Vehicle sensor device and seat belt retractor using the same

Abstract

Disclosed is a vehicle sensor device and a seat belt retractor equipped with the same. The vehicle sensor device includes a main body forming an appearance, a cover coupled to one surface of an opening of the main body, a sensor housing rotatably installed in the main body according to an installation angle of the main body and an inclination of a backrest, a ball installed in the sensor housing to sense a change in inclination and acceleration of the vehicle, and a sensor rod provided on an upper portion of the ball and rotatably coupled to the sensor housing at one end. The sensor rod linearly reciprocates a guide rod provided in a locking device through a rotational motion according to a motion of the ball. The sensor rod is installed in the sensor housing in which the ball is installed, and is rotated about a rotation axis coupled to the sensor housing through a motion of the ball according to a change in inclination and acceleration of the vehicle, to linearly reciprocate the guide rod connected to the sensor rod, thereby allowing the guide rod to engage with or disengage from the locking device. Thus, a normal control range of the guide rod can be expanded.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a seat belt retractor, and more specifically, to a vehicle sensor device for sensing changes in vehicle tilt and acceleration and preventing the seat belt from being pulled out, and a seat belt retractor using the vehicle sensor device. Background Technology

[0002] Generally speaking, vehicles are equipped with seat belts to ensure the safety of the occupants.

[0003] The seatbelt safety device includes: a retractor that operates to allow a strip of seatbelt webbing (hereinafter referred to as "webbing") for securing an occupant to be wound around or pulled out of a reel; and a buckle, into which a tongue fixed at one end of the webbing is removably inserted.

[0004] When a vehicle comes to a sudden stop or accelerates due to a vehicle accident, the retractor prevents seatbelt-wearing occupants from being thrown forward or displaced from their seats due to driving inertia. Such a retractor may include a device that allows the webbing to be pulled out in its normal state when the occupant is wearing a seatbelt, but prevents the webbing from being pulled out further when a pull-out acceleration of the webbing is detected due to a vehicle collision or a change in the vehicle's tilt, as well as an emergency tensioning device and a pretensioning device to reduce webbing slack or suspension (i.e., webbing looseness).

[0005] For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose a retractor technology for controlling the winding and unwinding operations of seat belt webbing.

[0006] At the same time, when an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the retractor in the horizontal direction or when the vehicle tilt changes, such as in the event of a vehicle collision, vehicle sensors that detect acceleration or tilt are applied to the retractor to prevent the seat belt from being pulled out by operating the seat belt locking device.

[0007] Vehicle sensors that use a ball as an inertial component or that use an independent inertial component are well known in the art.

[0008] For example, a vehicle sensor includes an inertial member and a sensor rod that moves in dangerous situations where the vehicle is subjected to deceleration or tilt that is greater than the normal deceleration of the webbing. The sensor rod interacts with the external teeth of a control disc that is moved by the inertial member and rotates together with the reel of the seatbelt retractor.

[0009] These seatbelt retractors can be installed on the vehicle body, such as the center pillar, seat back, and rear pillar. Therefore, the installation posture of the seatbelt retractor can be varied depending on the structure of the center pillar, seat back, and rear pillar. That is, the seatbelt retractor is not always installed horizontally; it can also be installed at a predetermined angle from the horizontal position in the left-right or front-back directions.

[0010] In particular, when the seat belt retractor is installed in the seat back, the tilt angle of the seat belt retractor can be changed according to the rotation of the seat back.

[0011] However, if the posture of the seatbelt retractor in the relevant technology changes within a certain range, it cannot accurately detect acceleration and tilt.

[0012] For example, when the seatbelt retractor with the vehicle sensor is tilted at a certain angle from a horizontal position, the distance between the control panel and the sensor rod of the vehicle sensor becomes too close, causing the sensor rod to operate sensitively and thus fail to perform the locking operation correctly.

