Abstract: An airbag apparatus for a vehicle with three seat-rows includes a vehicle airbag having first and second sections independent from each other extending in the longitudinal direction. The second section includes a first chamber, a second chamber and one gas inlet for supply gas to the second section. The first and second chambers are separated from each other in the longitudinal direction with a space therebetween except upper ends thereof through which the first and second chambers directly communicate with each other. The first section, first chamber and second chamber extend continuously along an upper portion of a sidewall of the vehicle and are located at portions corresponding to the three seat-rows of the vehicle to protect the passengers in the three seat-rows, respectively.

Abstract: An airbag apparatus is installed in a vehicle having a three-seat-row arrangement, and includes a vehicle airbag having a plurality of sections and a gas supplying device. The vehicle airbag is installed on an upper sidewall of the vehicle, and inflated downwardly in passenger-protection regions located between passengers on the seats and a sidewall of the vehicle for protecting the passengers during an accident such as a side collision or roll-over. The gas supplying device is capable of generating an inflation gas for inflating the airbag. The sidewall constitutes a large area on a side of the vehicle at a left or right side of the passenger such as a side window or a door. The vehicle airbag is typically installed in an area between a side roof panel on an upper region of the sidewall and a ceiling panel.

Abstract: A seatbelt apparatus with two pretensioners and a load limiter. The seatbelt apparatus has a seatbelt retractor, a belt guide, a lap belt anchor, a tongue, and a buckle. The seatbelt retractor and the lap belt anchor are provided with pretensioners. The buckle is fixed to an inner portion of a car body such as the car floor through a load limiter. This configuration allows the seatbelt apparatus to restrain a passenger more effectively.

Abstract: An airbag apparatus is installed in a vehicle having a three-seat-row arrangement, and includes a vehicle airbag having a plurality of sections and a gas supplying device. The vehicle airbag is installed on an upper sidewall of the vehicle, and inflated downwardly in passenger-protection regions located between passengers on the seats and a sidewall of the vehicle for protecting the passengers during an accident such as a side collision or roll-over. The gas supplying device is capable of generating an inflation gas for inflating the airbag. The sidewall constitutes a large area on a side of the vehicle at a left or right side of the passenger such as a side window or a door. The vehicle airbag is typically installed in an area between a side roof panel on an upper region of the sidewall and a ceiling panel.

Abstract: A seat-belt guide anchor for guiding a seat belt in a vehicle includes an elongated guide hole through which the seat belt slides and a sliding portion disposed adjacent to the guide hole contacting the seat belt. The seat belt extends with an angle relative to a direction perpendicular to a long axis of the guide hole. The sliding portion has a projection or a recess. An end portion of the projection or recess extends and is inclined with an angle larger than the seat belt extension angle.

Abstract: A seat belt retractor is formed of a reel for a seat belt having a rotary shaft with an end, a bearing for rotationally supporting the end of the rotary shaft, and a rotary shaft end support formed in the bearing. The end of the rotary shaft has a curved surface, and the rotary shaft end support has an opposing surface opposing the end of the rotary shaft for supporting the end of the rotary shaft. The opposing surface has a curved surface corresponding to that of the end of the rotary shaft to thereby properly support the rotary shaft without wobbling.

Abstract: A seat-belt guide anchor for guiding a seat belt in a vehicle includes an elongated guide hole through which the seat belt slides and a sliding portion disposed adjacent to the guide hole contacting the seat belt. The seat belt extends with an angle relative to a direction perpendicular to a long axis of the guide hole. The sliding portion has a projection or a recess. An end portion of the projection or recess extends and is inclined with an angle larger than the seat belt extension angle.

Abstract: A seatbelt apparatus with two pretensioners and a load limiter. The seatbelt apparatus has a seatbelt retractor, a belt guide, a lap belt anchor, a tongue, and a buckle. The seatbelt retractor and the lap belt anchor are provided with pretensioners. The buckle is fixed to an inner portion of a car body such as the car floor through a load limiter. This configuration allows the seatbelt apparatus to restrain a passenger more effectively.

