Vertical adjustment for the deflection fitting of a safety belt

A device for the automatic and vertically adjustable mounting of the upper attachment fitting or deflection fitting for a safety belt in a motor vehicle, the device comprising a substantially vertically arranged rail (1) having lateral latch recesses (4), a slide member (7) which is displaceably guided along the rail and in which a pawl (8) having a laterally protecting latch nose (10) is pivotally mounted about an axis (I) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rail for movement between a latched position and an unlatched position, an adjustment element (19) which acts on the pawl (8) in the one direction of displacement and is controlled in dependence on the seat position of the associated vehicle seat, and with a bearing (12) for the deflection fitting moveable with the sliding member, with the bearing acting on the pawl (8) in such a way that the pawl (8) is pivoted into its latched position when the bearing (12) is loaded by the belt, wherein, in order to increase the operational reliability and also to simplify the construction and to reduce the manufacturing costs, a resetting element (23) is provided which acts on the pawl (8) in the other direction of displacement and wherein the adjustment element (19) and the resetting element (23) act on the pawl (8) at two points (17, 24) arranged on the same side of the pivot axis (I).

The present invention relates to a device for the automatic and vertically 
adjustable mounting of the upper attachment fitting or deflection fitting 
for a safety belt in a motor vehicle, the device comprising a 
substantially vertically arranged rail having lateral latch recesses, a 
slide member which is displaceably guided along the rail and in which a 
pawl having a laterally protecting latch nose is pivotally mounted about 
an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rail for 
movement between a latched position and an unlatched position, an 
adjustment element which acts on the pawl in the one direction of 
displacement and is controlled in dependence on the seat position of the 
associated vehicle seat, and with a bearing for the deflection fitting 
moveable with the sliding member, with the bearing acting on the pawl in 
such a way that the pawl is pivoted into its latched position when the 
bearing is loaded by the belt. 
A device of this kind is, for example, known from DE 38 02 323 C2. In this 
known device the pawl is pivotally mounted in the sliding member about a 
pivot point which is predetermined by the sliding member. The adjustment 
element acts on the pawl in one direction of pivoting on the one side of 
the pivot point, whereas the pawl is supported on the other side of the 
pivot point on a resetting element, which acts in the reverse direction of 
pivoting. A displacement of the sliding member along the rail is ensured 
in this way without loading the bearing for the deflection fitting, so 
that the pawl remains in its unlatched position. 
The bearing for the deflection fitting in this known device is fixedly 
connected to the sliding member. When the bearing is loaded, such as in 
particular occurs during an accident, the sliding member with the pivot 
point in the rail is moved downwardly, whereas the pawl is held on the one 
side of the pivot point by the adjustment element, which is fixed by the 
seat position. In this way the pawl pivots and latches into one of the 
lateral latch recesses of the rail, so that the sliding member with the 
bearing for the deflection fitting is blocked against a further 
displacement along the rail. 
In order to ensure, in a device of this kind, that the sliding member can 
not only be automatically displaced in the one direction of displacement 
but rather also in the opposite direction of displacement to the desired 
position, an additional resetting element is necessary, which acts on the 
sliding member in the corresponding other direction of displacement. As a 
whole, this results in a relatively complicated construction which has a 
negative effect both with respect to manufacturing costs and also to the 
operational reliability of the device. 
The present invention is thus based on the object of so further developing 
a device of the named kind that these disadvantages do not occur. In 
particular it is intended to simplify the construction of the device in 
order to reduce the manufacturing costs and to increase the operational 
reliability despite ensuring a reliable displacement of the sliding member 
in both directions. 
This object is satisfied in accordance with the invention in that a 
resetting element is provided which acts on the pawl in the other 
direction of displacement, and in that the adjustment element and the 
resetting element act on the pawl at two points arranged on the same side 
of the pivot axis. 
Through the arrangement of the resetting element and of the adjusting 
element in such a way that they act on the pawl in opposite directions at 
points arranged on the same side of the pivot axis it is ensured that no 
resulting torque acts on the pawl on actuation of the adjustment element. 