[0013] Additionally, when the seatbelt retractor with vehicle sensors is installed in the seat back and the seat back is tilted towards the front of the vehicle, the sensor rod of the vehicle sensor is locked by the external teeth of the control disc, thereby limiting the rotation of the retractor.

[0014] Therefore, when occupants want to fasten their seat belts, they may be unable to do so because the rotation of the reel is restricted.

[0015] To address the aforementioned problems, the applicant of this invention has filed a patent application disclosing a seatbelt retractor that includes a vehicle sensor having the improved fixing structure described in Patent Document 3, which is now registered below.

[0016] Meanwhile, with the recent development of autonomous vehicles, technologies are being developed to minimize the size of seats and seatbelt retractors used in vehicles.

[0017] Alternatively, an integrated seat belt (BIS) can be used.

[0018] Existing seatbelt retractors use vehicle sensors that employ a gimbal containing weight to measure the vehicle's tilt.

[0019] Even if the angle of the seat back changes, this vehicle sensor can still measure the vehicle's tilt.

[0020] However, when a seat equipped with a seatbelt retractor of the prior art (e.g., the rotation angle of the backrest) exceeds a predetermined angle range, the sensor rod connected to the universal joint may not properly control the guide rod, resulting in a problem where normal operation cannot be performed.

[0021] Therefore, there is a need to develop a seatbelt retractor that incorporates vehicle sensors, which can extend the range of angles that allow for normal operation by minimizing the abnormal operating range caused by the rotation of the seat back.

[0022] (Patent Document 1) U.S. Patent No. 6,499,554 (registered on December 31, 2002)

[0023] (Patent Document 2) U.S. Patent No. 6,443,382 (registered on September 3, 2002)

[0024] (Patent Document 3) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1766844 (Published on August 9, 2017) Summary of the Invention

[0025] Technical issues

[0026] The purpose of this invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a vehicle sensor device for sensing changes in the tilt and acceleration of a vehicle, as well as a seat belt retractor using the vehicle sensor device.

[0027] Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle sensor device and a seat belt retractor using the vehicle sensor device, which can expand the range of angles in which normal operation can be performed by controlling the guide rod, regardless of the rotation angle and installation angle of the backrest.

[0028] Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle sensor device and a seat belt retractor using the vehicle sensor device, the vehicle sensor device being able to detect the vehicle's tilt and the angle of the seat back by applying a ball.

[0029] Solution to the problem

[0030] To achieve the above objectives, a vehicle sensor device according to the present invention may include: a body forming an exterior; a cover connected to a surface of an opening of the body; a sensor housing rotatably mounted in the body according to the mounting angle of the body and the tilt of the backrest; a ball mounted in the sensor housing to sense changes in the vehicle's tilt and acceleration; and a sensor rod disposed on the upper portion of the ball and rotatably connected at one end to the sensor housing, wherein the sensor rod can linearly reciprocate a guide rod disposed in a locking device by a rotational action according to the movement of the ball.

[0031] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, a seatbelt retractor employing the vehicle sensor device according to the present invention may include: a vehicle sensor device for sensing changes in vehicle tilt and acceleration; a spindle device having a spindle on which seatbelt webbing is wound; and a locking device that performs a locking operation to prevent the seatbelt webbing from being pulled out during a vehicle collision, and a guide rod that can linearly reciprocate to engage with or disengage from the locking device according to the sensed changes in vehicle tilt and acceleration.

[0032] Invention Effects

[0033] As described above, the vehicle sensor device according to the present invention and the seat belt retractor using the vehicle sensor device can sense changes in vehicle tilt and acceleration, as well as changes in backrest tilt, by using a ball and a sensor housing, and the guide rod can be controlled by rotating the sensor rod.

[0034] That is, according to the present invention, the sensor rod can be mounted on the upper part of the ball, and the sensor rod can be rotated about the rotation axis connected to the sensor housing by the movement of the ball according to the changes in the acceleration and tilt of the vehicle, and the guide rod connected to the sensor rod can reciprocate linearly.

