Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Gregory S Ches

Richard D Loose

Steven G Corrion

Kenneth M Zawisa

Gary R Kurtti

Thomas Tilly

Lawrence A Gloomis

Leslie A Sajovec

Peter P Kujawa

Damond N Hinatsu

John James Senopole

Michael J Wendzinski

John De Bano

Mark A Rychlicki

David T Brender

A seat belt guide includes a housing defining an interior region, and a guide member at least partially disposed within the interior region. The guide member defines a channel for receiving and guiding a webbing of a seat belt. The guide member is moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position, with the channel concealed when in the stowed position, and the channel exposed when in the deployed position. The guide member includes a base portion and a guide portion, with the guide portion rotatable relative to the base portion to allow for automatic withdrawal of the webbing from the channel when the seat is moved into a position that does not require the use of the seat belt guide.

Deployable/stowable seat mounted seat belt webbing comfort guide

A seat belt anchoring system for a vehicle seat includes an anchor for seat belt webbing having a mounting portion positionable with respect to the seat to face rearward and rigidly securable with respect to the seat from behind the seat. The anchor also has a belt retaining portion angled with respect to the mounting portion so that it is operatively connectable with the seat belt webbing outboard of the seat. A method of installing a seat belt system is also provided.

Seat belt anchoring system and method of installing a seat belt system

A rear seat shoulder belt guide for a vehicle having a rear seat shoulder belt allowing for adjustment of the routing of the shoulder belt for smaller than average passengers. The rear seat shoulder belt guide is detachably connected to the shoulder belt and may be removed when not in use. A tab is mounted to the vehicle side trim adjacent the rear seat back cushion and is designed to retain the shoulder belt guide when not in use while also being hidden from view from the vehicle's passenger compartment.

Rear seat shoulder belt guide

A front seat assembly for mounting to a floor pan of a two-door automobile vehicle and being movable for access to a rear seat. The front seat has a seat bottom. A power operated longitudinal seat adjuster mechanism is carried between and slideably and constantly engageably connects the seat bottom portion to the floor pan for adjustable positioning the seat bottom between a forward position and a rearward position. A power operated reclining mechanism connects a seat back to the seat bottom for positioning and constantly retaining the seat back in positions between a forward tilt position and a rearward reclined position. A three point restraint system is mounted to the seat bottom and the seat back for retaining a front seat occupant. A switch mounted to the seat back of the seat assembly accessible to a rear seat occupant enables simultaneous movement of the seat bottom and the seat back either forwardly or rearwardly.

Front seat for two-door vehicle

A door mounted seat belt retractor includes a pendulum having a support foot which is a generally planar surface having an elongated elliptical foot print with a major dimension and a minor dimension. A pendulum support member carried by the retractor has a planar support surface upon which the foot of the pendulum rests. The pendulum is oriented with the major dimension of its foot extending laterally of the vehicle body and the minor dimension extending longitudinally. The locking sensitivity of the retractor is varied so that a relatively smaller acceleration impulse experienced in the longitudinal direction will lock the retractor and a relatively higher acceleration impulse in the lateral direction will be required to lock the retractor. Thus, the retractor will not be locked by the level of acceleration experienced during routine door opening movement. The pendulum support member preferably has a planar support surface located at the bottom of an elongated elliptical well. The well has a major imension extending laterally of the vehicle and a minor dimension extending longitudinally of the vehicle and receives the elongated elliptical foot of the pendulum so that the pendulum is maintained in its proper orientation with the major dimension extending transversely of the vehicle.

Variable sensitivity seat belt retractor

In a seat belt retractor winding prevention mechanism, the winding prevention pawl is mounted upon a collapsible support mechanism which is collapsed by an inertia sensor at the onset of a sensed vehicle deceleration condition. The collapsible support mechanism carries a cam which engages the pawl upon collapse and moves the pawl axially out of engagement with the ratchet teeth carried by the reel to thereby release the winding prevention mechanism so that the windup spring will rewind the belt to a taut condition about the occupant. The inertia sensor raises a pilot pawl into engagement with gear teeth carried by the reel so that reel rotation energizes a further movement of the pilot pawl and the pilot pawl movement both collapses the collapsible support mechanism of the winding prevention pawl and also moves a lock bar into engagement with the reel to lock the reel against belt unwinding rotation.

Inertia release for belt retractor winding prevention mechanism

A molded plastic tubular sleeve slips over the housing of a seat belt buckle and includes an integrally molded flap which registers with and overlies the pushbutton of the buckle. The pushbutton flap is plastically yieldable relative to the tubular sleeve to thereby depress the buckle pushbutton underlying the flap. By controlling the material and dimensions of the tubular sleeve, the pushbutton flap can be designed to require a level of release force which is predeterminedly larger than the force normally needed to unbuckle the buckle. Furthermore, the tubular sleeve is shaped to be capable of sliding removal from the buckle so that the seat belt buckle may be conveniently restored to normal force unbuckling as desired.

Growing community of inventors

Mt. Clemens, MI, United States of America

Gregory S Ches