Adaptive seat belt load limiter and method
First Claim
1. A load limiter for mounting a seat belt buckle comprising:
- a vehicle tube connected to a vehicle and a buckle tube connected to a buckle, said tubes being concentrically arranged with one tube inside the other tube;
at least one plow shoe captured between the tubes and upon imposition of an occupant restraint load, the buckle tube moves axially relative the vehicle tube so that the at least one plow shoe deforms at least one of the tubes;
and an adjuster mechanism adjusting a position of the at least one plow shoe to thereby establish an extent of the deformation of the at least one tube and thereby selectively increasing or decreasing an energy absorbing capacity of the load limiter.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Method and apparatus for limiting the load on a seat belt buckle, includes providing an adjustable energy absorbing device mounting the seat belt buckle on the vehicle, sensing vehicle and occupant conditions to determine the optimal adjustment of the adjustable energy absorbing device for restraint of the occupant under the sensed conditions, and adjusting the adjustable energy absorbing device in response to the sensed conditions to thereby adapt the restraint of the occupant to the sensed conditions. The adjustable energy absorbing device is an extendable strut having an end connected to the buckle and an end connected to the vehicle, said strut having metal deforming elements therein being deformed upon the load reaching a certain magnitude, and said strut having an adjusting mechanism adjusting the metal deforming elements to adjust the degree of metal deformation and thereby adjust the energy absorbing capacity of the strut.
-
Citations
10 Claims
-
1. A load limiter for mounting a seat belt buckle comprising:
-
a vehicle tube connected to a vehicle and a buckle tube connected to a buckle, said tubes being concentrically arranged with one tube inside the other tube; at least one plow shoe captured between the tubes and upon imposition of an occupant restraint load, the buckle tube moves axially relative the vehicle tube so that the at least one plow shoe deforms at least one of the tubes; and an adjuster mechanism adjusting a position of the at least one plow shoe to thereby establish an extent of the deformation of the at least one tube and thereby selectively increasing or decreasing an energy absorbing capacity of the load limiter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A load limiter for mounting a seat belt buckle comprising:
-
a first tube connected to a vehicle; a second tube connected to a buckle; at least one ball captured between the tubes and upon imposition of an occupant restraint load, the second tube moves axially relative the first tube so that the at least one ball deforms the second tube; and an adjuster mechanism adjusting a position of the at least one ball to thereby establish an extent of the deformation of the second tube and thereby selectively increasing or decreasing the energy absorbing capacity of the load limiter; an electric actuator for operating the adjuster mechanism; a plurality of sensors sensing conditions from which can be determined a need for increasing or decreasing the energy absorbing capacity of the load limiter device; and a controller for controlling the electric actuator in response to the sensed conditions. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
-
Specification