Belt transfer arrangement for a passive vehicle restraint belt system

A belt transfer arrangement for a passive vehicle restraint belt system includes a pivoting arm mounted on the inboard side of the vehicle seat and carrying a guide ring at its upper end through which a restraint belt freely passes. A motion transfer device coupled between the arm and the vehicle door shifts the arm between a rearward, restraint position and a forward, release position in response to movement of the door between the closed and partly open positions. The transfer device includes a drive wire contained within a wire sheath that is fastened at both ends and constrains the wire for motion transfer. A lost-motion coupling that enables the door to be moved between the partly open and fully open positions without substantial movement of the arm is interposed between the door and the pivoting arm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to an improvement in a passive vehicle restraint 
belt system that shifts the belt between an occupant restraining position 
and an occupant releasing position automatically in response to opening 
and closing movements of the vehicle door. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
A variety of passive restraint belt systems have been proposed in which a 
belt guide is moved along a guide rail at the edge of the roof or on the 
inside of the door by electrical or mechanical means. Many of those 
systems are complex and expensive and require frequent maintenance and 
repair. In a relatively simple system, on the other hand, the inboard end 
portion is wound on a retractor and the outboard, free end is fastened to 
the rear portion of the door. When the door is opened, the belt is pulled 
forward releasing the occupant. However, when the belt pulls out as the 
door opens and the occupant gets out of the vehicle, the seat belt rubs 
against his waist or abdomen, because the belt never completely clears his 
body. One proposed solution of the rubbing problem and the accompanying 
inconvenience to the occupant during his entry and departure utilizes a 
guide ring on an oscillating arm that moves the belt forward and back. 
This apparatus, described in Japanese patent publication No. 42922/1978, 
comprises a switch for detecting movement of the door, a motor to drive 
the oscillating arm, and a control circuit for the motor. This arrangement 
has the disadvantages of high cost and consumption of electrical power. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
To overcome the drawbacks of these prior art devices, there is provided, 
according to the present invention, a belt transfer arrangement using the 
motion of the door for operation. The system comprises an arm mounted on 
the inboard side of the vehicle seat and having a guide ring on its upper 
end through which a restraint belt freely passes. The arm moves between a 
rearward position, adjacent the back of the seat, and a forward position, 
in response to movement of the door between the closed position and a 
partway open position. A motion transfer device coupled between the arm 
and the vehicle door moves the arm in response to motion of the door. The 
transfer device includes a drive wire contained in a wire sheath that is 
fastened at both ends to constrain the wire for motion transfer. A 
lost-motion coupling contained in the transfer means enables the door to 
be moved between the partway open position to the fully open position 
without substantially moving the arm. 
One form of lost-motion coupling includes a "V"-shaped slot on the arm 
which receives a roller and pin on the drive wire. When the door moves 
from the closed position to the partway open position, the roller and pin 
is at the end of one leg of the "V," allowing the wire to transfer the 
motion of the door to the arm. When the door reaches the partway open 
position, the roller has moved along the first leg and into the other leg 
of the "V;" between the partway and fully opened positions of the door, 
the pin moves in the second leg of the "V" without transferring door 
motion to the arm. This embodiment may further comprise a spring 
interposed in the transfer device to urge the arm towards the rearward, 
restraint position. 
In a variation of this embodiment, a guide tube affixed to the vehicle door 
slidably receives the wire sheath. When the door moves, the wire sheath 
slides within the tube, which protects and constrains the sheath and wire. 
Various other lost-motion devices can be used, such as one comprising a rod 
connected to the drive wire and slidably mounted on the door or the 
vehicle body, near the juncture of the door and the door frame, and 
adapted to move relative to the fixed sheath. When the door moves between 
the closed position and the partway open position, motion is imparted to 
the drive wire by the rod. There are two variations of this embodiment. In 
one the wire sheath is attached to the vehicle body while the rod is 
slidably mounted on the door. In the other the sheath is fixed to the door 
and the rod is slidably mounted on the vehicle body. The operation is 
similar in both cases. 
