Pyrotechnically activated hook for seatbelt assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12179691-B1
Application number	US-202318473683-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Sep 25, 2023
Priority date	Sep 25, 2023
Publication date	Dec 31, 2024
Grant date	Dec 31, 2024

Abstract

A vehicle includes a vehicle seat having a first side and a second side spaced cross-seat from each other. A seatbelt buckle is fixed to the first side. A seatbelt assembly includes a latch plate engageable with the seatbelt buckle and a webbing having a lap portion defined by the latch plate when the latch plate is engaged with the seatbelt buckle. A hook is retractably supported by the second side of the vehicle seat. The hook is retractable relative to the vehicle seat from a first position to a retracted position. The hook is engageable with the lap portion of the webbing as the hook retracts. A lock includes a pin engageable with the hook when the hook is in the first position and the retracted position. A spring biases the pin toward the hook. A pyrotechnic device is operatively coupled to the lock to disengage the pin from the hook.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
a vehicle seat having a first side and a second side spaced cross-seat from the first side;
a seatbelt buckle fixed to the first side of the vehicle seat;
a seatbelt assembly including a latch plate and a webbing, the latch plate being engageable with the seatbelt buckle;
the webbing including a lap portion defined by the latch plate when the latch plate is engaged with the seatbelt buckle;
a hook retractably supported by the second side of the vehicle seat, the hook being retractable relative to the vehicle seat from a first position to a retracted position and the hook being engageable with the lap portion of the webbing as the hook retracts from the first position to the retracted position;
a lock including a pin and a spring biasing the pin toward the hook, the pin being engageable with the hook when the hook is in the first position and the retracted position; and
a pyrotechnic device operatively coupled to the lock to disengage the pin from the hook when the hook is in the first position.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a second spring coupled to the hook, the second spring biasing the hook toward the retracted position.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 , further comprising a track supported by the second side of the vehicle seat, the hook being slidably supported by the track and the second spring being between the track and the hook.

4. The vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the hook is retractable relative to the track from the first position to the retracted position by the second spring.

5. The vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the hook includes an end and the track includes an end, the end of the hook being spaced from the end of the track by a first distance in the first position and the end of the hook being spaced from the end of the track by a second distance in the retracted position that is shorter than the first distance.

6. The vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the second spring extends from the end of the hook to the end of the track, the second spring biasing the end of the hook toward the end of the track.

7. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the spring is elongated along a first axis and the second spring is elongated along a second axis transverse to the first axis.

8. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the hook defines a first hole and a second hole spaced from the first hole along the first axis, the first hole and the second hole each being elongated along the second axis.

9. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the lock includes a housing, the pin being slidable relative to the housing and the spring being between the housing and the pin.

10. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the pin is movable from a first extended position to a retracted position when the hook is in the first position and the pin is movable from the retracted position to a second extended position when the hook is in the retracted position, the pyrotechnic device being operatively coupled to the pin to move the pin from the first extended position to the retracted position and the spring biasing the pin toward the second extended position.

11. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a track supported by the second side of the vehicle seat, the hook being retractable along the track from the first position to the retracted position.

12. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the hook includes a first elongated portion, a second elongated portion spaced from the first elongated portion, and a curved portion between the first elongated portion and the second elongated portion, the first elongated portion being slidably supported by the track.

13. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the curved portion being engageable with the lap portion of the webbing in the retracted position.

14. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the lap portion of the webbing is between the first elongated portion and the second elongated portion in the retracted position.

15. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the hook includes an end and the track includes an end, the end of the hook being spaced from the end of the track by a first distance in the first position and the end of the hook being spaced from the end of the track by a second distance in the retracted position that is shorter than the first distance.

16. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the hook defines a first hole and a second hole spaced from the first hole, the pin of the lock being engageable with the first hole in the first position and the pin of the lock being engageable with the second hole in the retracted position.

17. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the hook includes a first elongated portion, a second elongated portion spaced from the first elongated portion, and a curved portion between the first elongated portion and the second elongated portion, the curved portion being engageable with the lap portion of the webbing in the retracted position.

18. The vehicle of claim 17 , wherein the lap portion of the webbing is between the first elongated portion and the second elongated portion in the retracted position.

19. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a computer including a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to:
detect certain vehicle impacts; and
actuate the pyrotechnic device to disengage the pin.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Sundaram Ramasamy Murugan
• Kadam Mangesh
• Malapati Srinivas Reddy

Classifications

• B60R22/1955 Primary

  Linear actuators · CPC title