GB2230936A

GB2230936A - Adjustable pillar loop for seat belts

Info

Publication number: GB2230936A
Application number: GB8910314A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Stonefrost
Original assignee: AUTOLIV KOLB Ltd
Current assignee: AUTOLIV KOLB Ltd
Priority date: 1989-05-05
Filing date: 1989-05-05
Publication date: 1990-11-07
Anticipated expiration: 2009-05-05
Also published as: GB2230936B; GB8910314D0

Abstract

The pillar loop 14 is secured to an assembly 4 slidably mounted on a rail 1 mountable in a vertical position adjacent the shoulder of a person sitting in a motor car. The assembly incorporates a horizontally extending portion 9 defining an aperture (10, Fig. 1 ) through which the rail passes, to permit the assembly to move freely up and down the rail. If a tension is applied to the pillar loop, the assembly or part the assembly is moved to a condition shown in which part of the assembly bounding the aperture firmly engages the rail and prevents sliding movement of the assembly. Under severe tension, the aperture boundary part will cause the rail to deform (at 30, 31, Fig. 4). The main frame 5 of the assembly may be in two parts pivotally connected to one another (Figs. 5 to 8). <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Improvements in or relating to an adjustable pillar loop THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to an adjustable pillar loop, such as a pillar loop for use with a safety belt in a motor car.

It is common for a safety belt in a motor car to be retracted by a retractor reel which is mounted at floor level. A length of the belt runs vertically from the retractor reel to a loop which is mounted on the door pillar or "B-post" of the car. The belt passes through the loop in a sliding manner, and then passes diagonally across the chest of the person wearing the belt, when the belt is in use. When the belt is not in use the belt is retracted by the retractor reel.

The loop through which the belt passes is known as a "pillar loop" and it has been proposed previously to provide adjustable pillar loops, that is to say pillar loops where the height of the loop above the floor of the vehicle may be adjusted and selected.

The present invention relates to such an adjustable pillar loop and seeks to provide an improved adjustable pillar loop which can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

According to this invention there is provided an adjustable pillar loop for use in a motor car, said pillar loop comprising a rail, means to mount the rail in position so that the rail extends substantially vertically in a motor car at a position adjacent the shoulder of a person sitting in the car, an assembly slidably mounted on the rail, said assembly incorporating a substantially horizontally extending portion which defines an aperture which is larger than the cross-section of the rail, through which the rail passes, to permit the assembly to move freely up and down the rail when the axis of the said portion is transverse to the axis of the rail, the assembly having secured thereto the pillar loop, such that if a tension is applied to the pillar loop the assembly or part of the assembly is moved to a condition in which part of the assembly bounding the aperture firmly engages the rail and prevents movement of the assembly.

Preferably an assister spring is provided adapted to bias the assembly in an upward direction.

Conveniently said assembly incorporates an upper rearwardly extending tab located at a position above said portion, said upper rearwardly extending tab defining a second aperture which is significantly deeper than the depth of the rail, the rail passing through the second aperture.

Preferably said assembly comprises an integral component to which the element defining the loop is directly connected.

Alternatively the assembly comprises two components, one defining said aperture, the element defining the pillar loop being connected to the other component.

Preferably the said other component is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the first component, the other component having one or more parts located adjacent the rail, such that on pivotal movement relative to the first component that part or parts are brought into engagement with the rail.

Conveniently the said other component defines said upper tab.

Preferably said other component has part thereof inserted into the aperture adjacent the rail.

Conveniently the rail has a high friction surface.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is an exploded view of the principal components of one embodiment of an adjustable pillar loop in accordance with the invention, FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the pillar loop of Figure 1 when in an assembled state, FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of part of the pillar loop of Figure 2 for purposes of explanation, FIGURE 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 3, illustrating various components in a locking condition, FIGURE 5 is an exploded view of the principal components of an alternative embodiment of the inven tion, FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of part of the embodiment of Figure 5 when assembled, FIGURE 7 is an exploded view of the principal components of yet another alternative embodiment of the invention, and FIGURE 8 is a sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 7 when assembled.

Dealing initially with Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings an adjustable pillar loop in accordance with the invention comprises a substantially vertical guide rail 1, which is in the form of a channel. The channel may be formed of an appropriate metal, and may be coated or treated to have a high friction surface.

Thus the surface of the rail may be knurled. The guide rail 1 is provided with two apertures 2,3 adapted to receive fixing bolts or the like, to secure the guide rail in a vertical position on, in, or adjacent the "B-post" of a motor vehicle.

A locking plate assembly 4 is provided which is adapted to be slidably mounted on the rail. The locking plate assembly comprises a vertical web 5 having a threaded bore 6 therein. At the top of the web 5 there is a rearwardly extending tab 7 having a large aperture 8 therein. The depth of the aperture 8 is much deeper than the depth of the channel forming the vertical rail 1. The rail 1 passes through the aperture 8. At the bottom edge of the vertical web 5 there is a rearwardly extending tab 9 having a substantially "U"-shaped aperture 10 therein adapted relatively snuggly to receive the channel forming the vertical rail 1. The rail 1 passes through the aperture 10.

