Fastening arrangement for a safety belt of a rear seat row of a motor vehicle and motor vehicle with such a fastening arrangement

A fastening arrangement is disclosed for a safety belt of a rear seat row of a motor vehicle with a cross brace, which extends in the lateral direction. The fastening arrangement includes a tubular cross brace. The cross brace is provided with a mounting flange, on which a belt retractor is fastened and supported. The mounting flange is downwardly offset relative to an upper wall of the cross brace in the vertical direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. 102015012447.1, filed Sep. 28, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure pertains to fastening arrangements for a safety belt of a rear seat row of a motor vehicle, as well as motor vehicles with such a fastening arrangement.

BACKGROUND

Motor vehicles with a rear seat row, in which a cargo space is arranged behind the backrests of the rear seat row referred to the longitudinal direction, are generally known. The cargo space is forwardly defined in the longitudinal direction by the backrests of the rear seat row and upwardly defined in the vertical direction by a cover such as a rear-window shelf. In order to securely support the backrests of the rear seat row, the body of the motor vehicle features a cross brace that extends in the lateral direction and on which an upper section of the backrests of the rear seat row can be supported.

A safety belt, which can be rolled up by a belt retractor, is furthermore assigned to the rear seat row, particularly to the central seat of the rear seat row. The belt retractor may be fastened on a tubular cross brace or on the cover defining the top of the cargo space. A few disadvantages have been associated with conventional fastening arrangements for the safety belt. For example, a belt retractor that is fastened on top of the cross brace can restrict the view of the driver toward the rear. This applies particularly to a belt retractor that is fastened on top of the cover. If the belt retractor is fastened on the cover, the cover furthermore has to be reinforced with additional measures in order to ensure that the safety belt and therefore the belt retractor can also be sturdily held in its position on the cover if it is subjected to high tensile forces. In this case, the fastening arrangement also requires significant structural space and therefore can interfere with the potential installation of other components such as loudspeakers in the cover. In conventional fastening arrangements, the belt retractor frequently also reduces the size of the cargo space and represents an obstacle in so-called through-loading, in which cargo extends from the cargo space into the vehicle interior over the folded-down backrests of the rear seat row.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a fastening arrangement for a safety belt of a rear seat row of a motor vehicle, which eliminates the above-described disadvantages and has a relatively simple and lightweight design. The present disclosure furthermore aims to develop a motor vehicle with such an advantageous fastening arrangement.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a fastening arrangement for a safety belt of a rear seat row of a motor vehicle, particularly for a safety belt of a central seat of the rear seat row of the motor vehicle. The fastening arrangement has a lateral direction, in which a cross brace extends. In the installed state of the fastening arrangement, the lateral direction of the fastening arrangement corresponds to the lateral direction of the motor vehicle. The cross brace is realized in a tubular fashion and features an interior extending in the lateral direction. The cross brace also features an upper wall, which upwardly defines the interior in the vertical direction.

The fastening arrangement furthermore features a belt retractor for the safety belt. This belt retractor could also be referred to as a belt roll-up device. The belt retractor is preferably realized in such a way that it automatically rolls up the safety belt as long as the safety belt is not pulled out of the belt retractor by force.

A mounting flange is provided on the cross brace, which is preferably made of metal or sheet metal, in this case, the mounting flange and the cross brace are preferably not realized in one piece, but the mounting flange rather is initially produced separately of the cross brace and subsequently fastened thereon. The belt retractor is fastened and supported on the mounting flange. The mounting flange is downwardly offset relative to the upper wall of the cross brace in the vertical direction. Due to the fact that the belt retractor is not arranged or fastened on a cover, but rather on the cross brace by the mounting flange, the arrangement of other components in a cover for the cargo space can be realized with greater flexibility. Since the mounting flange furthermore is downwardly offset relative to the upper wall of the cross brace in the vertical direction, it is ensured that the belt retractor does not upwardly protrude over the cross brace and a cover in the vertical direction to such a degree that it negatively affects or restricts the view of the driver. In addition, through-loading above and, if applicable, underneath the cross brace can thereby be realized in a relatively interference-free fashion.

