Pretensioner

Abstract: A pretensioner for a vehicle occupant safety restraint used to rapidly pull in any slack in a seat belt at the onset of a crash condition so as to more securely restrain the occupant against forward movement and potential injury by collision with internal features of the vehicle. The pretensioner comprises first and second piston-cylinder arrangements (9-12), arranged generally one on each side of a retractor spool shaft (8), a sensor responsive to an emergency situation to detonate a first piston drive means (13), and means for synchronising detonation of a drive means (14) for the second piston (12) at the end of the stroke of the first piston (11), for example by a firing pin (20) at one end of the second cylinder (10), mounted on a leaf spring (19) which passes across the width of both cylinders (9,10).

Description: The present invention relates to a pretensioner for a vehicle occupant safety restraint and particularly to a buckle pretensioner. A pretensioner according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from EP 0 629 531 A Pretensioners are used to rapidly pull in any slack in a safety restraint seat belt at the onset of a crash condition so as to more securely restrain the occupant against forward movement and potential injury by collision with internal features of the vehicle. In addition, the pretensioning operation aims to pull the occupant into, or at least towards, the correct seating position so as to maximise the effect of a second restraint such as an airbag. A modern seat belt is known as a 3-point restraint because it is secured to the vehicle at three points arranged about the occupant so as to provide a diagonal torso section and a horizontal lap portion to hold the occupant in the seat. The belt is attached to the vehicle by a spring loaded retractor tending to pull in the belt, and by a buckle for quick release of the belt. Pretensioners can be sited at retractor or at the buckle end of the restraining seat belt. The present invention relates particularly to a retractor end pretensioner and aims to provide an improved and more compact pretensioner, than hitherto known. According to the present invention there is provided a pretensioner for a retractor of a vehicle safety arrangement, the pretensioner comprising: a first and a second piston-cylinder arrangement, arranged generally one on each side of a retractor spool shaft so that in travelling along the respective cylinder, each piston engages the periphery of the spool shaft and causes it to rotate; a sensor responsive to an emergency situation; a first drive means for the first piston, responsive to the sensor; a second drive means for the second piston; and means for synchronising detonation of the second drive means to occur substantially at the end of the stroke of the first piston, further comprising a firing pin arranged at one end of the second cylinder, mounted on a leaf spring which passes across the width of the second cylinder and across the width of the first cylinder, so as to cross the path of the first piston. Impact of the first piston on one end of the leaf spring, flexes it and causes the other end to move the firing pin into the detonator of the second drive means. According to one embodiment of the invention the first piston has teeth arranged to engage teeth on the spool shaft whereas the second piston does not have teeth and drives the shaft by friction. This combination provides an efficient drive mechanism but avoids problems encountered in engaging the second piston with the rapidly moving shaft teeth since a friction drive does not require any accurate phasing of two sets of teeth which would be the case if teeth were present on the second piston. Bringing gear teeth into engagement at high velocity imposes high forces and tends to shear the teeth without accurate phasing. Preferably the teeth on the first piston extend right around the outer surface of the piston which is advantageously cylindrical. This allows the piston to work equally efficiently even if some turning movement occurs during travel of the piston along its cylinder. In a non-circular piston jamming may occur. According to a particular embodiment of the invention there is provided a breakable seal across the first cylinder which is arranged to break when a predetermined pressure is reached. Preferably this seal is arranged to melt at a predetermined temperature to exhaust any excess gases in the pretensioner and as a safety feature in the event of a fire or other hot environment. This could be incorporated into the piston as part of a burst-disc. According to another embodiment of the invention there is provided a cradle advantageously formed of steel supporting the spool shaft pinion, and connected to the frame of the retractor. This transfers load from the pretensioning operation into the frame of the retractor to avoid load being borne by plastic parts such as a cover. The cradle may also incorporate a force absorbing feature, for example by cut-outs or other weakening introduced into the wall or walls of the cradle to absorb some of the energy of the moving piston and thus prevent it from exiting from the cylinder at high speed which would be rather dangerous. The guide chamber for the piston may comprise a cylinder (which may have a rounded or rectangular cross section, depending upon the corresponding cross-section of the piston), optionally in combination with a load bearing cradle supporting the spool shaft. Either the wall of the cylinder or the wall of the cradle may be used