Another suitable lost-motion coupling comprises a folding linkage connected 
between the end of the drive wire and door. The folding linkage moves in a 
substantially folded state, relative to the wire sheath, while the door 
moves between the closed position and the partway open position. When the 
door moves beyond the partway open position, the linkage unfolds to absorb 
the door motion and leaves the wire and a connecting link generally 
stationary with respect to the wire sheath.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
The various illustrated embodiments of the belt transfer device, according 
to the present invention, are intended for use in conjunction with a 
passive belt system of the type in which a shoulder belt B leads from a 
retractor 20 fastened to the floor of the vehicle 22 below, inboard of and 
behind an occupant seated on the vehicle seat 24 and extends upwardly and 
outwardly across the seat 24 to an anchor 26 affixed to the vehicle door 
28 near the upper rear corner. The anchor 26 preferably includes a buckle 
29 which receives a buckle tongue 30 affixed to the free, outboard end of 
the belt B. The buckle 29 is intended only for emergency situations and is 
normally not to be released by the vehicle occupant. When the door is 
closed, the anchor 26 mates with a reinforcing bracket 32 on the door 
frame so that the door frame will carry a substantial part of any load 
exerted by the belt in an emergency situation. Preferably, the shoulder 
belt B is used in conjunction with an energy absorbing knee pad 34 located 
under the dashboard. It should be apparent from FIG. 1 that when the door 
is closed, the belt leads across the vehicle occupant's chest to a 
position generally above, behind, and outboard of his shoulder, as 
indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 1. In this position, the belt 
restrains the occupant from being thrown forward in the event of a 
collision, upset, or sudden stop. When the vehicle door is opened, the 
outboard portion of the belt B moves forward away from the occupant's 
chest to the release position illustrated in the solid lines of FIG. 1 and 
is thus in a position which enables the occupant to get into or out of the 
vehicle. In moving from the closed restraint position to the open release 
position, the belt B is unwound from the retractor 20, and were it not for 
the present invention, a part of the belt generally at the inboard side of 
the occupant would rub against the occupant's body and contribute to 
inconvenience and possibly discomfort, as well as to possible abrasion of 
the belt itself. Moreover, if the back of the vehicle seat is folded 
forward with the door open, the inboard part of the belt interferes with 
the folding motion of the seat with similar abrasion to both the belt and 
seat. The present invention solves these problems very effectively. 
The belt transfer device shown in FIGS. 1-4 comprises an arm 36 that is 
mounted on the inboard side of the vehicle seat 24 by a pivot mounting 38 
for movement of a guide 40 through which the belt freely passes and which 
is affixed to the upper end of the arm 36. Alternatively, the arm 36 can 
be mounted on a center console of the vehicle on the inboard side of the 
seat or on a floor mounted bracket. A drive wire 42 is attached to the 
lower end of the arm at a location below the pivot axis and leads through 
a sheath 44 along a suitable path on the vehicle floor, then up and out of 
the vehicle body at the front of the door and finally into the door where 
it is connected to one end of a rod 46. The rod 46 is mounted in the door 
on suitable guides so that it can move axially with respect to the door 28 
toward and away from the frame. The sheath 44 for the wire is, of course, 
properly affixed; the inboard end near the arm 36 and at the outboard end 
on the door by retainers 48 and 50, respectively, so that the wire 42 is 
constrained for transfer of door motion to the arm 36. A spring 52 is 
compressed between the lower end of the arm 36 and a suitable fixed 
location forward of the arm on the seat. 
When the vehicle door 28 is closed (see FIG. 2) the rod 46, working against 
a strike plate 54 on the door frame, is pushed rearwardly relative to the 
door and pulls the part of the wire that is attached to the lower end of 
the arm 36 forward, thereby pivoting the arm 36 into the rearward location 
illustrated by phantom lines in FIG. 1. In that position, the inboard end 
of the belt B is in the proper position for comfortable and safe restraint 
of the occupant of the seat. When the door is moved from closed to a 
partway open position (see FIG. 3), the energy stored in the spring 52 
pivots the arm 36 forward into the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 
1, such forward motion being permitted through forward sliding of the rod 
46 relative to the door 28 as the door is opened. When the door is 
approximately halfway open, the arm 36 has reached a forward position in 
which the inboard portion of the belt B is sufficiently in front of the 
occupant to minimize the obstruction of an occupant entering or departing 
from the vehicle. In vehicles having folding seat backs, the belt in the 
forward release position does not interfere with forward folding of the 
seat back. 
A suitable stop associated with the rod 46 or with the arm 36 stops the arm 
36 from pivoting forward when the door reaches the partway open position. 
Therefore when the door is moved from partway to fully open (see FIG. 4), 
the control rod 46 remains stationary relative to the door (which means 
that its forward end moves away from the strike plate 54). Meanwhile, the 
belt remains in the release configuration shown in solid lines FIG. 1, and 
no motion is transmitted between the door and the belt transfer device 
during movement of the door between the partway and fully open positions. 
The above-described sequence is reversed when the door is moved from fully 
open to closed--no motion is transmitted from the door to the arm 36 up to 
the point when the door is partway open, but when the door moves from 
partway open (FIG. 3) to closed (FIG. 2), the rod 46 engages the strike 
plate 54 and is pushed rearwardly relative to the door, thereby pulling on 
the wire 42 and pivoting the arm 36 back to the restraint location. 
