Electrical lock control means for safety belt retractor

Claim 2

A safety belt retractor comprising: a. support means; b. reel means rotatably mounted on said support means; c. belt means attached to said reel means for protraction and retraction with respect thereto; d. biasing means for urging said reel means in a belt retracting direction; e. locking means mounted on said support means and adapted to engage lockingly said reel means in response to a predetermined change in the direction of movement of said belt; and f. electrical lock control means associated with said locking means and responsive to protraction of said belt means, and having timer means for disabling said locking means during a preselected time interval following initial protraction of said belt means.

Claim 3

A safety belt retractor comprising: a. support means; b. reel means rotatably mounted on said support means; c. belt means attached to said reel means for protraction and retraction with respect thereto; d. biasing means for urging said reel means in a belt retracting direction; e. locking means mounted on said support means and adapted to engage lockingly said reel means in response to a predetermined change in the rate of movement of said belt; and f. electrical lock control means associated with said locking means and responsive to protraction of said belt means, and having timer means for disabling said locking means during a preselected time interval following initial protraction of said belt means.

Claim 4

A safety belt retractor comprising: a. support means; b. reel means rotatably mounted on said support means; c. belt means attached to said reel means for protraction and retraction with respect thereto; d. biasing means for urging said reel means in a belt retracting direction; e. locking means mounted on said support means and adapted to engage lockingly said reel means in response to a predetermined change in the rate of movement of said belt; and f. electrical lock control means associated with said locking means and responsive to protraction of said belt means, and having timer means for disabling said locking means during a preselected time interval following initial protraction of said belt means.

Claim 5

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 2, wherein said electromagnetic means is a bar electromagnet.

Claim 6

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 2, wherein said reel means has a ratchet means mounted thereon and said locking means includes (1) pawl means mounted on said support means and engageable with said ratchet means and (2) spring means normally biasing said pawl means into engagement with said ratchet means.

Claim 7

A safety belt retractor, as recited in claim 2, wherein said electrical lock control means includes electrical deactivating means adapted for connection to the gear selector of a vehicle for deactivating said electrical lock control means, thereby preventing disabling of said locking means when the transmission of the vehicle is placed in a driving gear.

Claim 8

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 2 wherein said electrical lock control means includes: a. first circuit means connected to a source of electrical power; b. switch means electrically connected between ground and said first circuit means and structurally connected to said reel means so as to ground said first circuit means upon rotation of said reel means for a preselected distance in a belt protracting direction, whereby said first circuit means becomes energized; c. electromagnetic means connected to said first circuit means so as to be energized upon the grounding thereof, and magnetically coupled to said locking means, said electromagnetic means being operable when energized to disable said locking means; d. second circuit means connected to said first circuit means for deenergizing said electromagnetic means after said preselected time interval.

Claim 9

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 6, wherein said second circuit means is in series with said first circuit means and includes the series combination of a capacitor and a resistor.

Claim 10

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 6, wherein said second circuit means includes as said timer means a timer circuit means operable to energize said electromagnetic means for said preselected time interval.

Claim 11

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 8, wherein said timer circuit means includes a transistor having its collector emitter circuit in series with and between said electromagnetic means and said switch means and its base in series with the series combination of a capacitor and a resistor.

Claim 12

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 9, wherein said timer circuit means includes a second transistor having its base emitter circuit in series with and between said resistor and the base of said transistor and its collector emitter circuit in series with and between said electromagnetic means and the base of said transistor.

Claim 13

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 8, including electrical deactivating means connected to said second circuit means and adapted for connection to the gear selector of a vehicle, for deactivating said timer circuit means when the transmission of the vehicle is placed in a driving gear.

Claim 14

A safety belt retractor as recited in claim 11, wherein said timer circuit means includes a transistor having its collector emitter circuit in series with and between said electromagnetic means and said switch means and its base in series with the series combination of a capacitor and a resistor, and said electrical means includes a second switch means connected to ground and to said second circuit means between said capacitor and said resistor for said timer circuit means.