The pawl thus remains in its unlatched position during the displacement of 
the sliding member without loading of the bearing for the deflection 
fitting. The resetting element provided in accordance with the invention 
thus has a double function. On the one hand, the resetting element 
transmits to the sliding member a displacement force which counteracts the 
adjustment element, and, on the other hand, the resetting element prevents 
a latching of the pawl during the adjustment of the device, i.e. when the 
bearing is not loaded. A separate resetting element, which prevents the 
latching, can thus be omitted. In this way one obtains a device which is 
improved in its operation but nevertheless simplified in its construction, 
with the device being characterized by reduced manufacturing costs and 
increased durability, since fewer parts are present which could be 
subjected to wear or which could fail. 
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention the bearing for the 
deflection fitting is arranged at the pawl, with the arrangement being 
horizontally displaced relative to the point of action of the adjustment 
element. This displaced arrangement causes the pawl to be pivoted relative 
to the sliding member into its latched position when the bearing for the 
deflection fitting is loaded, since the adjustment element fixed by the 
seat position counteracts the draw movement downwardly transmitted from 
the belt to the bearing. The force picked up by the bearing is thereby 
directly transmitted to the pawl, so that the sliding member does not have 
to be laid out for this high force. It is not even necessary to provide a 
rotary bearing at the sliding member, although a rotary bearing of this 
kind is provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the 
invention. 
In accordance with a further development of the invention the bearing for 
the deflection fitting arranged at the pawl is provided on the axis of 
rotation of the pawl in the sliding member. A force transmitted by the 
belt onto the bearing for the deflection fitting thus acts vertically 
downwardly on the axis of the rotary bearing and attempts to displace the 
pawl downwardly along the rail. As a result of the adjustment element 
acting on the pawl at a position displaced relative to the bearing of the 
deflection fitting, a resultant torque thereby arises which leads to a 
pivoting of the pawl and to it latching into the lateral latch recesses of 
the rail. 
In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention the pawl has a 
through-guide through which the narrower section of an elongate stepped 
spigot forming a bearing for the deflection fitting passes, with the 
broader section of the spigot being formed as a rotary bearing spigot 
which is rotatably journalled in a corresponding circular recess of the 
slide member. Through this design a simple rotary mounting of the pawl in 
the slide member is achieved on the one hand. On the other hand, the 
stepped design of the spigot has the advantage that the spigot cannot be 
drawn out of the pawl when the deflection fitting is loaded by the belt. 
In order to ensure a reliable seat of the bearing for the deflection 
fitting in the pawl even during normal operation of the device, the 
narrower section of the stepped spigot is preferably inserted into the 
pawl in a press seating. 
In accordance with a further development of the invention, the pawl is 
mounted in a two-part housing, the lower housing part of which serves as 
the slide member and the upper housing part of which together with the 
pawl can be pivoted in the plane of the rail relative to the lower part of 
the housing, with the adjustment element and the resetting element acting 
on the upper part of the housing. This design enables a simple attachment 
of the adjustment element and of the resetting element to the upper part 
of the housing, which can in particular be manufactured of plastic, and 
simultaneously enables a design of the pawl in a particularly stable 
material, in particular in metal. 
A cable, in particular a Bowden cable, preferably serves as the adjustment 
element for the displacement of the sliding member or of the rail. The 
Bowden cable is thereby preferably guided by a deflection device and acts 
from above on the pawl or on the upper part of the housing. The other end 
of the Bowden cable is moved on displacement of the vehicle seat in such a 
way that the Bowden cable is extended further in the frontmost seat 
position, so that the deflection fitting is located in its lowermost 
position. Vice versa, the Bowden cable pulls the deflection fitting into 
its uppermost position when the vehicle seat is located in its rearmost 
position. The resetting element, which thus biases the deflection fitting 
into its lowermost position, acts correspondingly in this embodiment on 
the lower end of the pawl or of the housing upper part. On extension of 
the Bowden cable it is ensured that the deflection fitting is displaced 
downwardly into the desired position. 