Due to the arrangement of the belt retractor on the cross brace by the mounting flange, the belt retractor is also fastened in a particularly secure fashion such that elaborate reinforcing measures of the type required for the mounting on a cover can be eliminated. Furthermore, the fastener(s) required to fastening the belt retractor on the mounting flange, which preferably consist of one or more screws or threaded fasteners, can be downwardly offset relative to the upper wall of the cross brace in the vertical direction such that they do not protrude in an interfering fashion.

In an advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the mounting flange is downwardly spaced apart from the upper wall of the cross brace in the vertical direction in order to further enhance the above-described advantages.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the mounting flange is aligned parallel to the upper wall of the cross brace. It is furthermore preferred that the mounting flange extends in a plane defined by the lateral directions and longitudinal directions of the fastening arrangement.

In another preferred embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the cross brace features a lower wall, which downwardly defines the interior within the cross brace in the vertical direction. The mounting flange is upwardly offset relative to the lower wall of the cross brace in the vertical direction and/or upwardly spaced apart from the lower wall in the vertical direction. This has the advantage that the belt retractor and, if applicable, the fasteners required for fastening the belt retractor on the mounting flange do not downwardly protrude over the cross brace in the vertical direction such that they could contribute to a reduction of the cargo space on the one hand and to an obstruction during the through-loading of cargo underneath the cross brace on the other hand.

In another advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the mounting flange rearwardly protrudes over the cross brace in the longitudinal direction such that the belt retractor can be advantageously arranged on the side of the cross brace facing away from the rear seat row.

In order to achieve a particularly high stability of the belt retractor and therefore of the fastening arrangement under loads with a simple and space-saving design thereof, the fastening arrangement furthermore features a tension brace. One side of the tension brace is fastened on the mounting flange and its other side is fastened on the cross brace. It was determined that tensile forces acting upon the safety belt and therefore upon the belt retractor and the mounting flange can thereby be very securely absorbed. In this embodiment, it proved advantageous with respect to the manufacture if one side of the tension brace is fastened on an underside of the mounting flange, which points vertically downward, and its other side is fastened on the lower wall of the cross brace.

In order to develop a simple and space-saving tension brace, which is furthermore well suited for absorbing tensile forces acting upon the mounting flange via the belt retractor, the tension brace is realized in a strip-like fashion or in the form of a sheet metal strip in another preferred embodiment of the fastening arrangement.

In order to achieve a particularly simple and compact design of the fastening arrangement, the tension brace is in another preferred embodiment of the fastening arrangement fastened on the mounting flange with the same fasteners, which are also used for fastening the belt retractor on the mounting flange. Consequently, only one fastener is ideally required for fastening the belt retractor and the tension brace on the mounting flange. In this respect, it proved advantageous—as already indicated above—to use a screw or threaded fastener for fastening the tension brace and the belt retractor on the mounting flange.

In order to arrange the belt retractor in a particularly space-saving fashion without excessively restricting the structural space, which is located behind the cross brace referred to the longitudinal direction and can be used for the arrangement of a cargo space cover, an opening is provided in the wall of the tubular cross brace in a particularly advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement. The belt retractor and/or the safety belt rolled up on the belt retractor at least partially protrudes into an interior of the cross brace through the opening.

In order to substantially diminish the weakening of the tubular cross brace caused by the arrangement of the above-described opening in its wall, this opening extends in another advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement over the upper wall and a wall of the tubular cross brace, which points rearward in the longitudinal direction. It is particularly preferred that the opening extends exclusively over the upper wall and the rearwardly pointing wall of the tubular cross brace.

As indicated above, the fastening arrangement features in another advantageous embodiment a plate-shape cover, which is arranged rearwardly adjacent to the cross brace referred to the longitudinal direction, in order to cover a cargo space located vertically underneath the cover. In this case, it is preferred that the mounting flange is arranged vertically underneath the cover and/or downwardly spaced apart from the cover in the vertical direction in order to realize a space-saving arrangement of the belt retractor without restricting the design of the cover due to the available structural space. Regardless of the respective embodiment, the aforementioned cover is preferably fastened on the cross brace, particularly on the upper wall of the tubular cross brace. The cover may also be connected or welded to the body of the motor vehicle.

In another advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the cover features a recess, through which the belt retractor fastened on the mounting flange and/or the safety belt rolled up on the belt retractor extends. In this case, it is preferred if the recess consists of a cutout in an edge of the cover, which points forward in the longitudinal direction.

