CN111688628B - Transmission case assembly of wire control angle modulation retractor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a transmission case assembly for a wire-controlled recliner retractor of a vehicle seat belt apparatus, the seat of the vehicle including a seat portion, and a backrest capable of adjusting a reclining angle about a rotation axis with respect to the seat portion, the wire-controlled recliner retractor being mounted on the backrest of the seat and including a vehicle feel apparatus, the transmission case assembly comprising: an upper case in a sheet shape and including a base plate and a feel frame fixed to the base plate, the feel frame being configured to pivotably support a feel device; a lower housing in an open box shape and assembled with the upper housing, and the upper housing is sandwiched between the lower housing and the wire-controlled angle-adjusting retractor; and a transmission pulley which is accommodated in the upper and lower cases and is rotatable independently of the upper and lower cases. The gear box assembly of the present disclosure reduces the steps and costs of installation and optimizes the production line layout.

Description

Transmission case assembly of wire control angle modulation retractor

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to a seat belt apparatus for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a transmission case assembly for a drive-by-wire angle adjuster retractor for a vehicle seat belt apparatus.

Background

A seat belt device is a device that protects an occupant from being injured by inertial effects during emergency braking and collision of a vehicle. The webbing is stored and wound up by a retractor, and is fixed to a vehicle body by a tongue. The seat belt device is one of the most important components of the passive safety system of a vehicle.

With the increasing amount of vehicle maintenance, the demands of occupants on vehicle comfort, particularly seat comfort, are increasing. The seat back has evolved from fixed to adjustable and the adjustable tilt has become increasingly larger, for example commercial vehicles have achieved an adjustable tilt that is close to lying. For optimal safety and comfort, retractors are often installed in the seat back and also provide occupant safety at all times during rearward adjustment of the seat back. The vehicle sensing device is a mechanical sensor in the retractor for sensing acceleration and inclination of the vehicle and activating the webbing lock when an emergency condition of the vehicle occurs.

The traditional car feel device is a fixed inclination car feel device designed along with the installation position of a car body, and cannot meet the technical requirement of the adjustable inclination of a seat back. Therefore, an adaptive retractor in which the inclination angle of the feel device is adjusted in synchronization with the seat back is developed, wherein the feel device is adjusted together with the seat back by its own weight. But the adjustable range of the self-adaptive retractor is small, the sensitivity of the vehicle feeling is low, and the requirements of higher and higher backrest inclination angle adjustment cannot be met.

The seat integrated drive-by-wire seat belt device provides a better solution for solving the problem of large inclination angle adjustment of the seat back. The wire-control angle modulation retractor of the safety belt device is arranged on a seat backrest, an angle modulation disc assembly is arranged between the seat backrest and a seat part and is linked with the seat angle modulation device, and the retractor is connected with the angle modulation disc assembly through a core wire assembly. When the seat angle adjuster is adjusted, the angle adjusting disc assembly and the seat backrest synchronously rotate, the core wire is pulled out or recovered, and the vehicle sensing device in the retractor is driven to synchronously rotate, so that the vehicle sensing device and the seat backrest can synchronously adjust the inclination angle. The wire control angle modulation retractor has obviously improved the sensitivity and angle modulation scope than the self-adaptive retractor.

The transmission case component is an important component of the seat integrated wire-control safety belt device and synchronously transmits the seat backrest adjusting inclination angle detected by the angle adjusting disc component to the vehicle sensing device. The transmission case assembly has more parts and integrates the functions of transmission and torque output, so the layout of the parts of the transmission case assembly is particularly important.

The transmission case component of the existing wire control angle-adjusting retractor adopts the structure of an upper shell and a lower shell, and the upper shell is clamped between the lower shell and the retractor. The lower housing is of a sheet design and the upper housing is of an open box design. The transmission pulley is fitted between the upper and lower housings, and the spring is installed between the lower housing and the transmission pulley. The lower housing is rotated relative to the upper housing during assembly to effect pre-winding of the torsion spring. The pre-wound spring imparts a back torque to the lower housing, thus requiring bolts to fasten the upper and lower housings together, which increases the steps and cost of installation.

The existing gear box assembly has a pinion gear in addition to the drive pulley to correct the transmission ratio between the angle pulley and the drive pulley. The additional pinion not only increases the number of parts and increases the requirement on the precision of the parts, but also increases the transmission path and reduces the transmission precision.