In accordance with a further development of the invention, a spiral spring 
is provided as the resetting element, with the spiral spring preferably 
being mounted in a spring sleeve which can be anchored in the rail and 
which has a central through-guide for an attachment bolt. The spring 
sleeve thus also serves for the attachment of the rail to the vehicle in 
addition to the mounting of the spiral spring. Furthermore, the spring 
sleeve can also be provided with a lateral recess for the end of the 
sleeve of the Bowden cable, so that the spring sleeve also takes on a 
further function. The manufacture and assembly costs are further reduced 
by this multipurpose function of the spring sleeve. 
In accordance with a further development of the invention, a spreading 
spring element is provided at the pawl which is held in the non-spread 
position by the tension force acting between the adjustment element and 
the resetting element, with the spreading spring element being so arranged 
between the pawl and the sliding member, or between the pawl and the rail, 
that the pawl is loaded in the direction towards its latched position when 
the tension force from the spreading spring element falls away. Through 
the spreading spring element it is advantageously ensured that the pawl 
reliably latches even when there is a defect of the adjustment element or 
of the resetting element or of a part associated therewith, for example, a 
fracture or shifting of the Bowden cable out of its mounting, and that the 
sliding member with the bearing for the deflection fitting is blocked 
against a vertical displacement. With a defect of the adjustment element 
the tension force disappears so that the spreading spring element spreads 
and pivots the pawl into its latched position. 
The spreading spring element is preferably formed as a bow member with two 
resilient limbs and is braced in the spread state with its one limb 
against the pawl and with its other limb against the sliding member, with 
the length of span of the bow member being variable in dependence on the 
tension force. When the tension force is present, the two limbs of the bow 
member are pivoted together to such an extent that the bow member does not 
exert any pivoting force on the pawl. If the tension force disappears, 
then the bow member spreads and loads the pawl in the latching direction. 
In accordance with a further design of the invention, the pawl has a 
contact edge for at least a respective part of the two limbs of the bow 
member and the bow member is held by the tension force against the contact 
edge in such a way that the two limbs are pivoted together to such an 
extent that the pawl is relieved from the bow member. The contact edge is 
preferably formed by a recess in the region of the point of action of the 
adjustment element, and the adjustment element can preferably act at the 
point of connection of the two limbs of the bow member and pull the bow 
member against the contact edge. Through this design the spreading spring 
element is integrated into the pawl in an elegant manner and is held by 
the adjustment element, for example by the Bowden cable, in the non-spread 
position as long as no breakage occurs. If the Bowden cable breaks, or if 
it is unintentionally shifted from its mounted position, then the tension 
force of the Bowden cable on the bow member disappears so that the bow 
member can spread apart and its two limbs can load the pawl in the 
latching direction. 
In order to additionally enable an individual adaptation of the level of 
the deflection fitting in a device for the automatic vertical adjustment 
of the deflection fitting, provision is made in accordance with a further 
development of the invention that the distance of the deflection device 
for the Bowden cable from the upper end of the rail should be manually 
adjustable. For each length of the Bowden cable set via the seat position, 
it is thus possible to additionally vary the thereby preset height of the 
deflection fitting over a specific range. Thus account can be taken of the 
fact that the seat position selected by a person does not always fully 
correlate with their body size or shoulder height. 
For the additional manual adjustment the deflection device has, in 
accordance with a further development of the invention, a lever element 
which is rotatably journalled about a substantially horizontal axis and 
which carries a deflection element for the Bowden cable and an actuating 
element, with the deflection element being arranged closer to the axis of 
rotation of the lever element than the actuating element. In this manner 
the force required for a manual adjustment is advantageously kept low. 
This is in particular important because during the manual adjustment of 
the deflection element, the vertically adjustable deflection fitting 
travels over a path which is twice as long as that of the actuating 
element. 
For the deflection of the Bowden cable, a deflection roller is preferably 
provided in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention. The 
friction which occurs on actuation of the Bowden cable is thereby reduced, 
which, on the one hand, increases the operational reliability of the 
device and, on the other hand, facilitates an additional manual vertical 
adjustment. 
The device of the invention is suitable for use on both sides in a motor 
vehicle through the provision of latched recesses at two oppositely 
disposed sides of the rail. All parts of the device of the invention with 
the exception of the upper part of the housing can thus be used both for 
left-hand installation and also for right-hand installation. 
