Claims
- 1. An inflatable seat restraint system comprising:
a) an anchor anchored to a vehicle on a first side of a seat; b) a shoulder belt attached to the anchor; c) an inflatable restraint attached to the shoulder belt; and d) an inertia reel attached to the shoulder belt and the inflatable restraint, and anchored above the seat, wherein the inertia reel retracts and pays out the inflatable restraint and shoulder belt, and inflates the inflatable restraint upon deployment of the inflatable seat restraint system.
- 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the anchor is a buckle assembly.
- 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the inertia reel is anchored to a headrest above the seat,
wherein the inertia reel pays out the shoulder belt and the inflatable restraint as the headrest rises, and and wherein the inertia reel retracts the shoulder belt and the inflatable restraint as the headrest lowers.
- 4. The system of claim 2, further comprising:
e) a lap belt inertia reel anchored to the vehicle on a second side of the seat; and f) a lap belt attached to the lap belt inertia reel and the buckle assembly.
- 5. The system of claim 2, further comprising:
e) a lap belt inertia reel anchored to the vehicle on a second side of the seat; and f) a lap belt attached to the lap belt inertia reel and the shoulder belt, wherein the lap belt and the shoulder belt are a single belt attached to the inertia reel and the lap belt inertia reel, and slideably attached to the buckle assembly.
- 6. An inertia reel comprising:
a) a drum having a pressure vessel and a port in fluid communication with the pressure vessel, wherein the port is adapted to fluidly connect an inflatable restraint to the pressure vessel; b) an inflator in fluid communication with the drum, wherein the inflator delivers pressurized gas to the pressure vessel; and c) a webbing anchor adapted to connect a belt to the drum.
- 7. The inertia reel of claim 6, wherein an inflatable restraint is attached to the port, and wherein the pressurized gas flows from the drum through the port and into the inflatable restraint.
- 8. The inertia reel of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the inflator is inside the drum.
- 9. The inertia reel of claim 6, wherein the port and the webbing anchor are positioned on the drum such that an inflatable restraint connected to the port lies on top of a belt connected to the webbing anchor when the drum spools up.
- 10. The inertia reel of claim 6, further comprising a webbing sensing lock mechanism.
- 11. The inertia reel of claim 6, further comprising a pressure-actuated locking mechanism that prevents the drum from rotating when the pressure vessel is pressurized.
- 12. The inertia reel of claim 11, wherein the pressure-actuated locking mechanism comprises:
(i) at least one pin on the drum; and (ii) a frame on which the drum is mounted, wherein the frame includes an opening, and wherein the pressurized gas in the pressure vessel forces the pin to engage the opening.
- 13. The inertia reel of claim 12, wherein the at least one pin is on an axial side of the drum, and wherein the opening on the frame faces the axial side of the drum.
- 14. The inertia reel of claim 12, wherein the at least one pin is a first pin mounted on a first axial side of the drum and a second pin mounted on a second axial side of the drum.
- 15. The inertia reel of claim 6, wherein the drum and the inflator rotate around an axis, and the inflator is contained within the drum.
- 16. The inertia reel of claim 6, wherein the drum is shaped such that an inflatable restraint connected to the port and a belt connected to the webbing anchor come off the drum at different heights as the drum rotates.
- 17. The inertia reel of claim 16, wherein the drum is oblong.
- 18. The inertia reel of claim 6, wherein the drum is shaped such that an inflatable restraint connected to the port and a belt connected to the webbing anchor come off the drum at increasing heights as the belt is paid out.
- 19. The inertia reel of claim 6, further comprising:
(d) a lever arm enclosing the drum, wherein the lever arm is connected to the drum by a first coil spring having a first spring force, and wherein an inflatable restraint connected to the port and a belt connected to the webbing anchor spool off of the drum and around the lever arm; (e) a second coil spring having a second spring force, wherein the second coil spring is adapted to connect the lever arm to a vehicle structure, and wherein the second spring force is less than the first spring force; and (f) a stop that prevents the lever arm from rotating.
- 20. The inertia reel of claim 19, wherein the lever arm is shaped such that the belt comes off the lever arm at different heights as the lever arm rotates.
