Locking Tongue

Abstract

This locking tongue comprises: a tongue body having a first through-hole and a second through-hole which are for inserting a webbing therethrough, and a tongue plate for locking the locking tongue in an attachable / detachable manner to a buckle; a lock member which is supported so as to be displaceable between a release position where the lock member is spaced apart from the first through-hole and enables the webbing to move, and a lock position where the lock member approaches the first through-hole and hinders the movement of the webbing; and a guide piece which is attached to the lock member and limits the position where the webbing passes the lock member. This locking tongue having such configuration makes it possible to avoid contact between the inner wall of the tongue body and the webbing because the guide piece limits the position where the webbing passes.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a locking tongue that is removably fastened to a buckle of a seat belt device. [Background technology]

[0002] Three-point seat belt devices are known for protecting occupants in vehicles such as automobiles. When a locking tongue is properly fastened to a buckle, a three-point seat belt device protects the occupant by webbing that crosses the chest and waist of the seated occupant. Specifically, in the event of a collision, the webbing is fixed by a locking mechanism and prevented from being unwound, thereby restraining and protecting the occupant in the seat. As a locking tongue equipped with such a locking mechanism, one is known that can place the inserted webbing in a released state or a locked state by displacing a locking member within the tongue body (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2013 / 099590 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a vehicle occupant attaches or detaches the locking tongue to or from the buckle each time they get into the vehicle, the webbing is often pulled diagonally relative to the tongue body. When the webbing is pulled diagonally relative to the locking body, the webbing slides on the locking member and is pushed to one side, pressing against an unexpected part of the tongue body. This friction can cause fuzzing of the webbing fibers. This fuzzing can, for example, cause the surface to turn white in a mottled pattern, detracting from the vehicle's aesthetic appearance.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and provides a locking tongue in which the surface of the webbing passing through the tongue body is not roughened due to friction with the inner wall of the tongue body, even when the webbing is pulled out obliquely. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A locking tongue in a specific aspect of the present invention includes: a tongue body having a first insertion hole and a second insertion hole for inserting a webbing therethrough and a tongue plate for detachably connecting to the buckle; a locking member supported so as to be displaceable between a released position where the locking member is away from the first insertion hole and allows movement of the webbing, and a locked position where the locking member is close to the first insertion hole and prevents movement of the webbing; and a guide piece attached to the locking member and restricting the position where the webbing passes through relative to the locking member. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a locking tongue in which the surface of the webbing is not roughened by friction with the inner wall of the tongue body even when the webbing passing through the tongue body is pulled out obliquely. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a seat belt device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing how the locking tongue is fastened to the buckle. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are front and rear perspective views of a locking tongue; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the main elements of the locking tongue. [Figure 5] 1A and 1B are front and rear perspective views of a guide piece. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the guide piece taken along line aa. [Figure 7] FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a guide piece including peripheral elements taken along line bb. [Figure 8] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the guide piece including peripheral elements taken along line cc. [Figure 9] 1A and 1B are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing a locking tongue in an unlocked state and a locked state, respectively. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line aa of a guide piece according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009]

[0023] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, components with the same reference numerals have the same or similar configurations. In addition, when multiple structures with the same or similar configurations exist in each drawing, in order to avoid complication, some components may be referenced with the same reference numerals and others may not be referenced with the same reference numerals.

[0010] 1 is a perspective view that schematically shows a seat belt device 10 according to this embodiment. The seat belt device 10 is mainly composed of a locking tongue 100, a retractor 200, a webbing 300, a lap anchor 400, a shoulder anchor 500, and a buckle 600. The retractor 200 is attached to the floor on one side of a vehicle seat (not shown). The retractor 200 includes an inertia reel having an internal biasing spring, and winds up and stores one end of the webbing 300.

[0011] The webbing 300 pulled out from the retractor 200 is divided into three sections: a shoulder belt 310, a lap belt 320, and a vertical belt 330. The shoulder belt 310 is the section of the webbing 300 that is redirected by the shoulder anchor 500 and draped diagonally across the occupant's chest. The lap belt 320 is the section of the webbing 300 that is draped across the occupant's waist, with its end clamped by the lap anchor 400 and fixed to the floor on one side of the vehicle seat, similar to the retractor 200. The vertical belt 330 is the section of the webbing 300 that is pulled out substantially vertically upward from the retractor 200 and inserted into the shoulder anchor 500.

[0012] The locking tongue 100 slidably passes through the webbing 300, dividing the webbing 300 into a shoulder belt 310 portion and a lap belt 320 portion at the front and rear thereof. The locking tongue 100 is detachably fastened to a buckle 600 that is installed on the opposite side of the seat from the retractor 200.

[0013] 2 is a perspective view showing how the locking tongue 100 is fastened to the buckle 600. However, in order to make part of the internal structure of the locking tongue 100 visible, a cover, which will be described later, is removed.