In addition, the mounting bracket and the transmission case assembly of the vehicle sensing device are of a split type design, and the mounting bracket and the transmission case assembly are separately mounted to the retractor frame. Immediately after assembly of the gear box assembly, i.e. after the pinion is co-located with the upper housing, the mounting bracket with the mounted vehicle sensing device needs to be fastened to the retractor frame by means of bolts. Therefore, there is a need to assemble and test the wire-controlled angle modulation subassembly on the retractor mounting wire, which not only increases the difficulty of assembly, but also increases the complexity of the production line layout.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a drive housing assembly for a wire controlled angle retractor that overcomes at least one of the deficiencies of the prior art.

A first aspect of the present disclosure relates to a transmission case assembly for a wire-controlled recliner retractor of a vehicle seat belt apparatus, wherein a seat of the vehicle includes a seat portion, and a backrest capable of adjusting a reclining angle about a rotation axis with respect to the seat portion, the wire-controlled recliner retractor is mounted on the backrest of the seat and includes a vehicle feel apparatus, the transmission case assembly comprising:

An upper case in a sheet shape and including a base plate and a feel frame fixed to the base plate, the feel frame being configured to pivotably support a feel device;

a lower housing in an open box shape and assembled with the upper housing, and the upper housing is sandwiched between the lower housing and the wire-controlled angle-adjusting retractor; and

And a transmission pulley which is accommodated in the upper and lower cases and is rotatable independently of the upper and lower cases.

In some embodiments, the vehicle sensing frame is integrally formed with the base plate of the upper housing.

In some embodiments, the vehicle sensing frame is formed separately from the base plate of the upper housing and is connected together by a connector.

In some embodiments, the vehicle sensing device includes a sense seat having an inertial body support surface, and a sense ball supported on the inertial body support surface.

In some embodiments, the vehicle sensing frame includes a support bar extending parallel to the base plate of the upper case, and support legs supporting both ends of the support bar at a distance from the base plate of the upper case.

In some embodiments, the susceptor is provided with outwardly extending pivot shafts pivotally received in pivot holes of the support rod and the opposing base plate.

In some embodiments, the drive pulley is provided with an outwardly extending push rod configured to push the feel device in a fore-aft direction of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the base plate of the upper housing is provided with an opening for the push rod of the drive pulley to extend.

In some embodiments, the gearbox assembly further includes a drive pulley spring configured to provide a return torque to the drive pulley and mounted between the upper housing and the drive pulley.

In some embodiments, the drive pulley includes an annular base plate, and a hollow boss extending outwardly from a central bore of the annular base plate, the hollow boss configured to receive a drive pulley spring.

In some embodiments, the drive pulley spring comprises a coil spring, and the leg at one end thereof is fixed to the hollow boss of the drive pulley and the leg at the other end thereof is fixed to the upper housing.

In some embodiments, the lower housing includes a receiving portion configured to receive the drive pulley, and a core wire access portion extending tangentially from an edge of the receiving portion.

In some embodiments, the base plate of the upper housing covers the receiving portion and the core wire access portion such that the upper and lower housings enclose the drive pulley and the drive pulley spring therein.

In some embodiments, the receptacle is generally cylindrical and includes an annular base plate, a hollow boss extending from a central aperture of the annular base plate.

In some embodiments, the hollow protrusion of the receiving portion has a shape slightly larger than the shape of the hollow protrusion of the transmission pulley to receive the hollow protrusion of the transmission pulley.

In some embodiments, one of the hollow boss of the receiving portion and the hollow boss of the transmission pulley has a center post on a bottom plate thereof, and the other of the hollow boss of the receiving portion and the hollow boss of the transmission pulley has a center hole on a bottom plate thereof through which the center post passes, so that the transmission pulley can rotate about the center post with respect to the lower case.

In some embodiments, the outer contour shape of the base plate of the upper housing generally corresponds to the combined outer contour shape of the receiving portion and the core wire entry and exit portion.

In some embodiments, the upper housing and the lower housing are configured to be assembled together by a snap fit.

In some embodiments, one of the upper and lower housings is provided with one or more snap members on its periphery, and the other of the upper and lower housings is provided with one or more jaw members on its periphery, the jaw members and snap members being snap-fitted to each other.

In some embodiments, the clasp is hollow frame-like and the jaw member is cantilevered and has a hook at its top end, the hook of the jaw member being capable of hooking onto the hollow frame of the clasp to prevent relative rotation between the upper and lower housings.

A second aspect of the present disclosure relates to a seatbelt apparatus for a vehicle, wherein the seatbelt apparatus includes a retractor and the above-described transmission case assembly for the retractor, the transmission case assembly being mounted to the retractor.

