US 6,578,419 B1Granted

Acceleration sensor

AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho

InventorYasunori Murayama

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Abstract

An acceleration sensor, which can always maintain a supporting body at a predetermined angle even when an inclining member is inclined and in which, moreover, a tilt lock angle is small. A substantially U-shaped limiting protrusion 136 is provided standing at a face wheel 130, and predetermined clearances are formed between the limiting protrusion 136 and a limiting shaft 138 of a bracket 40. When a seatback is inclined, the face wheel 130 rotates around an axis line J at the same angle as an angle of inclination of the seatback, and the bracket 40 is rotated with respect to the seatback by the load of a weight 118. Thus, a center line C of the bracket 40 is kept in a vertical direction. Even if a difference occurs between the angle of inclination of the seatback and the angle of rotation of the face wheel 130, the center line C of the bracket 40 is always in the vertical direction, within the clearances, due to the weight 118's own weight.

Claims2

Dependent claims

An acceleration sensor comprising:

a supporting body attached to an inclinable inclining member, which said supporting body can rotate at least around an axis that is parallel to a center of rotation of the inclining member;
a moving body supported to said supporting body, which moving body inertially moves due to an acceleration at or above a predetermined value applied to said supporting body, and drives an output member;
a mass body, which, by a weight of said mass body, applies torque to said supporting body to a direction such that said supporting body has a predetermined angle with respect to a horizontal plane;
and
a rotating mechanism, which followingly moves in accordance with an inclination of the inclining member, and enables said supporting body to be independently rotated within a predetermined range by the torque from said mass body such that said supporting body has the predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane, said rotating mechanism including
a wheel, which can rotate coaxially with said supporting body, and which rotates in accordance with an angle of inclination of the inclining member,
a first abutting body provided so as to protrude from said wheel toward said supporting body, and
a second abutting body provided so as to protrude from said supporting body toward said wheel,
wherein said first and second abutting bodies form a predetermined clearance, and enable said supporting body to rotate independently of said rotating mechanism within the predetermined range due to the predetermined clearance.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.