[0014] As shown in the figure, the webbing 300 is inserted through the shoulder-side insertion hole 111 of the tongue body 110, folded back inside the tongue body 110, and pulled out through the waist-side insertion hole 112 (or the opposite direction is also acceptable). The portion of the webbing 300 that is inserted into the shoulder-side insertion hole 111 (which serves as a first insertion hole) functions as a shoulder belt 310, and the portion that is pulled out through the waist-side insertion hole 112 (which serves as a second insertion hole) functions as a lap belt 320. A guide piece 120 provided inside the tongue body 110 restricts the position through which the webbing 300 passes in the width direction inside the tongue body 110. This will be described in detail later.

[0015] The locking tongue 100 includes a tongue plate 150 fixed to a tongue body 110, and when the tongue plate 150 is inserted into the buckle 600, it is locked by a locking mechanism provided inside the buckle 600. When the press button 610 is pressed, the locking is released and the locking tongue 100 is released from the buckle 600.

[0016] 3A and 3B are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view, respectively, of the locking tongue 100. However, the rear perspective view shows the locking tongue 100 with a cover, which will be described later, removed so that part of the internal structure of the locking tongue 100 can be seen.

[0017] The tongue body 110 is made of molded resin, and has shoulder-side insertion holes 111 and waist-side insertion holes 112, which are insertion holes for inserting the webbing 300, formed to match the cross-sectional shape of the webbing 300. The tongue plate 150 is made of a metal plate and is integrated with the tongue body 110 by, for example, two-color molding. The tongue plate 150 has an opening 151, which is fastened to the fastening mechanism of the buckle 600.

[0018] A guide piece 120 and a locking member 130, which are used in combination with each other, are housed inside the tongue body 110. As will be described in detail later, these are housed so as to be displaceable as a unit between a release position where they are separated from the shoulder-side insertion slot 111 to allow movement of the webbing 300, and a lock position where they are brought close to the shoulder-side insertion slot 111 to hinder and even prevent movement of the webbing 300.

[0019] 4 is an exploded perspective view of the main elements of the locking tongue 100. The locking tongue 100 mainly comprises a tongue body 110, a tongue plate 150, a locking member 130, a biasing spring 140, a guide piece 120, and a cover 160. The tongue body 110 has a partially cylindrical shape with a generally U-shaped cross section having a central axis in the width direction. A guide curved surface 113, which is part of the inner curved surface, comes into contact with an outer curved surface 130a of the locking member 130 to support the locking member 130 and guide its displacement along the inner curved surface.

[0020] The locking member 130 is formed by bending a metal plate that has been punched into a predetermined shape, and is mainly composed of an outer curved surface 130a that follows the guide curved surface 113, and bent portions 130b that are bent so as to face each other from two longitudinal sides of the outer curved surface 130a. The biasing spring 140 is a spring member that has a curved middle portion and is formed into a wire shape. The biasing spring 140 is housed inside the locking member 130, and both ends thereof extend from the locking member 130 and are fixed to spring supports 114 provided on the tongue body 110. Due to the action of the biasing spring 140, the locking member 130 is normally positioned in a release position away from the shoulder-side insertion hole 111.

[0021] The guide piece 120 is molded from a molded resin and is fitted into and attached to the locking member 130. As will be described in detail later, the guide piece 120 restricts the position through which the webbing 300 passes relative to the locking member 130. The cover 160 is molded from a molded resin and covers an opening in the partially cylindrical shape of the tongue body 110 to protect the locking member 130 and other components disposed inside the tongue body 110.

[0022] 5A and 5B are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view, respectively, of the guide piece 120. The guide piece 120 mainly has a substantially plate-shaped flat portion 121 that is wider than the width of the webbing 300, and side wall portions 122 provided at both ends of the flat portion 121, forming an H-shape overall. A front surface 121a of the flat portion 121 is the surface with which the wide surface of the webbing 300 comes into contact and slides. A back surface 121b of the flat portion 121 is the surface opposite to the front surface 121a, and is the surface that faces the locking member 130 to which the webbing 300 is attached.

[0023] A guide protrusion 124 is provided on the back surface 121b near the center of the back surface 121b in the longitudinal direction and near an end in the lateral direction, protruding from the back surface 121b. When the guide piece 120 is attached to the locking member 130, the guide protrusion 124 comes into contact with a part of the locking member 130 to guide the guide piece 120 to a predetermined position. In addition, a plurality of semi-cylindrical crush ribs 127 extending in the thickness direction of the flat portion 121 are provided along the longitudinal direction on the side surface 121c, which is one of the longitudinal side surfaces. The crush ribs 127 come into contact with and press against at least a part of the fitting surface that fits into the locking member 130, thereby ensuring that the guide piece 120 is fitted to the locking member 130 without loosening.