[0035] Therefore, the present invention can control the ability to pull out the webbing by making the guide rod protrude to the outside of the cover and engaging the guide rod with the locking device or disengaging the guide rod from the locking device.

[0036] In particular, according to the present invention, the spherical part can be disposed on the guide rod and can be rotatably connected to the upper part of the sensor rod, so that the guide rod can be normally controlled to reciprocate linearly regardless of the angle at which the sensor device is rotated and arranged by adjusting the angle of the seat back.

[0037] That is, according to the present invention, the guide rod can be normally controlled according to the arrangement angle of the sensor device, which is changed by adjusting the angle of the seat back relative to the reference position in the range of 10° in the forward direction to 90° in the rearward direction. Attached Figure Description

[0038] Figure 1 This is a view illustrating an embodiment of a prior art seatbelt retractor.

[0039] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of a seatbelt retractor employing a vehicle sensor device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 yes Figure 2A partial exploded perspective view of the seatbelt retractor shown in the image;

[0041] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 An enlarged view of the sensor device shown;

[0042] Figure 5 and Figure 6 yes Figure 4 An exploded perspective view of the sensor device shown;

[0043] Figure 7 This is a view showing the operating state of a retractor equipped with sensor devices, illustrating its rotational movement.

[0044] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of the sensor device installed in the retractor; and

[0045] Figure 9 and Figure 10 These are views illustrating the operational state of the sensor rod's rotational motion based on the ball's movement. Detailed Implementation

[0046] In the following, a vehicle sensor device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and a seat belt retractor using the vehicle sensor device will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] Before describing the construction of the seatbelt retractor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, reference will be made to... Figure 1 This section provides a general description of the construction of seatbelt retractors based on existing technology.

[0048] Figure 1 This is a view illustrating an embodiment of a prior art seatbelt retractor.

[0049] like Figure 1 As shown, a prior art seat belt retractor 1 may include: a spindle 3 on which seat belt webbing (hereinafter referred to as 'webbing') 2 is wound; a sensor unit 4 that detects the tilt of the vehicle; an emergency tensioning unit 5 that reduces slack by winding the webbing 2 during a vehicle collision; and a pretensioning unit 6 that smoothly pulls out the webbing 2 during normal vehicle operation and reduces slack by winding the webbing 2 just before a vehicle collision.

[0050] Sensor unit 4 detects changes in the pull-out acceleration of the webbing caused by a vehicle collision or changes in the vehicle's tilt angle.

[0051] The emergency tensioning unit 5 can operate a gas pump (not shown) containing gunpowder based on a detection signal indicating a vehicle collision, and can wind the webbing 2 onto the mandrel 3 using the pressure of the generated gas. Therefore, the emergency tensioning unit 5 can reduce the slack of the webbing 2 by winding it up during a vehicle collision, thereby reducing the injury level to the occupants.

[0052] When a vehicle collision is predicted by sensors applied to the vehicle, the pretensioning unit 6 can wind the webbing 2 onto the spindle by operating a motor capable of rotating in both directions. That is, when the vehicle is driving normally, even without an accident, the pretensioning unit 6 can maintain the tension of the attached webbing 2 and prevent the webbing 2 from slackening until the vehicle experiences stronger acceleration or deceleration. Furthermore, by winding the webbing 2 around the vehicle just before a collision, the slackening of the webbing 2 can be reduced, thereby reducing the injury level to the occupants.

[0053] In this paper, the spindle 3 is installed inside the fixed frame 7, and the sensor unit 4, the emergency tensioning unit 5 and the pretensioning unit 6 are arranged on both sides of the fixed frame 7, and the left housing 8 and the right housing 9 are connected to the outside of each unit.

[0054] That is, each unit 4, 5, and 6 is arranged on both sides of the mandrel 2 along the horizontal direction.

[0055] In the aforementioned prior art seat belt retractor 1, the spindle is mounted in the seat back along the width direction (i.e., the left-right direction). Therefore, as the length of the webbing 2 wound on the spindle increases, the thickness in the front-back direction (hereinafter referred to as 'thickness') also increases, thus presenting a problem that makes it difficult to apply the seat belt retractor to the back of a slender seat.

