Title of Invention

SEAT BELT RETRACTOR COMPRISING A VEHICLE SENSOR THAT CAN BE DEACTIVATED

Abstract

Automatic or self-locking belt retractor, especially for motor vehicles, having a vehicle sensitive and/or belt strap sensitive control system for a blocking device of the belt retractor, whereby the control system includes an externally toothed control disk (19) that rotates with the belt shaft for the cooperation with a vehicle sensor (21) having a sensor lever (22), and an externally toothed eccentric disk (15) that is driven by the belt shaft, meshes with a counter toothing (13) that is fixed to the housing, and has a shift device formed thereon is provided, characterized in that there is disposed on the eccentric disk (15) a shift pin (26) as the shift device that with the belt strap completely pulled in, due to the thereby defined position of the eccentric disk (15), acts upon a shift contour (25) of a shift ring (24) rotatably mounted on the housing in such a way that a locking projection (27) that is disposed on the shift ring (24) holds the sensor lever (22) of the vehicle sensor (21) out of engagement with the external toothing (20) of the control disk (19), whereby the shift pin (26), with the eccentric disk (15) rotating In the belt withdrawal direction, via the shift contour (25) rotates the shift ring (24) into its release position for the sensor lever (22).

Full Text

aSafety Belt Retractor With Disengageable Vehicle Sensor Description The invention relates to an automatic or self-locking belt retractor, especially for motor vehicles, with a vehicle sensitive and/or belt strap sensitive control system for a blocking device of a belt retractor, whereby the control system includes an externally toothed disk that rotates with the belt shaft and cooperates with a vehicle sensor having a sensor lever, and an externally toothed eccentric disk, having a shifting device formed thereon, is provided, is driven by the belt shaft, and meshes with a counter toothing that is fixed to the housing. A self-locking belt retractor having the aforementioned features is described in DE 199 60 554 A1. The eccentric disk having the shifting device, which is provided in addition to the control disk, serves in this connection for the shifting of the control system for the locking device of the belt retractor between the so-called ELR (Emergency Locking Retractor) operation and the so-called ALR (Automatic Locking Retractor) operation. Proceeding from the winding-up condition of the belt strap, there occurs in this connection a belt strap withdrawal initially in the so-called ELR operation, during which the belt strap sensitive or vehicle sensitive control system is effective in that a belt strap withdrawal for vehicle accelerations or vehicle decelerations that are too rapid lead via an actuation of the sensor mechanisms to a blocking of the control disk, whereby the relative movement connected therewith between the fixed control disk and the belt shaft that continues to rotate is converted into the activation of the blocking device. If a belt strap withdrawal that is previously fixed via the rotation of the eccentric disk as a reduction device is achieved, then via the shift device that is designed for the eccentric disk a shift is made to the ALR operation, whereby via a permanent fixing of the control disk during this shifting condition there is ensured that every further belt strap withdrawal immediately leads to an activation of the blocking device. This ALR operation is used in particular when via the safety belt system a child seat is to be fixed in position in the motor vehicle, and thus a further, even slower belt strap withdrawal pursuant to ELR operation is not permissible. With the installation of belt retractors in motor vehicles there results, independently of the establishment of an ELR/ALR shifting, the problem that with the installation of the belt retractor in a foldable back rest of vehicle seats, during the folding movement of the back rest a blocking of the belt retractor can occur, because the vehicle sensor has changed its position. The belt strap can enter the belt retractor, and if the belt retractor is blocked the back rest cannot be folded back. To prevent this, it is known to mount on the belt strap a belt knob that prevents the belt strap from entering when the back rest is folded. However, this has the drawback that due to the belt slack that is established due to the arrangement of the belt knob, a belt loop is formed that is disruptive. A further possibility exists in disengaging the vehicle sensor when the belt strap is taken off, so that a change of the position of the belt retractor with vehicle sensor when the belt strap is taken off due to the folding of the back rest can no longer lead to an activation of the blocking device. The object of the invention is therefore to provide, for a self-locking belt retractor, a simple disengagement system for the vehicle sensor. The realization of this object, together with advantageous embodiments and further developments, results from the content of the patent claims that follow this description. The basic concept of the invention, for a belt retractor having the aforementioned