Seat belt retractor bracket.

Abstract

The invention relates to a seat belt retractor bracket (1b) designed to secure a seat belt retractor housing to the body of a motor vehicle. The bracket (1b) is designed to be fixed to the vehicle body. The bracket (1b) comprises elastic return means (5) designed to cause the housing attached to the bracket (1b) to rotate relative to the body when the latter is connected to the body. The retractor bracket (1b) further comprises locking means (6) designed to switch, on command, between a locked position, in which the locking means (6) prevent the rotation of the housing attached to the bracket (1b), and an unlocked position, in which the rotation of the housing attached to the bracket (1b) is possible. (Figure 3)

Description

Title of the invention: Seat belt reel support.

[0001] The technical field concerns seat belt reel supports, assemblies comprising such a support and a seat belt reel housing and finally vehicles comprising at least one such assembly.

[0002] In terms of road safety, automobile manufacturers must take into account numerous regulations when developing new vehicles in order to ensure the safety of vehicle passengers in the event of a collision. According to these regulations, each passenger in a vehicle must have a seat belt designed to restrain the passenger in the event of an impact. Each belt is secured to the vehicle by at least three anchor points. Seat belts are designed and sized to correspond to a standardized passenger of average build. However, the rear seats of a motor vehicle are frequently occupied by passengers of small build such as children or adolescents. However, in the event of a frontal impact, the belt tends to cause excessive stress on the neck and chest of the passengers. These excessive stresses depend largely on the passenger's build.

[0003] Certain organizations, whose mission is to evaluate the behavior of vehicles in the event of impacts, have developed new procedures in order to evaluate the behavior of the seat belt of a motor vehicle according to the size of the passenger seated on a seat, in particular a rear seat. These new procedures consist of placing one or more pressure sensors between the dummy and the strap to measure the pressures exerted on the shoulder and chest of the dummy in the event of frontal impacts. These procedures use different dummies characteristic of different passengers, in particular a first dummy called "5th percentile dummy" corresponding to a woman of small build and a dummy called "Q10 dummy" corresponding to a pre-adolescent. The risks of injuries are differentiated according to the dummy.Thus, a 5th percentile dummy is likely to experience excessive stresses at the chest level, while a Q10 dummy is likely to experience excessive stresses at the neck level.

[0004] A conventional belt does not exhibit differentiated behavior depending on the passenger's size and therefore does not minimize the risk of injury. Such a conventional belt will not achieve a satisfactory result during these new procedures.

[0005] Thus, there is a need for a solution making it possible to obtain differentiated behavior depending on the size of the passenger seated in the seat.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to overcome the problems set out above. In this technical context, an aim of the present invention is to provide a reel support making it possible to support a reel housing and to adapt the behavior of the strap according to the size of the passenger.

[0007] To this end, the present invention relates to a belt reel support designed to secure a belt reel housing to the body of a motor vehicle, the support being designed to be fixed to the body of the vehicle, the support comprising elastic return means designed to cause rotation, relative to the body, of the housing secured to the support, when the latter are connected to the body, the reel support further comprising locking means designed to switch on command between a locking position, in which the locking means block the rotation of the housing secured to the support, and an unlocking position, in which rotation of the housing secured to the support is possible.

[0008] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising a reel support according to the invention and a belt reel housing, designed to wind and unwind a safety strap, the housing being secured to the support so that the elastic return means allow the housing to rotate around an axis of rotation.

[0009] The invention finally relates to a motor vehicle having at least one assembly according to the invention fixed to the body of the vehicle.

[0010] Thus, the reel support according to the invention makes it possible to obtain an assembly according to the invention making it possible to cause a rotation, in the event of a front impact suffered by the vehicle according to the invention, of the housing on which the strap is wound in order to cause a rotation of the safety strap to move it away from the passenger's neck if necessary. In particular, when the passenger is a woman of small build, the tilting of the locking means from the locking position to the unlocking position is controlled in the event of an impact. Thus, the assembly according to the invention makes it possible to differentiate the behavior of the assembly to the passenger protected by the strap.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the invention, the locking means comprise a key whose movement is controlled by an electromagnetic coil.

[0012] According to one possibility of the reel support, the locking means are designed to be controlled by a sensor designed to measure at least one piece of data representative of the tension exerted by a passenger on a safety strap wound in the reel housing.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the locking means are further designed to be controlled by means for detecting the occupancy of a seat and / or by means designed to detect the installation of a child seat.

[0014] According to one possibility, the winder support is designed to receive a mounting axis of the housing projecting from the winder housing, the elastic return means being designed to cause rotation of the housing about the mounting axis.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the winder support, the elastic return means comprise a spiral spring clamped by the locking means.