[0024] The side walls 122 are provided to rise from both ends of the flat portion 121 and function to restrict movement of the webbing 300 in the width direction as it slides on the flat portion 121. The protruding portions 123 are provided to protrude from each side wall 122 so as to face each other and function to restrict the webbing 300 from being spaced apart from the flat portion 121 by more than a predetermined distance. The snap fits 125 are provided to protrude from both ends in the longitudinal direction on the back side of the flat portion 121. The snap fits 125 are engaged with the bent portions 130b of the locking member 130, making it easy to attach the guide piece 120 to the locking member 130. The guide covers 126 are provided for each side wall 122 and have a curved surface that is partially continuous with the outer curved surface 130a of the locking member 130 when the guide piece 120 is attached to the locking member 130.

[0025] Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the guide piece 120 taken along line aa shown in Fig. 5(A). However, a cross section of the webbing 300 sliding on the flat portion 121 is also depicted.

[0026] As described above, the guide piece 120 restricts the widthwise movement of the webbing 300 sliding on the flat portion 121 by the side wall portion 122. In this embodiment, the guide piece 120 is designed to satisfy GW1 ≧ BW + 1.0, where BW (mm) is the width of the webbing 300 and GW1 (mm) is the distance between the side wall surfaces 122a of the side wall portions 122. By providing a margin of approximately 1.0 mm in the width direction, the webbing 300 can be easily unwound smoothly during normal use. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the guide piece 120 is designed to satisfy BW − 3.0 ≧ GW2, where GW2 (mm) is the distance between the tips of the opposing overhanging portions 123. By overhanging the overhanging portions 123 in this manner, the webbing 300 is prevented from slipping out of the guide piece 120 during use.

[0027] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the webbing 300 is designed to satisfy BT×2.5>GH≧BT×1.2, where BT (mm) is the thickness of the webbing 300 and GH (mm) is the height from the surface 121a of the flat portion 121 to the protruding undersurface 123a of the protruding portion 123. By limiting the height GH in this manner, it is possible to both easily insert the webbing 300 into the guide piece 120 during manufacturing and prevent the webbing 300 from bending even if it is biased to one side during use.

[0028] 7 is a cross-sectional view of the guide piece 120 taken along the line bb shown in FIG. 5(A). However, the drawing also shows a cross section of the locking member 130 and a partial cross section of the curved guide surface 113 of the tongue body 110 in a state in which the guide piece 120 is attached to the locking member 130 and housed inside the tongue body 110.

[0029] The guide piece 120 and the locking member 130 are accommodated inside the tongue body 110 so as to be displaceable and rotatable along the curved guide surface 113. At this time, the cover surface 126a of the guide cover 126 provided on the guide piece 120 is continuous with the outer curved surface 130a of the locking member 130, and when the guide piece 120 and the locking member 130 are displaced together, they come into smooth contact with the curved guide surface 113. Therefore, the guide piece 120 and the locking member 130 can be stably displaced inside the tongue body 110 between the released position and the locked position.

[0030] 8 is a cross-sectional view of the guide piece 120 taken along line cc in FIG. 5(A). However, the cross-section of the locking member 130 is also depicted in the state in which the guide piece 120 is attached to the locking member 130.

[0031] When attaching the guide piece 120 to the locking member 130, first, the snap fit 125 is fastened to one of the bent portions 130b (left side in the figure). Next, the tip of the guide protrusion 124 is pressed against the other bent portion 130b (right side in the figure), and the flat portion 121 is pressed in such a way that the guide protrusion 124 slides relative to the bent portion 130b. When pressed in a certain amount, the crush rib 127 comes into contact with the bent portion 130b, and when the flat portion 121 is pressed further, the crush rib 127 is crushed, and the guide piece 120 is firmly attached to the locking member 130. When attached in this manner, the position at which the webbing 300 moves on the flat portion 121 during use is limited to the position at which it passes relative to the locking member 130. In other words, even if the webbing 300 is pulled out diagonally, it will not come into contact with the side of the locking member 130 or the inner side surface of the tongue body 110. Therefore, the webbing fibers are not frayed due to unexpected wear, and a certain aesthetic appearance can be maintained.

[0032] In this embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the protruding portion 123 is inclined so that the shoulder-side insertion hole 111 side is higher than the center portion. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the risk of the webbing 300 getting caught when being paid out.

