European Components Co. Limited

Takata (europe) Vehicle Safety Technology Gmbh

Takata-petri (ulm) Gmbh

European Components Corporation

Harry Hanna

Robert Kopetzky

Georg Bannert

Martin Wifling

William E Heaney

Ian Dawson

A safety belt apparatus for vehicles, in particular motor vehicles having at least one safety belt, which is wound to a greater or lesser degree onto a belt reel rotatably secured on the vehicle chassis about an axis of rotation and preferably biased by a spring retraction mechanism. A toothed ratchet wheel is rotationally coupled to the belt reel and cooperating with a blocking pawl secured to the housing. The blocking pawl is movable into and out of engagement with respect to the toothed ratchet wheel by a cam ring concentric to the belt reel axis via a step down transmission. A toothed control wheel is connected to the belt reel via an eccentric transmission and has at its periphery a preferably wavelike arrangement of teeth which is surrounded by an inner toothed ring fixed to the housing of larger diameter and with complementary, but with a smaller or preferably larger number of teeth. As a results, the toothed control wheel stands in meshing arrangement with the inner toothed ring over a restricted peripheral region and diametrically opposite thereto. The two arrangements of teeth have a radial spacing such that the toothed control wheel rolls off on the inner toothed ring on rotation of the belt reel. The total draw out length of the safety belt corresponds to an angle of rotation of the toothed control wheel relative to the axis of rotation of substantially 180&deg;. The toothed control wheel is rotationally fixedly connected to the cam ring, but radially displaceable in the context of its eccentric movement. The cam ring has a switching means along a first angular region for the engagement and disengagement of the blocking pawl and at least one switching element along a second angular region for at least one further belt draw out dependent switching operation.

Safety belt apparatus for vehicles

A safety belt arrangement for motor vehicles, comprising at least one safety belt, which is wound to a greater or lesser degree around a belt reel which is rotatably secured about an axis of rotation to the vehicle chassis and which is biased in the belt winding up direction by a retraction mechanism and which also has, in particular, a draw-out blocking mechanism which blocks rapid drawing out of the safety belt and/or further drawing out of the safety belt in the event of accident dependent accelerations of the motor vehicle, wherein a ratchet wheel is rotationally fixedly coupled to the belt reel and cooperates with a latching pawl fixed to the housing, which can be engaged and disengaged in such a way that when the latching pawl is engaged into the ratchet wheel a rolling up movement of the belt reel by the spring retraction mechanism is possible but not, however, a pulling out of the safety belt; and wherein the latching pawl can be engaged and disengaged, with respect to the ratchet wheel, by an actuating element, in particular by a cam ring, via a step-down transmission in such a way that the latching pawl (a) is disengaged when the safety belt is at least substantially fully drawn in, and (b) is engaged when the safety belt is at least substantially fully drawn out.

Safety belt arrangement for motor vehicles

In the manufacture of a seat belt retractor, it is usual to join together a pre-stressed spring cassette with a part which includes the seat belt reel. A spring cassette is provided which includes a pin (20) for locking the spring core (16) and spring cover (10) to prevent them from rotating once the spring (14) has been pre-stressed to exert a desired torque. The spring cassette can then be conveniently handled when assembling the seat belt retractor, and then the pin (20) can be slid within the spring cassette to unlock the spring core (16) and spring cover (10) to allow the seat belt retractor to function as usual.

Seat belt retractor spring cassette

A retractor engagement mechanism for locking a shaft against rotation relative to a frame, the mechanism comprising a pawl 7 mounted eccentrically on the shaft so as to rotate therewith and being moveable into engagement with ratchet teeth 9 on the frame. Lock gear 4 is selectively rotatable with the shaft and a cam-follower connection between lock gear 4 and pawl 7, to cam pawl 7 into engagement when lock gear 4 is prevented from rotating with the shaft, for example by a sensor mechanism. A pivotally mounted counterbalancing mass 10 which preferably pivots substantially co-axially with the shaft is provided to apply to pawl 7 a torque which opposes movement into engagement, thereby to delay that engagement.

Retractor engagement mechanism

A retainer mechanism for a safety belt includes a retraction reel on which the safety belt web is wound and first and second locking members mounted adjacent the reel and movable relative to the frame to clamp the web itself or allow the web to move. Displacement of the second locking member, and thus of the first locking member, may be caused e.g. by an inertia mechanism on the reel and/or by an acceleration/de-celeration sensitive mechanism and/or by a projection adjacent the end of the web.

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Craigavon, United Kingdom

Harry Hanna