features, is to dispose on the eccentric disk a shift pin that, when the belt strap is completely pulled in, due to the thereby defined position of the eccentric disk acts upon a shift contour of a shift ring that is rotatably mounted on the housing in such a way that a locking projection disposed on the shift ring holds the sensor lever of the vehicle sensor out of engagement with the external toothing of the control disk, whereby the shift pin, with the eccentric disk rotating in the belt withdrawal direction, via the shift contour rotating the shift ring into its release position for the sensor lever. In this connection, the invention partially utilizes the components established for the ELR/ALR shifting for a belt retractor to effect the shifting of vehicle sensor. Since when a belt strap is taken off, a shifting from ALR to ELR operation is effected, the shifting device provided therefor is utilized with a belt retractor of the aforementioned type in order to control an inventively provided additional shift ring that in turn, with the belt strap taken off and completely wound up, sees to the fixing position, or with a belt strap withdrawal sees to the release of the vehicle sensor. In this connection, the invention has the advantage that with regard to the disengagement of the vehicle sensor it is possible to rely on already existing components and to merely rotatably dispose on the housing cover as a new component the shift ring having the shift contour and the locking projection. Thus, it is possible with the existing components or with the novel inventive component to configure belt retractors either with ELR/ALR shifting or with a disengagement of the vehicle sensor, or also with a combination of the two control systems. To the extent that in the aforementioned DE 199 60 554 there is already described that the cam ring that is utilized for the ELR/ALR shifting and that is fixedly coupled to the eccentric disk can also be used for other control functions, such as the control of a belt tensioner, the known construction is complicated and is not usable for the disengagement of the vehicle sensor that is not mentioned in DE 199 60 544 A1 and is not recognized as expedient. One embodiment of the invention provides that the counter toothing that is fixed to the housing and is for the externally toothed eccentric disk is disposed on a housing cover of the belt retractor, and the shift ring is rotatably mounted on the housing cover and surrounds the counter toothing that is fixed to the housing. It can be provided that the shift contour of the shift ring comprise a projection that axially extends from the shift ring and overlaps the eccentric disk, and that the shift pin that projects axially from the eccentric disk extend into the plane of the projection. To the extent that pursuant to one embodiment of the invention the control disk that is disposed axially adjacent the eccentric disk be provided on its side that faces the eccentric disk with a radial toothing, and on the housing cover there is mounted between the eccentric disk and the control disk a ratchet or shift lever that is pivotable between an engagement position with the radial toothing of the control disk and a release position, which ratchet lever can upon rotation of the eccentric disk be moved back and forth between its shift conditions by the shift pin that is disposed on the eccentric disk and by a further shift cam that is disposed on the eccentric disk, this describes the simple and expedient combination of the inventive disengagement of the vehicle sensor with the known ELR/ALR shifting, as described in detail above. In this connection, it is in particular provided that the shift pin of the eccentric disk, upon rotation of the eccentric disk in the winding-up direction of the belt strap, moves the shift lever out of engagement with the radial toothing of the control disk. If with the inventive construction of the belt retractor the control lever disposed between eccentric disk and control disk is eliminated, there is no possibility for shifting between ELR/ALR operation. By eliminating the shift lever, however, all of the remaining components, such as the control disk provided with the radial toothing, as well as the eccentric disk provided with the shift pin and the also provided shift cam, can remain unchanged. If in conformity therewith a disengagement of the vehicle sensor is not to be provided, the shift ring mounted on the housing cover is eliminated. Embodiments of the invention are provided in the drawing and will be described subsequently. Shown are: Fig. 1 ' a view of the inner side of the housing cover of a belt retractor with the disengagement device for the vehicle sensor disposed thereon, including an ELR/ALR shifting, Fig. 2 the subject matter of Figure 1 in a side view with the vehicle sensor disengaged, Fig. 3 the subject matter of Figure 2 with the vehicle sensor activated. The housing cover 10 visible from Figure 1 is provided on its periphery with three fastening clips 11 via which the housing cover 10, as a carrier for the functional elements that are still to be described, is secured to the non-illustrated frame of a self-locking belt