- 21. The inertia reel of claim 19, wherein the lever arm is oblong.
- 22. The inertia reel of claim 19, wherein the lever arm is shaped such that an inflatable restraint connected to the port and a belt connected to the webbing anchor come off the lever arm at increasing heights as the belt is paid out.
- 23. An inertia reel comprising:
a) a drum having a pressure vessel, wherein the pressure vessel is adapted to contain pressurized gas from an inflator; b) a port connected to the drum and in fluid communication with the pressure vessel, wherein the port is adapted to fluidly connect an inflatable restraint to the pressure vessel; and c) webbing anchor adapted to connect a belt to the drum.
- 24. The inertia reel of claim 23, further comprising an inflator axially mounted inside the drum and in fluid communication with the pressure vessel.
- 25. The inertia reel of claim 24, wherein the pressurized gas flows from the inflator, to the pressure vessel, through the port, and into the inflatable restraint.
- 26. The inertia reel of claim 23, wherein the port and the webbing anchor are positioned on the drum such that an inflatable restraint connected to the port lies on top of a belt connected to the webbing anchor when the drum spools up.
- 27. An inertia reel comprising:
a) a drum; b) a first anchor on the drum that is adapted to anchor webbing to the drum; and c) a second anchor on the drum that is adapted to anchor an inflatable restraint to the drum, wherein the first anchor and the second anchor are located on the drum such that the inflatable restraint lays on top of the webbing when the drum spools up.
- 28. The inertia reel of claim 27, wherein the drum spools up to one revolution such that the inflatable restraint does not overlap itself.
- 29. The inertia reel of claim 27, wherein the drum is circular with a diameter of at least approximately 50 mm.
- 30. The inertia reel of claim 27, wherein the second anchor comprises a port through which inflation gases enter the inflatable restraint.
- 31. The inertia reel of claim 30, wherein the port is in fluid communication with the drum and the inertial reel further comprises an inflator in fluid communication with the drum.
- 32. The inertia reel of claim 31, wherein the inflator is mounted inside the drum.
- 33. The inertia reel of claim 27, further comprising a pressure-actuated locking mechanism.
- 34. The inertia reel of claim 33, wherein the pressure-actuated locking mechanism is at least one pin in communication with the drum, such that, when the drum is pressurized, the pin engages a stationary member to prevent the drum from rotating.
- 35. The inertia reel of claim 27, further comprising:
i) a lever arm in which the drum is contained, wherein the drum and the lever arm rotate around a common axis, and wherein the webbing and the inflatable restraint pay out around the lever arm; ii) a first coil spring that connects the drum to the lever arm; iii) a second coil spring that connects the lever arm to a vehicle structure, wherein the first coil spring is stronger than the second coil spring; and iv) a stop that prevents the lever arm from rotating.
- 36. The inertia reel of claim 35, wherein the lever arm is shaped such that, as the lever arm rotates about the common axis, the webbing and the inflatable restraint come off of the lever arm at varying distances from the common axis.
- 37. A method for deploying an inflatable seat belt restraint system comprising the steps of:
anchoring webbing to a drum; anchoring an inflatable restraint to the drum such that the inflatable restraint lays on top of the webbing as the drum spools up and pays out, wherein the drum is in fluid communication with the inflatable restraint; preventing the drum from rotating past one revolution; filling the drum with inflation gas; and inflating the inflatable restraint.
- 38. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of stopping the drum from rotating by actuating, with the inflation gas, at least one pin connected to the drum.
- 39. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of changing the height at which the webbing and the inflatable restraint come off of the drum as the drum rotates.
- 40. An inertia reel comprising:
a) a means for spooling webbing and an inflatable restraint such that the inflatable restraint lays on top of the webbing and such that the inflatable restraint does not overlap itself; and b) a means for inflating the inflatable restraint.
- 41. The inertia reel of claim 40, further comprising:
c) a means for varying the height at which the webbing and the inflatable restraint come off of the inertia reel.
- 42. The inertia reel of claim 40, further comprising:
c) a means for stopping the webbing and the inflatable restraint from paying out during a crash.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/237,684, filed Oct. 5, 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60237684 |
Oct 2000 |
US |