, and covering the periphery of the insert-through hole,

wherein, among the plurality of grooves of the surface of the piece, at least the plurality of grooves at a region which is disposed at a front side of the vehicle and at an inner side of a vehicle compartment run along a direction of application of the webbing to a vehicle occupant and are formed in configurations which smoothly curve toward a rear of the vehicle, and

wherein the plurality of grooves are curved when the piece is viewed in top view, and are curved when the piece is viewed in front view.

21. A method of manufacturing a through anchor which is for supporting, at a vehicle, a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, the method comprising:

fabricating a main body portion of a through anchor which is formed of metal and has a through hole;

fabricating a piece having a surface around which the webbing is trained, and a member extending away from the surface that includes a positioning portion for engaging eject pins of a mold;

forming a plurality of grooves, which run along a direction of application of the webbing to a vehicle occupant and which smoothly curve toward a rear of the vehicle, at least at a region of the surface of the piece which region is disposed at a front side of the vehicle and at an inner side of a vehicle compartment;

assembling the piece to a peripheral edge of the through hole of the main body portion;

molding a covering portion, together with the piece, integrally to a periphery of the through hole of the main body portion, the covering portion covering the periphery of the through hole, so as to form an insert-through hole through which the webbing is inserted,

wherein at the time the covering portion is molded, the positioning portion engages eject pins of a mold to avoid positional offset of the piece during molding.

22. The method of manufacturing a through anchor of claim 21, wherein assembling the piece includes:

anchoring an anchor portion, which is formed at a portion of an inner side of the piece, to a bottom end of the main body portion such that the piece structures a portion of the insert-through hole; and

engaging a convex portion, which is provided at a surface of the main body portion at the periphery of the through hole, and an engaging portion, which is provided at the piece.

23. A through anchor for supporting, at a vehicle, a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, the through anchor comprising:

a main body portion which is formed of metal, and in which is formed an insert-through hole through which the webbing is inserted;

a piece that is assembled to a peripheral edge of the insert-through hole of the main body portion and structuring a portion of the insert-through hole, a surface of the piece being a region around which the webbing is trained, and the piece having a plurality of grooves in the surface; and

a covering portion that is molded, together with the piece, integrally at a periphery of the insert-through hole of the main body portion, and covering the periphery of the insert-through hole,

wherein all of the plurality of grooves of the surface of the piece run along a direction of application of the webbing to a vehicle occupant and are formed in configurations which smoothly curve toward a rear of the vehicle, and wherein, with respect to a top view of the surface of the piece and a horizontal axis disposed along a length of the vehicle along a midsection of the piece, the angle that the grooves on one side intersect the axis is different from the angle that the grooves on the other side intersect the axis such that the grooves on different sides of the piece are asymmetrical.

24. A through anchor for supporting, at a vehicle, a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, the through anchor comprising:

a main body portion which is formed of metal, and in which is formed an insert-through hole through which the webbing is inserted;

a piece that is assembled to a peripheral edge of the insert-through hole of the main body portion and structuring a portion of the insert-through hole, a surface of the piece being a region around which the webbing is trained, and the piece having a plurality of grooves in the surface; and

a covering portion that is molded, together with the piece, integrally at a periphery of the insert-through hole of the main body portion, and covering the periphery of the insert-through hole,

wherein all of the plurality of grooves of the surface on each side of the piece are substantially parallel when viewed in front view and run along a direction of application of the webbing to a vehicle occupant and are formed in configurations which smoothly curve toward a rear of the vehicle, and

wherein, with respect to a top view of the surface of the piece and a horizontal axis disposed along a length of the vehicle along a midsection of the piece, the angle that the grooves on one side intersect the axis is the same as the angle that the grooves on the other side intersect the axis such that the grooves on different sides of the piece are substantially mirror symmetrical along said axis.

25. A through anchor for supporting, at a vehicle, a webbing for restraining a vehicle occupant, the through anchor comprising:

a main body portion which is formed of metal, and in which is formed an insert-through hole through which the webbing is inserted;

a piece that is assembled to a peripheral edge of the insert-through hole of the main body portion and structuring a portion of the insert-through hole, a surface of the piece being a region around which the webbing is trained, and the piece having a plurality of grooves in the surface, wherein all of said grooves are formed in configurations which smoothly curve toward a rear of the vehicle; and

a covering portion that is molded, together with the piece, integrally at a periphery of the insert-through hole of the main body portion, and covering the periphery of the insert-through hole,

wherein, among the plurality of grooves of the surface of the piece, all of the plurality of grooves at a region which is disposed at a front side of the vehicle and at an inner side of a vehicle compartment run along a direction of application of the webbing to a vehicle occupant, and

wherein the plurality of grooves at a region which is disposed at a back side of the vehicle are substantially mirror symmetrical with respect to said plurality of grooves at said region disposed at a front side of the vehicle along a vertical axis disposed in a middle portion of said piece.