Additional features and advantages of the subject technology of the present disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the subject technology of the present disclosure. The advantages of the subject technology of the present disclosure will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the subject technology of the present disclosure as claimed.

Drawings

The various aspects of the disclosure will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a vehicle seat with a seat belt arrangement;

Figures 2 and 3 show an assembled side view and an exploded perspective view of the retractor and the drive mechanism;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a transmission case assembly according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an assembled perspective view of a transmission case assembly according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates an assembled cross-sectional view of a transmission case assembly according to the present disclosure; and

Fig. 7A-7D illustrate schematic installation views of a transmission case assembly according to the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure may be presented in many different ways and is not limited to the embodiments described below; indeed, the embodiments described below are intended to more fully convey the disclosure to those skilled in the art and to fully convey the scope of the disclosure. It should also be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide yet additional embodiments.

It should be understood that throughout the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements. In the drawings, the size of certain features may be modified for clarity.

It should be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the specification have the meanings commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art unless otherwise defined. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

As used in this specification, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The use of the terms "comprising," "including," and "containing" in the specification mean that the recited features are present, but that one or more other features are not excluded. The use of the phrase "and/or" in the specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The words "between X and Y" and "between about X and Y" used in this specification should be interpreted to include X and Y. The phrase "between about X and Y" as used herein means "between about X and about Y", and the phrase "from about X to Y" as used herein means "from about X to about Y".

In the description, an element is referred to as being "on," "attached" to, "connected" to, "coupled" to, "contacting" or the like another element, and the element may be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled to or contacting the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly attached to," directly connected to, "directly coupled to," or "directly contacting" another element, there are no intervening elements present. In the specification, one feature is arranged "adjacent" to another feature, which may mean that one feature has a portion overlapping with the adjacent feature or a portion located above or below the adjacent feature.

In the specification, spatial relationship words such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "high", "low", and the like may describe the relationship of one feature to another feature in the drawings. It will be understood that the spatial relationship words comprise, in addition to the orientations shown in the figures, different orientations of the device in use or operation. For example, when the device in the figures is inverted, features that were originally described as "below" other features may be described as "above" the other features. The device may also be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the relative spatial relationship will be explained accordingly.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a side view of a vehicle seat with a seat belt arrangement. The vehicle may be a passenger or a truck, in particular a partially or fully autonomous motor vehicle. The vehicle seat has a seat portion 5 and a backrest 4. The backrest 4 can be adjusted in inclination forwards and backwards with respect to the seat 5 about its rotation axis from a substantially upright predetermined initial position (depicted in solid lines in fig. 1). The predetermined initial position is optimized for seating of an occupant. The backrest 4 can be laid down forwards on the seat 5 to make room. The backrest 4 can be adjusted back to a maximum tilt position close to horizontal, in which the occupant can rest. The maximum tilt position may correspond to a tilt angle of approximately 180 °, for example a tilt angle of approximately 170 °, with reference to the forward direction of the vehicle. The backrest 4 can be adjusted to any intermediate position between the initial position and the maximum tilt position, for example to a tilt angle of about 120 ° or 135 °, depending on the needs of the occupant. The two end positions of the backrest 5 are depicted in broken lines in fig. 1.

The vehicle seat is provided with a seat belt device that protects an occupant from being injured by inertial action in the event of a vehicle emergency. The seat belt device comprises a retractor 1. The retractor 1 is provided on the backrest 4 and is used for winding and receiving webbing. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the retractor 1 includes a retractor frame 17 and a spool 34. The retractor frame 17 is U-shaped and includes a bottom wall and two side walls. The retractor frame 17 is fixed to the backrest 4 by a bottom wall and rotatably supports the spool 34 by cooperation of the two side walls and the two spool covers 18, 22. The spool 34 is cylindrical in shape and is used to wind the webbing. A retractor spring is provided between one end of the spool 34 and the spool cover 22. The retractor spring pretensions the spool 34 in the retraction direction to apply a return force to the spool 34 back to its original position. The other end of the spool 34 is fixed to the ratchet 21 so that the spool 34 and the ratchet 21 can rotate together in synchronization. In an emergency situation of the vehicle, the vehicle sensing device 10 stops the ratchet 21 and thereby the spool 34, so that the spool 34 stops winding the webbing and restrains the occupant. The ratchet 21 may be housed in the spool lid 18, and the spool lid 18 in turn housed in the retractor outer cover 23. The spool lids 18, 22 and the retractor outer cover 23 may be commonly fixed to the retractor frame 17.