A bolt 11 may pass through an aperture 12 formed in a loop-forming member 13 and into the threaded bore 6 to secure the loop-forming member 13 to the locking plate assembly 4. The loop-forming member 13 defines an elongate aperture 14 through which a safety belt may be slidably passed.

An assister spring 15 is provided comprising a horizontal base 16 having two upstanding side arms 17,18 formed of resilient material each terminating in a coiled portion 19,20. The base of the assister spring engages under the rear-most part of the tab 7.

Figure 2 illustrates the various components described above with reference to Figure 1, but also illustrates fixing bolts 22,23 which secure the rail to the "B-post" 24 of a motor vehicle. A housing 25 defines circular recesses adapted to receive the coiled portions 19 and 20 of the assister spring is provided adjacent the top of the rail. A part of the safety belt 26 passing through the elongate aperture 14 defined by the loop-forming member 13 is illustrated.

It will be appreciated that the locking plate assembly may move slidably up and down the rail 1. This upward and downward movement is facilitated when the lower tab 9 extends perpendicularly to the rail, so that the aperture 10 formed in the lower tab 9 of the locking plate assembly is located so that it does not engage the rail with a frictional effect. It will be appreciated that the aperture 10 is slightly larger than the cross-section of the rail. It will be appreciated, however, that when the locking plate assembly is tilted, as illustrated in Figure 2, relative to the axis of the rail, opposed sides of the aperture 10 will engage opposed parts of the rail 1 with a frictional effect, thus serving to hinder or even prevent movement of the locking plate assembly.

It will be appreciated that the safety belt 26 will apply a certain downward force to the loop-forming member 13 due to the downward force applied to the safety belt 26, as indicated by the arrow 27. This will, ordinarily, cause the locking plate assembly 4 to tilt, to have the position illustrated in Figure 2.

Similarly the assister spring, which provides an upward force on the rear-most part of the tab 7, will also tend to tilt the locking plate assembly to have the position illustrated in Figure 2. However, it may be desirable to provide an additional spring, which may be located between the vertical web 5 and the rail 1, to bias the locking plate assembly 4 to the tilted condition.

If it is desired to adjust the position of the loop-forming member 13, a pressure can be applied to the head of the bolt 11, thus moving the locking plate assembly from the illustrated tilted position in Figure 2, to a position in which the lower tab 9 extends perpendicularly to the axis of the rail 1, thus enabling the locking plate assembly 4 to be moved slidably upwardly or downwardly without undue difficulty. When the locking plate assembly 4 has been located at a desired position, the head of the bolt 11 may be released, and the device will again enter the tilted position illustrated in Figure 2.

In an alternative embodiment, instead of pressing the head of the bolt 11, a special button may be provided, to be pressed when the position of the locking plate assembly is to be adjusted.

If the safety belt 26 passing through the aper ture 14 passes across the chest of a passenger, and a force is applied to the end 28 of the belt, a force is generated extending in the direction of the arrow 29, as illustrated in Figure 3, the direction of the force bi-secting the angle between the belt portion 28 and the belt portion 26. If the direction of the force 29 is such that the direction defined by the force intersects the rail 1 at a position above the level of the lower tab 9, then the locking plate assembly is caused to tilt. When the locking plate assembly has tilted by a certain distance, as illustrated in Figure 3, the lower edge at the front of the tab engages the front face of the rail, and the upper edge at the back of the tab engages the back face of the rail. Further tilting is thus resisted.The rear part of the upper tab 7 is spaced from the rear face of the rail 1 when the locking plate assembly 4 is in this condition.

If, however, a very severe force is applied, for example under accident conditions, then the parts of the lower tab that engage rail will cause the rail to deform, as illustrated at 30 and 31 in Figure 4. Thus the locking plate assembly is very securely locked in position on the rail and cannot move downwardly. The locking plate assembly however, will not move beyond the position illustrated in Figure 4, since it will be observed that the rear part of the upper tab 7 has engaged the rear face of the rail, as illustrated at 32, and a very significant force indeed has to be applied to the loop-forming member 13 to cause this part of the upper tab to deform the rail.

It is to be appreciated that the described adjustable pillar loop facilitates easy adjustment of the height of the loop. In contrast with some very common prior proposed arrangements which involve locking plate assemblies co-operating with locking teeth (which means that the height of the loop can only be selected from a range of pre-determined available heights) in the embodiment of the invention described above a continuously variable height setting is possible, between certain limits. There is no risk of a locking plate assembly failing to engage with a locking aperture or the like, causing so-called "false-latching". The arrangement is self-locking under load, is made of simple, strong components, involving a minimum number of parts, which gives rise to a very low cost design.