[0033] 9A and 9B are a longitudinal cross-sectional view (FIG. 9A) showing the locking tongue in the released state and a longitudinal cross-sectional view (FIG. 9B) showing the locking tongue in the locked state. As shown in FIG. 9A, in the released state, the locking member 130 and the guide piece 120 are located at a position away from the shoulder-side insertion slot 111. In this state, the webbing 300 can move without any obstruction both when moving from the shoulder-side insertion slot 111 to the guide piece 120 and when moving from the guide piece 120 to the shoulder-side insertion slot 111. Therefore, the occupant can smoothly operate the webbing 300 both when paying out the webbing 300 to loosen the lap belt 320 side and when paying out the webbing 300 to loosen the shoulder belt 310 side.

[0034] When the webbing 300 is pulled with a force that exceeds the biasing force of the biasing spring 140 during a vehicle collision or the like, the webbing 300 pushes up the locking member 130. Then, the outer curved surface 130a of the locking member 130 slides on the curved guide surface 113 of the tongue body 110, and as shown in FIG. 9(B), the locking member 130 approaches the shoulder-side insertion hole 111 together with the guide piece 120. Then, the locking member 130 presses the webbing 300 toward the abutting portion 115 of the tongue body 110, and the pressing force prevents the webbing 300 from moving, resulting in a locked state.

[0035] The seat belt device 10 according to the present embodiment has been described above, but the specific shapes of the elements shown in the drawings may be modified as appropriate within the scope of not impairing their functions. For example, the guide piece 120 may be modified as follows.

[0036] Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a guide piece 120' according to a modified example taken along the line aa and corresponding to Fig. 6. In the figure, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0037] The guide piece 120' has a protruding portion 123' that is deformed relative to the guide piece 120. Specifically, the height from the surface 121a to the protruding lower surface 123'a on the open side of the protruding portion 123' is greater than the height from the surface 121a to the protruding lower surface 123'a on the side wall portion 122 side. In other words, the protruding portions 123' are open widely in the directions facing each other. This configuration facilitates the operation of inserting the webbing 300 into the guide piece 120' during manufacturing.

[0038] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the side wall portions 122 are provided at both ends of the flat portion 121 to restrict the movement of the webbing 300 in the width direction and limit the position through which the webbing 300 passes, but a configuration other than the side wall portions 122 may be employed to limit the position through which the webbing 300 passes. For example, the position through which the webbing 300 passes can also be limited by arranging a plurality of columnar projections. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 10...seat belt device, 100...locking tongue, 110...tongue body, 111...shoulder side insertion hole, 112...waist side insertion hole, 113...guide curved surface, 114...spring support portion, 115...butt portion, 120, 120'...guide piece, 121...flat portion, 121a...surface, 121b...back surface, 121c...side surface, 122...side wall portion, 122a...side wall surface, 123, 123'...projection portion, 123a, 123'a...projection undersurface, 124...guide protrusion, 125...snap Fit, 126... guide cover, 126a... cover surface, 127... crush rib, 130... lock member, 130a... outer curved surface, 130b... folding portion, 140... biasing spring, 150... tongue plate, 151... opening, 160... cover, 200... retractor, 300... webbing, 310... shoulder belt, 320... lap belt, 330... vertical belt, 400... lap anchor, 500... shoulder anchor, 600... buckle, 610... press button

Claims

1. a tongue body having a first insertion hole and a second insertion hole for inserting a webbing therethrough and a tongue plate for detachably fastening to the buckle; a locking member supported to be displaceable between a release position at which the locking member is spaced from the first insertion hole and allows movement of the webbing, and a locking position at which the locking member is spaced from the first insertion hole and prevents movement of the webbing; a guide piece attached to the locking member and restricting a position where the webbing passes relative to the locking member; Equipped with a locking tang.

2. 2. The locking tongue according to claim 1, wherein the guide piece has a flat portion that comes into contact with the wide surface of the webbing, and side wall portions that are provided at both ends of the flat portion and restrict movement of the webbing in the width direction.

3. 3. The locking tongue according to claim 2, wherein the guide piece has a protruding portion that protrudes from the side wall portion and restricts the webbing from being spaced apart from the flat portion by more than a predetermined distance.

4. The locking tongue according to claim 3 , wherein the height from the flat portion to the underside of the protruding portion on the open side is greater than the height from the flat portion to the underside of the protruding portion on the side wall portion side.

5. 4. The locking tongue according to claim 3, wherein a height from the flat portion on the side wall portion side to a lower surface of the protruding portion is 1.2 times or more and less than 2.5 times a thickness of the webbing to be inserted.

6. 3. The locking tongue according to claim 2, wherein the guide piece has a guide portion extending from a back surface side of the flat portion opposite to a surface that comes into contact with the wide surface, and contacting a part of the locking member when the guide piece is attached to the locking member to guide the guide piece to a predetermined position.

7. The locking member is made of a metal material, and the guide piece is made of a resin material.

2. The locking tongue according to claim 1, wherein the guide piece has a mating surface that is fitted onto the locking member and is provided with a plurality of ribs that come into contact with the locking member on at least a portion of the mating surface.

Images