Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~)46Q37
Device in connection with safety belts
.
The present invention relates to a device in connection
with safety belts for preferably vehicles provided with a
reel-lock of such type, as comprises a reel, on which the
band of the safety belt can be wound up, and the rotation
of which in at least one direction in connection with an
abnormal change of speed of the vehicle is locked by means
of retaining device comprising a body of inertia capable
of changing positions and sensing said abnormal changes
of speed and with respect to its function depending upon
the gravity force, and a retaining mechanism, which can
sense a change of position of said body of inertia and
depending upon this being able to alternate between a
position locking the reel and a position releasing the
same, the body of inertia being placed in a housing part
and occupying excentric position relative to the rotation
axis of the reel, for reasons connected with the mounting
work and practical application it is desirable that one
can mount the reel lock in different alternative positions.
However, it is necessary to take the forces acting upon
the body of inertia into consideration, and therefore
it is not possible to change the angle of inclination of
the body of inertia in rest position and its seat in
relation to the vehicle.
A construction has previously been made in connection
with which the housing part including the b~dy of inertia
enclosed therein has been made pivotable relative to the
housing of the reel, the pivota~le housing part being
fitted to the endwall portlon of the housing of the reel
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By means of this construction it has not been possible to
make a mounting of the reel lock in alternative positions
i.n any plane extending through the pivoting axis of the
reel, by way of example a mounting with the pivoting axis
of the reel in horizontal alternatively vertical direction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide
this alternative possibility of mounting.
In general terms, the present invention provides
a locking device for a vehicle safety belt, the device
comprising a housing in which is contained a rotatable
reel for winding a safety belt band thereon, and locking
means for the reel movable between a retaining position in
which the reel is retained against rotation in one direction
and a rel~ase position in which the reel is released for
rotation in either direction, the device further comprising
a mounting rotatable relative to the housing through an
annular range of at least 90, said mounting supporting
an inertia member having a normal rest position and being
movable from said rest position to a displaced position
in response to sudden changes in speed of the locking
device, said inertia member being operatively associated
with the locking means for the reel by a pair of transmission
members one arranged on the mounting and the other arranged
in the housing, said transmission members abutting one
another at a point along the axis of rotation of the mounting
relative to the housing, the arrangement being such that,
when the inertia member moves from its rest position to
its displaced position and for any angular position of
the mounting relative to the housing within said range of at
least 90. the transmission members react to cause the
loc~ing means to move to its retaining position.
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1~)46¢)37
The one transmission member is preferably a first
double-armed lever pivotable mounted on a shaft on thè
mounting, one end of said lever being arranged to sense
a change in position of said inertia member at a point
spaced from the axis of rotation of the mounting relative
to the housing and the other end of said lever being
arranged to transmit the movement of said inertia member
along said axis of rotation to the other transmission
member in the housing.
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1046Q37
The invent~on ~ill now be~described more in detail
by means of an example of embodiment, reference be~ng made to
the accompanying drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the
hous,ing of the reel,
Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the housing of
the reel along the line II - II of Fig. 1, and
Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the housing of
the reel along the line III - III of Fig. 1,
Fig. 4 is a partial cross sectional view of the
housing part enclosing the body of inertia, and from
Fig. 5 two alternative positions of mounting of the
reel lock are evident.
It is evident from the figures 1 and 2 that the
reel lock, for which the device according to the invention can
find an advantage~us application, is comprised by a reel 3
pivotably journalled on a shaft 2 in a housing 1, on which
reel the band (not shown) of the belt can be wound up by means
of the force of a helical spring 4, which with one of its ends
is attached to the housing 1 and with its other end is
introduced into a slit 5 at one end of the shaft 2. A balance
wheel 6, which is rotable substantially with the reel 3 and
its shaft 2, is mounted at the other end of the shaft. However,
said balance wheel exhibits a mobility of a small torsional
angle relative to said shaft. This is obtained by means of
a hub 7 in rigid mounting on the shaft, which hub is provided
with two radially directed pins 8 and is movable in a central
cavity 9 of the balance wheel 6 with a limitation, which is
defined by stop dogs 10, shaped by two recesses in the cavity
9, into which recesses the pins 8 extend. Moreover two grooves
11 are provided in the balance wheel 6, which grooves are open
in outward radial direction and in which two pawls 12 are
11
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movable. Said pawls with their inner end, as seen in radial
direction, extend each one into its pocket 13, which are
located in such a position that the pawls 12 get a direction,
which at least to some extent deviates from the radial direction.
In order to keep the pawls in place with their inner ends
resting in said pockets 13, retainer plates 14 are provided
in crosswise arrangement. Said plates are springing thereby
securing the return movement of the plates after a previous
substantially radial movement in outward direction, which will
be explained more in detail further on. At the inside of the
housing 1 right in front of the balance wheel 6 in the example
shown there is a locking surface 15 of peripherical extension
in the form of a number of teeth of such a direction that a
locking function of unilateral direction can be obtained.
On account of the construction, especially evident
from figure 2, such a function is obtained that the reel-lock
locks itself in connection with a pulling out of the band of the
safety belt with a force of acceleration exceeding a predeter-
mined low value. This is produced by the pawls 12 with their
free ends 12' in connection with an accelerating rotary motion
of the shaft 2 and consequently also of the hub 7 being pressed
in outwards direction on account of the inertia of the balance
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wheel 6 and the permitted reIative movement between the hub
and the balance wheel, whereby the pawls are brought into
engagement with the dented surface 15 and the reel is locked.