Figure 5 illustrates some components of a modified embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment the rail 1 and the assister spring 15 are as described before and thus these components will not be described again. The locking plate assembly 4 in this embodiment, however, is a two-piece assembly. The upper piece 33 defines the vertical web 5 and the top rearwardly extending tab 7 which defines the aperture 8, with the vertical web 5 again defining the threaded bore 6 which receives the bolt securing the loop forming member 13 in position. However, the vertical web terminates, at its lower end, with two depending fingers 34,35. The lower piece 36 is a substantially "U" formation channel section element defining a base 37 which defines the aperture 10, the aperture 10 being enlarged to receive the fingers 34 and 35, as well as receiving the rail 1.When the rail 1 and the fingers 34,35 are in the aperture, there is only a small amount of clearance around the rail. The side walls 38,39 of the channel each have a notch 40 formed in the upper surface adapted to receive a respective shoulder 41,42 formed at the lower end of the vertical web 5 of the piece 33. Each notch is provided with a front wall having a rearwardly directed bump or protrusion 43.

As can be seen from Figure 6, the components are assembled, with the fingers 34,35 located within the hole 10, and the rail 1 passing through the hole 10.

The rail 1 also passes through the aperture 8 formed in the lug 7. It will be appreciated that if a force is applied to a bolt inserted in the threaded aperture 6, the upper component 33 will be caused to tilt relative to the lower component, the protrusions 43 within the notch 40 acting as pivot points. This can provide a mechanical advantage. The fingers 34,35 will thus be brought firmly into engagement with the front face of the rail 1, under such circumstances, and the reaction applied to the lower element 36 will cause the rear part of the aperture 10 to engage firmly with the rear part of the rail 1. Thus an enhanced locking action is obtained. In all other respects the embodiment illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 will operate in a manner corresponding to that described above with reference to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate another modified embodiment of the invention, and again incorporate a rail 1 and assister spring 15 as described above. In this embodiment a locking plate assembly is provided which is, in a way, similar to that described with reference to Figure 1, since it comprises a single element 50 which defines a vertical web 51, an upper rearwardly extending tab 7 with an enlarged aperture 8 and a lower rearwardly extending tab 9 defining an aperture 10. However, this locking plate assembly is associated with a plate 52 having two downwardly extending fingers 53,54 which are located in a forward-most part of the aperture 10 in a similar way to the fingers 34 and 35 described in Figure 5. The plate 52 thus lies between the web 51 and the rail 1. The plate 52 defines the threaded bore 6 which receives the bolt 11. The bolt can pass through a large aperture 55 in the web 51.

It is to be observed that the web 51 present on the element 50 presents two rearwardly directed fingers 56 located towards the lower part thereof, the fingers lying at the opposed side edges of the web 51, these fingers having rounded ends and engaging the plate 52, thus forming a pivot axis about which the plate can pivot.

It will be understood that when the described components of the locking plate assembly are aligned with the axis of the rail 1, the locking plate assembly may move smoothly up and down the rail. However, if a significant force is applied to the bolt 11, the plate 52 will pivot, about the axis defined by the rear wardly extending projections 56, and the fingers 53 and 54 will thus bite into the front face of the rail 1, and the reaction applied to the described components will cause the part defining the rear of the aperture 10 to bite into the rear of the rail.

It is to be appreciated that whilst the invention has been described with reference to a rail of one particular cross-section, rails of many different cross-sections may be utilised if desired.

The apertures formed in the tabs may be closed apertures, as shown, with each tab effectively forming a ring surrounding the aperture (such as in a letter"0") or may be open apertures, with the tab only partly surrounding the aperture (such as in a letter "C").

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An adjustable pillar loop for use in a motor car, said pillar loop comprising a rail, means to mount the rail in position so that the rail extends substantially vertically in a motor car at a position adjacent the shoulder of a person sitting in the car, an assembly slidably mounted on the rail, said assembly incorporating a substantially horizontally extending portion which defines an aperture which is larger than the cross-section of the rail, through which the rail passes, to permit the assembly to move freely up and down the rail when the axis of the said portion is transverse to the axis of the rail, the assembly having secured thereto the pillar loop, such that if a tension is applied to the pillar loop the assembly or part of the assembly is moved to a condition in which part of the assembly bounding the aperture firmly engages the rail and prevents movement of the assembly.

2. An adjustable pillar loop according to Claim 1 wherein an assister spring is provided adapted to bias the assembly in an upward direction.

3. An adjustable pillar loop according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein said assembly incorporates an upper rearwardly extending tab located at a position above said portion, said upper rearwardly extending tab defining a second aperture which is significantly deeper than the depth of the rail, the rail passing through the second aperture.

4. An adjustable pillar loop according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said assembly comprises an integral component to which the element defining the loop is directly connected.

5. A pillar loop assembly according to any one Claims 1 to 4 wherein the assembly comprises two components, one defining said aperture, the element defining the pillar loop being connected to the other component.

6. A pillar loop assembly according to Claim 5 wherein the said other component is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the first component, the other component having one or more parts located adjacent the rail, such that on pivotal movement relative to the first component that part or parts are brought into engagement with the rail.

7. A pillar loop assembly according to Claim 6 or 7 as dependent on Claim 3 wherein the said other component defines said upper tab.

8. A pillar loop assembly according to Claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein said other component has part thereof inserted into the aperture adjacent the rail.

9. A pillar loop assembly according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the rail has a high friction surface.

10. A pillar loop assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A pillar loop assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A pillar loop assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 7 and 8 of the accompanying drawings.

13. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.