Apparatus for seat belt installation

A seat belt installation apparatus having a seat belt installation anchor fixed to a vehicle body and having a lower end portion of a seat belt installed at one side thereof; and a cover configured to shield the anchor and a rotation prevention bead formed on a bottom surface of the vehicle body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0019963, filed Feb. 18, 2020, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a seat belt apparatus, and more particularly, to a seat belt installation apparatus for installing a seat belt on a vehicle body.

BACKGROUND

In general, cars are provided with seat belts on car seats to guarantee driving safety of occupants including a driver.

A seat belt installed in a car is configured to prevent a secondary collision and to mitigate a shock by restraining a body of an occupant upon car collision, and to prevent the occupant from being thrown out of the car.

The most common shape of such a seat belt apparatus is a three-point seat belt apparatus which is a combination of a shoulder-restraining shoulder belt and a waist-restraining lap belt.

The seat belt apparatus may include a seat belt which is woven of synthetic fibers of nylon and polyester in the form of a band, a retractor which stows the seat belt when the seat belt is not used or when a belt length is adjusted according to a sitting posture of an occupant, a buckle and a tongue plate for mounting or releasing the seat belt, and a seat belt guide for fixing one end of the seat belt to the vehicle body.

The applicant of the present application disclosed seat belt apparatus technology in a plurality of documents including patent document 1 and patent document 2 presented below, and obtained the patents.

FIG.1is a view illustrating a configuration of a seat belt apparatus according to related-art technology, andFIG.2is a view illustrating a configuration of an anchor for installing a seat belt.

As shown inFIG.1, the seat belt apparatus1according to related-art technology includes a seat belt2of a band type for fixing an occupant, a retractor3in which the seat belt2is wound, a belt tongue4coupled to a reeled-out end of the seat belt2, a buckle5into which the belt tongue4is removably inserted, and a belt guide6for guiding reeling-in, reeling-out operations of the seat belt2. The buckle5is fixed to a set bracket provided on a lower portion of a seat7through webbing and a bracket.

As shown inFIG.2, a lower end portion of the seat belt2installed on the rear seat7of the car is installed on the vehicle body by using a seat belt installation anchor (hereinafter, referred to as an “anchor”)10which has a shape bent upward from a bottom of the vehicle body by about 90 degrees.

The anchor10includes a fixing portion11fixed to a bottom surface of the vehicle body, and a bending portion12bent upward from one end of the fixing portion11, and an installation hole13may be formed on the bending portion12to allow the lower end portion of the seat belt2to be installed therein.

Therefore, the lower end portion of the seat belt2is inserted from one side of the installation hole of the bending portion12and then is drawn out in the opposite direction, is bent upward, and is fixed by sewing.

The fixing portion11has a cross section formed in a substantially triangular shape when viewed from above.

Accordingly, in a process of installing the anchor10on the bottom surface of the vehicle body, the fixing portion11is inserted between one pair of rotation prevention beads8protruding from the bottom surface of the vehicle body in a substantially “<” shape, and is fixed to the bottom surface of the vehicle body by screwing a fixing bolt14.

As described above, the one pair of rotation prevention beads8are formed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body and the anchor10is installed, and accordingly, a cutaway space is formed on a portion of a car mat9where the rotation prevention beads8and the anchor10are installed.

Accordingly, as the rotation prevention beads8and the anchor10formed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body are exposed to the outside through the space formed on the car mat, there is a problem that appearance is disfigured.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to solve the above-described problem, and is to provide a seat belt installation apparatus which can shield a rotation prevention bead and an anchor formed on a bottom surface of a vehicle body by applying a cover to the anchor.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a seat belt installation apparatus which can avoid interference with webbing installed on an anchor when a cover is assembled with the anchor.

To achieve the above-described objects, a seat belt installation apparatus according to the present disclosure includes: a seat belt installation anchor fixed to a vehicle body and having a lower end portion of a seat belt installed at one side thereof; and a cover configured to shield the anchor and a rotation prevention bead formed on a bottom surface of the vehicle body.

The present disclosure relates to a seat belt installation apparatus, which includes: a seat belt installation anchor fixed to a vehicle body and having a lower end portion of a seat belt installed at one side thereof; and a cover configured to shield the anchor and a rotation prevention bead formed on a bottom surface of the vehicle body. A reinforcement portion and support bumps are formed on a rear end portion of the cover to make the cover elastically deformable, and to reinforce stiffness of the cover, and a plurality of support ribs are formed on a lower surface of the cover to completely prevent the cover from moving forward and backward and upward and downward when a vibration or impact is transmitted to the vehicle body. The anchor and the cover are coupled to each other to entirely shield one pair of rotation prevention beads formed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body and an upper surface of a fixing portion of the anchor, so as to prevent a noise by blocking noise occurrence caused by movement of the cover.