[0056] To address this problem, the present invention minimizes the thickness of the seatbelt retractor by rotating the mounting direction of the mandrel on which the webbing is wound, thereby enabling the seatbelt retractor to be applied to slender seats.

[0057] Therefore, the present invention can solve the problem of the loose connection between the sensor rod and the guide rod, which occurs depending on the rotation angle of the universal joint, by enhancing the structure of the vehicle sensor device.

[0058] In the following text, reference will be made to Figures 2 to 3 The construction of a seatbelt retractor employing a preferred embodiment of the vehicle sensor device according to the present invention is described.

[0059] In the following description, the direction in which the steering wheel is mounted relative to the seat—the direction in which the vehicle is traveling—is referred to as the "forward direction," and the opposite direction is referred to as the "rearward direction." Additionally, terms indicating directions such as 'left,' 'right,' 'upward,' and 'downward' are defined as indicating the corresponding direction relative to the aforementioned forward and rearward directions.

[0060] Therefore, in each figure, the X-axis direction corresponds to the forward direction, the Y-axis direction corresponds to the right direction, and the Z-axis direction corresponds to the upward direction.

[0061] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of a seatbelt retractor employing a vehicle sensor device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A partial exploded perspective view of the seatbelt retractor shown.

[0062] In this embodiment, the construction of a seat belt retractor used in an integrated seat belt (BIS) is described.

[0063] Of course, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it should be noted that seat belt retractors of various structures and shapes can be configured not only for integrated seat belts but also for ordinary vehicles or autonomous vehicles.

[0064] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the seat belt retractor 10 employing a vehicle sensor device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a spindle assembly 20, a vehicle sensor device (hereinafter referred to as 'sensor device') 30, and a locking device 40.

[0065] Meanwhile, the seatbelt retractor 10 may also include a pretensioning device that reduces slack by winding the webbing 21 before a vehicle collision.

[0066] The spindle assembly 20 and the sensor assembly 30 are the basic modules constituting the seat belt retractor 10, and can be manufactured as separate modules and assembled, or can be integrated into a module and provided.

[0067] The spindle device 20 is provided with a spindle 22, and the webbing 21 is wound on the spindle. The spindle device and the sensor device can be installed in the housing 23.

[0068] The sensor device 30 may include an acceleration sensor that detects changes in the pulling acceleration of the webbing 21, or a tilt sensor that detects changes in the vehicle's tilt.

[0069] In this implementation plan, reference will be made to Figures 4 to 6The structure of the sensor device 30, which uses a tilt sensor to sense changes in the vehicle's tilt angle, is described in detail below. The sensor device 30 can sense not only changes in the vehicle's tilt angle but also changes in acceleration.

[0070] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 An enlarged view of the sensor device shown, and Figure 5 and Figure 6 yes Figure 4 An exploded perspective view of the sensor device shown.

[0071] In this implementation scheme, for applications Figures 2 to 3 The structure of the sensor device in the seat belt retractor shown will be explained.

[0072] Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-described structure, and it should be noted that the present invention can be modified to be applied to seat belt retractors with various structures, such as Figure 1 The seatbelt retractor shown is an example.

[0073] like Figures 4 to 6 As shown, a vehicle sensor device (hereinafter referred to as "sensor device") 30 applied to a seatbelt retractor 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a main body 31 forming the appearance; a cover 32 attached to an opening of the main body 31; a sensor housing 33 rotatably mounted in the main body 31 according to the mounting angle of the main body 31 and the tilt of the backrest; a ball 34 mounted in the sensor housing 33 to sense changes in the tilt and acceleration of the vehicle on which the sensor device 30 is mounted; and a sensor rod 35 disposed on the upper portion of the ball 34 and rotatably attached at one end to the sensor housing 33 to move a guide rod 41 by rotational action according to the movement of the ball 34.