The vehicle sensing device 10 is used for detecting acceleration of a vehicle generated in an emergency. The vehicle sensing device 10 includes a sensing seat 14, a sensing ball 25, a sensing pawl 15, and a locking pawl 8. The susceptor 14 is generally bowl-shaped. The susceptor 14 is provided with two pivot shafts extending outwardly in opposite directions on the outer surface of the bowl so that the susceptor 14 is pivotally mounted to a transmission case assembly 9 (described in greater detail below). The bottom of the susceptor 14 in the bowl includes an inertial body support surface. The inertial body support surface needs to be maintained in a substantially horizontal position all the time as a reference surface of the vehicle sensing device 10. The sensor ball 25 is received in the bowl of the sensor socket 14 and is supported in its initial position on the inertial body support surface. The sensing pawl 15 is pivotally mounted on the sensing seat 14 and overlies the sensing ball 25. The locking pawl 8 is mounted on the retractor frame 17 of the retractor 1 (e.g. on a side wall) and is located between the sensing pawl 15 and the ratchet 21 of the retractor 1. When an emergency situation occurs in the vehicle and acceleration exceeding a preset value occurs, the sensitive ball 25 is separated from the supporting surface of the inertial body due to inertia and moves upwards along the inner surface of the bowl of the sensitive seat 14, so that the sensitive claw 15 is driven to pivot upwards. The upward pivoting of the sensitive pawl 15 ejects the locking pawl 8 upward and against the ratchet 21 of the retractor 1. The ratchet 21 and the spool 34 stop rotating, so that the retractor 1 stops winding the webbing and restrains the occupant.

The retractor 1 with the feel device 10 is mounted in the backrest 4. In the initial position of the backrest 4, the vehicle sensing device 10 is in a substantially vertical orientation and the inertial body support surface is in a substantially horizontal position. When the backrest 4 is rotated in the front-rear direction of the vehicle from the initial position, the vehicle-feel device 10 is no longer in a substantially vertical orientation, thereby affecting the locking function. In order for the feel device 10 to remain properly functioning throughout the reclining of the backrest 4, the retractor drive mechanism is configured to automatically adjust the tilt angle of the feel device 10, desirably such that the feel device 10 remains in a substantially vertical orientation.

The retractor transmission comprises a transmission case assembly 9 and a recliner disc assembly 3 connected by a core assembly 2. The recliner disc assembly 3 is disposed coaxially with the rotational axis of the backrest 4 and rotates with the rotation of the backrest 4. The core wire assembly 2 connects the angle adjustment disc assembly 3 and the transmission case assembly 9 so as to transmit the rotation angle of the angle adjustment disc assembly 3 to the transmission case assembly 9. The transmission case assembly 9 is located between the core wire assembly 2 and the feel device 10, and transmits the rotation angle of the recliner disc assembly 3 to the feel device 10 to adjust the positioning inclination of the feel device 10.

The core wire assembly 2 includes an elongated hollow sheath 27 and a core wire 28 passing through the interior of the sheath 27. The sleeve 27 wraps around the core wire 28 and defines a path of movement of the core wire 28. The first end 26b and the opposite second end 26a of the sleeve 27 are fixed to the housing of the recliner disc assembly 3 and the housing of the gearbox assembly 9, respectively. The core wire 28 is freely movable within the sleeve 27 independently of the sleeve 27 and the first end 29 and the opposite second end 30 are fixed to the recliner pulley 31 in the housing of the recliner disc assembly 3 and the drive pulley 19 in the housing of the gearbox assembly 9, respectively, thereby converting rotation of the recliner disc assembly 3 into rotation of the gearbox assembly 9. In other embodiments, the core wire assembly 2 may include only the core wire 28, and not the hollow sleeve 27.

The recliner disc assembly 3 is used to transmit the rotational angle of the backrest 4 to the core wire assembly 2. The angle plate assembly 3 comprises an angle pulley 31, an angle wrench 12 and associated wrench slide 7, and a housing. The housing accommodates the internal components such as the angle pulley 31 and the angle wrench 12 therein, and the angle pulley 31 and the angle wrench 12 can rotate independently of the housing.

