Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Joseph J Magyar

Chimanbhai M Patel

David N Lee

Clement A Detloff

Wendy M Schoof

A preferred embodiment seat adjuster according to the present invention has a first link which is pivotally connected typically along its rearward end to the vehicle floor. A powered gear is connected to the first link and is meshed with a sector gear which is connected to the forward end of the vehicle seat adjuster. The sector gear is also connected to the vehicle floor. Slidably mounted to the first link is a second link having a sector gear connected to its rearward end. The vehicle seat (or frame) is pivotally connected along its forward end to the second link and the vehicle seat has a powered gear which in meshed with the rearward sector gear of the second link. Longitudinal movement of the seat is provided by a worm gear rotatably connected to the second link and meshed with a rack connected with the first link. Elevation of forward end of the vehicle is accomplished by the powered gear rotatably connected with the first link and meshed with the sector gear connected with the vehicle floor. Elevation of the rearward end of the vehicle seat is accomplished by the powered gear connected with the seat which is meshed with the sector gear which is connected to the rearward end of the second link.

Six-way adjuster apparatus and method

A belt clamping guide loop includes a frame mounted on the vehicle body and a bracket mounted for limited vertical movement relative the frame. A belt deflecting loop is carried by the frame. A spring acts between the frame and the bracket to establish a normal position of the bracket and yields in response to the imposition of an occupant restraint load on the belt to permit movement of the bracket. A first clamping jaws is fixedly mounted on the frame below the guide loop and a second clamping jaw is movably mounted on the frame in spaced relation from the first clamping jaw to define a belt passage therebetween. A toggle linkage acts between the bracket and the second clamping jaw to forcibly move the second clamping jaw into belt clamping proximity with the first clamping jaw in response to the downward movement of the bracket. A pin and slot acts between the second clamping jaw and the frame to define a path of angularly converging movement of the second jaw toward the first jaw so that the second jaw is self-energized into clamping action with the belt.

Belt clamping guide loop

A belt reel journaled on the retractor frame carries a ratchet plate having teeth including a front face and a back face. A pawl mounted on the frame is movable from a normal disengaged position to a position engaging either the unwinding facing front side of a tooth or engaging with the winding facing side of a tooth. A normally stationary clutch member is connected to the pawl by a cam and is selectively rotated in response to a sensed condition so that the cam moves the pawl to engage the unwinding facing side of a tooth to lock the reel against belt unwinding rotation. A manual operating handle is provided to rotate the clutch member independent of occurrence of the sensed condition so that the pawl is moved into engagement with the winding face side of a ratchet tooth to block belt winding reel rotation by a reel windup spring and hold the belt at a tension free slackened length about the seat occupant. The cam connection between the clutch member and the pawl blocks the pawl against movement to the disengaging position and also blocks the clutch member against return movement in the unwinding direction until a subsequent slight belt unwinding rotation cancels the tension relieving mechanism.

Tension reliever for seat belt retractor

A seat belt buckle includes a housing having a pivotally mounted detent movable between a latched position in which a latch tab on the detent is inserted into an aperture in a latch plate and an unlatched position permitting latch plate entry and exit from the buckle. The detent is biased to the unlatched position by a detent spring. A keeper is slidably movable on the housing between an extended position overlying the detent to block detent movement to the unlatched position by inertia forces and a retracted position permitting detent movement to the unlatched position. An end depress pushbutton is slidably mounted on the housing for extension by a spring and retraction by the seat occupant depressing the pushbutton. Pushbutton retraction retracts the keeper from blocking the detent so the detent spring moves the detent to the unlatched position. Mating abutments on the keeper and detent maintain the keeper in the retracted position while the detent spring holds the detent in the unlatched position so that a subsequent entry of the latch plate into the buckle may be accomplished without the added effort necessary to move the detent out of the way. The pushbutton spring returns the pushbutton to the extended position subsequent to each retraction. A flexure element attached to the detent extends into the path of latch plate entry and pivots the detent to the latched position simultaneous with arrival of the latch plate at the fully inserted position within the buckle.