[0074] The main body 31 may have an open surface and may be formed into a cylindrical shape with a generally rectangular or triangular cross-section when viewed from the side.

[0075] A pair of fixed protrusions 311 can protrude from the upper and lower ends of the main body 31 to fix the main body 31 to the spindle device 20 by fastening with bolts or the like.

[0076] The connecting rib 321 may protrude from one surface of the cover 32 toward the body 31 along the edge, and the connecting recess 312 may be formed along the edge of the opening of the body 31 in a stepped shape from the outer surface of the opening to connect with the connecting rib 321.

[0077] The connecting protrusion 322 can protrude from the front end of the cover 32 toward the body 31, and the connecting recess 313 can be formed on the front end of the body 31 to connect with the connecting protrusion 322.

[0078] The through-hole 323 can protrude from the cover 32 toward the body 31 to allow the guide rod 41 to pass through and reciprocate linearly therein.

[0079] The main body 31 and the cover 32 can be arranged along the mounting direction of the spindle 22 (i.e., along the X-axis direction) and connected to each other.

[0080] The guide rod 41 reciprocates linearly along the Y-axis due to the rotation of the sensor rod 35.

[0081] That is, when guide rod 41 is as Figure 5 When the guide rod 41 moves to the right, the right end of the guide rod 41 engages with any one of the multiple protrusions formed on the outer periphery of the steering wheel (not shown) in the locking device 40, so that the locking device 40 performs a locking operation to prevent the webbing 21 from being pulled out.

[0082] On the other hand, when the guide rod 41 moves to the left, the guide rod 41 and the locking device 40 disengage from each other, allowing the webbing 21 to be pulled out freely.

[0083] The sensor housing 33 can be formed into a generally cylindrical shape with an open upper surface, thus creating a mounting space within the sensor housing, and the ball 34 is mounted in the mounting space to move according to changes in the vehicle's tilt. The lower surface of the sensor housing 33 can be bent to bulge downwards to correspond to the lower part of the ball 34.

[0084] The sensor housing 33 may have a first connecting part 331 connected to the rotating shaft part 314 of the main body 31 and a second connecting part 332 connected to the through hole part 323 of the cover 32 on the left and right sides of its upper end, respectively.

[0085] Therefore, the sensor housing 33 can rotate relative to the first connecting part 331 and the second connecting part 332 in the forward and backward directions.

[0086] The first connecting part 331 can allow the rotating shaft part 314 to be connected to its interior, and can have an inner diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the rotating shaft part 314.

[0087] The second connecting portion 332 can allow the through hole portion 323 to be connected to its interior, and can have an inner diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the through hole portion 323.

[0088] In this document, the rotating shaft portion 314 protrudes from the inner surface of the left side wall of the body 31 toward the cover 32 and serves as a rotating shaft that allows the sensor housing 33 to rotate around it.

[0089] An angle limiting part 315 may be formed near the rotating shaft part 314 to limit the rotation angle of the sensor housing 33.

[0090] The angle limiting part 315 may include: a first stop 316 for limiting the forward rotation angle of the sensor housing 33 about the rotation axis 314; and a second stop 317 for limiting the backward rotation angle of the sensor housing 33.

[0091] In this document, the positions of the first stop 316 and the second stop 317 can be set to limit the rotation angle of the sensor housing 33 to the rotation angle of the backrest.

[0092] For example, the upper end of the backrest can rotate approximately 10° relative to the lower end of the backrest in the forward and downward directions, and can rotate a maximum of approximately 90° in the backward and downward directions.

[0093] Therefore, the first stop 316 can be formed at the position where the fixing protrusion 333 at the lower end of the first connecting portion 331 of the sensor housing 33 rotates forward by about 10°, and the second stop 317 can be formed at the position where the fixing protrusion 333 rotates backward by about 90°.

[0094] However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the rotation angle can be adjusted differently by adjusting the positions of the first stop and the second stop.

[0095] For example, the invention can be modified such that the first stop can be formed at a position rotated approximately 90°, so that the fixing protrusion of the first connecting portion can rotate approximately 90° in the forward direction.