The housing of the recliner disc assembly 3 is assembled from two housing halves 13, 11. The housing is configured to be in driving connection with the rotation axis of the backrest 4, so that the housing rotates in synchronization with the backrest 4 when the backrest 4 rotates around its rotation axis to adjust the inclination angle. The shell comprises a long-diameter part with a larger radius and a short-diameter part with a smaller radius in the inner cavity of the shell; accordingly, the angle adjustment pulley 31 includes a longer diameter portion having a larger radius and a shorter diameter portion having a smaller radius. When the short diameter portion of the housing abuts against the long diameter portion of the angle adjustment pulley, rotation of the housing can drive the angle adjustment pulley 31 to rotate. The long diameter portion of the angle pulley 31 is provided with a core wire fixing portion for fixing the first end 29 of the core wire 28 of the core wire assembly 2, and the second end 30 of the core wire 28 is fixed to the transmission pulley 19 of the transmission case assembly 9. The short diameter portion of the angle pulley 31 is provided with a winding groove for winding the core wire 28. The wire winding groove is led out from the core fixing portion and extends circumferentially along the periphery of the short diameter portion to receive the core 28 from the core fixing portion and define a movement path of the core 28. The angle adjusting wrench 12 and wrench slide 7 are mounted to the seat part 5 of the vehicle seat and provided with a stopper protruding outwardly from the surface thereof. The long diameter portion of the recliner pulley 31 is provided with an arc-shaped opening, and a stopper is received in the arc-shaped opening of the recliner pulley 31 to restrict or allow the recliner pulley 31 to rotate during reclining of the backrest 4.

The transmission case assembly 9 is used for converting the linear motion imparted to the core wire 28 by the angle adjustment disc assembly 3 into a rotational angle and transmitting the rotational angle to the vehicle sensing device 10. Referring to fig. 4-6, the gear box assembly 9 includes a drive pulley 19 and upper and lower housings 16, 20. The upper and lower cases 16, 20 house therein the internal components such as the transmission pulley 19, and the transmission pulley 19 can rotate independently of the upper and lower cases 16, 20.

The transmission pulley 19 is substantially hat-shaped and includes an annular base plate 19-3 and a hollow protrusion 19-1 protruding outward from a center hole of the annular base plate 19-3, and the hollow protrusion 19-1 is a cylinder having a bottom plate. The annular base plate 19-3 is provided with a core wire fixing portion 19-4 for fixing the second end portion 30 of the core wire 28 of the core wire assembly 2. The core wire fixing portion 19-4 may be provided at a radially middle or outer portion of the annular base plate 19-3. The annular base plate 19-3 is provided with a winding groove 19-5 around which the core wire 28 is wound on a part or the whole of its periphery. The winding slot 19-5 is generally circular in shape and may be concentric with the drive pulley 19. The wire winding groove 19-5 is led out from the core fixing portion 19-4 and extends circumferentially along the periphery of the annular base plate 19-3 to receive the core 28 from the core fixing portion 19-4 and define a movement path of the core 28. The depth and width of the wire winding grooves 19-5 are preferably not less than the diameter of the core wire 28. The winding grooves 19-5 of the drive pulley 19 and the winding grooves of the angle adjustment pulley 31 may be of substantially the same radius so that no additional pinion need be added during transmission to correct the transmission ratio between the angle adjustment pulley 31 and the drive pulley 19.

The annular base plate 19-3 of the transmission pulley 19 is also provided with a push rod 19-6 extending perpendicularly to its outer surface, and the sensitive seat 14 is provided with two parallel extending arms 14-1 extending downwards at the bottom of the bowl. The push rod 19-6 is interposed between the two projecting arms 14-1 and can rotate the sensitive seat 14 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle to ensure that the inertial body supporting surface within the sensitive seat 14 is always maintained in a substantially horizontal position. In some embodiments, the push rod 19-6 has a spherical or elliptical head, and the head is inserted between the two projecting arms 14-1 to rotate the sensitive seat 14.

The hollow boss 19-1 of the drive pulley 19 is adapted to receive a drive pulley spring 24. The drive pulley spring 24 provides a return torque to the drive pulley 19 to bias the drive pulley 19 circumferentially to its initial rotational position.