In another preferred embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the cover is provided with at least one opening, into which a loudspeaker is inserted. It was already indicated above that the designer therefore has greater flexibility with respect to the placement of the opening, as well as of the loudspeaker within the opening, due to the space-saving arrangement of the belt retractor on the mounting flange.

In another preferred embodiment of the fastening arrangement, a section of the loudspeaker, preferably a section of the loudspeaker located above the cover, is arranged flush with the mounting flange in the vertical direction. In this way, a particularly compact design is achieved because the loudspeaker is positioned very close to the belt retractor.

According to another particularly advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the mounting flange is integrated into a carrying part fastened on the cross brace. In this case, the carrying part preferably is initially produced separately of the cross brace and the carrying part is subsequently fastened on the cross brace or components thereof.

In another advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the carrying part features in addition to the mounting flange at least one boundary wall, which protrudes upward in the vertical direction. This boundary wall is arranged on the periphery of the mounting flange and should make it possible to securely and sturdily arrange or fasten the belt retractor on the carrying part. In this respect, it proved advantageous if the carrying part features at least three boundary walls, namely two boundary walls that are arranged on the mounting flange opposite of one another referred to the lateral direction and one boundary wall that is arranged on the periphery of the mounting flange, which points rearward in the longitudinal direction. Accordingly, a carrying section of the carrying part, which has an essentially shell-shaped design, is thereby created in order to securely accommodate the belt retractor.

In another preferred embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the carrying part features a retaining section, which is accommodated in the interior of the tubular cross brace. The carrying part can thereby be very securely fastened on the cross brace. It is preferred to accommodate the retaining section in the interior of the tubular cross brace in a form-fitting fashion. In this case, the form fit is preferably realized in such a way that a pivoting motion of the mounting flange relative to the cross brace about a pivoting axis extending in the lateral direction is inhibited due to the form-fitting accommodation of the retaining section within the interior of the tubular cross brace. Accordingly, the carrying part in the present embodiment includes the retaining section and a carrying section. The carrying partition features the mounting flange and, if applicable, also the aforementioned boundary walls. The carrying part may extend from the retaining section in the interior of the tubular cross brace to the external carrying section through the opening in the wall of the tubular cross brace.

In another advantageous embodiment of the fastening arrangement, the retaining section of the carrying part features supporting studs, by which the retaining section is supported on the inner side of the wall of the cross brace. In this case, it is preferred that the retaining section is supported in a planar fashion by means of the supporting studs. It also proved advantageous if the retaining section is supported by the supporting studs on the inner side of the upper wall, as well as on the inner side of at least one of the other walls of the cross brace, preferably the wall pointing forward in the longitudinal direction and the lower wall pointing downward in the vertical direction and/or a wall pointing rearward in the longitudinal direction.

In order to simplify the insertion of the carrying part into the interior of the tubular cross brace and therefore the assembly of the fastening arrangement, as well as to ensure a particularly secure retention of the carrying part on the cross brace, the cross brace includes two shells that extend in the lateral direction, wherein the carrying part preferably is—as already mentioned above—realized separately of the shells. In the present embodiment, the two shells therefore can be assembled such that the retaining section of the carrying part is accommodated in the interior of the cross brace and the shells can subsequently be fastened on one another, for example, by rivets, screws, threaded fasteners or welding.

The retaining section of the carrying part may subsequently also be welded or otherwise rigidly connected to one or both shells. Alternatively, the retaining section of the carrying part can initially be fastened on one of the two shells before the shells are assembled. In this embodiment—as well as in the embodiments described above and below—it is preferred that the retaining section and the carrying section of the carrying part containing the mounting flange are realized in one piece, wherein the carrying part preferably consists of a sheet metal part. The two aforementioned shells of the cross brace preferably also include sheet metal parts.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure concerns a motor vehicle with a rear seat row having a fastening arrangement for a safety belt of the above-described type is arranged behind the seat row referred to the longitudinal direction. In a preferred embodiment of the motor vehicle, a cargo space of the above-described type is provided behind the backrests of the rear seat row. The backrests of the rear seat row preferably can be forwardly folded down in order to connect the cargo space to the vehicle interior and to allow through-loading. In another preferred embodiment of the motor vehicle, the aforementioned cargo space is upwardly defined in the vertical direction by the above-described cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1shows a perspective representation of an embodiment of the fastening arrangement2for a safety belt of a rear seat row4of a motor vehicle. The backrest6of the rear seat row4is indicated with broken lines inFIG. 6. In the respective figures, the opposite longitudinal directions8,10, the opposite lateral directions12,14and the opposite vertical directions16,18of the fastening arrangement2are indicated with corresponding arrows. The lateral directions12,14and the vertical direction16,18correspond to the lateral directions and vertical directions of the motor vehicle in the installed state of the fastening arrangement2within the motor vehicle whereas the longitudinal direction8corresponds to the forward direction of the motor vehicle and the longitudinal direction10corresponds to the rearward direction of the motor vehicle.

