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US 5,507,448 AGranted
Seat belt apparatus for automobile
AssigneeSungwoo Corporation
InventorsJang Won Park, Jong Kak Kim, Jong Cheor Kim
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A seat belt apparatus for an automobile includes a ratchet wheel and at least one pawl member for selectively braking a spool with respect to one direction of its rotation. The pawl member operates to perform the emergency locking and excessive-loosening preventing functions with respective to a belt. To precisely control the time for emergency stop of belt, the apparatus contains a fly wheel mass having a plurality of holes, and a web sensing spring one end of which is fixed to one of the holes. Further, to control the effective length of the belt, the apparatus includes cam protrusions, a cam gear and a cam plate which overlap to enable the distance control of the cam protrusions.
Claims23
A seat belt apparatus for an automobile, comprising:
- a belt;
- a spool for rotating in a first direction to wind said belt around said spool;
- and for rotating in a second direction opposite to said first direction to unwind said belt from said spool;
- a rewinding spring for rotating said spool in said first direction to wind said belt around said spool when said belt is forcibly pulled to rotate said spool in said second direction;
- a ratchet wheel integrally connected with said spool and rotating with said spool;
- at least one pawl member for selectively engaging said ratchet wheel to prevent rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction;
- and
- emergency stopping means for enabling said at least one pawl member to engage said ratchet wheel and prevent rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction, said emergency stopping means comprising:
- a locking ring having a saw-toothed portion formed on an inner periphery of said locking ring and a first cam slot formed on an outer portion of said locking ring, said locking ring being biased to rotate in said first direction;
- flywheel means having a second cam dot and in said flywheel means said flywheel means being biased to rotate in said second direction;
- hooking means having a pin positioned within said second cam slot of said flywheel means, said pin traversing said second cam slot and enabling said hooking means to engage said saw-toothed portion of said locking ring and cause rotation of said locking ring in said second direction when a first force rotating said spool in said second direction exceeds a second force biasing said flywheel means to rotate in said second direction, said at least one pawl member engaging said ratchet wheel and preventing rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction in response to rotation of said locking ring in said second direction.
8 more elements
A seat belt apparatus for an automobile, comprising:
- a belt;
- a spool for rotating in a first direction to wind said belt around said spool, and for rotating in a second direction opposite said first direction to unwind said belt from said spool;
- a ratchet wheel having a first saw-toothed portion formed on an outer periphery and rotating concentrically with said spool, said spool rotating in said first direction whenever said ratchet wheel rotates in said first direction and said spool rotating in said second direction s whenever said ratchet wheel rotates in said second direction;
- a locking ring having a second saw-toothed portion formed on an inner periphery of said locking ring and a first cam slot formed on an outer portion of said locking ring, said locking ring being biased to rotate in said first direction;
- pawl means having a first pin positioned within said first cam slot of said locking ring, said first pin traversing said first cam slot and causing said pawl means to engage said first saw-toothed portion and prevent rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction in response to rotation of said locking ring in said second direction;
- flywheel means having a second cam slot and a first plurality of holes formed in said flywheel means, said flywheel means being biased by a spring to rotate in said second direction;
- and
- hooking means having a second pin positioned within said second cam slot of said flywheel means, said second pin traversing said second cam slot and enabling said hooking means to engage said second saw-toothed portion and cause rotation of said locking ring in said second direction when a first force rotating said spool in said second direction exceeds a second force biasing said flywheel means to rotate in said second direction.
5 more elements
A seat belt apparatus for an automobile, comprising:
- a belt;
- a spool for rotating in a first direction to wind said belt around said spool and for rotating in a second direction opposite said first direction to unwind said belt from said spool;
- a rewinding spring for rotating said spool in said first direction to wind said belt around said spool when said belt is forcibly pulled to rotate said spool in said second direction;
- a ratchet wheel integrally connected with said spool and rotating concentrically with said spool;
- and
- means for preventing loosening of said belt beyond a predetermined limit by preventing rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction whenever said belt is unwound from said spool by an amount corresponding to said predetermined limit, said means for preventing loosening of said belt comprising:
- locking means for engaging said ratchet wheel to prevent the rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction;
- a cam gear having a first protrusion and a plurality of holes formed within and circumferencially around said cam gear, said cam gear rotating in response to rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool;
- a cam plate integrally connected to said cam gear to rotate concentrically with said cam gear, said cam plate having a second protrusion positioned a predetermined distance from said first protrusion and a pin that inserts into one of said plurality of holes formed in said cam gear to control said predetermined distance between said first protrusion and said second protrusion, said predetermined distance between said first protrusion and said second protrusion being indicative of said predetermined limit that said belt can be loosened;
- and
- a cam lever comprising first and second interlocking portions for respectively engaging said first and second protrusions to enable rotation of said cam lever in dependence upon rotation of said cam gear and said cam plate, said cam lever further comprising a third interlocking portion for enabling said locking means to engage said ratchet wheel in dependence upon rotation of said cam lever.
8 more elements
A scat belt apparatus for an automobile, comprising:
- a belt;
- a spool for rotating in a first direction to wind said belt around said spool, and for rotating in a second direction opposite said first direction to unwind said belt from said spool;
- a rewinding spring for rotating said spool in said first direction to wind said belt around said spool when said belt is forcibly pulled to rotate said spool in said second direction;
- a ratchet wheel integrally connected with said spool and rotating concentrically with said spool;
- emergency stopping means for preventing rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction in response to occurrence of a force urging said belt to unwind from said spool with a magnitude beyond a first predetermined limit capable of being set by a user;
- and
- means for preventing loosening of said belt beyond a second predetermined limit by preventing rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction whenever said belt is unwound from said spool by an amount corresponding to said second predetermined limit, said means for preventing loosening of said belt comprising:
- locking means for engaging said ratchet wheel to prevent the rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool in said second direction;
- a cam gear having a first protrusion and a plurality of holes formed within and circumferencially around said cam gear, said cam gear rotating in response to rotation of said ratchet wheel and said spool;
- a cam plate integrally connected to said cam gear to rotate concentrically with said cam gear, said cam plate having a second protrusion positioned a predetermined distance from said first protrusion and a pin that inserts into one of said plurality of holes formed in said cam gear to control said predetermined distance between said first protrusion and said second protrusion, said predetermined distance between said first protrusion and said second protrusion being indicative of said second predetermined limit that said belt can be loosened;
- and
- a cam lever comprising first and second interlocking portions for respectively engaging said first and second protrusions to enable rotation of said cam lever in dependence upon rotation of said cam gear and said cam plate, said cam lever further comprising a third interlocking portion for enabling said locking means to engage said ratchet wheel in dependence upon rotation of said cam lever.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.