According to the seat belt installation apparatus according to the present disclosure as described above, there is an effect of entirely shielding one pair of rotation prevention beads formed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body and an upper surface of a fixing portion of the anchor, by coupling the cover to the anchor for installing a lower end portion of a seat belt on the vehicle body.

Accordingly, according to the present disclosure, there is an effect that the appearance of surroundings of the seat belt installation apparatus can be made to look good, by shielding the one pair of rotation prevention beads and the anchor from being exposed to the outside through a cutaway space on the car mat.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, there is an effect that a breakage or damage of the seat belt caused by interference when the cover is coupled can be prevented in advance, by coupling the rear end portion of the cover to the lower end of the bending portion of the anchor where the seat belt is installed, and then rotating the front end portion of the cover and coupling it to the anchor.

In addition, the present disclosure has a reinforcement portion and support bumps formed on the rear end portion of the cover to make the cover elastically deformable, and to reinforce stiffness of the cover, and has a plurality of support ribs formed on the lower surface of the cover to completely prevent the cover from moving forward and backward and upward and downward when a vibration or impact is transmitted to the vehicle body.

Accordingly, according to the present disclosure, there is an effect of preventing occurrence of a defect caused by a noise and customers' complaints by blocking noise occurrence caused by movement of the cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a seat belt installation apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following, terms, which indicates directions such as ‘left side,’ ‘right side,’ ‘front,’ ‘rear,’ ‘upper direction,’ and ‘lower direction’ are defined to indicate each direction based on state illustrated in each drawing.

FIG.3is a perspective view illustrating a seat belt installation apparatus installed on a vehicle body according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, andFIG.4is a perspective view of the seat belt installation apparatus shown inFIG.3. In addition,FIG.5is an exploded perspective view of the seat belt installation apparatus shown inFIG.3,FIG.6is a cross-sectional view taken on line A-A′ ofFIG.4, andFIG.7is a perspective view illustrating a cover shown inFIG.5from a different angle.

The seat belt installation apparatus20according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure includes a seat belt installation anchor (hereinafter, referred to as an “anchor”)30which is fixed to a vehicle body and has a lower end portion of a seat belt installed on one side thereof, and a cover to shield the anchor30and a rotation prevention bead formed on a bottom surface of the vehicle body, as shown inFIGS.3and4.

As described above with reference toFIGS.1and2, the anchor30includes a fixing portion31fixed to the bottom surface of the vehicle body, and a bending portion32bent upward from one end of the fixing portion31, and an installation hole33may be formed on the bending portion32to allow the lower end portion of the seat belt2to be installed therein.

The lower end portion of the seat belt2may be inserted into the installation hole33of the bending portion32, may be drawn out in the opposite direction, and then may be bent upward again and may be fixed by sewing.

The fixing portion31is formed to have a substantially triangular cross section when viewed from above, and is inserted between one pair of rotation prevention beads8protruding from the bottom surface of the vehicle body in a substantially “<” shape, and is fixed to the bottom surface of the vehicle body by screwing a fixing bolt34.

Herein, a car mat9installed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body has a cutaway space formed on a portion where the rotation prevention beads8and the anchor30are installed, and accordingly, the rotation prevention beads8and the anchor30are exposed to the outside through the space S formed on the car mat9.

Accordingly, the present disclosure shields the rotation prevention beads and the anchor by installing a cover in the space, so that the appearance of the portion where the seat belt is installed can be made to look good.

More specifically, the anchor30and the cover40may be assembled with each other by coupling one side, that is, a rear end of the cover40when viewed inFIG.3, to the anchor30, and rotating a front end portion of the cover40downwardly with reference to the rear end portion coupled to the anchor30, and coupling to the anchor30.

As described above, the rear end portion of the cover is coupled to the anchor, first, and the front end portion is rotated to be assembled, so that interference between the seat belt installed on the anchor and the cover can be prevented.

Accordingly, the present disclosure can prevent a damage or breakage of the seat belt in advance, which is caused by interference between the seat belt and the cover when the cover is assembled.

To achieve this, one pair of locking bumps34may protrude outward from the bending portion32of the anchor30to have one pair of coupling bumps43, which protrude backward from both ends of the cover40which will be described below, caught thereon, respectively, as shown inFIGS.4to6.

The one pair of locking bumps34may be formed at positions higher than an upper surface of the fixing portion31, as high as a thickness of the cover40, or higher than the thickness of the cover40, so as to couple the rear end portion of the cover40.

