Tongue plate slip prevention structure

Abstract

To provide a structure for preventing slippage of a tongue plate, which can prevent slippage of the tongue plate with a simple structure. [Solution] The structure for preventing slippage of the tongue plate 3 includes a convex member 5 placed on a webbing belt 4 included in a seat belt device 1, an adhesive member 6 having an adhesive surface and attached to the webbing belt 4 with the convex member 5 interposed therebetween, a webbing belt insertion opening 9a formed in the tongue plate 3 and through which the webbing belt 4 is inserted, and an adhesive member insertion opening 9b formed in the tongue plate 3 continuous with the webbing belt insertion opening 9a and through which the adhesive member 6 can be inserted. When the webbing belt 4 and the tongue plate 3 are moved relative to each other, the convex member 5 cannot pass through the webbing belt insertion opening 9a and the adhesive member insertion opening 9b and interferes with the tongue plate 3, but the end E of the adhesive member 6 does not interfere.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a structure for preventing slippage of a tongue plate provided in a seat belt device of a vehicle such as an automobile. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with seat belt devices to ensure the safety of occupants. A seat belt device generally includes a webbing belt, a tongue plate that is movable in the longitudinal direction of the webbing belt, and a buckle that is fixed to the seat and allows the tongue plate to be attached and detached.

[0003] In a seat belt device having such a configuration, a tongue stopper (a device for preventing the tongue plate from slipping off) made of plastic resin is provided on the webbing belt for the purpose of preventing the tongue plate from slipping off relative to the webbing belt (for example, Patent Document 1). The tongue stopper generally consists of a first button with a convex portion and a second button with a concave portion, and is fixed by inserting the convex portion into a small hole formed in the webbing and sandwiching the webbing between the first and second buttons. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6284501 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the prior art including Patent Document 1, a dedicated device is used to fix the tongue stopper to the webbing belt, which results in high manufacturing costs. Also, if the tongue stopper becomes detached from the webbing belt for some reason, repair work requires a certain amount of effort and cost.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a tongue plate slippage prevention structure that can prevent the tongue plate from slipping off the webbing belt with a simple configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The tongue plate slippage prevention structure of the present disclosure is a tongue plate slippage prevention structure included in a seat belt device installed in a vehicle, and includes: a convex member disposed on a webbing belt included in the seat belt device; an adhesive member having an adhesive surface and attached to the webbing belt with the convex member interposed therebetween; a webbing belt insertion opening formed in the tongue plate and through which the webbing belt is inserted; and an adhesive member insertion opening formed in the tongue plate continuous with the webbing belt insertion opening and through which the adhesive member can be inserted; when the webbing belt and the tongue plate are moved relative to each other, the convex member cannot pass through the webbing belt insertion opening and the adhesive member insertion opening and interferes with the tongue plate, but an end of the adhesive member does not interfere. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the tongue plate slippage prevention structure of the present disclosure, slippage of the tongue plate relative to the webbing belt can be prevented with a simple configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a structural explanatory diagram of a seat belt device including a tongue plate slippage prevention structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 2] 2(a), (b), and (c) are cross-sectional views taken along line AA' in FIG. 1 of the tongue plate slippage prevention structure according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB' in FIG. 1 of the tongue plate slippage prevention structure according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A tongue plate slippage prevention structure according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a partial view of a seat belt device equipped with a tongue plate slippage prevention structure. In Figure 1, a seat belt device 1 installed in a vehicle such as a passenger car (not shown) includes a buckle 2 fixed to a seat (not shown), a tongue plate 3 fixable to the buckle 2, and a webbing belt 4 attached to the tongue plate 3 so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction (arrow a).

[0011] The buckle 2 is well known and has an opening (not shown) for inserting the tongue plate 3. The buckle 2 has a built-in locking mechanism (not shown) that functions to securely fix the tongue plate 3 when the tongue plate 3 is inserted into the opening. The tongue plate 3 can be fixed or released by operating a release button (not shown) attached to the buckle 2.

[0012] The webbing belt 4 is a strip-shaped woven fabric portion that extends in one direction (arrow a), and refers to a cloth belt that is generally recognized as a "seat belt."

[0013] Fig. 2(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' shown in Fig. 1. In Figs. 1 and 2(a), a convex member 5 is disposed on the surface of the webbing belt 4 at a position below the tongue plate 3. In order to increase the adhesive strength to the webbing belt 4, it is desirable that the surface of the convex member 5 is made of a material having adhesiveness. Furthermore, the convex member 5 may be made of not only a soft elastic resin, but also a hard resin or a material other than resin (paper, rubber, metal, mineral, etc.).