[0096] In addition, this embodiment shows that the sensor housing 33 performs a rotational action, but in practice, the main body 31 and the cover 32 can perform a rotational action according to the rotation angle of the backrest, and the sensor housing 33 can always remain vertically positioned due to the weight of the ball 34.

[0097] The ball 34 can be set in the internal mounting space of the sensor housing 33, and can have a diameter corresponding to the mounting space and can be set to have a predetermined weight.

[0098] Therefore, when installed inside the sensor housing 33, the ball 34 can move in various directions according to changes in vehicle tilt, such as forward and backward, left and right, thereby sensing changes in tilt.

[0099] When mounted on the upper part of the ball 34, the sensor rod 35 can rotate around the end of it connected to the sensor housing 33 in the left and right directions as the ball 34 moves to the left and right according to the change of the vehicle's tilt.

[0100] The sensor rod 35 may include a mounting portion 36 mounted on the upper part of the ball 34, a rod connecting portion 37 disposed on the upper part of the mounting portion 36 and connected to the guide rod 41, and a shaft connecting portion 38 extending from the rod connecting portion 37 to one side and connected to the sensor housing 33 via a shaft.

[0101] The mounting portion 36 can be formed in a generally disc shape, and the lower surface of the mounting portion 36 can be bent into an upward concave shape to correspond to the upper end of the ball 34.

[0102] The rod connection portion 37 can extend upward from the upper surface of the mounting portion 36.

[0103] The rod connection portion 37 can be formed in a generally cylindrical shape to provide space for connection with the spherical portion 43 formed at the front end of the guide rod 41.

[0104] That is, the guide rod 41 may include a main body 42 slidably connected to the through hole 323 of the cover 32, a spherical part 43 inserted into the space within the rod connecting part 37, and a connecting part 44 connecting the main body 42 and the spherical part 43.

[0105] The cross-section of the main body 42 can be formed in a roughly '┴' shape, corresponding to the shape of the through hole formed in the through hole portion 323. Therefore, the guide rod 41 is connected to the sensor rod 35, but even if the sensor rod 35 rotates together with the sensor housing 33 in the forward and rearward directions, the guide rod will not rotate with the sensor rod 35.

[0106] The connecting part 44 can be formed into a generally rod-shaped part with a width and height smaller than that of the main body part 42.

[0107] Therefore, the internal space of the rod connection portion 37 can be formed to have an inner diameter that is the same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the spherical portion 43 of the guide rod 41.

[0108] In addition, the slit 371, which is rotatably connected to the connecting part 44 of the guide rod 41, cuts downward for a predetermined length at the upper end of the rod connecting part 37.

[0109] The shaft connection 38 can extend to one side from the rod connection 37 and the mounting part, when in Figure 6 When viewed from the center, it extends downward to the right side, and a shaft connection hole 381 can be formed at the lower end of the shaft connection portion 38 to allow the rotating shaft 382 to be connected to the shaft connection hole.

[0110] In this paper, a take-out hole 334 can be formed on the sensor housing 33 to take out the shaft connection part 38 to the outside, and a pair of shaft support parts 335 can be provided on both sides (i.e., the front and the rear sides) of the take-out hole 334, so that the two ends of the rotating shaft 382 are connected to the shaft support parts and supported on the shaft support parts.

[0111] Meanwhile, the shaft connection portion 38 can be formed in an arc shape to protrude from the rod connection portion 37 and the mounting portion 36 toward the lower right, or it can be tilted to correspond to the shape of a ball.

[0112] The sensor rod 35, constructed as described above, can rotate relative to the rotation axis 382 in the left and right directions based on the movement of the ball 34 in all directions (i.e., forward, backward, left, right, and upward). Therefore, the guide rod 41, connected to the upper end of the sensor rod 35, can reciprocate linearly in the left and right directions by the rotation of the sensor rod 35.