The restraint belt system shown in FIG. 5 is identical to that shown in 
FIG. 1 except for the belt transfer device. The parts of the system shown 
in FIG. 5 are, accordingly, assigned the same reference numerals and are 
not re-described. One end of a motion transfer wire 60 is affixed to the 
door 28 at a location 62 spaced apart from the axis of the door hinges and 
leads through a sheath 64 to a coupling rod 66 which has a pin and roller 
68 at its free end. The outboard end of the sheath 64 is fastened to the 
vehicle body adjacent the door opening by a retainer 70, and the inboard 
end is fastened to the rearward end of a guide tube 72 which receives the 
connecting rod 66. A spring 74 is compressed between the rearward end of 
the rod 66 and the rod guide tube 72 so that energy is stored in the 
spring when the rod is in a rearward location in tube 72. The roller 68 on 
the rod 66 is received in a generally "V"-shaped slot 76 in the lower 
portion of an arm 78 which is pivotably mounted at by a pivot pin 80 on 
the inboard side of the vehicle seat and carries a belt guide ring 82 at 
its upper end. 
When the door 28 is closed the arm 78 is in a rearward, restraint location 
near the rear of the vehicle seat 24, and the roller 68 resides in the 
upper portion 76a of the slot 76, the spring 74 having pushed the rod 66 
forward when the door was moved from closed to partway open (see FIG. 6). 
The door 28 pulls on the wire 60 and the wire 60 transmits motion to the 
arm 78 via the coupling rod 66 and the roller 68; the orientation of the 
upper portion 76a of the slot 76 is such that the pin remains at the upper 
end of the portion 76a until the portion 76a resides approximately 
vertically. Therefore the door motion is transmitted by the wire to the 
arm 78 to move the guide 82 at the upper end of the arm forward so that 
the belt is held in a position some distance forward of the occupant for 
easy entry to and departure from the vehicle seat 24. 
During movement of the door from partway open towards fully open (see FIG. 
7), the roller 68 slides down from the upper end of the portion 76a of the 
slot into the lower portion 76b, which at the time is aligned generally 
horizontally, so that as the door 28 continues to pull on the wire 60 and 
retracts the coupling rod 66 into the guide tube 72, the motion of the 
roller 68 is "lost" by movement through the slot portion 76b, and no 
additional motion of the arm 78 occurs. The motion of the door from fully 
open to partly closed is also "lost" by virtue of the lost-motion coupling 
(the coupling rod 66 and the "V"-shaped slot 76) on the arm, until the 
roller 68 moves forward through the lower portion of the slot 76b. From 
the part-way open to the closed position of the door, the spring 74, 
working in conjunction with the tension in the belt B applied by the 
retractor 20, pushes on the lower end of the arm 78 via the coupling rod 
66 and the roller 68 and restores the arm 78 to the rearward, restraint 
position illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 5. The guide ring 82 is 
mounted on a pivot 84 so that the belt will always lie flat against the 
slot in all positions of the guide 82 (compare FIGS. 6 and 7, for 
example). 
The elements of the belt system illustrated in FIG. 9 that correspond to 
those shown in FIG. 1 are assigned the same reference numerals as used in 
FIG. 1 and are described above. 
The belt transfer device shown in FIGS. 9-12 comprises a motion transfer 
wire 90, the outboard end of which is connected to a lost-motion coupling 
92 near the vehicle door 28 and the inboard end of which is fastened to 
the lower end of an arm 94 mounted to pivot on a pivot pin 96 on the 
inboard side of the vehicle seat 24. The wire 90 is constrained for motion 
transfer by a sheath 98 which is fastened to the inboard side of the seat 
by an anchor 100 at one end and is fastened at its outboard end to the 
vehicle body by an anchor 102. A spring 104 is compressed between the 
lower end of the arm 94 below the pivot pin 96 and a suitable fixed 
location on the side of the seat, such as the anchor 100. As in the other 
embodiments, of course, the belt B leads from the retractor 20 through a 
guide ring 106 attached, preferably by a pivot attachment, to the upper 
end of the arm 94. 