Seat belt buckle

The invention provides an inertia locking seat belt retractor for winding a shoulder belt having one end mounted on the vehicle door so that door movement moves the belt between stowed and restraining positions. The retractor has a winding prevention mechanism including a pawl and ratchet operable by a prior known control means to selectively lock the retractor against belt winding to hold the belt extended at a set slackened length with respect to the occupant. The improvement is comprised of a cam member which is rotatably mounted and has a cam surface which blocks movement of the pawl to the locked condition irrespective of the control means. The cam member also has a notch which allows the pawl to move to the locked condition with the ratchet. The cam member is coupled to the reel by a reduction gear set which causes the cam member to revolve less than one revolution during a plurality of reel revolutions upon movement of the belt between the fully wound and fully unwound conditions. The reduction gear set synchronizes the rotation of the cam member to align the circumferentially extending notch portion with the pawl only when the extent of belt unwinding is within the range of unwound length indicative of the belt having assumed an effective restraining length relative the occupant. Accordingly, the pawl is blocked from possible engagement with the ratchet and a previously engaged pawl will be disengaged from the ratchet whenever the door is opened.

Winding prevention belt retractor for passive shoulder belt system

According to the invention a spring wound seat belt reel has a plurality of pawls which are movable between radially extended and radially retracted positions. A clutch acts between the reel and the pawls to retain the pawls at their respectively attained extended or retracted positions. The pawls move to their extended positions when the clutch is overcome by centrifugal force acting upon the pawls during winding rotation of the reel at a velocity normally induced by the winding spring. The clutch retains the pawls in their retracted positions when the occupant feeds the belt slowly into the retractor to retard the reel rotation to a velocity less than the velocity normally induced by the winding spring. A latch bar is pivotally mounted on the housing and has a latch face adapted for engagement by one of the extended pawls to prevent further belt winding and thereby relieve the taut condition of the belt about the occupant. The latch bar also has a reset face which successively engages the extended pawls during subsequent belt unwinding to forcibly return the extended pawls to their retracted positions. The latch bar may be pivotally moved away from engagement with the extended pawls to permit belt winding reel rotation irrespective of return of the pawls to the retracted position.

A seat belt retractor housing is mounted on a vehicle body structural member by integral load-bearing tangs struck from the housing frame for insertion through aligned apertures of the structural member. The apertures are defined by load-bearing walls which may be reinforced by a reinforcement plate having aligned load-bearing walls. A nonload-bearing positioning means such as a self-tapping screw acts between the retractor housing and the structural member to maintain the load-bearing tangs of the retractor housing in proximity with the load-bearing walls of the structural member for load-transmitting engagement therewith when the seat belt load is transmitted to the housing by lockup of a retractor reel. Accordingly, the retractor is anchored against movement relative the structural member independently of the load-bearing capacity provided by the self-tapping screw or like positioning means.

Seat belt retractor installation

A seat belt mounting member such as a retractor frame or an apertured plate has an elongated slot extending generally in the direction of imposition of occupant restraint load and a load bearing wall at the end of the slot. A fastener extends through the slot and attaches the mounting member on a vehicle body structural member. A means such as coined tabs or a frangible glass disc is located in the slot in interposition between the fastener and the load bearing wall to define a normal position of the mounting member relative the fastener wherein the load bearing wall is spaced from the fastener. The frangible or deformable means has a predetermined limited load sustaining capability and is permanently altered upon imposition of a predetermined occupant restraining load upon the belt to provide a permanent record of load imposition and permit limited bodily shifting movement of the mounting member whereby the fastener traverses the slot to engage the load bearing wall and thereby anchor the seat belt for effective restraint of the occupant. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention a deformable means is provided by coining tabs in the mounting member adjacent the slots to project into the slot, the tabs being permanently deformed by the fastener to provide a record of load imposition. According to another embodiment of the invention, a frangible glass disc is mounted in the slot and is broken by the fastener to provide a record of load imposition.