[0014] The convex member 5 has a predetermined thickness and is disposed at approximately the center of the webbing belt 4. It is preferable that the convex member 5 is attached to the surface of the webbing belt 4 that faces the tongue plate main body 7, which will be described later. The shape of the convex member 5 is arbitrary.

[0015] A sheet-like adhesive member (tape member) 6 having an adhesive surface on one side is attached to the webbing belt 4 so as to cover the entire convex member 5. The adhesive member 6 is configured by forming an adhesive layer on one side of a base material (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2(a), the adhesive member 6 is flexible, and is attached with its adhesive surface 6a (one side) in contact with the webbing belt 4 in a partially raised state following the convex member 5. The adhesive member 6 can have any shape, such as a rectangle, a circle, or an ellipse.

[0016] Various materials can be selected as the base material of the adhesive member 6. For example, plastic films such as polypropylene, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride, paper such as kraft paper, and cloth such as cotton and polyester cloth can be used.

[0017] 1, the convex member 5 is located at approximately the center of the adhesive member 6 in a plan view, in other words, the outer edge of the convex member 5 is sandwiched between the webbing belt 4 and the adhesive member 6 at a position a predetermined distance away from the outer edge of the adhesive member 6 along the longitudinal direction of the webbing belt 4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2(a), the adhesive member 6 is formed with a raised portion 6b that is raised in a convex shape following the shape of the convex member 5 and a non-raised portion 6c that is not affected by the convex member 5 (that is, is not raised in a convex shape following the shape of the convex member).

[0018] The tongue plate 3 includes a tongue plate body 7 formed from a metal such as an aluminum alloy, and a holder 8 that holds one end of the tongue plate body 7. The tongue plate body 7 is the part that is directly inserted into the buckle 2.

[0019] 1 and 2, an opening 9 is formed in the holder 8, through which the webbing belt 4 and the adhesive member 6 can be inserted. This opening 9 is configured to include a webbing belt insertion opening 9a through which the webbing belt 4 is inserted, and an adhesive member insertion opening 9b that is formed continuously (integrally) with the webbing belt insertion opening 9a and through which at least a portion (including the tip) of the end E of the adhesive member 6 is inserted.

[0020] The tongue plate 3 is movable along the longitudinal direction (arrow a in FIG. 1) of the webbing belt 4 via the webbing belt insertion opening 9a and the adhesive member insertion opening 9b. The holder 8 is molded from, for example, a plastic resin. Furthermore, it is possible to form a plurality of webbing belt insertion openings 9a through which the webbing belt 4 is inserted and a plurality of adhesive member insertion openings 9b that are formed continuously (integrally) with the webbing belt insertion opening 9a and through which at least a portion (including the tip) of the end E of the adhesive member 6 is inserted.

[0021] 1, the widthwise length dimension s2 of the adhesive member insertion opening 9b is set to be smaller than the widthwise length dimension s1 of the webbing belt insertion opening 9a. The widthwise length dimension s1 of the webbing belt insertion opening 9a is set to be slightly larger than the widthwise length dimension s3 of the webbing belt 4. The widthwise length dimension s2 of the adhesive member insertion opening 9b is set to be larger than the widthwise length dimension s4 of the adhesive member 6.

[0022] In FIG. 2(a), the total dimension t1 in the thickness direction of the webbing belt 4 and the adhesive member 6 is set to be smaller than the total dimension t2 in the thickness direction of the webbing belt insertion opening 9a and the adhesive member insertion opening 9b.

[0023] In this embodiment, the thickness t3 of the webbing belt 4 and the convex member 5 shown in Fig. 2(b) is set to be larger than the total dimension t2 of the opening 9 formed in the holder 8. In other words, the size of the convex member 5 is set so that the convex member 5 cannot pass through the opening 9 of the holder 8.

[0024] By setting the size of the convex member 5 in this manner, when the webbing belt 4 and the tongue plate 3 are moved relative to each other, the convex member 5 (corresponding to the raised portion 6b) cannot pass through the openings 9 (the webbing belt insertion opening 9a and the adhesive member insertion opening 9b) and interferes with the tongue plate 3 (more specifically, the holder 8 that constitutes the tongue plate 3), but at least a portion of the end E (corresponding to the non-raised portion 6c) including the tip of the adhesive member 6 can be inserted without interference. This prevents the end E (more specifically, the tip) of the adhesive member 6 from coming into contact with the tongue plate 3 (holder 8) and being peeled off. In other words, the opening 9 allows at least a portion (including the tip) of the end E of the adhesive member 6 to be inserted, but does not allow the convex member 5 (the portion corresponding to the raised portion 6b) to be inserted.