for absorbing the kinetic energy of the piston. For example, the cylinder may be closed and its side walls at one end weakened so as to be deformable. Alternatively the cylinder may be mounted in a load bearing cradle which also supports the spool shaft. The walls of the end of the cradle are weakened, for example by means of cut-outs, and the kinetic energy of the piston absorbed in this way by the cradle as the cut-outs allow the wall effectively to stretch. For a better understanding of the present invention and to show the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a retractor attached to a pretensioner according to a first embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pretensioner of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a mechanical sensor which may be used with a pretensioner according to the invention. Figure 4 is a perspective view of a single piston pretensioner not in accordance with the invention, but included to illustrate energy absorbing features which can be applied to the invention. Figure 5 shows the pretensioner of Figure 4 in an activated state; Figure 6 is a cross sectional view of the pretensioner of Figure 4 In Figure 1 the pretensioner is shown housed in a compact housing 2 which clips onto one side of a retractor 3 to form a compact and relatively inexpensive combination retractor pretensioner. The retractor comprises webbing 4 wound on a spool 5 which is mounted for rotation within retractor frame 6. The spool 5 is biased to a webbing wound condition by a clock spring connected to the spool axis and protected by cover 7. Figure 2 shows a pretensioner in more detail, in cross-section. The spool 5 has a toothed shaft 8 extending out through the side of the retractor frame 6 and into the pretensioner housing 7. Within the pretensioner housing and on opposite sides of the spool shaft 8 are mounted first and second cylinders 9 and 10 with openings in their sides in the vicinity of the centrally placed spool shaft. Pistons 11, 12 are located within the cylinders 9 and 10 respectively, at opposite ends of the cylinders. The pistons 11 and 12 are generally cylindrical with circular cross-sections and are guided by the cylinder for movement tangential to the toothed shaft 8 The first piston 11 is toothed whereas the second 12 is not. The leading edge of the second piston in the direction of pretensioning movement is angled to give a more gradual engagement of the spool shaft teeth with the second piston 12. Two gas generators 13, 14 are mounted in respective recesses 15, 16 in the respective pistons 11, 12. The first gas generator 13 is detonated by release of stored force in a spring (not shown) when an emergency situation is detected by a sensor. A Suitable mechanical sensor is shown in Figure 3, which is described later. However electrical and electronic sensors are contemplated and hence the gas generator may be electrically detonated. The mechanical form of the emergency sensor is typically or mass-spring deceleration sensor which releases energy from a tensioned extension spring to drive a firing pin into che gas generator 13 which consequently releases gas into recess 15. The presence of this gas drives the piston 11 along the cylinder 9, past the shaft 8. The teeth 17 on the piston 11 engage the teeth 18 on the spool shaft 8 and causes it to rotate, hence causing the spool to rotate and wind in some webbing. When the piston 11 reaches the end of the cylinder 9 it hits a leaf spring 19 which extends across the width of the cylinder 9 and across the pretensioner housing to a position below the second cylinder 10, and specifically below a firing pin 20 for the second gas generator 14. The impact of piston 11 bends the leaf spring 19 and the far end of the spring 19 forces the firing pin 20 into the second gas generator 14. Thus gas generator 14 releases gas into recess 16 of the second piston 12. The pressure in the recess 16 drives the piston 12 along cylinder 10 and engages the outer surface of the piston 12 by friction with the teeth 18 of the shaft 8. Thus more momentum is imported to the shaft and the retractor spool rewinds more webbing than it would with a single stroke. Preferably the first piston provides at least one full spool revolution before the second piston is fired. A cradle 27 supports the shaft 8 of the spool 5 and transfers any pyrotechnic loadings into the pretensioner frame ensuring that there is effectively no load on the plastic cover of the pretensioner. The cradle may comprise means for absorbing forces, such as a weakened section, eg formed of cut-outs as shown in figures 4 and 5, or the first cylinder may have a weakened deformable side wall. Safety lockout devices such as occupant sensor lockout, build and testing safety lockout will be incorporated in manner known to skilled persons. In addition the pretensioner should be arranged only to be armed only upon installation into the vehicle to enable safe transport of the pretensioner. A pressure relief plug 26 is arranged to blow when a predetermined maximum pressure is reached and to melt when temperatures are high. Figure 3 illustrates a mechanical sensor for the pretensioner of Figures 1 and 2. The gas generator 13 is shown in close proximity to a firing arm 21 which is hinged at 22 and connected at its other end to a sensor spring 23 against which slides an inertial mass 24. Under rapid decelerating conditions indicating a vehicle emergency or crash, the mass slides, releasing the torsion spring and causing the firing arm 21 to pivot into the gas generator 