At its upper end, the rail is preferably provided with slits to enable it 
to be hung into a mount provided on the vehicle. The installation of the 
device of the invention is thereby considerably simplified. The rail is, 
for example, hung into mount present at the B-column of the vehicle from 
below and must only be subsequently secured to the B-column by means of 
the single attachment bolt which is guided through the spring sleeve.

The height adjustment device of the invention shown in FIG. 1 for the 
deflection fitting of the safety belt comprises a rail 1 which is to be 
vertically mounted, for example to the B-column of a motor vehicle. The 
rail 1 has two side limbs 2 which are of C-shaped cross-section and which 
are connected to one another at the rear side of the rail by a rear wall 
3. Latch recesses 4 are respectively provided in the side limbs 2 and, as 
shown, can, for example, be generated by pressing out corresponding 
sections 5 of the lateral limbs 2. 
As one can see in FIG. 2, a two-part housing 6 is inserted into the rail 1, 
with the lower or rear part 7 of the housing being displaceably guided 
along the rail 1. The housing 6 accommodates a pawl 8 which can be pivoted 
together with the upper or top part of the housing 9 relative to the rear 
part of the housing 7 about a central axis I in order to prevent the upper 
part of the housing pivoting relative to the pawl 8, the pawl 8 is 
provided with recesses 26, into which corresponding projections provided 
on the upper part of the housing 9 engage, which are, however, not shown 
here. One of the two recesses 26 and the associated projection can in this 
arrangement be displaced relative to the central axis I in order to 
prevent faulty assembly by rotation of the pawl 8 and of the housing 
through 180.degree. relative to one another. 
The pawl 8 has a laterally projecting nose 10 and also a central guide 
passage 11, into which the narrow section 13 of a stepped spigot 12 is 
inserted with a press fit, as can be seen from FIG. 3. The narrower 
section 13 is formed as a threaded sleeve, which is guided through a 
central through-guide 14 in the upper part of the housing 9 and serves as 
a bearing or mount for a corresponding threaded bolt of a deflection 
fitting which is not shown here. The broader section 15 of the stepped 
spigot 12 has a diameter which is matched to the diameter of a cut-out 16 
in the lower part 7 of the housing so that the broader section 15 of the 
stepped spigot 12 cooperates with the cut-out 16 in the lower part of the 
housing as a rotary bearing for the pawl 8 and for the upper part 9 of the 
housing. 
The upper part 9 of the housing has, in its section disposed above the 
through-guide 14, a mount 17 for the end 18 of a Bowden cable 19, which is 
guided via a deflection device 20 to the housing upper part 9 from above. 
The end 18 of the Bowden cable 19 is provided with a thickened portion 21 
which engages behind an associated edge in the mount 17 in the upper part 
of the housing 9. As one can, in particular, see from FIG. 4, the mount 17 
for the Bowden cable 19 is horizontally displaced relative to the central 
axis I, about which the upper part 9 of the housing is rotatable. 
The end 22 of a spiral spring 23, which is anchored at its other end in a 
spring mount 25, engages in a recess 24 provided in the lower section of 
the upper part 9 of the housing and displaced horizontally in the same 
direction relative to the central axis I. The spring mount 25 is in turn 
inserted into the lower end of the rail 1 and anchored to the latter. The 
torques produced by the displaced arrangement of the mount 17 and the 
recess 24 at the upper part of the housing 9 during vertical adjustment 
mutually cancel one another so that a displacement of the housing 6 within 
the rail 1 can take place without rotation and thus without latching of 
the pawl 8. 
As one can see in FIGS. 1 and 2, the deflection device 20 is equipped with 
the deflection roller 27, at which the Bowden cable 19 is guided. In this 
manner the friction is reduced on actuation of the Bowden cable 19. As one 
can likewise see in FIGS. 1 and 2, the end 28 of the sleeve of the Bowden 
cable 19 is mounted in a mount 29 provided on the spring mount 25 at the 
side. In addition, the spring mount 25 has a central through-guide 30 
through which a fastening bolt 31 can be passed through the intermediary 
of a locking ring 32 in order to secure the lower end of the rail 1 to the 
motor vehicle in this manner. 