The fastening arrangement2includes a tubular cross brace20, a belt retractor22for the safety belt assigned to the rear seat row4, a carrying part24illustrated, in particular, inFIGS. 3 and 5, a tension brace26illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5and a plate-shaped cover28for covering a cargo space30arranged vertically underneath the cover28, wherein the aforementioned components, as well as their interactions, are described in greater detail below.

The cross brace20extends in the lateral directions12,14and preferably is rigidly connected to the body of the motor vehicle or forms a component of the motor vehicle body in its installed state, wherein the cross brace20may for this purpose be welded to the body of the motor vehicle with its ends pointing in the lateral directions12,14. The cross brace20preferably is also realized in the form of a sheet metal part.FIGS. 2 and 5, in particular, show that the cross brace20includes two shells extending in the lateral directions12,14, namely a shell32and a shell34. The cross brace features an upper wall36, which points upward in the vertical direction16, a lower wall38, which points downward in the vertical direction18, a front wall40, which points forward in the longitudinal direction8, and a rear wall42, which points rearward in the longitudinal direction10. The upper wall36and the front wall40are formed by the shell32whereas the lower wall38and the rear wall42are formed by the shell34. The two shells32,34are fastened on one another, for example, by welding in order to achieve a tubular design of the cross brace20. Consequently, the aforementioned walls36,38,40,42of the cross brace20define an interior44within the cross brace20. An opening46is furthermore provided in the wall of the cross brace and continuously extends over the upper wall36and the rear wall42. In the embodiment shown, the opening46is produced in a particularly simple fashion by means of a peripheral incision in the upper wall36and a peripheral incision in the rear wall42.

The carrying part24illustrated, in particular, inFIGS. 3 and 5is preferably realized in the form of a one-piece sheet metal part and can with respect to its function be divided into a retaining section48and a carrying section50. According toFIG. 5, the carrying part24extends through the opening46in the wall of the cross brace20in such a way that the retaining section48is arranged in the interior44of the cross brace20whereas the carrying section50is arranged outside the interior44. The carrying section50features a mounting flange52, which is realized in a plate-shaped fashion and aligned parallel to the upper wall36of the cross brace20. The mounting flange52furthermore is aligned parallel to the lower wall38of the cross brace20. In this case, the carrying part24is inserted into the interior44of the cross brace20through the opening46in such a way that the carrying section50and therefore also the mounting flange52extends rearward from the cross brace20in the longitudinal direction10and consequently protrudes over the cross brace20in this direction.

In addition, the carrying section50features three boundary walls54,56,58, which are peripherally arranged on the mounting flange52and protrude upward in the vertical direction16, such that the carrying section50is at least partially realized in a shell-shaped fashion. In this case, the boundary walls54,56are drawn forward in the longitudinal direction8such that they simultaneously form part of the retaining section48. The retaining section48is accommodated in the interior44of the cross brace20—in this case in a form-fitting fashion—such that the retaining section—and therefore also the entire carrying part24—is reliably supported on the cross brace20in the directions8-16. For this purpose, the retaining section48features upper supporting studs60for its planar support on the inner side of the upper wall36, lower supporting studs62for its planar support on the inner side of the lower wall38and front supporting studs64for its planar support on the inner side of the front wall40. The support on the inner side of the rear wall42is realized by means of a supporting section66that is angled relative to the mounting flange52.