retractor. Disposed on the inner side of the end wall 30 of the cup-shaped housing cover 10 is an axially projecting collar 12 having an internal toothing 13 formed thereon. Disposed in the space surrounded by the internal toothing 13 is an eccentric disk 15 having an external toothing 16 formed thereon and to which the internal toothing 13 acts as a counter toothing. The eccentric disk 15 has an opening 14 for the engagement of the shaft end of a non-illustrated belt shaft, so that when the belt shaft rotates the eccentric disk 15 has imparted thereto a rotational movement that thereby meshes with the internal toothing 13 as a counter toothing that is fixed to the housing. Disposed axially adjacent to the eccentric disk 15 is a control disk 19 that is also mounted on the belt shaft and has an external toothing 20 formed thereon, whereby a vehicle sensor 21 is associated with the control disk 19 and has a sensor lever 22 that upon actuation of the vehicle sensor 21 comes into engagement with the external toothing 20 of the control disk 19. The vehicle sensor 21, which can be seen in Figure 1, is secured in a non-illustrated manner to the frame of the belt retractor, whereby a mounting aid 23 is formed on the vehicle sensor 21 that is not of importance for the functioning of the vehicle sensor. In the gap or space between the eccentric disk 15 and the control disk 19, a ratchet or shift lever 17 is pivotabiy mounted on a support location 18 that is formed on the housing cover 10; in its one shift position, the ratchet lever is in engagement with a radial toothing that cannot be seen in Figure 1 and that is formed on that face of the control disk 19 that faces the eccentric disk 15. In the other shift position, the ratchet lever 17 releases the control disk 19. The ratchet lever 17 is acted upon by the rotating eccentric disk 15, via a selector or shift pin 26 that is provided thereon, in such a way that the shift pin 26 acts as a disengagement pin and moves the ratchet lever 17 out of engagement with the radial toothing of the control disk 19, whereby this shift condition will be explained in detail subsequently. Rotatably mounted on the housing cover 10 is a shift ring 24 that externally extends about the projecting collar 12 and that is provided with a projection, as a shift contour 25, that projects radially from the shift ring 24 and overlaps the eccentric disk 15, so that the shift pin 26, which extends radially from the eccentric disk 15, cooperates with the shift contour 25. On its outer periphery the shift ring 24 is provided with a radially extending locking projection 27 that in at least one shift position of the shift ring 24 holds the sensor lever 22 of the vehicle sensor 21 out of engagement with the external toothing 20 of the control disk 19. The disengagement or connection of the vehicle sensor 21 is primarily described with the aid of Figures 2 and 3. In this connection, Figure 2 shows the disengaged condition of the vehicle sensor 21, according to which the locking projection 26 of the shift ring 24 is disposed below the sensor lever 22 and holds the lever outwardly out of engagement with the external toothing 20 of the control disk 19. This shift condition is brought about in that during the running-in or introduction of the belt strap up to complete winding-up of the belt strap, the eccentric disk 15 has rotated in the direction of the arrow 29, so that the shift pin 26 acts upon the shift contour 25 of the shift ring 24 in the direction of the arrow 29 and has rotated into a position in which the locking projection 27 executes its locking function for the sensor lever 22. Hence, with the belt strap wound up there is ensured that even upon a change of the position of the belt retractor, the blocking device cannot become operative. If the belt strap is now withdrawn from the belt retractor, the eccentric disk 15 with the shift pin 26 rotates in the direction of the arrow 28 and in the direction of rotation opposite to Figure 2 again strikes the shift contour 25 of the shift ring 24 and rotates the shift ring 24 into the position that is visible in Figure 3 and in which the sensor lever 22 of the vehicle sensor 21 is released, so that when the sensor mechanism is activated via the function of the control disk 19, the blocking device of the belt retractor can become operative. In the illustrated embodiment, an ELR/ALR shifting is additionally realized because the ratchet lever 17 is provided. If the belt strap is taken off or removed, the shift pin 26 has pivoted the ratchet lever 17 into its position in which no engagement of the ratchet lever 17 with the radial toothing of the control disk 19 is effected; the control disk 19 can rotate freely relative to the ratchet lever 17. If a withdrawal of the belt strap is now effected up to an extent that is determined by the number of rotations of the eccentric disk 15, a further trip or contact cam, as an auxiliary cam which is not shown in the drawing, comes into engagement with the ratchet lever 17 and pivots it into its engagement position with the radial toothing of the control disk 19, so that the control disk 19 is permanently fixed in position. As described previously, this