The upper end of the rail 1 is provided with two projections 33 which 
extend perpendicular to the plane of the rail, and in each of which an 
upwardly open slot 34 is formed. With these slots the rail 1 can be 
inserted into a corresponding mount provided at the motor vehicle. Thus 
only a single attachment bolt 31 is necessary for the attachment of the 
rail 1 in the motor vehicle. For the vertical adjustment of the deflection 
fitting, the length of the Bowden cable 19 which projects beyond the end 
of the sleeve 28 is correspondingly selected, with this taking place 
automatically in dependence on the position of the associated vehicle 
seat. The connection to the vehicle seat is arranged here in such a way 
that when the vehicle seat is located in the frontmost position, the 
greatest length of the Bowden cable 19 is present, so that the housing 6 
for the deflection fitting is moved as a result of the force of the spiral 
spring 23 into the lowest position in the rail 1, whereas, in the rearmost 
position of the motor vehicle seat, the Bowden cable 19 draws the housing 
6 with the mount 12 for a deflection fitting which is present on the pawl 
8 into the uppermost position against the force of the spiral spring 23. 
In order to compensate for different paths of displacement of the vehicle 
seat and of the deflection fitting, a gearing device can be provided for 
the Bowden cable. During the displacement of the housing 6 without loading 
of the mount 12, no resulting torque acts on the pawl 8, as explained, so 
that the pawl 8 remains in its unlatched position during the vertical 
adjustment. 
During an accident, the pawl 8 is loaded by the safety belt via the 
deflection fitting and its mount 12, with the force which is transmitted 
always having a component directed downwardly in the rail direction. This 
force, which pulls the pawl 8 downwardly, counteracts the holding force of 
the Bowden cable 19 specified by the seat position which is transferred to 
the pawl displaced relative to the central axis I. In this way a resultant 
torque acting on the pawl 8 arises which rotates the pawl 8 about the 
central axis I until the lateral nose 10 of the pawl 8 latches into one of 
the lateral latch recesses 4 of the rail 1. In this way a further movement 
of the pawl 8 and thus of the deflection fitting journalled in the mount 
12, along the rail 1 is blocked. 
The device of the invention represents a simply constructed, automatically 
vertically adjustable device for the mounting of the upper attachment or 
deflection fitting for a safety belt which, in the case of an accident, 
ensures a rapid and reliable blocking of the deflection fitting. Only a 
few components are necessary and can, moreover, apart from the upper 
housing part 9, be used both for left hand installation as well as for 
right-hand installation in a motor vehicle. This both reduces the 
manufacturing costs and also simplifies the storage and installation. 
In order to make an individual adaptation of the level of the deflection 
fitting possible in addition to the automatic vertical adjustment in 
dependence on the seat position, the deflection device 20 can be arranged 
at the upper side of the rail 1, so that the spacing of the deflection 
roll 27 from the upper end of the rail 1 is manually adjustable. By 
enlargement of the spacing, the path of the Bowden cable 19 to the mount 
17 in the upper part of the housing 9 is extended so that with an 
unchanged seat position the housing 6 with the bearing 12 of the 
deflection fitting is displaced upwardly. Vice versa, the housing 6 can be 
displaced downwardly by reduction of the spacing. 
FIG. 5 shows such a deflection device 20 with a deflection element for the 
Bowden cable 19, which is additionally manually adjustable height-wise. A 
deflection roll 36 journalled in a lever element 35 is provided as the 
deflection element, with the Bowden cable 19 running over the deflection 
roll 36. The lever element 35 is guided at its one tapered end 38 by a 
latched guide 39 and carries at this end 38 an actuating element 37 which 
can be pushed into place. The other end 40 of the lever element 35 is 
rotatably mounted on a pin 41 which is accommodated in a housing 42. A 
spring 43 is anchored at its one end in the housing 42, with the other end 
of the spring engaging on the lever element 35 and loading the lever 
element 35 into its lower pivotal position. 
By pivoting of the lever element 35 about the pin 41, the deflection roll 
36 journalled in the lever element 35 is raised or lowered. In this way 
the lever element 35 latches into the latched positions provided by the 
latch guide 39. Through the arrangement of the actuating element 37 at the 
end 38 remote from the pivot axis of the lever element 35, a larger lever 
arm is available for the actuation of the lever element 35 so that the 
deflection roll 36 journalled closer to the pivot axis can easily be 
lifted together with the deflection fitting. 