The fixing portion31has a penetrating hole35formed thereon to have a fixing bolt21screwed thereinto to fix the anchor30to the bottom surface of the vehicle body, and a coupling protrusion36may be formed at a front end of the fixing portion31to have a hook portion44of the cover40, which will be described below, coupled thereto.

The coupling protrusion36may be formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape having a coupling hole37formed therein so as to have the hook portion44of the cover40disposed therein, and may be bent upward from the front end of the fixing portion36.

The cover40functions to entirely shield the one pair of rotation prevention beads8and the upper surface of the fixing portion31of the anchor30.

To achieve this, the cover40may have an area larger than the one pair of rotation prevention beads8and the upper surface of the fixing portion31of the anchor30, and may be formed of a plate of various shapes such as a polygonal shape including a substantially rectangular shape, or a circular or oval shape.

One pair of bead shielding portions41having spaces formed therein to shield the one pair of rotation prevention beads8may be provided on both sides of the cover40, and a bolt shielding portion42having a space formed therein to shield the fixing bolt21may be provided on a center portion of the cover40.

Although it is illustrated inFIGS.3and4that the bolt shielding portion42is higher than the one pair of bead shielding portions41, a change can be made to the present disclosure such that the bolt shielding portion42and the one pair of bead shielding portions41have the same height to prevent inconvenience caused when an occupant or an operator contacts the cover.

The one pair of coupling bumps43may be formed on rear ends of both sides of the cover40to be caught on the one pair of locking bumps34formed on both sides of the bending portion32, respectively, when the cover40is coupled to the bending portion32of the anchor30.

Herein, a space corresponding to a width of the bending portion32may be provided between the one pair of coupling bumps43.

The hook portion44may be provided on a front end portion of the cover40to be coupled with the coupling protrusion36provided at the front end of the anchor30.

That is, a through-hole45penetrating vertically may be formed on the front end portion of the cover40, and the hook portion44may include a hook46formed on a rear end side of the through-hole45to be caught on the coupling protrusion36.

The hook46may be doubly bent downward, forward and upward from a rear end of the through-hole45, and a locking projection47may protrude forward from an upper end of the hook46to be caught on an upper end portion of the coupling protrusion36while rotating from an upper portion to a lower portion of the fixing portion31.

The cover40configured as described above may be manufactured by using a synthetic resin material such as plastic, or a metallic material.

One pair of support bumps48may be formed on the rear end portion of the cover40between the one pair of coupling bumps43as shown inFIGS.5to7.

The one pair of support bumps48come into contact with a front surface of the bending portion32of the anchor30when the anchor30and the cover40are coupled to each other, and function to support the cover40and the bending portion32to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.

To achieve this, the one pair of support bumps48may protrude backward from the rear end of the cover40, respectively, at positions spaced apart from each other by a distance that is shorter than a distance between the one pair of coupling bumps43.

Herein, a length by which the one pair of support bumps48protrude backward may be the same as a distance between the rear end of the cover40and the front surface of the bending portion32when the hook portion44is coupled with the anchor30, or may be slightly longer than a length between the rear end of the cover40and the front surface of the bending portion32.

Accordingly, when the cover40is coupled with the anchor30, the front end and the rear end of the cover40are press-fitted into the fixing portion31and the bending portion32of the anchor30, respectively, by the hook portion3044and the one pair of support bumps48, and the cover40is securely fixed not to move forward and backward even if a vibration or impact is transmitted to the vehicle body.

As described above, the one pair of support bumps are provided on the rear end portion of the cover to prevent the cover from moving forward and backward by a vibration or impact transmitted to the vehicle body. Accordingly, the present disclosure can prevent occurrence of a noise caused by backward and forward movements of the cover.

Along with this, a reinforcement portion49which is bent in a convex-downward shape may be provided on the rear end portion of the cover40to reinforce stiffness and to make the cover flexibly deformable, as shown inFIGS.6and7.

In addition, a plurality of support ribs may be formed on a lower surface of the cover40.

For example, one pair of first support ribs51may be formed on a rear end portion side of the lower surface of the cover40, and one pair of second support ribs52may be formed on a center portion, as shown inFIG.7.

The one pair of first support ribs51may be formed on a rear side of the bolt shielding portion42, and may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in parallel along a horizontal direction, and the one pair of second support ribs52may be formed on a front side of the bolt shielding portion42, and may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance along an edge of the bolt shielding portion42.