13 to detonate it (typically at a minimum speed of 2 mls). As mentioned already, electrical (or electronic) detonation of the gas generator is also envisaged and the possibility of adaptation for this will be evident to a person skilled in the art. The mechanical sensor of Figure 3 has special features including a 10 degree angle flexibility and the possibility of relatively easy safety lockout for testing and assembly. It can also be adapted for occupant sensing. Figures 4, 5 and 6 illustrate an example of a weakened cradle for the cylinder. These figures are otherwise not consistent with the invention since they show a single piston 111 arranged on one side of a rotatably mounted spool shaft 108. The piston 111 is mounted to be slidably movable along the inside of a cylinder 109 and so as to contact the spool shaft in the mid part of its stroke. It is driven by a gas generator (not shown) and teeth 117 on the piston 111 engage teeth 118 on the spool shaft 108 and cause the spool shaft to turn. The cylinder 109 is supported in a load bearing cradle 130, which may for example be made of steel, and which also supports the spool shaft 108 for rotation. The lower parts of the side walls of the cradle 130 are weakened with cutout portions 132. At its lower end the cylinder 111 is open and the moving piston therefore exits the cylinder after it has moved past and turned the spool shaft. It then impacts the end wall 131 of the cradle 130, as shown in Figure 5, and the force of impact stretches the sides of the cradle in the regions of cut-outs 132. Alternatively the end of the cylinder may be closed with a weak end wall which fractures relatively easily but which also absorbs some of the force of the piston 111. The cut-outs 132 may take a variety of shapes. Those illustrated are generally triangular and diamond shaped, so as to leave a diagonal lattice structure of metal in that region of the cradle. The force of the piston 111 pulls the diagonals into more vertical lines as the piston slows. Other shapes will be evident to a person skilled in the art: for example horizontal line cut-outs would also effect the requisite weakening of the walls of the cradle. It is however desirable to avoid the wall shearing or fracturing altogether since this would allow the piston to escape from the safety arrangement releasing a projectile into the vehicle occupant seating area!

Claims: A pretensioner for a retractor of a vehicle safety arrangement, the pretensioner comprising: a first and a second piston-cylinder arrangement (9,11;10,12), arranged generally one on each side of a retractor spool shaft (8) so that in travelling along the respective cylinder (9,10), each piston (11,12) engages the periphery of the spool shaft (8) and causes it to rotate; a sensor responsive to an emergency situation; a first drive means (13) for the first piston (11), responsive to the sensor; a second drive means (14) for the second piston (12); and means for synchronising detonation of the second drive means (14) to occur substantially at the end of the stroke of the first piston (11), and characterised in that these means for synchronising comprise a firing pin (20) arranged at one end of the second cylinder (10), mounted on a leaf spring (19) which passes across the width of both cylinders (9,10), so as to cross the path of the first piston (11). A pretensioner according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first piston (11) has teeth (17) arranged to engage teeth (18) on the spool shaft (8) and the second piston (12) does not have teeth and is arranged to drive the shaft by friction. A pretensioner according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the teeth (17) on the first piston (11) extend around the outer surface of the piston. A pretensioner according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first piston (11) is cylindrical. A pretensioner according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a breakable seal (26) across the first cylinder (9) which seal is arranged to break when a predetermined pressure is reached. A pretensioner according to claim 5 wherein the seal (26) is arranged to melt at a predetermined temperature. A pretensioner according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a cradle (27) supporting the spool shaft pinion, and being connected in load bearing manner to the frame of the retractor. A pretensioner according to claim 7 wherein the cradle (27) is formed of steel. A pretensioner according to claim 7 or 8 wherein the cradle (27) comprises means for absorbing forces. A pretensioner according to claim 9 comprising a weakened section in at least one wall of the cradle (27) to absorb some of the energy of the moving piston. A pretensioner according to claim 10 wherein the weakened section comprises cut-outs. A pretensioner according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first cylinder (9) is closed and at least one side wall at one end is weakened so as to be deformable. A pretensioner according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first cylinder (9) and piston (11) have substantially circular cross-sections. A pretensioner according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first cylinder (9) and piston (11) have rectangular cross-sections.

Inventors: AROLD JUERGEN, FOSTER HOWARD JAMES, JAIN TONY, AROLD, JUERGEN, FOSTER, HOWARD JAMES, JAIN, TONY, Arold, Jürgen
Applicants: KEY SAFETY SYSTEMS INC, KEY SAFETY SYSTEMS, INC.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B60R22
IPC codes: B60R22