When the load on the band of the safety belt is removed, which
results in that the torque acting on the shaft will cease,
the pawls 12 by the bias of the springing holder plates 14
will return to their initial position illustrated in Fig. 2.
In order to meet the requirement of a locking of
the reel lock also in connection with an abnormal change of
speed of a vehicle, in which the reel lock is mounted, it is,
as is best evident from the figures 3 and 4, provided with a
body of inertia 16, a retaining mechanism 14, and a ratchet
wheel 18, which in the example shown is rigidly mounted on the
shaft 2 of the reel 3. The body of inertia 16, which in the
illustrated example comprises an upright pendulum, is enclosed
in a housing part 19, in which a seat 20 is ~haped for the
pendulum with an opening 21, through which by means of the
retaining mechanism 17 a change of position of the pendulum
can be sensed.
The retaining mechanism 17 substantially comprises
a double-armed joint lever 22, which is pivotably journalled
on an axis 23 in the housing part 19 and arranged with one end
24 through the opening 21 of the seat 20 in the resting
poeition of the pendulum 16 to be in contact with a downwards
pointing needle 25 provided on the same. Said joint lever
22 with its other end 26 is in contact with a second,
likewise double-armed joint lever 27, which by means of a
shaft 28 is pivotably journalled in the housing 1 of the
reel. This joint lever 27 via one end 29 is in said connection
with the first lever 22, while its other end 30 is arranged
alternatively to be engaged with or disengaged from the
ratchet wheel 18.
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The two levers 22, 27 are biased against each other,
each one by a spring 31, 32, which springs are adjusted in such
a manner that the spring 32, which ~orks on said second lever
and in the example shown comprises a helical spring acting as
a p:ressure spring, together with the power action of the
pendulum 16 on said first lever 22 overcomes the torque of the
spring biasing said last mentioned lever, while in connection
with a tilting movement of the pendulum 16 the torque working
upon said first lever 22 overcomes the torque, which in
opposite direction acts on said second lever 27.
In connection with normal changes of speed of a
vehicle, in which the reel lock according to the invention is
mounted, the pendulum 16 is in the rest position and the
retaining mechanism 17 in a position releasing the reel 3
(see Fig. 3). However, when an abnormal change of speed of
the vehicle takes place, the pendulum 16 tilts (see Fig. 4),
whereby said first lever 22 under the bias of the spring 31
working thereon pivots a distance in counter-clockwise
direction, which results therein that said second lever 27,
which with one end 29 is in contact with said other end 26
of said first lever 22, likewise pivots around its axis 28 a
distance in counter-clockwise direction, whereby the lever 27
with its other end 30 will engage the toothing 33 of the
ratchet wheel 18, whereby the reel 20 is locked against
rotation
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in one direction, in the example illustrated being the clockwise
direction. When this abn~rmal change of speed of the vehicle
ceases and the band of the safety belt has been unloaded, the
pendulum 16 returns to its resting position shown in Fig. 3,
whereby the two levers 22, 27 again pivot in clockwise direction
under the force of partly the weight of the pendulum and partly
the spring forces working on the levers, whereby the end 30 of
the lever 27 is returned to its releasing position shown in
~igure 3 and the reel again can rotate freely.
As is best evident from figure 5 the housing part 19
enclosing the pendulum 16 is turnable relative to the housing
a 0f the reel 3, and on account thereof it can be adjusted in
different turning positions, which according to the invention
moreover is possible without any influence whatsoever on the
function of the body of inertia 16 and the retaining mechanism
17. As is best evident from the figures 3 and 4 and the
detailed description in connection thereto this is accordingly
brought about by the retaining mechanism being arranged in
the following principal manner. The retaining mechanism is
divided into two main elements, the two levers 22 and 27, of
which one, the lever 22, is placed in the turnable housing
part l9, and the other, the lever 27, is placed in the housing
1 of the reel. Both these elements are in contact with each
other and transmit the movement of alternation along turning
axis 34 of the housing part 19 at the same time as the
required movement substantially is carried out in the
longitudinal direction of said turning axis. The location
of the lever 27 with its end 29 is evident also from figure 1,
where a portion of the housing 1 is shown in a broken view
right in front of the pivotable housing part 19. By the
construction of the turnable housing part 19 and the retaining
mechanism 17, described above, a mounting of the reel lock in
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different turning positions thus is made p~ssible, an example
of which is illustrated in figure 5, where the housing of the
reel is imagined to be ~ounted in two alternative positions
at right angle in bet~een them, while the housing part 19 in
con~ection with an alternation from one position lnto the other
has been turned the same angle and occupies an unchanged
angular position relative to the functioning position in a
vehicle, where the reeIlock is intended to be mounted.
The invention is not limited to the example of
embodiment described above and illustrated in the drawings,
but can be varied ~ithin the scope of the follo~ing claims.
By way of example one can imagine the locking of the reel to
be performed by means of another type of design than the one
shown. The body of inertia can also be of another type, by
way of example a ball, while it also can be imagined to
construct the retaining mechanism 17 in various different ways.
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