GB2334006A

GB2334006A - A vehicle safety arrangement

Info

Publication number: GB2334006A
Application number: GB9802401A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin Lindstrom
Original assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Current assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Priority date: 1998-02-04
Filing date: 1998-02-04
Publication date: 1999-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 2018-02-04
Also published as: GB9802401D0; GB2334006B; GB2334006A8

Abstract

A safety arrangement is mounted in part of a vehicle seat. The safety arrangement comprises a rail element(6) and a resilient or deformable element (10) which is mounted on the rail by means of two connectors(9, 15). One of the connectors(15) is movably mounted on the rail(6) so that the distance between the connectors may be adjusted. A means for reducing the distance between the connectors may comprise a pyrotechnic arrangement comprising a housing(19) which contains a pyrotechnic charge(24) and a piston(18) which is connected to the connector(15). The pyrotechnic charge may be ignited by a signal from a sensor(28) when an impact or roll-over is detected whereupon the movable connector(15) moves towards the fixed connector causing the resilient element(10) to bow outwardly. The resilient element, when bowed outwardly, forms a protective element for a occupant of the vehicle.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO A SAFETY ARRANGEMENT' THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a safety arrangement, and more particularly relates to a safety arrangement to be mounted in a motor vehicle such as a motor car.

When a motor vehicle, such as a motor car is involved in a side impact, or in a roll-over situation, substantial forces may be applied to the driver or occupant of the vehicle tending to move the driver or occupant of the vehicle in a lateral direction relative to the vehicle, that is to say, a direction which is transverse to the intended direction of movement of the motor vehicle. When the driver or occupant of the vehicle is using an ordinary seat belt with three anchoring points, the driver or occupant may not be restrained adequately, and may actually effect a lateral movement, especially in the direction towards the side of the seat where there is only one lower anchorage point.

The risk of injury arising to occupants in a motor vehicle in a side impact, or roll-over situation will be minimised if the occupants of the vehicle can each be restrained within their own seat.

The present invention seeks to provide a safety arrangement which, in use, will provide some protection for an occupant of a vehicle during a side impact or roll-over situation.

According to this invention there is provided a safety arrangement mounted in part of a vehicle seat, the safety arrangement comprising a rail element, a resilient or deformable element mounted on the rail element by means of two connectors, at least one of said connectors being movably mounted on the rail element so that the distance between the connectors may be adjusted, and means adapted to respond to a signal from a sensor to reduce the distance between the connectors and thus to force part of the resilient or deformable element away from the rail element to form a projection extending from part of the seat to restrain an occupant of the seat.

Preferably a sensor is provided to supply said signal, said sensor being adapted to supply said signal in response to a side impact or roll-over situation.

In one embodiment the means adopted to reduce the distance between the connectors comprises a housing connected to one of the connectors and an element receivable in the housing, these being a resilient or spring releasable in response to said signal to bias and move said element relative to the housing.

Conveniently the means adapted to reduce the distance between the connectors comprises a housing which is connected to one of the connectors, and a piston, the head of the piston being within the housing, and the shank of the piston being connected to the other of the connectors, there being a pyrotechnic charge arranged to be ignited in response to said signal to generate gas to move the piston within the housing.

Advantageously means are provided within the housing to retain the piston in the position that it occupies after it has been moved as a consequence of ignition of the pyrotechnic charge.

Preferably said retaining means comprises a spring biased plunger adapted to be biased towards the shank of the piston, the shank of the piston being provided with at least one notch or recess adapted to be engaged by the plunger to retain the piston in position.

Advantageously the resilient or deformable element comprises a strip of spring steel.

Conveniently the resilient or deformable element has a central substantially linear portion, and has two terminal portions which are connected to the central portion by curves, each of approximately 1800, the terminal portions being connected to parts of the two connectors which face away from each other.

Preferably manually operable means are provided to adjust the position of at least one connector relative to the other connector on said frame or rail.

Advantageously said manually operable means comprise a lever associated with a Bowden cable.

Conveniently the rail element forms part of the back of the seat.

Advantageously the safety arrangement is mounted on one side of the seat and wherein a further safety arrangement of the same kind is provided on the other side of the vehicle seat.

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 a perspective view illustrating a vehicle seat, and showing part of the interior structure of the seat, FIGURE 2 is a side part sectional and part schematic view of part of the seat illustrated in Figure 1, FIGURE 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 illustrating the position of various components shown in Figure 2 after an accident has occurred, and FIGURE 4 is a further side view showing part of the seat of Figure 1 illustrating the manual adjustment of some of the components shown in Figure 1.

Referring initially to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, a vehicle seat 1 is provided which has a squab 2 and a back-rest 3.