In the partial cross-section through a further variant of the apparatus of 
the invention as shown in FIG. 6, a bow member 44 resembling a coat hanger 
or bow and having two resilient limbs 45, 46 is provided in the pawl 8 and 
is braced with its one limb 45 against the pawl 8 and with its other limb 
46 against the sliding member 7. The bow member 44 sits for this purpose 
in a recess 48 of the pawl 8, forming an abutment edge 47 for the limbs 
45, 46 of the bow member 44, with the recess 48 being so dimensioned that 
the bow member's two legs 45, 46 can be moved between a non-spread 
position in which the limbs 45, 46 contact the abutment edge 47, and a 
spread position in which the two legs 45, 46 are swung further apart. The 
recess 48 opens at one side into a lateral opening 49 in the pawl 8, 
through which and out of which the one limb 46 of the bow member 44 can 
project in the spread position and can brace itself against the sliding 
member 7. 
The recess 48 for the bow member 44 is so arranged in the region of the 
mount 17 for the end 18 of the Bowden cable 19 that the thick portion or 
nipple 21 of the Bowden cable 19 comes to lie in the recess 48 when the 
Bowden cable is inserted. In this arrangement, the Bowden cable 19 is not 
only mounted into the mount 17 but rather also mounted at the same time 
into the correspondingly shaped bow member 44 so that in the tensioned 
state the Bowden cable 19 draws the bow member 44 against the abutment 
edge 47 formed by the recess 48. The spiral spring 23 which acts on the 
pawl 8 in the opposite direction hereby acts as a counter-force. 
When the Bowden cable 19 is tensioned and when the counter-force of the 
spiral spring is present, the bow member 44 is thus located in its 
position held against the contact edge 47. The two limbs 45 and 46 of the 
bow member 44 thus pivot together to such an extent that the limb 46 is 
located within the pawl 8 and is not supported on the slide member 7. The 
bow member 44 holds this non-spread position independently of the 
displacement position of the Bowden cable 19 for as long as the tension 
force exerted by the Bowden cable 19 and the spiral spring 23 and the pawl 
8 is present. If the Bowden cable tears or is shifted out of place, or if 
the spiral spring breaks, then this tension force disappears. The bow 
member 44 is then no longer drawn against the contact edge 47 so that it 
spreads and its one limb 46 moves out of the opening 49 in the pawl 8. 
This limb 46 is then braced on the confronting inner wall of the sliding 
member 7 so that a turning force is exerted onto the pawl 8 via the other 
limb 45 of the bow member 44. This turning force acts in the latching 
direction of the pawl 8 so that the pawl 8 latches into one of the latched 
recesses 4 and blocks the sliding member with the bearing 12 for the 
deflection fitting against a further displacement. 
With little effort and without additional space requirement it is thus 
ensured that a reliable latching of the pawl 8 and thus a blocking of the 
vertical adjustment of the upper deflection fitting of the safety belt 
system is ensured in an emergency, even if the Bowden cable breaks or is 
shifted out of its mounting, or if a spring breakage occurs. 
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REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST 
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1 rail 
2 limb 
3 rear wall 
4 latch recess 
5 section of 2 
6 housing 
7 housing lower part 
8 pawl 
9 housing upper part 
10 nose 
11 through-guide 
12 stepped spigot 
13 narrow section of 12 
14 through-guide 
15 broader section of 12 
16 recess 
17 mount 
18 end of 19 
19 Bowden cable 
20 deflection device 
21 thickened portion, nipple 
22 end of 23 
23 spiral spring 
24 mount 
25 spring sleeve 
26 recess 
27 deflection roll 
28 end of sleeve 
29 mount 
30 through-guide 
31 bolt 
32 locking ring 
33 projection 
34 slot 
35 lever element 
36 deflection element 
37 actuating element 
38 end of 35 
39 latch guide 
40 end of 35 
41 pin 
42 housing 
43 spring 
44 bow member 
45 limb 
46 limb 
47 contaat edge 
48 recess 
49 opening 
50 connection point 
I central axis 
II axis of rotation of 35 
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