involves the ALR operation of the belt retractor, in which during a further withdrawal of the belt strap the blocking device immediately becomes operative. If the ratchet lever 17 is not used in the otherwise unchanged construction visible from the figures, no ELR/ALR shifting takes place. On the other hand, eliminating the shift ring 24 means that the function "disengagement of the vehicle sensor" is not realized. It is thus possible in a simple manner, and with only a single additional component (shift ring 24), to have a selective configuration of the belt retractor for various functional conditions. The features of the subject matter of these documents disclosed in the preceding description, the patent claims, the abstract and the drawing can be important not only individually but also in any desired combination with one another for realizing the various embodiments of the invention. Patent Claims 1. Automatic or self-locking belt retractor, especially for motor vehicles, having a vehicle sensitive and/or belt strap sensitive control system for a blocking device of the belt retractor, whereby the control system includes an externally toothed control disk (19) that rotates with the belt shaft for the cooperation with a vehicle sensor (21) having a sensor lever (22), and an externally toothed eccentric disk (15) that is driven by the belt shaft, meshes with a counter toothing (13) that is fixed to the housing, and has a shift device formed thereon is provided, characterized in that there is disposed on the eccentric disk (15) a shift pin (26) as the shift device that with the belt strap completely pulled in, due to the thereby defined position of the eccentric disk (15), acts upon a shift contour (25) of a shift ring (24) rotatably mounted on the housing in such a way that a locking projection (27) that is disposed on the shift ring (24) holds the sensor lever (22) of the vehicle sensor (21) out of engagement with the external toothing (20) of the control disk (19), whereby the shift pin (26), with the eccentric disk (15) rotating In the belt withdrawal direction, via the shift contour (25) rotates the shift ring (24) into its release position for the sensor lever (22). 2. Belt retractor according to claim 1, characterized in that the counter toothing (13) that is fixed to the housing for the externally toothed eccentric disk (15) is disposed on a housing cover (10) of the belt retractor, and the shift ring (24) is rotatably mounted on the housing cover (10) so as to extend about the counter toothing (13) that is fixed to the housing. 3. Belt retractor according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shift contour (25) of the shift ring (24) comprises a projection that extends axially from the shift ring (24) and overlaps the eccentric disk (15), and the shift pin (26) that projects axially from the eccentric disk (15) extends to into the plane of the projection (shift contour 25). 4. Belt retractor according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the control disk (19) that is disposed axially next to the eccentric disk (15) is provided on its side that faces the eccentric disk (15) with a radial toothing, and on the housing cover (10) a ratchet or shift lever (17) is mounted that is disposed between the eccentric disk (15) and the control disk (19) and is pivotable between an engagement position with the radial toothing of the control disk (19) and a release position, the shift lever being moveable back and forth between its shift conditions during the rotation of the eccentric disk (15) by the shift pin (26) that is disposed on the eccentric disk (15) and a further shift cam that is disposed on the eccentric disk. 5. Belt retractor according to claim 4, characterized in that the shift pin (26) of the eccentric disk (15), upon rotation of the eccentric disk (15) in the winding-up direction of the belt strap, moves the ratchet lever (17) out of engagement with the radial toothing of the control disk (19). 6. A belt retractor substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

2723-CHENP-2004 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 16-12-2011.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 AMENDED CLAIMS 15-05-2012.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 15-05-2012.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 CLAIMS.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 CORRESPONDENCE PO.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE).pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 DRAWINGS.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECEIVED 15-05-2012.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 FORM-1.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 FORM-18.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 FORM-3 15-05-2012.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 FORM-3.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 FORM-5.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 OTHER PATENT DOCUMENT 15-05-2012.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 PCT.pdf

2723-CHENP-2004 POWER OF ATTORNEY 15-05-2012.pdf

2723CHENP-2004 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 07-02-2012.pdf