Abstract: A torsion bar in a seat belt retractor includes a torsion portion to be twisted. The torsion portion has an outer portion, and a center portion inside the outer portion. The outer portion has a hardness lower than that at the center portion to thereby increase energy absorption in twisting the torsion portion. Therefore, even if higher stress is applied to the outer portion of the torsion portion when the torsion bar is twisted, the number of turns until the torsion bar is broken can be increased as compared to the conventional one. Accordingly, the belt withdrawing amount is ensured enough after the twisting of the torsion portion is started, thereby improving the energy absorbing capacity.

Abstract: To provide a torsion bar for the use of a seat belt retractor which can be manufactured without a spheroidizing annealing process. A torsion bar to be used as a load limiter in a seat belt retractor is characterized in that the torsion bar is made of steel of which the carbon content is 0.04% or less.

Abstract: A shoulder anchor used in a seat belt device for guiding a webbing is formed of an insertion metal member having a guide hole for allowing the webbing to pass therethrough, and a resin molded portion molded on at least a predetermined area of the insertion metal member. The resin molded portion includes a guide portion for guiding the webbing and a shrinkage absorbing portion disposed in a part of the guide portion for absorbing shrinkage or reducing residual stress of a resin of the resin molded portion. By providing the cut-out portion, shrinkage of the resin during molding can be effectively absorbed, thereby improving appearance of the resin molding.

Abstract: A pre-tensioner of a seat belt device capable of securely and rapidly transmitting torque between a driven shaft and a rotational ring when the pre-tensioner is activated. The driven shaft projecting from a reel for retracting a seat belt is inserted into a housing and the rotational ring is positioned to surround a gear of the driven shaft. The rotational ring is provided with five guide faces in the inner surface thereof and pins are inserted into pocket portions of the rotational ring. Each pin is held at the both ends by an annular portion of a body and a cover. Stepped portions are formed along peripheries of both ends of each guide face to form spaces.

Abstract: A mechanical igniter for a gas generator has a weight, a latch lever and a firing pin, which are provided in a casing as movable elements to fire a percussion cap attached to the gas generator in response to acceleration. The mechanical igniter further has a restraint member movably supported in the casing as a safety catch for making the movable elements immovable. The casing and the restraint member are respectively formed with cam surfaces which cooperate with each other to rotate the restraint member about its own axis so that the restraint member is selectively set in a restraint position and a release position. The restraint member has a rotary control portion that is concealed in the casing and has a portion that is engageable by a rotary tightening tool, such as used in an ordinary bolt tightening operation or the like. The restraint member is rotated by engaging the rotary tightening tool with the rotary control portion of the restraint member and turning the tool.

Abstract: A mechanical igniter for a gas generator has a weight, a latch lever and a firing pin as movable elements to fire a percussion cap attached to the gas generator in response to acceleration, and further has a restraint member and a controller therefor as a safety device for making the movable elements immovable. The controller can be activated by attaching the mechanical igniter to the vehicle body, or removing a belt stopper after the mechanical igniter has been attached to the vehicle body, or fastening a seat belt to the occupant's body. Thus, the restraint member is released when the mechanical igniter is attached to the vehicle body, or when the seat belt system is used, thereby automatically and safely releasing the safety device for the igniter.

Abstract: A mechanical acceleration sensor includes a weight, a latch lever, and a spring-loaded firing pin, which are movably supported in a casing. The latch lever is disengaged from the firing pin by inertial movement of the weight relative to the casing, thereby allowing the firing pin to perform a percussive firing action by the spring load. The weight is supported in the casing by a pair of first and second guide members for guiding the inertial movement of the weight. The first guide member is closely fitted in the weight, while the second guide member is loosely fitted in the weight. An error in parallelism between the first and second guide members is accommodated by the loose fitting of the second guide member. When sensing excessive acceleration, the weight effectively moves without interference with other members while only slightly rotating about the axis of the first guide member to absorb the error in parallelism.