Herein, the first and second support ribs51,52may be formed at the same height as a distance between the lower surface of the cover40and the upper surface of the fixing portion31, or may be formed at a height slightly higher than the distance between the lower surface of the cover40and the upper surface of the fixing portion31in a state where the front end portion of the cover40is coupled with the fixing portion31of the anchor30by the hook portion44.

Therefore, the cover40is supported on the upper surface of the fixing portion31by the first and second support ribs51,52while being coupled with the anchor30.

Accordingly, the cover40may be supported by the plurality of support ribs51,52while being coupled with the anchor30by the hook portion44.

In particular, if lengths of the plurality of support ribs51,52are longer than the distance between the cover40and the anchor30, the center portion of the cover40may be elastically deformed in a convex-upward shape, and the cover40may be securely fixed to the anchor30not to move in the vertical direction even when a vibration or impact is transmitted to the vehicle body.

As described above, the present disclosure has the reinforcement portion and the support bumps formed on the rear end portion of the cover to make the cover elastically deformable and to reinforce stiffness of the cover, and has the plurality of support ribs formed on the lower surface of the cover to completely prevent the cover from moving forward and backward and upward and downward when a vibration or impact is transmitted to the vehicle body.

Accordingly, the present disclosure can prevent occurrence of a defect caused by a noise and customers' complaints by blocking noise occurrence caused by movement of the cover.

Hereinafter, a coupling relationship and an operating method of the seat belt installation apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference toFIGS.4and8.

FIG.8is a view illustrating an operation state to explain a coupling process of the anchor and the cover.

First, an operator places the anchor30on a bottom surface of a vehicle body and fixes the anchor30by screwing the fixing bolt21. Herein, the lower end portion of the seat belt2has been already connected to the installation hole33formed on the bending portion32of the anchor30.

In this case, when the fixing bolt21is screwed, the fixing portion31of the anchor30is disposed between the one pair of rotation prevention beads8formed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body, such that rotation is prevented in the process of screwing the fixing bolt21.

In addition, as shown inFIG.7, the one pair of coupling bumps43formed on the rear end portion of the cover40are coupled to lower portions of the one pair of locking bumps34formed on both sides of the bending portion32of the anchor30.

Next, the front end portion of the cover40is rotated downward with reference to the rear end portion of the cover40coupled with the fixing portion31of the anchor30, and is pressed.

Then, the hook46provided on the front end portion of the cover40is moved to a lower portion of the coupling protrusion36provided on the front end of the fixing portion31of the anchor30, and the locking projection47of the upper end of the hook46is locked into the coupling protrusion36, such that the cover40is stably coupled to the anchor30.

Through the above-described process, the present disclosure couples the cover to the anchor for installing the lower end portion of the seat belt on the vehicle body, thereby entirely shielding the one pair of rotation prevention beads formed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body and the upper surface of the fixing portion of the anchor.

Accordingly, the present disclosure shields the one pair of rotation prevention beads and the anchor from being exposed to the outside through a cutaway space on the car mat, so that the appearance of surroundings of the seat belt installation apparatus can be made to look good.

In addition, the present disclosure couples the rear end portion of the cover to the lower end of the bending portion of the anchor where the seat belt is installed, and then rotates the front end portion of the cover and couples it to the anchor, so that a breakage or damage of the seat belt caused by interference when the cover is coupled can be prevented in advance

In addition, the present disclosure has the reinforcement portion and the support bumps formed on the rear end portion of the cover to make the cover elastically deformable, and to reinforce stiffness of the cover, and has the plurality of support ribs formed on the lower surface of the cover to completely prevent the cover from moving forward and backward and upward and downward when a vibration or impact is transmitted to the vehicle body.

Accordingly, the present disclosure can prevent occurrence of a defect caused by a noise and customers' complaints by blocking noise occurrence caused by movement of the cover.

Although the invention is specifically described according to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may be modified variously within a scope of the technical essence of the present disclosure.

That is, the present disclosure may be changed to couple the front end portion of the cover to the front end of the fixing portion of the anchor and then rotate the cover with reference to the coupled front end and couple the rear end portion to the bending portion of the anchor.

However, when the rear end of the cover is coupled later as described above, there may be a problem that the seat belt may be destroyed or damaged by interference between the cover and the seat belt.

Accordingly, it is preferable to assemble by coupling the rear end portion of the cover to the lower portion of the bending portion of the anchor, first, and then, rotating the cover and coupling the front end portion to the fixing portion of the anchor.

The present disclosure is applied to seat belt installation apparatus technology, which couples a cover to an anchor for installing a lower end portion of a seat belt on a vehicle body, thereby entirely shielding one pair of rotation prevention beads formed on a bottom surface of the vehicle body and an upper surface of a fixing portion of the anchor.