Key Safety Systems, Inc.

Breed Automotive Technology, Inc.

John Bell

Martyn N Palliser

Brian A Jack

Andrew Park

Frederic Jallot

Amaya Munoz

Matthew Barber

Alan George Smithson

David Blackadder

Joseph Patrick Harte

Elizabeth Rees

Kenneth Williamson

Howard James Foster

Paul Slack

Darren Laidlaw

Matthew Surgeon

Michael Thwaites

Robert Byers

Ian Hannah

David Hunter

Graham Jack

A safety restraint adapted for securing a personal mobility vehicle in a transport vehicle, against movement in a direction opposite to the direction of normal motion of the transport vehicle, the safety restraint comprising: a retractor comprising a spool on which an elongate piece of material is wound; the elongate material being configured to be attached at one end to the personal mobility vehicle; a slider bar adapted to be fixed to the transport vehicle; and wherein the retractor is mounted on the slider bar, in a manner which allows the retractor to slide in the direction of normal motion of the transport vehicle, and prevents the retractor moving in the opposite direction on the slider bar.

Personal mobility vehicle restraint

A vehicle seat belt system () has a seat belt webbing () which is attached to a tongue () that fastens into a buckle mechanism () fixed to a load bearing part of the vehicle. The belt system () has a seat belt retractor (), a seat belt webbing () with a lap belt portion () appropriately anchored and shoulder harness portion (), a self-adjustable webbing guide () and a vertical strap webbing (). The self-adjusting webbing guide () includes a pivoting guide () connected to a locking mechanism () activated by a forward movement of the occupant () extending the shoulder webbing ().

Safe belt

A vehicle seat has a seat base and a seatback. The vehicle seat has as a permanent feature a pair of seat belt guides positioned such that when a lap portion of a seat belt webbing is received in both of the seat belt guides the lap portion of the seat belt webbing intersects the seat belt guides at a selected distance from a forward face of the seatback. Each of the seat belt guides restricts movement of the lap portion of the seat belt webbing away from the forward face of the seatback. The seat belt guides direct the lap portion of the seat belt webbing across the seat base along a path such that the lap portion of the seat belt webbing interacts with the lower body of a child when the vehicle seat is occupied by a child aged three to twelve years and under 150 cm in height.

Vehicle seat

A vehicle seat belt system has seat belt webbing that is attached to a tongue adapted to be located in a buckle mechanism fixed to a load-bearing part of the vehicle. A generally vertically extending strap is adapted to be located in a position against a seat back. An adjustable webbing guide connects the generally vertically extending strap to the seat belt webbing; and there is a device for positively locking the webbing guide to the generally vertically extending strap at any one of a plurality of selectable locations on the generally vertically extending strap. A load limiter is operative for a child seat occupant but not operative for an adult seat occupant.

Seat belt system for a motor vehicle

A pretensioning apparatus for seat belt webbing is located in the vicinity of a belt anchor end of a three-point vehicle safety restraint seat belt. The pretensioning apparatus has a fixed member in the form of a tubular member that may be anchored to a vehicle seat at the belt anchor side of the vehicle. A movable member in the form of a piston is connected to the webbing in the region of the belt anchor end. A means is provided for moving the movable member relative to the fixed member in a generally horizontal direction, to move the seat belt webbing in a pretensioning direction in response to a signal from a crash sensor. A webbing guide is fixed to the seat to provide an effective anchorage point spaced from the belt anchor end of the webbing under pretensioning conditions.

Seat belt pretensioner

A seat belt system for adults and children has a strap () that extends vertically along the front surface of a seat back or a structural pillar at the side of a vehicle. Seat belt webbing () is configured to provide a three-point seat belt system. The seat belt webbing passes through a stationary seat belt webbing guide () located higher than the shoulder of an adult seat occupant and attached to the same component of the vehicle as the vertically extending strap (). A movable seat belt webbing guide () is movable along the strap (). The stationary seat belt webbing guide () has a stationary seat belt webbing passageway () through which the seat belt webbing () passes and the movable seat belt webbing guide () has a seat belt webbing passageway () through which the seat belt webbing () passes. The seat belt webbing passageway of the movable seat belt webbing guide () can be vertically aligned with the stationary seat belt webbing passageway () of the stationary seat belt webbing guide () when an adult occupies the vehicle seat and the seat belt webbing passageway of the movable seat belt webbing guide () can be vertically spaced from the seat belt webbing passageway of the stationary seat belt webbing guide () when a child occupies the vehicle seat. A vehicle seat can be assembled with the seat belt system for adults and children.