During the course of the manufacture, the carrying part24is initially produced separately of the aforementioned shells32,34of the cross brace20. The retaining section48is then positioned between the two shells32,34before they are assembled into the tubular cross brace20such that the retaining section48is accommodated in the interior44whereas the carrying section50extends outward through the opening46in the above-described fashion. The two shells32,34can then be fastened on one another. Consequently, the carrying part24is securely fastened on the cross brace20in a form-fitting fashion. The carrying part24may also be additionally fastened on the cross brace20or the two shells32,34of the cross brace20, for example by welding, but this is not absolutely imperative and therefore not illustrated in the drawings.

According toFIGS. 5 and 6, in particular, the mounting flange52of the carrying part24is downwardly offset relative to the upper wall36in the vertical direction18and forwardly offset relative to the lower wall38in the vertical direction16after the carrying part has been fastened on the cross brace20. The mounting flange52is also downwardly spaced apart from the upper wall36in the vertical direction18as indicated with the distance a inFIG. 6. Furthermore, the mounting flange52is upwardly spaced apart from the lower wall38in the vertical direction16as indicated with the distance b inFIG. 6.

The belt retractor22is fastened and supported on the side of the mounting flange52, which points upward in the vertical direction16. In this case, the fastening of the belt retractor22is realized with a fastening means68in the form of a screw indicated with broken lines inFIG. 6. In this case, the screw68extends in the vertical direction16,18from the underside to the upper side of the mounting flange52through an opening70provided in the mounting flange52. It is preferred that the head of the screw is or can be directly or indirectly supported on the side of the mounting flange52, which points downward in the vertical direction18.FIGS. 1 and 6furthermore show that the belt retractor22and/or the safety belt rolled up on the belt retractor22at least partially extends into the interior44of the cross brace20or protrudes into this interior44through the opening46in its fastened position on the mounting flange52such that the opening46and the interior44contribute to a space-saving arrangement of the belt retractor22.

The aforementioned tension brace26is provided for fastening and supporting the belt retractor22on the mounting flange52in a particularly stable fashion. The tension brace26illustrated, in particular, inFIGS. 4, 5 and 6is preferably realized in the form of a sheet metal part and/or in a strip-like fashion, particularly in the form of a sheet metal strip. The tension brace26is—according toFIG. 6—fastened on the underside of the mounting flange52, which points downward in the vertical direction18, on the one hand and on the cross brace20, in this case on the lower wall38of the cross brace20, on the other hand in order to reliably support and absorb the tensile forces exerted upon the belt retractor22and the mounting flange52via the safety belt. According toFIGS. 5 and 6, a central section of the tension brace26is neither fastened or supported on the carrying part24nor on the cross brace20such that this section can also be referred to as a freely extending central section. The fastening of the tension brace26on the mounting flange52one hand and on the cross brace20on the other hand may be realized with welded joints or fastener joints. In this respect, it is preferred that the tension brace26is fastened on the mounting flange52with the same fastener68or, in this case, with the same screw or threaded fastener, which is also used for fastening the belt retractor22on the mounting flange52in order to achieve a particularly simple, compact and lightweight design.

The aforementioned plate-shaped cover28extends in a plane defined by the longitudinal directions8,10and the lateral directions12,14. The cover28may once again be realized in the form of a sheet metal part. For example, the cover28in the form of a sheet metal part may respectively be welded to the body of the motor vehicle or form part of the motor vehicle body. The cover28is fastened on the cross brace20such that it is positioned rearwardly adjacent to the cross brace20in the longitudinal direction10. In this case, the cover28is positioned adjacent to the cross brace20in such a way that the mounting flange52is arranged underneath the cover28in the vertical direction18and downwardly spaced apart therefrom in the vertical direction18as illustrated, in particular, inFIG. 6.

The cover28features a recess72, through which the belt retractor22and/or the safety belt rolled up on the belt retractor22extends. In the embodiment shown, the recess72is advantageously formed by an incision in an edge of the cover28, which points forward in the longitudinal direction8. Furthermore, the cover28is provided with at least one opening74, into which a loudspeaker76is inserted. A front section78of the loudspeaker76referred to the longitudinal direction8, in this case a section78of the loudspeaker76positioned above the cover28in the vertical direction16, is arranged flush with the mounting flange52of the carrying part24in the vertical direction16,18in order to achieve a particularly compact design.

It was already indicated above that the fastening arrangement2is arranged behind the rear seat row4referred to the longitudinal direction10as illustrated, in particular, inFIG. 6. The not-shown safety belt or the belt retractor22associated with the safety belt is assigned to a central seat of the rear seat row4.