Trw Vehicle Safety Systems Inc.

Breed Automotive Technology, Inc.

Key Safety Systems, Inc.

Carl M Petersen, Iii

Lawrence M Refior

Harjeet Gill

Susan A Richards

Tony Jain

Kenneth Herbert Kohlndorfer

Robert P Ellis

Simon Xunnan He

H John Miller, Iii

Gerald Keller

Keith R Ball

Markell Seitzman

Edward W Clancy, Iii

Gary M Ray

Timothy J Cahill

Amit Sharma

William L Palmer

Russell E Hamann

Kathleen K Stawara

Janet K Gravelle

Caryn F Carter

Brian Nadeau

Rosemary Longley

Christopher S Koprowicz

Tammy Korona

Charles W Sorenson

Caryn Foley

Robin C Meyer

Rosemary A Longley

Craig Good

A seat belt buckle assembly () having: a locking assembly () and an integrally formed cover () to receive the locking assembly, the locking assembly and cover having a plurality of guiding and stabilizing members () configured to prevent specific relative motion between the cover and the locking assembly.

Buckle assembly

A seat belt buckle (,) operable with a pretensioner (,) comprising: a frame (,) having a first latch opening (,) therein, and opposing frame sides (,), each side including a latch plate slot (,) arranged generally perpendicular to the direction of movement of a tongue into the buckle and pivoted weight mechanism (,). The buckle additionally includes a latch plate (,), having portions (,) movable within the latch plate slots between a locked position in engagement with an opening within the tongue and with the first latch opening (,), the latch plate moveable between a latched position within the latch opening (,) in the frame and within the latch opening (,) of the tongue to an unlatched position out of the latch openings. The weight (,) as it pivots generates a force upon the latch plate during operation of the pretensioner tending to keep the latch plate in the first opening and a button (,) operatively received upon the frame having ramp means (,) for lifting the latch plate to its unlatched position.

Buckle for use with a pretensioner

An energy absorbing retractor having a frame, locking mechanisms to initially stop a spool from rotating in a belt protraction direction, the spool rotationally supported relative to the frame, a seat belt wound about the spool, and biasing device to retract the seat belt, a two-sided torsion bar for generating at least a first level of reaction torque on the spool permitting the spool to rotate in a controlled manner in a belt protracting direction including a torsion bar having a middle portion fixedly coupled to the spool to prevent relative rotation therebetween, a first torsion rod extending therefrom, the first torsion rod including a first end coupled to a first locking mechanism to prevent the first end from rotating upon such coupling, whereby upon locking of the first end, and the loading of the spool, the first torsion rod is twisted to generate a first level of control force. A second torsion rod including a second end coupled to a second locking mechanism to prevent the second end from rotating upon such coupling, whereby upon locking of the second end, and the loading of the spool, the first and second torsion rods are twisted simultaneously to generate a second level of control force.

Multi-level load limiting torsion bar retractor

A seat belt buckle (100) operable with a pretensioner (330) comprising: a frame (102) having a first latch opening (126a) therein, and opposing frame sides (108a,b), each side including a latch plate slot (110) arranged generally perpendicular to the direction of movement of a tongue into the buckle and pivoted weight mechanism (112, 200, 220). The buckle additionally includes a latch plate (180), having portions (186) movable within the latch plate slots between a locked position in engagement with an opening within the tongue and with the first latch opening (126a), the latch plate moveable between a latched position within the latch opening (126a) in the frame and within the latch opening (173) of the tongue to an unlatched position out of the latch openings. The weight (200) as it pivots generates a force upon the latch plate during operation of the pretensioner tending to keep the latch plate in the first opening and a button (250) operatively received upon the frame having ramp means (260) for lifting the latch plate to its unlatched position.

A seat belt buckle (16) includes a latch mechanism (22), a pushbutton (24), an inertia member (100) and a spring (102). The pushbutton (24) has a release position in which it releases a seat belt tongue (14) from the latch mechanism (22). The inertia member (100) has a blocking position in which it prevents the pushbutton (24) from moving to the release position. The buckle (16) further includes structure (126, 128) which supports the inertia member (100) for inertial movement from a non-blocking position to the blocking position against a bias of the spring (102). The supporting structure (126, 128) is free of a pivotal bearing.

Seat belt buckle with inertia locking mechanism

A seat belt retractor (10) includes a seat belt storage spool (14) on which a seat belt (16) is wound. The spool 14 is rotatable in belt retraction and belt withdrawal directions (A, B). First and second springs (50, 52) act in series and bias the spool (14) to rotate in the belt retraction direction. A ratchet wheel (54) is connected between the first and second springs (50, 52) and blocks the spring force of the first spring (50) from biasing the spool (14) in the belt retraction direction. The ratchet wheel (54) has a plurality of teeth (78). The ratchet wheel (54) is rotatable when blocking of the spring force of the first spring (50) does not occur and is stationary when blocking does occur. A pawl (56) is movable by an actuator (60) for selectively engaging a tooth (78) of said ratchet wheel (54) to prevent rotation of said ratchet wheel (54). An inertia mass member (81) is mounted on the ratchet wheel (54) to increase the overall rotational inertia of the ratchet wheel (54) and thereby retard the rotational velocity of the ratchet wheel (54) upon release of the pawl (56) from the ratchet wheel (54).

Tension reducing retractor with reduced velocity ratchet

A pretensioner (40) is connected with a seat belt buckle (32) and is operable to move the buckle through a pretensioning stroke to remove slack from a seat belt. Movement of an actuator member (36) from an unactuated position to an actuated position under the influence of its own inertia at the end of a pretensioning stroke is resisted by a pair of counterbalance assemblies (162, 164) disposed in the buckle (32). The counterbalance assemblies (162, 164) include masses (168, 176) having inertia which results in the application of force against counterbalance cams (212, 232) connected with the actuator member (36). This force resists movement of the actuator member (36) to an actuated position at the end of the pretensioning stroke. Upon the application of manual force against an outer end portion of the actuator member (36) to release the buckle, the masses (168, 176) are pivoted by the counterbalance cams (232, 212). Cam followers (196) connected with the masses then slide along longitudinally extending side surfaces (216, 240) of the counterbalance cams (212, 232). The counterbalance masses (168, 176) are mounted between elongated sections (132, 134, 148 and 150) of the actuator member (36).

Inertia sensitive buckle for seat belt pretensioner system

A height adjuster (10) for a shoulder belt (26) includes a base (20) which is mountable on a vehicle body and has a plurality of apertures (58). A carriage mechanism (80) is slidable along the base (20) and carries a belt guide (82). A latch mechanism (84) also is carried on the carriage mechanism (80). The latch mechanism (84) includes a latch member (190) which is pivotable about a first axis (210) relative to the carriage mechanism (80). The latch member (190) has an end portion (196) receivable in one of the apertures (58) for blocking movement of the carriage mechanism (80) relative to the base (20). At least one manually engageable release lever (240) is carried on the carriage mechanism (80) and is pivotable about a second axis (264) transverse to the first axis (210). The release lever (240) has a first portion (254) engageable with the latch member ( 190) for pivoting the latch member (190) about the first axis (210) to remove the end portion (196) of the latch member (190) from the one of the apertures (58) to release the carriage mechanism (80) for sliding movement relative to the base (20). The release lever (240) has a manually engageable second portion (248) for pivoting the release lever (240) about the second axis (264).

Height adjuster for seat belt shoulder strap

Growing community of inventors

Waterford, MI, United States of America

Carl M Petersen, Iii