Contained within the back-rest 3 is an inverted "U"-shaped frame or support 4. The frame or support 4 may comprise the structural framework within the back 3 of the seat 1 which is connected to the squab 2, or may comprise a support framework provided solely for the purpose of supporting the components of the safety device that will be described hereinafter.

The inverted "Us'-shaped support or frame 4 comprises a horizontal upper rail 5 and two depending rails 6,7. On each of the depending rails 6,7, an identical structure is provided. Consequently, only the structure present on rail 6 will be described in detail.

As can be seen more clearly in Figure 2, the rail 6 supports a structure 8 which consists of an upper connector 9 which is secured to the rail 6.

Connected to the upper connector 9 is one end of a resilient deformable strip 10. The deformable resilient strip 10 may be made of any appropriate material, such as spring steel. The strip 10 emerges from the upper part of the connector 9 and then curves, 11, away from the rail 6 through almost 180 , to provide a relatively long length of the strip 12 which extends downwardly substantially parallel with the rail 6. The strip 10 then curves, 13, again through almost 1800, a terminal portion 14 of the strip being connected to a lower connector 15, which is slidably mounted on the rail 6. The connector 15 may move up the rail 6, in the direction indicated by arrow 16 from the initial position illustrated in Figure 2. Thus, the strip has terminal portions which are connected to parts of the connectors 9,15 which force away from each other.

The connector 15 defines a cylindrical passage which slidably receives the shank 17 of a piston 18, the head of the piston being located within a substantially cylindrical housing 19. Part of the shank 17 of the piston 18 within the housing 19 is provided with a series of notches or recesses 20. A plunger 21 is provided within the housing, which is biased, by means of a helical spring 22, towards the notched part of the shank 17 of the piston 18.

The helical spring is accommodated within a projection 23 which extends radially outwardly from the housing. As will become clear from the following description, when the piston moves, the plunger 21 will engage a notch 20 to prevent the piston moving back to its initial position.

Within the housing 19, on the side of the head of the piston which is located towards the connector 15, a pyrotechnic material 24 is provided. In a further projection 25 that extends radially outwardly from the main body of the housing, a squib 26 is provided comprising an electric resistor which is embodied in a pyrotechnic material. A lead 27 extends from the squib to a sensor 28 which is shown schematically, the sensor 28 being adapted to sense a side impact or a roll-over situation.

A Bowden cable 32 is provided, the inner core 33 of which passes through a small bore provided at the closed end of the cylindrical passage in the connector 1Sm the end of the inner core 33 being connected to the shank 17 of the piston 18. As can be seen more clearly in Figure 1, the Bowden cable 32 extends to a lever assembly 34 which is located adjacent the squab of the seat.

The outer sheath of the Bowden cable 32 engages a flange 35 which forms part of the lever assembly, whilst the central core 30 of the Bowden cable extends to a nipple 36 which is provided on the lever 37 of the lever assembly.

The lever 37 is provided with a spring biased catch 38 adapted to cooperate with a selected one of a plurality of apertures 39 provided in a vertical plate 40 on which the lever 37 is pivotally mounted. The plate 40 supports the flange 35.

It is to be understood that the structure 8, which is mounted on the frame within the back 3 of the seat 1 is covered by the padding and upholstery provided on the seat so that, in use, the structure is concealed, and the seat has pleasing overall appearance.

The piston 18 is located adjacent one end of part of the housing 19 that defines a hollow cylinder 29 dimensioned to accommodate the head of the piston 18. At the end of the housing, a plurality of vent holes 30 are provided, and the housing 19 is connected, for example, by means of a flexible wire 31, to the connector 9.

The primary function of the structure 8 is to provide lateral support for the occupant of the seat in the event that a side impact or roll-over situation should occur.

In the event that a side impact or roll-over situation is sensed by the sensor 28, an electric current is passed through the resistor in the squib 26, thus igniting the pyrotechnic material 24 within the housing 19. The pyrotechnic material generates gas which forces the head 18 of the piston into the chamber 29, expelling the air that was previously within the chamber 29 through the vent holes 30. As the piston moves into the chamber 29, the plunger 21 is spring biased into engagement with an appropriate notch or recess 20 formed in the shank 17 of the piston, thus retaining the piston in position.

As the head 18 of the piston moves into the chamber 29, the shank 17 of the piston 18 applies force to the inner core 33 of the Bowden cable 32.

Because the inner core 33 cannot move relative to the outer sleeve of the Bowden cable, the lower connector 15 moves upwardly, in the direction shown by the arrow 16. The distance between the connectors 9 and 15 is reduced.

This forces the originally linear portion 12 of the strip 10 to bulge forwardly 41 away from the rail 6, as shown in Figure 3. As the strip moves forwardly in this manner, it deforms the padding and upholstery provided on the seat, and the seat is thus provided with a substantially forwardly extending projection at the side of the seat, which is located immediately adjacent the torso of the occupant of the seat, thus tending to resist any lateral movement of the occupant of the seat.