Seat belt system for adults and children

A vehicle seat arrangement provides location and fixing points on the vehicle seat that will take crash loads and can be used to position a webbing path adapter to serve as a guide for placing a standard seat belt in a suitable position for when a child is occupying the seat. A vehicle seat arrangement includes a seat backrest having an upholstered part overlying a load-bearing plate. A first plurality of holes pass through the upholstered part and a second, aligned, plurality of holes pass through the load-bearing plate. A webbing path adapter has a passageway for receiving seat belt webbing. A pin connects the webbing path adapter in a removable manner to any one of a plurality of holes on the load-bearing plate through the corresponding holes in the upholstered part of the seat backrest.

Seat belt arrangement for child occupants of a vehicle

A seat belt retractor has a rotating spool for retraction or pay-out of seat belt webbing. A locking ring is attached to one end of the spool. The locking ring is locked against rotation when a crash is sensed. A force limiting means allows further pay-out of the seat belt webbing after the locking ring has locked. Coupled in the force path between the spool and the locking ring, the force limiting means has a primary force limiting means; and a secondary force limiting means. The force limiting means include an elongate deformable member, arranged such that relative rotation between the spool and the locking ring causes a predetermined length of the deformable member to be deformed during a first stage of load limiting. The cross-sectional area of the deformable member is uniform over a major portion of the predetermined length and is reduced over at least one minor portion located a distance from the end of the member.

Seat belt retractor

A pretensioner for a three point vehicle safety restraint seat belt has a mounting for one end of the seat belt. The mounting has a first member fixed to a load bearing part of the vehicle and a second member attached to the end of the seat belt. A force reservoir, such as a pyrotechnic unit, moves the second member relative to the first member in a pretensioning direction in response to activation by a crash sensor.

A pretensioner for a three point seat belt has a cylinder adapted to be attached to a structural member of a vehicle and a piston disposed within the cylinder. A pyrotechnic means moves the piston in a direction that is longitudinal relative to the cylinder in a pretensioning direction. A slider bar is oriented substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cylinder. A seat belt webbing is looped around the slider bar such that the seat belt webbing can freely move along a portion of the slider bar that is oriented substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cylinder so long as the pyrotechnic means for moving the piston has not been activated. A cable extends from the piston and loops around the seat belt webbing to cause the seat belt webbing to move along the slider bar in a pretensioning direction when the pyrotechnic means for moving the piston is activated.

A pretensioner for a three point seat belt has a cylinder adapted to be attached to a structural member of the vehicle and a piston disposed within the cylinder. The piston can move translationally relative to the cylinder in a pretensioning direction. A flexible member is arranged in a curved profile with a seat belt webbing being attached to the flexible member. The flexible member has a first end that can be pulled by the piston and a second end releasably connected to an exterior of the cylinder such that when the piston moves translationally relative to the cylinder the second end of the flexible member moves translationally relative to the cylinder along the exterior of the cylinder.

A pretensioner for a three point vehicle safety restraint seat belt, has a mounting for one end of the seat belt. The mounting is a first member fixed to a load bearing part of the vehicle. A second member is attached to the end of the seat belt. A means is provided for moving the second member relative to the first member in a pretensioning direction in response to activation of a crash sensor. The mounting may be a flexible cable that functions as a slider bar. A piston-cylinder force reservoir may be used either to pull the slider bar via a carriage mounted on a rail, or to pull the cable directly. Return motion is preferably inhibited. The arrangement provides a space saving pretensioner suitable for two-door vehicles while allowing access to the vehicle rear.

A seat belt pretensioner acts upon the sill end of a three point seat belt. A fixed member of the pretensioner is adapted to be fixed to a load bearing part of the vehicle. A movable member is connected to the sill end of the seat belt and is slideable with respect to the fixed member. The movable member is moved in a direction that is longitudinal relative to the fixed member to move the sill end of the seat belt in a pretensioning direction in response to a signal from a crash sensor. In this way the sill end of the seat belt is free to move along a connecting member when the seat belt is not under tension either from use in restraining a seat occupant and/or from a pretensioning operation.

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Carlisle, United Kingdom

John Bell