The lost-motion coupling 92 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is 
illustrated in detail (in generally schematic form) in FIGS. 10-12 and is 
a folding linkage which consists of a first link 108, the forward end of 
which is connected to the drive wire 90 and the rearward end of which is 
coupled by a pin 110 to one end of a second link 112. The other end of the 
second link 112 is connected by a pivot pin 114 to a third link 116, the 
opposite or rearward end of which is attached by a universal coupling 118 
to the vehicle door 28 at a location spaced apart from the axis of the 
door hinges so that upon motion of the door the universal coupling 118 
moves relative to the vehicle body. The two pivot pins 110 and 114 are 
guided by tracks such as slots 120 and 122, respectively, in a casing for 
the folding linkage. The slots 120 and 122 control the folding linkage so 
that it remains in a folded condition during the motion of the door 
between closed and partway open so that the motion of the door is 
transmitted by the linkage to the wire 90. During that motion, the two 
pins 110 and 114 are guided along paths parallel to each other so that the 
first and third links 108 and 116 of the linkage move together as a unit 
connected by the second link 112. In moving from the fully closed position 
(FIG. 10) to the partway open position (FIG. 11) the motion of the link 
116 is transmitted directly via the links 112 and 108 through the drive 
wire 90, and the portion of the wire connected to the lower end of the arm 
94 is pulled rearwardly, thereby pivoting the arm 94 to the restraint 
position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 9 to the forward release position 
shown in solid lines in FIG 9. At this point the pins 110 and 114 have 
reached the rearward most position in the slot 120 and the horizontal 
portion 122A of the slot 122 (see FIG. 11). If the door 28 is pushed from 
the partway open position towards the fully open position, no additional 
motion is transmitted to the link 108, and the additional motion of the 
door relative to the vehicle body is "lost" by unfolding of the linkage 
under the control of the slot 122. As the linkage unfolds, the pin 114 
moves along an arcuate portion 122b of the slot 122, the center of 
curvature of which is coincident with the axis of the pivot pin 112 when 
the pin 110 is located at the rearward end of the slot 120. Thus the 
folding linkage 92 does not transmit any motion to the wire when the door 
is moved between partway and fully-open positions. Motion of the door from 
fully-open to partway open (from the position of FIG. 12 to the position 
of FIG. 11) is "lost" in the form of refolding of the linkage, from which 
point on (as the door moves from partly closed to fully closed) the door 
motion is transmitted through the linkage to the wire. More precisely, the 
force of the spring 104 and the force of the retractor supply tension to 
the belt, pulling the wire 90 in a direction such that the inboard end, 
where the wire is attached to the arm 94, is pulled forward as the arm 
pivots from the release position back to the restraint position shown in 
FIG. 9. 
The embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 to 16 is similar in many respects to the 
embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-8. Accordingly, corresponding elements of the 
embodiment of FIGS. 13-16 are assigned the same reference numerals as the 
ones shown in FIGS. 5-8. The principal difference between the two 
embodiments involves the relocation of the control slot 76 on the control 
arm to a position above the pivot axis 80 on the arm 78. This difference 
makes it possible, in turn to eliminate the coupling rod 66, the guide 
tubes 72, and the spring 74, and also reverses the direction of the 
pulling motion of the inboard end of the wire (where it is coupled to the 
arm from rearward to forward) so that a much shorter cable (the wire 60 
and the sheath 64) can be used. When the wire 60 is pulled as the door is 
moved from fully-closed to partway open (see FIGS. 14 and 15), the door 
motion is transmitted by the wire 60 to the control slot 76 on the arm 78 
until the lower portion 76A passes beyond the vertical to a slightly 
forward inclination. The arm 78, thus being pivoted, moves the belt guide 
82 to a forward, releasing position (solid lines in FIG. 13). Further 
motion of the door from a partway open position (FIG. 15) is "lost" in the 
movement of the roller 68 at the inboard end of the wire 60 along the 
second portion 76b of the control slot. When the door is moved from fully 
open back to fully closed, the force on the belt applied by the retractor 
20 pivots the arm 78 rearwardly to the extent permitted by the drive wire 
60. If necessary, a spring can be connected in tension between the arm 78 
and a location on the seat rearwardly of the arm to supplement the force 
of the retractor. 
The embodiments of FIGS. 13 to 16 also includes further refinement of the 
drive part of the belt transfer device. The drive wire sheath 64 is 
affixed to the vehicle body at a location adjacent the door frame by an 
anchor 130, but the sheath extends out from the door frame and onto the 
door where it is received by a guide tube 132 with sufficient clearance 
between the tube 132 and the sheath to allow the sheath to move freely in 
the guide tube 132. Accordingly, when the door is open, regardless of the 
extent, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the portion of the wire 60 where it 
bridges the gap between the door frame and the door 28 is concealed and 
protected by the portion 64 a of the sheath which moves in and out of the 
guide tube 132. 
Thus, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a belt 
transfer device, which moves the inboard portion of a belt from a rearward 
restraint position when the door is closed to a forward release position 
when the door is only partway open. Accordingly, if for some reason the 
door cannot be fully opened to allow a passenger to enter or leave it 
(which frequently occurs when the vehicle is parked alongside another 
vehicle), entry and departure of the occupant are nonetheless facilitated 
by full transfer of the inboard portion of the belt to the release 
position. Nonetheless, the invention permits the door to be moved between 
partway and fully open without any additional transfer of the inboard part 
of the belt by virtue of lost motion in the drive arrangement. The 
invention operates automatically in response to door opening and closing 
motion and uses the door motion rather than motors and controls of the 
type commonly used in prior art systems. 
The above described embodiments of the invention are merely exemplary, and 
numerous variations and modifications will be readily apparent to those 
skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the 
invention. All such variations and modifications are intended to be 
included in the scope of the invention, and in the claims.