Abstract: A mechanical acceleration sensor includes a sensor casing, a weight, a spring-loaded firing pin, and a latch lever, the weight, the firing pin, and the latch lever, each being movably mounted in the sensor casing in such a manner as to either translate along an axis or to rotate about an axis, the axes of translation of the members that translate being substantially perpendicular to that the axes of rotation of the members that rotate. The latch lever is loaded with a set load to engage the firing pin and is positioned to be engaged by the weight upon inertial movement of the weight to disengage from the firing pin, thereby allowing the firing pin to perform a percussive firing action by the spring load. The casing has an opening for receiving the weight, firing pin and latch lever, and shaft support grooves are provided in the casing such that each shaft support groove is open at an end thereof which faces the opening. A shaft for a member that rotates is supported by the shaft support grooves.

Abstract: A mechanical acceleration sensor having a weight movably supported on a casing, a latch lever loaded with a set load and disposed to face the weight, and a firing pin spring-loaded and engaged with the latch lever. The latch lever is disengaged from the firing pin against the set load by inertial movement of the weight relative to the casing, thereby allowing the firing pin to perform a percussive action. A sub-lever is provided in connection with the latch lever. The sub-lever is disposed to face a side of the weight which is opposite to the side thereof that faces the latch lever so as to cooperate with the latch lever to clamp the weight from both sides of the direction of inertial movement of the weight, thereby making it possible to sense acceleration acting on the sensor in both the positive and negative directions of inertial movement of the weight by the inertial movement thereof.

Abstract: A gas-pressure actuator apparatus having a rotary actuator serving as a driving source for a pretensioner of a seatbelt system, and a gas generator for supplying a working gas to the actuator. The rotary actuator includes a cylinder block and a rotary piston. The cylinder block has a cylinder chamber, a preliminary chamber formed adjacent to the cylinder chamber, and a communicating hole for providing communication between the cylinder and preliminary chambers. The gas generator is attached to the cylinder block in such a manner that a gas outlet for releasing the generated gas opens into the preliminary chamber. The preliminary chamber functions as a gas pressure buffer space for the cylinder chamber and also serves as a capacity element as follows: In the early stage of the rotary piston operation where the volumetric capacity of the pressurizing chamber defined in the cylinder chamber is extremely small, the preliminary chamber lowers the gas pressure applied to the rotary piston.

Abstract: A buckle pretensioner for a vehicle seat belt system of the type that is mounted on a vehicle seat includes a blocking device for preventing the movement of a movable member of an inertial starting mechanism that controls the operation of the pretensioner from releasing the pretensioner driving device. The blocking device includes a solenoid and an electric power circuit for energizing the solenoid having a seat slide switch that is responsive to movement of the seat release lever for controlling the energy state of the solenoid so that the blocking device prevents movement of the movable member in response to operation of the seat release lever to release the seat for adjustment and a delay circuit for maintaining the energy state of the solenoid established by operation of the seat slide switch for a predetermined period of time after the seat slide switch has been operated.

Abstract: A rotary actuator-operated seat belt pretensioner comprises a frame, a belt take-up shaft rotatably mounted on the frame, and a rotary actuator mounted on the frame and including a pressure chamber, a rotating member and a gas generator for supplying pressurized gas to the pressure chamber to impart rotation to the rotating member. A clutch is interposed between the rotating member and the take-up shaft. The pressure chamber of the actuator is annular and includes an inner wall defining a space within the chamber, and the clutch is received in the space within the chamber. The driving force of the rotating member produced by gas pressure supplied to the pressure chamber is transmitted to the take-up shaft by the clutch, and rotation of the take-up shaft winds a segment of the belt onto the shaft and thereby tightens the belt.