[0025] 2(b) and (c), even when the webbing belt 4 moves in the direction indicated by arrow b (the longitudinal direction of the webbing belt insertion opening 9a), the end E of the adhesive member 6 is positioned within the adhesive member insertion opening 9b and does not interfere with (contact) the tongue plate 3. This prevents the end E of the adhesive member 6 from coming into contact with the holder 8 and being peeled off, even when the webbing belt 4 moves within the webbing belt insertion opening 9a. In this way, even when the webbing belt 4 moves in the longitudinal direction of the webbing belt insertion opening 9a, the end E of the adhesive member 6 is positioned within the adhesive member insertion opening 9b and does not interfere with the tongue plate 3.

[0026] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B' in FIG. 1. This shows the state in which the tongue plate 3 has moved downward relative to the webbing belt 4 (arrow c). As shown in FIG. 3, as the tongue plate 3 moves downward, the end E (more specifically, the tip) of the adhesive member 6 is inserted into the opening 9 of the tongue plate 3, but the convex member 5 comes into contact with the holder 8 that constitutes the tongue plate 3 and cannot pass through the opening 9. This prevents the tongue plate 3 from moving further downward.

[0027] According to the structure for preventing slippage of the tongue plate 3 in the present embodiment, when the webbing belt 4 and the tongue plate 3 are moved relative to each other, the convex member 5 cannot pass through the webbing belt insertion opening 9a and the adhesive member insertion opening 9b and interferes with the tongue plate, but at least a portion of the end E of the adhesive member 6 does not interfere. Therefore, unlike conventional button-type tongue stoppers composed of a first button and a second button, there is no need to fix the tongue stopper using a dedicated device, and slippage of the tongue plate 3 can be prevented with a simple structure.

[0028] Furthermore, conventional tongue stoppers consisting of a first button and a second button are made of a hard material and can be damaged by getting caught in the door, but by using the flexible convex member 5, it is possible to prevent breakage or damage to the vehicle door. Furthermore, since it is easy for users to install, manufacturing and installation costs can be kept low. Furthermore, even if the adhesive member 6 deteriorates over time, it can be easily replaced. This means that the effort and cost of repair work can be reduced.

[0029] Furthermore, since the end E (more specifically, the tip) of the adhesive member 6 does not interfere with the holder that constitutes the tongue plate 3, the end E (tip) of the adhesive member 6 is prevented from coming into contact with the holder 8 and peeling off.

[0030] The structure for preventing slippage of the tongue plate 3 of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and design changes are possible as appropriate within the scope of the invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0031] According to the present invention, slippage of the tongue plate can be prevented with a simple configuration. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1 Seat belt device 3 Tongue plate 4 webbing belt 5 Convex member 6 Adhesive material 9a Webbing belt insertion opening 9b Adhesive member insertion opening E (Adhesive material) edge

Claims

1. A structure for preventing slippage of a tongue plate included in a seat belt device installed in a vehicle, a convex member disposed on a webbing belt of the seat belt device; an adhesive member having an adhesive surface and attached to the webbing belt with the convex member interposed therebetween; a webbing belt insertion opening formed in the tongue plate and through which the webbing belt is inserted; an adhesive member insertion opening formed in the tongue plate continuous with the webbing belt insertion opening and through which the adhesive member can be inserted, When the webbing belt and the tongue plate are moved relative to each other, the convex member cannot pass through the webbing belt insertion opening and the adhesive member insertion opening and interferes with the tongue plate, but does not interfere with the end of the adhesive member, thereby preventing the tongue plate from slipping off.

2. The tongue plate slippage prevention structure according to claim 1 , wherein a length dimension in a width direction of the adhesive member insertion opening is smaller than a length dimension in a width direction of the webbing belt insertion opening.

3. 2. The tongue plate slippage prevention structure according to claim 1, wherein a total dimension in the thickness direction of the webbing belt, the adhesive member, and the convex member is greater than a total dimension in the thickness direction of the webbing belt insertion opening and the adhesive member insertion opening.

4. 2. The tongue plate slippage prevention structure according to claim 1, wherein even if the webbing belt moves in the longitudinal direction of the webbing belt insertion opening, the end of the adhesive member is positioned within the adhesive member insertion opening and does not interfere with the tongue plate.

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