[0113] As described above, even when the sensor housing connected to the main body rotates in response to changes in the tilt of the seat back, the vehicle sensor device according to the invention can still maintain the connection between the spherical part of the guide rod and the rod connecting part of the sensor rod, making normal operation possible in all angle ranges of the backrest.

[0114] In the following text, reference will be made to Figures 7 to 10 The operation method of the vehicle sensor device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail.

[0115] Figure 7 This is a view showing the operational state of a retractor equipped with sensor devices, illustrating its rotational movement. Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of the sensor device installed on the retractor. Additionally, Figure 9 and Figure 10 These are views illustrating the operational state of the sensor rod's rotational motion based on the ball's movement.

[0116] like Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the sensor device 30 can rotate in the forward and backward directions simultaneously with the forward and backward rotation of the backrest while it is installed in the retractor 10.

[0117] That is, the retractor 10 can rotate approximately 10° in the forward direction according to the forward rotation of the backrest, and can rotate a maximum of approximately 90° in the rearward direction according to the backward rotation of the backrest.

[0118] Therefore, based on the forward and backward rotation of the backrest and retractor 10, the main body 31 and cover 32 of the sensor device 30 can rotate approximately 10° in the forward direction, and can rotate a maximum of approximately 90°.

[0119] In this case, the sensor housing 33, which is rotatably mounted within the sensor device 30, can always remain vertically positioned.

[0120] That is, the sensor housing 33 and the ball 34 and sensor rod 35 installed therein can rotate around the first connecting part 331 and the second connecting part 332 inside the body 31 and the cover 32, thereby constantly maintaining their upright position.

[0121] At the same time, such as Figure 9 As shown, the mounting part 36 of the sensor rod 35 can be mounted on the upper part of the ball 34 before the vehicle's tilt changes, and can remain in a horizontal state.

[0122] Therefore, the guide rod 41, which has a spherical part 43 connected to the upper end of the main body 37, moves from the cover 32 toward the main body 31, that is, moves to the left, and remains in this state.

[0123] When the guide rod 41 moves to the left as described above, the guide rod 41 and the locking device 40 separate from each other, allowing the webbing 21 to be pulled out freely.

[0124] On the other hand, such as Figure 10 As shown, when the vehicle tilt changes and the ball 34 moves to one side, for example to the left, the sensor rod 35 rotates counterclockwise about the rotation axis 382 connected to the sensor housing 33, thereby causing the guide rod 41 to move to the right.

[0125] That is, the guide rod 41 connected to the upper end of the sensor rod 35 passes through the through hole 323 formed on the cover 32 and moves to the outside of the cover 32, that is, moves to the right and protrudes from the cover.

[0126] As described above, when the guide rod 41 protrudes outside the cover 32, the right end of the guide rod 41 engages with any one of the plurality of protrusions formed on the outer periphery of the steering wheel in the locking device 40, such that the locking device 40 performs a locking operation to prevent the webbing 21 from being pulled out.

[0127] As described above, the present invention can sense changes in vehicle tilt and acceleration, as well as changes in backrest tilt, by using a ball and a sensor housing, and can control the guide rod by rotating the sensor rod.

[0128] That is, according to the present invention, the sensor rod can be mounted on the upper part of the ball, and the sensor rod can be rotated about the rotation axis connected to the sensor housing by the movement of the ball according to the changes in the acceleration and tilt of the vehicle, and the guide rod connected to the sensor rod can reciprocate linearly.

[0129] Therefore, the present invention can control the ability to pull out the webbing by making the guide rod protrude to the outside of the cover and engaging the guide rod with the locking device or disengaging the guide rod from the locking device.

[0130] In particular, according to the present invention, the spherical part can be disposed on the guide rod and can be rotatably connected to the upper part of the sensor rod, so that the guide rod can be normally controlled to reciprocate linearly regardless of the angle at which the sensor device is rotated and arranged by adjusting the angle of the seat back.