The housing includes an upper housing 16 and a lower housing 20. The upper and lower housings 16 and 20 are assembled together by snap-fit, and the upper housing 16 is fixed to the retractor 1 (e.g., on the retractor outer cover 23) by fasteners (e.g., screws, etc.), whereby the upper housing 16 is sandwiched between the lower housing 20 and the retractor 1. The lower case 20 has a substantially open box shape and includes a receiving portion 20-3, and a core wire in-out portion 20-4 extending tangentially from an edge of the receiving portion 20-3. The core wire access portion 20-4 is generally elongated and includes two through slots therein. The two through grooves are connected with each other and open at the upper side. The larger diameter through groove is located radially outward and serves to fix the second end 26a of the sleeve 27 of the core wire assembly 2. The smaller diameter through groove is located radially inward and is penetrated by the core wire 28 of the core wire assembly 2. The core wire 28 of the core wire assembly 2 passes through the through groove, is wound around the winding groove 19-5 of the transmission pulley 19, and is finally fixed to the core wire fixing portion 19-4 of the transmission pulley 19.

The accommodation portion 20-3 has a substantially cylindrical shape and includes an annular base plate 20-5, a hollow convex portion 20-6 protruding from a center hole of the annular base plate 20-5, and a flange portion 20-7 protruding from a peripheral edge of the annular base plate 20-5 in a direction opposite to the hollow convex portion 20-6. The hollow protrusion 20-6 of the lower housing 20 is a cylindrical body having a bottom plate and has a shape substantially matching and slightly larger than the shape of the hollow protrusion 19-1 of the transmission pulley 19 to accommodate the hollow protrusion 19-1 of the transmission pulley 19. The hollow protrusion 20-6 of the receiving portion 20-3 has a protruding center post 20-2 on its bottom plate, and the hollow protrusion 19-1 of the transmission pulley 19 has a center hole 19-2 on its bottom plate through which the center post 20-2 passes, so that the transmission pulley 19 can rotate about the center post 20-2 with respect to the receiving portion 20-3 and the lower housing 20.

The upper case 16 is in a sheet shape and includes a base plate 16-6, and a vehicle-feel frame 33 fixed to the base plate 16-6. The outer contour shape of the base plate 16-6 approximately corresponds to the combined outer contour shape of the accommodating portion 20-3 and the core wire inlet and outlet portion 20-4. After the second end 26a of the sleeve 27 of the core assembly 2 is placed in the core access portion 20-4 of the lower housing 20 and the transmission pulley 19 and the transmission pulley spring 24 are placed in the receiving portion 20-3 of the lower housing 20, the base plate 16-6 of the upper housing 16 may cover the receiving portion 20-3 and the core access portion 20-4 so that the upper housing 16 and the lower housing 20 enclose the second end 26a of the sleeve 27 of the core assembly 2, the transmission pulley 19 and the transmission pulley spring 24 therein. The base plate 16-6 is provided with an opening 16-5 for the push rod 19-6 of the transmission pulley 19 to extend and rotate back and forth. The upper housing 16 is provided on its inner surface with a spring fixing portion 16-2, and the bottom plate of the hollow boss 19-1 of the transmission pulley 19 is also provided with a spring fixing portion. The transmission pulley spring 24 may be a coil spring, and one end thereof is fixed to the spring fixing portion of the transmission pulley 19, and the other end thereof is fixed to the spring fixing portion 16-2 of the upper housing 16.

The lower housing 20 is provided on its periphery with one or more snap members 20-1a, 20-1b (two are shown in the drawing, for example, in the accommodating portion 20-3 and the core wire inlet and outlet portion 20-4, respectively) extending radially outward. Correspondingly, the upper housing 16 is provided with the same number of outwardly projecting jaw members 16-1a, 16-1b on its periphery. The jaw members 16-1a, 16-1b and the snap members 20-1a, 20-1b are snap-fit to each other to secure the upper and lower housings 16, 20 together against axial relative movement between the upper and lower housings 16, 20. In some embodiments, the clasp 20-1a is hollow frame-like and the jaw member 16-1a is cantilevered and has a hook 16-4 at its top end. The hook 16-4 of the jaw member 16-1a is hooked on the hollow frame of the buckle 20-1a, thereby preventing relative rotation between the upper and lower cases 16 and 20.

The feel stand 33 is used to pivotally support the sensitive seat 14 of the feel device 10. The vehicle-sensing frame 33 includes a support bar extending parallel to the base plate 16-6, and two support legs supporting both ends of the support bar at a distance from the base plate 16-6. The support bar and the opposite base plate 16-6 are provided with corresponding pivot holes 33-1, 33-2 for receiving the pivot shafts of the sensitive seat 14, so that the sensitive seat 14 can pivot with respect to the upper housing 16 and the entire gear box assembly 9 under the action of the push bar 19-6 of the drive pulley 19. The vehicle sensing frame 33 may be integrally formed with the base plate 16-6 of the upper housing 16, or may be separately formed and coupled together by a coupling member.