[0016] According to another embodiment of the support, the elastic return means comprise a return spring driving the rotation of a toothed wheel mounted to rotate in the support, the wheel being biocable by a latch of the support.

[0017] Advantageously, the toothed wheel has notches whose profiles are chosen to allow the rotation pitch of the toothed wheel to be increased or reduced between two successive notches.

[0018] The invention will be better understood on reading the detailed description which follows, given solely by way of non-limiting example and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0019] [Fig-1] [Fig.l] represents a perspective view of an assembly according to the invention;

[0020] [Fig.l] [Fig.2] represents a perspective view of a reel support according to a first embodiment of the invention;

[0021] [Fig.2] [Fig.3] represents a perspective view of a reel support according to a second embodiment of the invention;

[0022] [Fig.3] [Fig.4] represents a curve showing a control signal of the means unlocking and a curve representing the rotation of the box around its axis of rotation as a function of the control signal.

[0023] In these figures, the same references are used to designate the same elements.

[0024] A belt reel support 1a, 1b according to the invention, illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, is designed to secure a belt reel housing 2, illustrated in [Fig.l], to the body of a motor vehicle. The reel housing 2 is, in a conventional manner, designed to wind and unwind a safety strap 3 for retaining a passenger 4 seated on a seat, in particular a rear seat, of the vehicle.

[0025] The support 1a, 1b is designed to be fixed to the vehicle body at a fixing plate, not shown. The fixing of the support 1a, 1b is obtained, for example, by screwing and / or welding.

[0026] The support 1a, 1b comprises elastic return means 5 designed to cause rotation, relative to the body, of the housing 2 secured to the support 1a, 1b, when the latter are connected to the body. The rotation of the housing 2 takes place around an axis of rotation A which, in the example illustrated in the figures, corresponds to the vertical axis of the vehicle when the support 1a, 1b and the housing 2 are mounted on the vehicle. The elastic return means 5 are designed to cause rotation in a direction which causes rotation of the strap 3 towards the shoulder of the passenger 4, as illustrated in [Fig.l] by the arrows, in order to move the strap 3 away from the neck of the passenger 4. In order to allow such rotation of the housing 2, the support 1a, 1b is designed to receive a mounting axis, not shown, of the housing 2 projecting from the winder housing 2, the elastic return means 5 being designed to cause rotation of the housing 2 around the mounting axis.

[0027] The reel support 1a, 1b further comprises locking means 6 designed to switch, on command, between a locking position, in which the locking means 6 block the rotation of the housing 2 secured to the support 1a, 1b, and an unlocking position, in which the rotation of the housing 2 secured to the support 1a, 1b is possible.

[0028] As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the locking means 6 comprise, for example, a key 7 whose movement is controlled by the passage of an electric current in an electromagnetic coil 8. Advantageously, the locking means 6 are designed to be controlled by a sensor, not illustrated, designed to measure at least one data item representative of the tension exerted by the passenger 4 on the safety strap 3 wound in the winding housing 2. Such a sensor is, for example, incorporated on the strap 3 in order to be located on the shoulder of the passenger 4 protected by the strap 3.

[0029] According to one possibility of the reel support 1a, 1b, the locking means 6 are further designed to be controlled by means for detecting the occupation of a seat, such as a pressure or capacitive detection sheet, and / or by means designed to detect the installation of a child seat, for example capable of detecting the locking of a child seat in a seat locking system provided for this purpose.

[0030] An assembly 9 according to the invention thus comprises the support 1a, 1b according to the invention and the belt winder housing 2 secured to the support 1a, 1b so that the elastic return means 5 allow the housing 2 to rotate around the axis of rotation A. According to one possibility of the invention, the support 1a, 1b is an integral part of the housing 2 and constitutes a base for fixing the latter.

[0031] Thus, the assembly 9 according to the invention is able to implement an algorithm making it possible to adapt the behavior of the strap 3 according to the passenger 4. The first step of the algorithm consists, for example, in determining the corpulence of the passenger 4 to determine whether it is a child, a woman of small build or a corpulent man. Thus, the rotation of the housing 2, in the event of an impact, is controlled by the locking means 6 when the passenger 4 is a woman of small build and the tension in the strap 3 exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Conversely, if the passenger 4 is a man of large build, the locking means 6 remain in the locking position.

[0032] According to a first embodiment of the support 1a, illustrated in [Fig. 2], the elastic return means 5 comprise a spiral spring 10, illustrated in [Fig. 2]. The housing 2 can thus be secured to the spiral spring 10 so as to cause its rotation along an axis perpendicular to the plane of the spiral spring 10. As illustrated in [Fig.2], the locking means 6 comprise the key 7 which clamps one end of the spiral spring 10, when they are in the locking position. The clamping is carried out while the spiral spring 10 has stored elastic energy, so that when the clamping by the key 7 stops, that is to say when the locking means 6 are tilted into the unlocking position, the spiral spring 10 releases the stored energy by causing the rotation of the case 2.