Seat belt utilization recorder

A vehicle seat has a frame mounted on the vehicle floor by a fore and aft seat adjusting mechanism. A reel is rotatably mounted on the seat frame. A flexible element has one end attached to the reel and the other end attached to the vehicle floor. A windup spring acts on the reel to wind and unwind the flexible element during longitudinal fore and aft adjusting movement of the seat frame and maintains the flexible element in a taut condition irrespective of the selected adjusted position. A pawl is pivotally movable into engagement of the reel to block unwinding rotation thereof. A seat belt strap is attached to the pawl so that loads imposed on the belt during occupant restraint actuate the pawl to the blocking condition whereby the flexible element is held at its then existing length to anchor the seat frame against movement relative the vehicle floor. Accordingly, a seat belt element such as a buckle strap can be mounted on the vehicle seat and the seat belt loads are transmitted to the vehicle floor without relying on the force sustaining capability of the seat adjusting track.

Anchorage system for a seat belt

A seat belt retractor has a belt reel with a restraint belt attached thereto and biased in the belt winding direction of rotation by a windup spring. A detent mechanism comprised of a pawl and ratchet normally permits belt winding reel rotation by the windup spring and is movable to a detenting position wherein the pawl engages the ratchet to hold the belt in a nontensioned restraining position about the occupant. A control mechanism comprised of a control disc and a blocking disc operate the pawl between the detenting and undetenting positions in response to rotation of the discs through less than one revolution between one limit at which rotation in the unwinding direction is stopped and another limit at which rotation in the winding direction is stopped. The pawl coacts with the discs to define the limits of rotation. A friction clutch acts between the discs and the reel to rotate the discs as a unit with the reel and permit continued rotation of the reel after the discs are stopped at their respective limits of rotation by the pawl. A selected operator actuated means such as the vehicle door is operably connected with the pawl to move the pawl out of its rotation limiting coaction with the blocking disc and control disc so that the discs are freed for unitary rotation with the belt reel, thereby terminating the relative rotation between the discs and the reel so that the windup spring need not overcome the frictional impediment normally exerted on the reel by slippage of the friction clutch.

Seat belt retractor with winding prevention mechanism

A seat belt retractor according to the invention has a conventional inertia locking mechanism which permits the occupant to lean forwardly in the seat by unwinding belt from a reel which is biased in the winding direction by a winding spring. In accordance with the specific embodiment described, a winding prevention mechanism includes a ratchet connected to the reel and a pawl movably mounted on the housing for movement to a detenting position engaging the ratchet to block belt winding reel rotation and thereby hold the belt extended at a slackened condition about the occupant. A control disc and a blocking disc cooperate to control movement of the pawl to provide a belt retractor which prevents belt winding reel rotation to establish a slackened belt length, defines a first range of further unwinding movement during which progressive additional increments of belt slack is provided, defines a second range of further unwinding subsequent to which the belt is returned to a length within the first range, and is further effective to restore free belt winding reel rotation upon reel unwinding rotation beyond the limit of the second range.

Belt retractor with winding prevention and memory mechanism

A seat belt retractor has a belt reel mounted for rotation relative a frame and a spring which biases the reel in the belt winding direction of rotation. A pawl is selectively movable between a disabled position and a position wherein the pawl engages the reel to lock the reel against belt unwinding rotation. A feeler arm on the pawl extends into engagement with the belt wound on the reel to hold the pawl in the disabled position when the belt is substantially fully wound on the reel and then permit movement of the pawl from the disabled position as the belt is unwound from the reel. An automatic locking mechanism includes a control disc which is frictionally clutched to the reel for limited rotation therewith and has an abutment for controlling movement of the pawl by moving to a blocking position in alignment with the pawl upon belt unwinding reel rotation so as to block movement of the pawl into engagement with the reel. Subsequent belt winding reel rotation moves the abutment to an unblocking position permitting movement of the pawl toward engagement with the reel. A lock-up delay mechanism includes a blocking lever which normally blocks the pawl from being operated by the control disc and is moved to an unblocking position by an inertia and attitude sensing member so that the pawl is operated by the control disc after the vehicle experiences an inertia condition or attitude change of predetermined magnitude. The pawl prevents return of the blocking lever to the position blocking operation of the pawl by the control disc until such time as the belt is substantially fully wound on the reel and the feeler arm returns the pawl to the disabled position.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, MI, United States of America

Joseph J Magyar