US4355772A — Fast acting automatic seat belt retractor

Claim 1

Independent Claim 273 words

A rapid locking automatic seat belt retractor comprising a main housing, a shaft rotatably mounted in the housing with a seat belt wound thereon, a rewind spring for the shaft, a locking mechanism comprising a vehicle inertia sensor, a movably mounted locking element, a locking gear connected to said shaft for rotation therewith and a control member for engaging the locking element with the locking gear to lock the retractor, and a rotational shaft acceleration sensing means capable of actuating the locking element to engage the locking gear upon excessive belt acceleration characterized in that: the control member comprises a pivotable plate (3) mounted about shaft (1), the plate (3) having a portion (4) directly engageable with the locking element (6) to move the locking element (6) to engage the locking gear (5); a housing (10) for the inertia sensor, said housing being integral with said plate (3) and a pawl (11) provided on the housing (10), and means rotatable with said shaft and engageable by said pawl, whereby when said pawl (11) is moved by said inertia sensor to engage said rotatable means further unwinding rotation of said shaft (1) pivots said pawl (11), housing (10) and integral plate (3) to cause locking element (6) to engage locking gear (5) thereby locking the shaft; and wherein the locking element (6) and locking gear (5) are mounted on the exterior of main housing (15), the portion (4) of plate (3) acting to directly pivot locking element (6) upon pivoting of plate (3); and the rotational acceleration sensing means (18,20) actuates pivoting movement of plate (3) upon excessive belt acceleration to lock the retractor.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 273 words

A rapid locking automatic seat belt retractor comprising a main housing, a shaft rotatably mounted in the housing with a seat belt wound thereon, a rewind spring for the shaft, a locking mechanism comprising a vehicle inertia sensor, a movably mounted locking element, a locking gear connected to said shaft for rotation therewith and a control member for engaging the locking element with the locking gear to lock the retractor, and a rotational shaft acceleration sensing means capable of actuating the locking element to engage the locking gear upon excessive belt acceleration characterized in that: the control member comprises a pivotable plate (3) mounted about shaft (1), the plate (3) having a portion (4) directly engageable with the locking element (6) to move the locking element (6) to engage the locking gear (5); a housing (10) for the inertia sensor, said housing being integral with said plate (3) and a pawl (11) provided on the housing (10), and means rotatable with said shaft and engageable by said pawl, whereby when said pawl (11) is moved by said inertia sensor to engage said rotatable means further unwinding rotation of said shaft (1) pivots said pawl (11), housing (10) and integral plate (3) to cause locking element (6) to engage locking gear (5) thereby locking the shaft; and wherein the locking element (6) and locking gear (5) are mounted on the exterior of main housing (15), the portion (4) of plate (3) acting to directly pivot locking element (6) upon pivoting of plate (3); and the rotational acceleration sensing means (18,20) actuates pivoting movement of plate (3) upon excessive belt acceleration to lock the retractor.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 32 words

The retractor of claim 1 wherein the rotational acceleration sensing means (18,20) includes a portion (21) which is engageable with pawl (11) to move pawl (11) into engagement with said rotatable means.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 13 words

The retractor of claim 2 wherein said rotatable means comprises said locking gear.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 30 words

The retractor of claim 1 including means for releasing the pawl (11) from engagement with said rotatable means when the locking element (6) is engaged with the locking gear (5).

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 35 words

The retractor of claim 1 wherein the gear (5) which is engaged by the pawl (11) is rotatable during extraction of the belt in the same direction as the pivoting direction of the plate (3).

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 48 words

The retractor of claim 1 wherein portion (4) of plate (3) engages a cam on locking element (6) and a notch (8) is provided at the end of said cam in order to relieve the load on the sensor housing (10) at the termination of the locking action.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 14 words

The retractor of claim 1 wherein plate (3) is mounted concentrically with shaft (1).

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 53 words

The retractor of claim 1 wherein said rotational acceleration sensing means comprises a brake drum (20) and a brake shoe (18) which acts as a flywheel mass and is engageable with said brake drum, said brake shoe being pivotably mounted on a support plate (17) that is rigidly connected to locking gear (5).

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 41 words

The retractor of claim 8 including a cam shoulder (21) on the outer circumference of brake drum (20), said cam shoulder being engageable with said pawl, and an abutment (14) on said main housing for limiting movement of said sensor housing.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 32 words

The retractor of claim 8 including a spring (22) disposed between said brake shoe and support plate whereby said brake shoe is held away from said brake drum in the rest position.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1985-10-25	1986-04-26	1986-10-26	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1989-10-25	1990-04-26	1990-10-26	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1993-10-25	1994-04-26	1994-10-26	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Fast acting automatic seat belt retractor

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