[0131] That is, according to the present invention, the guide rod can be normally controlled according to the arrangement angle of the sensor device, which is changed by adjusting the angle of the seat back relative to the reference position in the range of 10° in the forward direction to 90° in the rearward direction or in the range of 90° in the forward direction to 90° in the rearward direction.

[0132] Although the invention manufactured by the inventors of this application has been specifically described according to the above embodiments, the invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the technical essence of the invention.

[0133] Industrial applicability

[0134] This invention relates to seat belt retractor technology, which mounts a sensor rod in a sensor device for sensing changes in vehicle acceleration and tilt, and moves a guide rod connected to the sensor rod by rotating the sensor rod about a rotation axis connected to the sensor housing based on the movement of a ball according to the changes in vehicle acceleration and tilt.

Claims

1. A vehicle sensor device for sensing changes in the tilt and acceleration of a vehicle, the vehicle sensor device comprising: The main body, which forms the appearance; A cover, the cover being attached to one surface of an opening in the body; A sensor housing, which is rotatably mounted in the main body according to the mounting angle of the main body and the tilt of the backrest; A ball, which is mounted in the sensor housing, is used to sense changes in the vehicle's tilt and acceleration. and A sensor rod is disposed on the upper portion of the sphere and one end is rotatably connected to the sensor housing. The sensor rod causes a guide rod located in the locking device to reciprocate linearly by rotating in accordance with the movement of the ball. The sensor rod mentioned above includes: The mounting part is mounted on the upper portion of the ball; A rod connecting portion, wherein the rod connecting portion is disposed on the upper portion of the mounting portion and is connected to the guide rod; and A shaft connection portion extends from the rod connection portion to one side and is connected to the sensor housing via a shaft. When the ball moves to one side according to the changes in the vehicle's tilt and acceleration, the rod connection rotates about the rotation axis connected to the sensor housing, thereby moving the guide rod outward from the cover. The guide rod includes: The main body is slidably connected to a through hole formed in the cover; A spherical portion, which is inserted into the space within the rod connector; and A connecting portion, which connects the main body portion and the spherical portion, and The slit, which is rotatably connected to the connecting part of the guide rod, cuts downwards by a predetermined length at the upper end of the rod connecting part.

2. The vehicle sensor device according to claim 1, The sensor housing is formed in a cylindrical shape with an open upper surface, creating a mounting space within the sensor housing, and the ball is mounted in the mounting space to move according to changes in the vehicle's tilt and acceleration. The sensor housing is provided with a first connecting part and a second connecting part on both sides, which are rotatably connected to the main body and the cover. The extraction hole is formed on one side of the sensor housing to allow the shaft connection to be removed to the outside, and One pair of shaft supports are respectively disposed on both sides of the extraction hole, so that the two ends of the rotating shaft are connected to the shaft support and supported on the shaft support.

3. The vehicle sensor device according to claim 2, The main body has a rotating shaft portion connected to the first connecting portion on its inner surface and An angle limiting part is used to limit the rotation angle of the sensor housing in the front-to-back direction. The fixing protrusion is formed on the first connecting part. The angle limiting part includes a first stop for limiting the forward rotation angle of the fixed protrusion, and A second stop is used to limit the rearward rotation angle of the fixed protrusion, and The positions of the first stop and the second stop are set according to the rotation angle of the seat back.

4. The vehicle sensor device according to claim 1, Even when the sensor housing connected to the main body rotates in response to changes in the tilt of the seat back, the vehicle sensor device maintains the connection between the guide rod and the sensor rod, making normal operation possible across all angle ranges of the seat back.

5. A seatbelt retractor equipped with a vehicle sensor device, the seatbelt retractor comprising: A vehicle sensor device having a configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 4 for sensing changes in the tilt and acceleration of a vehicle. A mandrel assembly having a mandrel wound with seatbelt webbing; and A locking device that performs a locking operation to prevent the seatbelt webbing from being pulled out during a vehicle collision. The guide rod reciprocates linearly to engage with or disengage from the locking device based on the sensed changes in the vehicle's tilt and acceleration.

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