The process of installing the gear box assembly 9 will now be described. The hollow protrusion 19-1 of the transmission pulley 19 is placed into the hollow protrusion 20-6 of the lower housing 20, and the center hole 19-2 of the transmission pulley 19 is inserted into the center post 20-2 of the lower housing 20, thereby assembling the transmission pulley 19 to the lower housing 20. The transmission pulley spring 24 is put into the hollow convex portion 19-1 of the transmission pulley 19, and the leg of one end thereof is fixed to the spring fixing portion of the transmission pulley 19. The upper case 16 is covered on the lower case 20, the transmission pulley 19 and the spring 24, and the center hole 16-3 of the upper case 16 is inserted into the center post 20-2 of the lower case 20, and the leg of the other end of the transmission pulley spring 24 is fixed to the spring fixing portion 16-2 of the upper case 16. Thereby, the spring 24 is mounted between the upper housing 16 and the angle pulley 31. Referring to fig. 7A-7D, the upper housing 16 is rotated such that the jaw members 16-1a, 16-1b of the upper housing 16 snap-fit with the snap-fit members 20-1a, 20-1b of the lower housing 20, wherein the engagement of the jaw members with the snap-fit members limits axial movement of the upper housing 16 relative to the lower housing 20 and the hooks 16-4 on the jaw members 16-1a limit rotational movement of the upper housing 16 relative to the lower housing 20. Before, during, or after any of the above-described stages of the process, the vehicle sensing assembly 10 may be mounted on the vehicle sensing frame 33 of the upper housing 16 through the pivot hole 33-1 and the pivot hole 33-2. Thus, the integral installation of the wire control angle modulation sub-assembly is realized.

As described above, in the transmission case assembly of the conventional wire-controlled angle-adjusting retractor, the lower case is of a sheet design and the upper case is of a box-shaped design. The spring is mounted between the lower housing and the drive pulley and pre-tightening of the spring is achieved by rotating the lower housing assembly. The upper shell and the lower shell are simultaneously required to be fastened and assembled on the retractor frame through bolts. In addition, the existing gear box assembly is provided with a pinion gear in addition to the transmission pulley to correct the transmission ratio between the angle adjusting pulley and the transmission pulley. The mounting bracket and the transmission case component of the vehicle sensing device are of split type design, and are respectively mounted to the retractor frame.

A transmission case assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is of an upper and lower case construction, with the upper case being sandwiched between the lower case and the retractor. The lower housing is of an open box design and the upper housing is of a sheet design. The transmission pulley is fitted between the upper and lower housings, and the spring is installed between the upper housing and the transmission pulley. The upper housing is rotated relative to the lower housing during assembly to achieve the spring pre-winding. Although the pre-wound spring imparts a twisting force to the upper housing, the upper and lower housings are secured together by a snap fit without any additional bolts. The catch and pawl members limit relative axial movement between the upper and lower housings, and the hook portions limit relative rotational movement between the upper and lower housings. The layout mode relies on the upper shell and the lower shell to be fastened, so that the rotation movement of the upper shell is limited, and the installation steps and the installation cost are reduced.

According to the transmission case assembly disclosed by the embodiment of the disclosure, a pinion is not needed to correct the transmission ratio, the number of parts is small, the precision requirement of the parts is reduced, the transmission is concise, the transmission precision is high, and the applicability of products is improved.

In the transmission case assembly according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle-sensing frame is a part of the upper case, and the vehicle-sensing assembly is assembled on the upper case. Therefore, the transmission case assembly and the coiler main body are independently assembled, so that the wire control angle modulation sub-assembly can be assembled and tested outside the main wire and then integrally installed on the coiler platform, and the layout of the production line is optimized.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, all changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The disclosure is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.

Claims (18)

1. A transmission case assembly for a wire controlled recliner retractor of a vehicle seat belt apparatus, wherein a seat of the vehicle includes a seat portion, and a backrest capable of adjusting a reclining angle about a rotation axis with respect to the seat portion, the wire controlled recliner retractor is mounted on the backrest of the seat and includes a vehicle feel apparatus, the transmission case assembly is configured to be connected to a recliner disc assembly through a core wire assembly including a core wire, wherein the recliner disc assembly includes a recliner pulley, the transmission case assembly comprising:

a sheet-like housing including a base plate and a feel frame fixed to the base plate, the feel frame configured to pivotally support a feel device;

an open box-like housing, the open box-like housing and the sheet-like housing being assembled together; and

