Energy Absorbing Sling Assembly

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to automotive seat belt components, and more particularly to the pivotal mounting of slings for supporting certain of such components in an energy absorbing fashion.

2. Description of Related Art

The desirability of cushioning interior surfaces of automobiles is well known in the automotive arts. Among the components of primary importance in considering the cushioning of such interior components, are the bolts which are used to fasten seat belt components to the body of a vehicle. In some designs, the cushioning of the bolt with respect to the interior of the vehicle has been accomplished through structure carried with the interior trim of the vehicle in facing relationship with the head of the bolt. U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,491, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, is exemplary of such an approach. Other energy absorption designs have involved energy absorbing structure underneath the head of the bolt. U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,344, is exemplary of these approaches.

Not demonstrated in the prior art but considered to be desirable is an energy absorbing bolt mounting structure that will accommodate securing a bolt in fixed manner to an automotive vehicle body while the energy absorbing structure is secured to the bolt and nevertheless permitting pivotal mounting of the seat belt component with respect to the bolt. An example of the environment in which the unsolved problem is presented is the mounting of depending slings for seat belt guide rings which may require mounting high in a vehicle in certain vehicle designs.

The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a seat belt sling assembly that employs an energy absorbing fastener assembly for mounting the sling assembly for pivotal movement with respect to an automotive vehicle body interior panel which includes a bolt secured to the vehicle body interior panel having a shank portion for pivotally mounting the sling and a head portion that presents an annular shoulder against which an energy absorbing members is positioned to present a resilient portion inboard of the bolt head while remaining secured against the annular shoulder of the bolt head for retention and pivotally mounting the sling.

According to a feature of the invention, the energy absorbing member defines an aperture for permitting access to a central drive pocket in the head portion of the bolt.

This advantageous feature and others will be appreciated by reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an interior perspective view of a portion of an automotive vehicle body in which a seat belt component is mounted according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view illustrating the energy absorbing mounting assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the energy absorbing member of the energy absorbing fastening assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of the energy absorbing fastener assembly of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 4.

Turning now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1 thereof, an automotive vehicle interior indicated generally at 10 includes a body having interior panels, such as the upper pillar 12, to which is secured an upper portion of the seat belt assembly 14. The illustrated seat belt assembly 14 is of the three point mounting type which include a belt 16 having a buckle tongue 18 that may be donned in a known manner about an occupant of the seat 20.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the seat belt assembly indicated generally at 14 is illustrated as further including a sling assembly 22 having a D-ring 24 pivotally mounted at the lower end 26 of an elongated sling 28. The upper end 30 of the sling 28 is pivotally mounted through a bolt 32 to the upper pillar 12. The bolt 32 includes a shank 34 and may be secured to the panel 12 as through the nut indicated at 36 and is made axially fast against the panel 12 and positions its head 38 interiorly of the vehicle 10. The shank 34 is received through an aperture 40 proximate the upper end 30 of the sling 28 for pivotally mounting the sling with respect to the vehicle body. The inner end 42 of the shank 34 and enlarged head 38 define an annular shoulder 44. An energy absorbing member, such as a clip 46 defining a channel 48 received over the head 38 to be retained between the sling 28 and the annular shoulder 44. A trim cover 50 overlies the bolt 32 and the energy absorbing member or clip 46 and may in fact be retained exteriorly of the sling 28 as indicated at 52. An aperture 54 at the bottom of the trim cover 50 provides for swingable movement of the elongated strap or sling 28.

The clip member 46 advantageously includes a retainer arm 56 which may be bent, as indicated in FIG. 2, to axially compressively engage between the head 38 of the bolt 32 and the sling member 28.

Projecting axially of the bolt and interiorly of the vehicle, a resilient energy absorbing portion of the clip indicated at 58 is provided. In the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, this resilient energy absorbing member is a W-shaped member and is preferably formed as a pair of W-shaped arms indicated at 60, 62 in FIG. 3. The arms 60, 62 are spaced laterally about a drive pocket 64 formed in the head 38 of the bolt 32. This arrangement of the clip 46 with respect to the bolt 32 assures that tool access for driving the bolt into engagement with the nut 36 or other device for mounting with respect to the vehicle interior panel 12, can be accommodated through the aperture 63 between the arms 60, 62. When the clip member 46 is installed over the head 38 of the bolt 32, the bolt 32 may be driven into engagement with the nut 36, compressing the bent-over portion 56 between the head 38 and the sling 28. This effects a robust design that permits the pivotal movement of the sling 28 while providing axial loading against the possibility of rattling.

Turning now to FIGS. 4 and 5, an alternative embodiment for energy absorbing member 47 is provided in which a helical compression spring 66 having at least one reduced diameter coil 68 at one end is provided the reduced diameter coil 68 is received under the head 38 of the bolt 32 in the same fashion as the bent-over portion 56 of the clip member 46 of the previously described embodiment. As with the previously described device, the energy absorbing member is retained between the head 38 of the bolt 32 and the sling 28, permitting pivotal movement of the sling with respect to the vehicle body panel 12.

While only certain embodiments of the energy absorbing fastener assembly of the present invention have been described, others may occur to those skilled in the automotive body restraint arts without departing from the scope of the following claims.