[0033] According to a second embodiment of the support 1b, illustrated in [Fig. 3], the elastic return means 5 comprise a return spring 11 tending to drive the rotation of a notched wheel 12, mounted mobile in rotation in the support 1b, the wheel 12 being biocable by a latch 13 of the support 1b. The locking means 6 are then designed to, in the locking position, push the latch 13 against the toothed wheel 12 so as to block the rotation of the wheel 12. When the locking means 6 are tilted into the unlocking position, the key 7 is moved away from the latch 13 so as to release the toothed wheel 12, which is then set in motion by the return spring 11. When the locking means 6 are tilted from the unlocking position to the locking position, the key 7 is pressed again against the latch 13, thus blocking the toothed wheel 12.

[0034] As illustrated in [Fig.4], the support 1b according to the second embodiment allows a gradual rotation to be carried out, represented by the curve R, adapted to the intensity of the shock. Thus, a control signal in the form of a current peak passing through the electromagnetic coil 8, illustrated by the curve C, is sent to the electromagnetic coil 8 to cause the displacement of the key 7 and obtain a rotation of one or more notches 14 of the wheel 12, each rotation step being illustrated by the rotation obtained between two dotted lines represented in [Fig.4]. In order to improve the behavior of the support 1b, the notched wheel 12 has notches 14 whose profiles are chosen in order to allow the rotation step of the wheel 12 to be increased or reduced between two successive notches 14.

[0035] Thus, the reel support 1a, 1b according to the invention makes it possible to obtain the assembly 9 according to the invention making it possible to cause a rotation, in the event of a front impact suffered by the vehicle according to the invention, in order to cause a rotation of the safety strap 3 to move it away from the neck of the passenger 4 if necessary. When the passenger 4 is a woman of small build, the tilting of the locking means 6 from the locking position to the unlocking position is controlled in the event of an impact. Thus, the assembly 9 according to the invention makes it possible to differentiate the behavior of the assembly 9 to the passenger 4 protected by the strap 3. The differentiation of the behavior is, for example, determined by the information received from different sensors.

[0036] The invention is not limited to the embodiments of the reel support described above, only by way of example, but other embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claims

1. Belt reel support (la, 1b) designed to secure a belt reel housing (2) to the body of a motor vehicle, the support (la, 1b) being designed to be fixed to the body of the vehicle, the support (la, 1b) comprising elastic return means (5) designed to cause rotation, relative to the body, of the housing (2) secured to the support (la, 1b), when the latter are connected to the body, the reel support (la, 1b) further comprising locking means (6) designed to switch on command between a locking position, in which the locking means (6) block the rotation of the housing (2) secured to the support (la, 1b), and an unlocking position, in which rotation of the housing (2) secured to the support (la, 1b) is possible.

2. Support (la, 1b) for a reel according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking means (6) comprise a key (7) whose movement is controlled by an electromagnetic coil (8).

3. Support (la, 1b) for a reel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the locking means (6) are designed to be controlled by a sensor designed to measure at least one data item representative of the tension exerted by a passenger (4) on a safety strap (3) wound in the reel housing (2).

4. Support (la, 1b) for a reel according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the locking means (6) are further designed to be controlled by means for detecting occupation of a seat and / or by means designed to detect the installation of a child seat.

5. Winder support (la, 1b) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is designed to receive a mounting axis of the housing (2) projecting from the winder housing (2), the elastic return means (5) being designed to cause rotation of the housing (2) around the mounting axis.

6. Winder support (la) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the elastic return means (5) comprise a spiral spring (10) clamped by the locking means (6).

7. Winder support (1b) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the elastic return means (5) comprise a return spring (11) driving the rotation of a notched wheel (12) mounted to rotate in the support (1b), the wheel (12) being biocable by a latch (13) of the support (1b).

8. Winder support (1b) according to claim 7, characterized in that the toothed wheel (12) has notches (14) whose profiles are chosen to allow the rotation pitch of the toothed wheel (12) to be increased or reduced between two successive notches (14).

9. Assembly (9) comprising a reel support (1a, 1b) according to one of claims 1 to 8 and a belt reel housing (2), designed to wind and unwind a safety strap (3), the housing (2) being secured to the support (1a, 1b) so that the elastic return means (5) allow rotation of the housing (2) around an axis of rotation (A).

10. Motor vehicle having at least one assembly (9) according to claim 9 fixed to the body of the vehicle.

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