A transmission pulley which is accommodated within the sheet-like case and the open box-like case and is rotatable independently of the sheet-like case and the open box-like case;

Wherein one of the sheet-like case and the open box-like case is provided with one or more snap pieces on its periphery, the other of the sheet-like case and the open box-like case is provided with one or more claw pieces on its periphery, the claw pieces and the snap pieces are engaged with each other in a snap manner, and wherein the snap pieces are hollow frame-like, and the claw pieces are cantilevered and have a hook portion at the tip thereof, the hook portion of the claw piece being capable of hooking on the hollow frame of the snap piece, thereby preventing relative rotation between the sheet-like case and the open box-like case;

The transmission pulley and the angle adjusting pulley both comprise winding grooves for winding the core wire, and the winding grooves of the transmission pulley and the angle adjusting pulley have the same radius, so that an additional pinion is not required to be added in the transmission process to correct the transmission ratio between the angle adjusting pulley and the transmission pulley; and

The driving pulley comprises an annular base plate, the annular base plate is provided with a pushing rod extending perpendicular to the outer surface of the annular base plate, the car sensing device comprises a sensitive seat with an inertial body supporting surface, two parallel extending arms extending downwards are arranged at the bottom of the bowl body of the sensitive seat, and the pushing rod is inserted between the two parallel extending arms.

2. The transmission case assembly according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-feel frame is integrally formed with the base plate of the sheet-like case.

3. The transmission case assembly according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-sensing frame is formed separately from the base plate of the sheet-like case and is connected together by a connecting member.

4. A transmission assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vehicle sensing device further comprises a sensitive ball supported on the inertial body support surface.

5. The transmission case assembly according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle sensing frame includes a support bar extending parallel to the base plate of the sheet-shaped case, and support legs supporting both ends of the support bar at a distance from the base plate of the sheet-shaped case.

6. The transmission case assembly according to claim 5, wherein the susceptor is provided with outwardly extending pivot shafts pivotally received in pivot holes of the support rod and the opposing base plate.

7. The transmission case assembly according to claim 4, wherein the push rod is configured to push the vehicle feel device to rotate in a front-rear direction of the vehicle.

8. The transmission case assembly according to claim 7, wherein the base plate of the sheet-like housing is provided with an opening for the push rod of the transmission pulley to protrude.

9. A transmission case assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a transmission pulley spring configured to provide a return torque to the transmission pulley and mounted between the laminar housing and the transmission pulley.

10. The transmission case assembly of claim 9, wherein the transmission pulley further comprises a hollow boss extending outwardly from the central aperture of the annular base plate, the hollow boss configured to receive a transmission pulley spring.

11. The transmission case assembly according to claim 10, wherein the transmission pulley spring comprises a coil spring, and the leg at one end thereof is fixed to the hollow boss of the transmission pulley and the leg at the other end thereof is fixed to the sheet-like housing.

12. The transmission case assembly of claim 10, wherein the open box-like housing includes a receiving portion configured to receive the transmission pulley, and a core wire access portion extending tangentially from an edge of the receiving portion.

13. The transmission case assembly according to claim 12, wherein the base plate of the sheet-like housing covers the receiving portion and the core wire access portion, such that the sheet-like housing and the open box-like housing enclose the transmission pulley and the transmission pulley spring therein.

14. The transmission case assembly according to claim 13, wherein the receiving portion is generally cylindrical and includes an annular base plate and a hollow boss extending from a central aperture of the annular base plate of the receiving portion.

15. The transmission case assembly according to claim 14, wherein the hollow protrusion of the receiving portion has a shape slightly larger than that of the hollow protrusion of the transmission pulley to receive the hollow protrusion of the transmission pulley.

16. The transmission case assembly according to claim 14, wherein one of the hollow protrusion of the receiving portion and the hollow protrusion of the transmission pulley has a center post on a bottom plate thereof, and the other of the hollow protrusion of the receiving portion and the hollow protrusion of the transmission pulley has a center hole on a bottom plate thereof through which the center post passes, so that the transmission pulley can rotate about the center post with respect to the open box-like housing.

17. The transmission case assembly according to claim 13, wherein the outer contour shape of the base plate of the sheet-like case substantially corresponds to the combined outer contour shape of the accommodating portion and the core wire inlet and outlet portion.

18. A seat belt device for a vehicle, characterized in that it comprises a retractor and a transmission housing assembly according to any one of claims 1-17 for the retractor, which is mounted to the retractor.