As shown in Figure 1, a structure of the type described may be provided on each side of the back 3 of the seat 1, but it is envisaged that if only one structure of the type described is to be provided, it will be provided on the side of the seat where the seat belt that is used in conjunction with the seat has only one anchorage point. Thus, in a conventional vehicle where the seat belt is provided with a first lower anchoring point, adjacent the base of the B-Post, a second anchoring point constituted by a Pillar-loop on the B-Post, and a third anchorage point located on the floor of the vehicle at a position towards the centre of the vehicle, then the described structure will also be provided on the part of the seat which is towards the centre of the vehicle.

It is to be understood, however, that the described structure does not only perform the function of restraining an occupant of the seat in a side impact or roll-over situation. As can be appreciated more clearly from Figure 4, the position of the lower connector 15 on the rail 6 may be adjusted, to a limited extent, by actuation of the lever 37. The lever 37 may be moved between a plurality of predetermined positions, and in each predetenmined position, the spring biased catch 38 provided on the lever 37, may be engaged with an aperture 39 formed in the plate 40 on which the lever 37 is pivotally mounted.

Because the inner core 33 of the Bowden cable is connected to a nipple 36 provided on the lever, movement of the lever between selected positions will either withdraw the core 33 of the Bowden cable from the sleeve of the cable, or vice versa. This movement of the core 33 of the Bowden cable relative to the sleeve will effectively draw the shank 17 to the piston 18 fully into the cylindrical passage in the connector 15. Because the piston 18 is held in position this will cause the connector 15 to move up and down the rail 6, thus partially deforming the resilient strip 10 so that it may have the position 42 as shown in phantom in Figure 4. Thus the resilient element may be moved between an initial substantially retracted position and a more forwardly extending position in which the resilient strip will form a projection at the side of the vehicle seat which may enhance the comfort of the occupant of the seat, or which may provide some lateral support.

While the invention has been described primarily with reference to an embodiment in which a pyrotechnic arrangement is used to reduce the distance between the connectors in response to an accident, alternative arrangements may be used. For example, a strong compression spring could be located between a housing similar to the housing 19 and an element similar to the piston 18. The spring could be retained in a compressed condition by a catch which is released in response to a signal from an appropriate side impact or roll-over sensor, with the spring then moving the element similar to the piston relative to the housing to reduce the distance between the connectors.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A safety arrangement mounted in part of a vehicle seat, the safety arrangement comprising a rail element, a resilient or deformable element mounted on the rail element by means of two connectors, at least one of said connectors being movably mounted on the rail element so that the distance between the connectors may be adjusted, and means adapted to respond to a signal from a sensor to reduce the distance between the connectors and thus to force part of the resilient or deformable element away from the rail element to form a projection extending from part of the seat to restrain an occupant of the seat.
2. An arrangement according to Claim 1 wherein a sensor is provided to supply said signal, said sensor being adapted to supply said signal in response to a side impact or roll-over situation.
3. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the means adopted to reduce the distance between the connectors comprises a housing connected to one of the connectors and an element receivable in the housing, these being a resilient element or spring releasable in response to said signal to bias and move said element relative to the housing.
4. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the means adapted to reduce the distance between the connectors comprises a housing which is connected to one of the connectors, and a piston, the head of the piston being within the housing, and the shank of the piston being connected to the other of the connectors, there being a pyrotechnic charge arranged to be ignited in response to said signal to generate gas to move the piston within the housing.
5. An arrangement according to Claim 4 wherein means are provided within the housing to retain the piston in the position that it occupies after it has been moved as a consequence of ignition of the pyrotechnic charge.
6. An arrangement according to Claim 5 wherein said retaining means comprises a spring biased plunger adapted to be biased towards the shank of the piston, the shank of the piston being provided with at least one notch or recess adapted to be engaged by the plunger to retain the piston in position.
7. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the resilient or deformable element comprises a strip of spring steel.
8. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the resilient or deformable element has a central substantially linear portion, and has two terminal portions which are connected to the central portion by curves, each of approximately 1800, the terminal portions being connected to parts of the two connectors which face away from each other.
9. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein manually operable means are provided to adjust the position of at least one connector relative to the other connector on said frame or rail.
10. An arrangement according to Claim 9 wherein said manually operable means comprise a lever associated with a Bowden cable.
11. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the rail element forms part of the back of the seat.
12. A safety arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the safety arrangement is mounted on one side of the seat and wherein a further safety arrangement of the same kind is provided on the other side of the vehicle seat.
13. A safety arrangement substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
14. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.