Other

Trw Vehicle Safety Systems Inc.

Angel Fernandez

Robert J Rumpf

Vincent E Pitassi

A ring gear and a plurality of planet gear carriers diametrically disposed, at substantially equal angles to each other, in a plane therewithin, each carrier rotatably supporting a separate one of a pair of planet gears at each opposite end thereof. The planet gears engage with and are rotated by the ring gear. Each planet gear has an eccentrically disposed mass that revolves about the center of rotation of the planet gear while revolving about the center of rotation of the planet gear carrier, creating centrifugal and Coriolis forces that are additive. An instant angular disposition, with respect to its planet gear carrier, of the center of mass of one of a pair of planet gears is always the same as that of the other of the pair but does not coincide with that of any other planet gear. This creates a couple that is applied to an output shaft when the force of the former and the rotation of the latter are in the same direction. When they are not, the couple is applied to a reaction plate. The angular disposition between the planet gear carriers ensure that torque pulses applied to the output shaft by the couples are not applied simultaneously but are equally separated in time to provide a relatively smooth output torque.

Inertial power transmission

A free falling cinch tongue has a lock bar which is supported to be freely rotatable about a fixed axis to move a belt clamping surface on the lock bar toward and away from a belt clamping surface on the cinch tongue frame.

Free falling cinch tongue

A seat belt retractor includes a spool driven by an electric motor. Seat belt webbing is wound around the spool. A worm wheel rotates with the spool and meshes with a worm that is axially movable. A set of electrical brushes is axially movable with the worm along the shaft. The set of electrical brushes is electrically coupled to a control circuit through a set of conductor strips. The set of brushes slide along the set of conductor strips as the worm moves axially. In response to movement of the brushes along the conductor strips, the control circuit provides signals to control the motor and, thus, the spool. When an occupant initially withdraws the webbing to buckle the webbing, the tension force acting on the webbing moves the worm axially. In response, the motor is actuated to rotate the spool in the belt withdrawal direction and provide motorized assist for the webbing withdrawal. After the tension force acting on the webbing decreases below a predetermined amount and a predetermined time elapses, the motor rotates the spool in the belt retraction direction and tightens the webbing against the occupant. After the webbing tightens against the occupant with a predetermined amount of force, the motor rotates the spool in the belt withdrawal direction until a small amount of slack in the webbing is established. While the webbing is buckled, if the occupant moves so as to form excess slack in the webbing, then this sequence of retracting the webbing against the occupant and paying out the small amount of webbing is repeated. If a crash occurs while the webbing is buckled, then the meshing engagement of the worm wheel with the worm prevents the worm wheel and the spool from rotating and locks the retractor.

Seat belt retractor with an electric motor

A seat belt retractor comprises a spindle having seat belt webbing wound thereon. The spindle is supported for rotation in belt withdrawal and belt retraction directions. A member is movable between a first position in which the spindle is free to rotate in the belt withdrawal direction and a second position in which the spindle is blocked from rotating in the belt withdrawal direction. A permanent magnet is fixed to the member. An energizable electromagnet includes a core located adjacent the permanent magnet for attracting the permanent magnet to thereby move the member to one of its first and second positions when the electromagnet is de-energized. The core repels the permanent magnet to thereby move the member to the other one of its first and second positions upon energization of said electromagnet.

Electrically actuatable locking mechanism for a seat belt retractor

An inertial torque converter for converting a first torque into a second torque includes first and second unidirectional clutches which operate in opposite directions and which allow an output torque shaft to freewheel between received torque pulses. The converter includes a driving sun gear rotatable about a first axis, at least one planetary gear driven by the sun gear and a first eccentric mass mounted for rotation with the planetary gear about a second axis parallel to and radially spaced from the first axis. Preferably, two such planetary gears and masses are provided. The masses are connected through their journals to a carrier having a shaft portion which is connected to the first and second clutches. The second clutch is connected to the output torque shaft and the first clutch is connected to a housing of the converter to transmit the reaction torque of the converter thereto. A torque converter assembly includes a plurality of such serially connected torque converters, a common input driving shaft coupled to each of the driving sun gears and a common output torque shaft connected to one of the two unidirectional clutches of each of the torque converters. The masses of one converter have a predetermined phase relationship to the masses of the other torque converters for relatively smooth output torque generation wherein a number of torque pulses are generated for each revolution of the output torque shaft.

Torque converter and assembly utilizing same

A spindle has belt webbing wound on it. The spindle is supported for rotation in belt retraction and belt withdrawal directions. The spindle is biased to rotate in the belt retraction direction. A drive member has a longitudinal central axis and is movable in a direction along the axis from a first position to a second position. The drive member is disposed in a coaxial telescoping relationship with a rotatable driven member. A drive portion of the drive member engages a surface on the driven member to rotate the driven member in response to movement of the drive member to the second position. Rotation of the driven member causes the spindle to rotate in the belt withdrawal direction and pay out belt webbing to establish slack in the belt webbing. A notch on the driven member receives the drive portion of the drive member to block rotation of the driven member, thereby blocking rotation of the spindle in the belt retraction direction to maintain slack in the belt webbing.

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Mt. Clemens, MI, United States of America

Angel Fernandez