Patent EP0240339A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0240339A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Seat-belt tightening device
Assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
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Filing: 1987-04-01
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-04-01
Abstract
Abstract A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt (3) when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising clamp members (l7; l8) for clamping a part of the seat belt paid out from a retractor device; a winding member (l8) for winding thereonto a portion of the seat belt that is located beyond the part clamped by the clamp means by a rotary motion; and a drive source (l6) for causing a rotational motion of the winding member. The winding member may be either integral with one of the clamp members or separate from both of them. Since the slack in the seat belt is removed simultaneously as the seat belt is clamped, the passenger is effectively restrained in case of a vehicle collision without being thrown forward due to any slack in the seat belt, and since the seat belt is allowed to pass through the tightening device without being obstructed under normal conditions the comfort of the passenger is assured by the action of a retractor which is typically provided in conjunction with the seat belt tightening device.
Inventors
- 👤 Kazuo Higuchi
- 👤 Hiroshi Tabata
- 👤 Hisakazu Okuhara
- 👤 Hidetoshi Saruwatari
- 👤 Akihiko Akiyama
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 10:00
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60R; B60R22/00; B60R22/18; B60R22/195; B60R22/1951
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
70 words
A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt (3) when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising: clamp means (l7a, l8a) for clamping a part of the seat belt paid out from a retractor device; and drive means (l5, l6) for removing the slack in the part of the seat belt that is located beyond the part clamped by the clamp means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
70 words
A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt (3) when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising: clamp means (l7a, l8a) for clamping a part of the seat belt paid out from a retractor device; and drive means (l5, l6) for removing the slack in the part of the seat belt that is located beyond the part clamped by the clamp means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
236 words
A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt (3) when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising: a drive source (l6) which is activated when the seat belt is required to restrain the user; a rotary member (l5) which is adapted to be rotated by the drive source; a pair of clamp member (l7, l8; 34, 36) which receive a certain span of the seat belt therebetween without substantially obstructing lengthwise motion of the seat belt, at least one of the clamp members (l8;34) being rotatable relative to the said rotary member; and a pair of seat belt guides (3a, 3b) which are provided at each end of the said span of the seat belt for limiting lateral motion of the seat belt; wherein the rotatable clamp member (l8; 34) is provided with a contact surface (l8b) which is arranged to push a major surface of the seat belt out of line with the direct path between the pair of seat belt guides as the rotary member is rotated by the drive source, and a clamp surface (18a; 34a) which is arranged to clamp the seat belt in cooperation with a corresponding clamp surface (l7a; 36a) of the other clamp member (l7;36) as the said contact surface pushes the seat belt and the moveable clamp member is rotatively driven by a reaction experienced by the moveable clamp member.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
236 words
A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt (3) when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising: a drive source (l6) which is activated when the seat belt is required to restrain the user; a rotary member (l5) which is adapted to be rotated by the drive source; a pair of clamp member (l7, l8; 34, 36) which receive a certain span of the seat belt therebetween without substantially obstructing lengthwise motion of the seat belt, at least one of the clamp members (l8;34) being rotatable relative to the said rotary member; and a pair of seat belt guides (3a, 3b) which are provided at each end of the said span of the seat belt for limiting lateral motion of the seat belt; wherein the rotatable clamp member (l8; 34) is provided with a contact surface (l8b) which is arranged to push a major surface of the seat belt out of line with the direct path between the pair of seat belt guides as the rotary member is rotated by the drive source, and a clamp surface (18a; 34a) which is arranged to clamp the seat belt in cooperation with a corresponding clamp surface (l7a; 36a) of the other clamp member (l7;36) as the said contact surface pushes the seat belt and the moveable clamp member is rotatively driven by a reaction experienced by the moveable clamp member.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
62 words
A seat belt tightening device as defined in claim 2, wherein the said drive source comprises a pull wire (l6) which is pulled upon activation of the drive source while the rotary member comprises a pulley (15, 32) around which the free end of the pull wire is passed,and a ratchet means (20c, 22a)for preventing reverse rotation of the said rotary member.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
43 words
A seat belt tightening device as defined in claim 3, wherein the effective radius of the pulley (15, 32) varies from a small value to a large value as the pull wire drives the pulley from an initial stage to a terminal stage.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
53 words
A seat belt tightening device as defined in any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the said rotatable clamp member (l8, 34) is rotatably supported by the rotary member in an eccentric relationship with respect to the rotary member ,and the other clamp member (17, 36) is fixedly attached to the rotary member.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
82 words
A seat belt tightening device as defined in any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the said rotary member (32) includes a pressure member (3l) which is arranged to push the seat belt in a direction pependicular to the major surface of the seat belt,and the said rotatable clamp member 34 is rotatably supported by the rotary member in a coaxial relationship with respect to the said rotary member,while the other clamp member (36) is fixedly attached to a fixed member (33).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
90 words
A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt (3) when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising: clamp means (17a, 18a) for clamping a part of the seat belt paid out from a retractor device; winding means (18b, 31) for winding thereonto a portion of the seat belt that is located beyond the part clamped by the clamp means,by a rotary motion thereof; and drive means (15, 16, 32)for activating the clamp means and causing a rotational motion of the winding means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
90 words
A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt (3) when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising: clamp means (17a, 18a) for clamping a part of the seat belt paid out from a retractor device; winding means (18b, 31) for winding thereonto a portion of the seat belt that is located beyond the part clamped by the clamp means,by a rotary motion thereof; and drive means (15, 16, 32)for activating the clamp means and causing a rotational motion of the winding means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
83 words
A seat belt tightening device as defined in claim 7, wherein the said winding means comprises a pressure member (18; 3l) which is arranged to press against a surface of the seat belt by a rotational motion thereof, and the clamp means comprises a moveable member (l8;34) which rotates on being pressed against the seat belt in cooperation with the winding means, and a fixed member (17, 36) which faces the moveable member with the seat belt interposed therebetween in a spaced manner.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
A seat belt tightening device as defined in claim 8, wherein the pressure member and the moveable member are formed of a single integral body (18).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
25 words
l0. A seat belt tightening device as defined in claim 8, wherein the pressure member and the moveable member are formed asseparate bodies (31, 34).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
82 words
A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt(3)when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising drive means for producing a driving force, a wire (l6)which receives tension from the drive means, and a pulley (l5;32) on which the wire is wound so that slack in the seat belt may be taken up when the drive means is activated, characterized in that the wire winding radius of the said pulley varies along the circumference thereof.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
82 words
A seat belt tightening device for removing slack in a seat belt(3)when the seat belt is required to positively restrain a user, comprising drive means for producing a driving force, a wire (l6)which receives tension from the drive means, and a pulley (l5;32) on which the wire is wound so that slack in the seat belt may be taken up when the drive means is activated, characterized in that the wire winding radius of the said pulley varies along the circumference thereof.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
53 words
A seat belt tightening device as defined in claim ll, wherein the said drive means comprises an explosive and the wire winding radius of the pulley gradually varies from a small value to a large value from an initial stage of an explosion of the explosive to a late stage of the explosion.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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