Breed Automotive Technology, Inc.

Key Safety Systems, Inc.

Martyn N Palliser

John Bell

Andrew Park

Brian A Jack

Alan George Smithson

David Blackadder

John Alexander Taylor

Matthew Barber

Amaya Munoz

Ian Hannah

Andrew Wood

Carlo Martellini

Stuart Wilson

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 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 seat belt retractor has a spool mounted for rotation on the retractor, for retraction or payout of seat-belt webbing depending upon the rotation direction of the spool. The spool is locked against rotation when a crash condition is sensed. A force limiter allows further payout of the seat belt webbing after the spool shaft has locked, under the influence of a vehicle occupant's forward momentum. The force limiter has a first resilient component attached in the force path between the spool and the locking component. A second resilient component is a wire releasably held in the force path between the spool and the locking component by a locking plate engaged with the locking component. The wire is released from the force path by disengagement between the locking plate and the locking component.

A seat belt retractor has a rotatable spool for retraction or payout of seat belt webbing wound thereon, depending upon the rotation direction of the spool. A locking wheel is attached to one end of the spool. The spool to is locked to the locking wheel when a crash is sensed. A force limiter allows further payout of the seat belt webbing after the spool has locked to the locking wheel, under the influence of a vehicle occupant's forward momentum. The force limiter includes a torsion bar attached at one end to the locking wheel and at the other end to the spool, and a secondary force limiter mechanism releasably coupled in the force path between the spool and the locking wheel, and a mechanism for de-coupling the secondary mechanism after a predetermined number of turns of the torsion bar. The locking mechanism has a locking element that is resiliently biased to a position wherein it locks the spool to the locking wheel and is held out of locking engagement by the secondary force limiting mechanism. The retractor is converted into a standard locking retractor after load limiting ensuring that the vehicle occupant is securely restrained against secondary impacts.

A seat belt retractor has a spool mounted for rotation in the retractor, for retraction or pay-out of seat belt webbing depending upon the rotation direction of the spool. A locking ring is attached to one end of the spool. A locking pawl locks the locking ring against rotation when a crash is sensed. Load limiting is provided by a length of wire and a winding drum attached to one of the spool and the locking ring and a pin fixed to the other of the spool and the locking ring. The wire is coiled around the pin and arranged so that when there is relative movement between the spool and the locking ring, then the wire is pulled around the pin and is wound onto the winding drum.

Seat belt retractor with load limiting

A seat belt retractor has a spool mounted for rotation in the retractor for retraction or pay-out of seat belt webbing depending upon the direction of rotation of the spool. A locking ring is attached to one end of the spool. A device for locking locks the locking ring against rotation in a crash. A force limiting device allowing further pay-out of the seat belt webbing after the locking ring has locked, under the influence of a vehicle occupant's forward momentum. The force limiting device has a length of wire, attached at one end to one of the spool or the locking ring, and wound, at a distance spaced from said one end, on a pin fixed to the other end of the spool or the locking ring. Under the influence of crash forces above a predetermined value the wire is pulled around the pin.

A seat belt pretensioner has a piston; a tube housing the piston; a force reservoir, activatable when a crash is sensed, to drive the piston along the tube; a resilient steel band connected to the piston; and means for selectively connecting the steel band to a retractor spool. Preferably the force reservoir is a gas generator which may be pyrotechnically activated and has an output in the tube on one side of the piston to drive the piston along the tube pulling the steel band and engaging the connecting means to turn the retractor spool and shorten the belt webbing. The steel band has indexing features, such as indexing holes or slots to engage teeth on the outer periphery of a drive wheel attached to the retractor spool. As the steel band is pulled by the piston it tightens around the drive wheel and the indexing holes engage the teeth, turning the drive wheel and thus the spool and pulling in the webbing to secure the vehicle occupant. The piston may have two piston members connected by a connecting assembly including a resilient member such as a coil spring.

Seat belt pretensioner

A seat belt retractor has a spool mounted for rotation on the retractor frame, for retraction or pay-out of seat belt webbing depending upon the rotation direction of the spool. The spool is locked against rotation when a crash is sensed. A force limiting mechanism allows further pay-out of the seat belt webbing after the spool shaft has locked, under the influence of a vehicle occupant's forward momentum. The force limiting means includes a torsion bar attached in the force path between the spool and its axis of rotation; and a resilient mechanism. A mechanism selectively connects the resilient mechanism into the force path between the spool and its axis of rotation. A selecting mechanism selectively activates the connecting means in response to a control signal.

A seat belt retractor has a spool mounted for rotation in the retractor for retraction or pay-out of seat belt webbing depending upon the rotation direction of the spool. A locking ring is attached to one end of the spool. A lock bar locks the locking ring against rotation when a crash is sensed. A load limiter allows further pay-out of the seat belt webbing after the spool has locked under the influence of a vehicle occupant's forward momentum. The load limiter is a torsion bar attached at one end to the locking ring and at the other end to the spool; and a wire releasably coupled in the force path between the spool and the locking ring. The resilient mechanism, i.e. the wire, decouples itself after a predetermined number of turns of the torsion bar. The thickness, length and composition of the wire, together with the number of wires may be chosen to suit a vehicle's crash criteria.

Seat belt retractor with multi-level load limiting

A seat belt has a buckle tongue stop that is resiliently deformable. The buckle tongue stop may be deformable laterally or in its width and may be formed of compressible bumps. The seat belt allows a child seat to be secured in a vehicle according to European regulations yet still enables the buckle tongue to be supported on the belt webbing at a convenient location for an adult vehicle occupant.

Seat belt with a buckle tongue stop

A seat belt retractor has a rotatably mounted spool for supporting seat belt webbing. An emergency locking mechanism selectively locks the spool against rotation. An automatic locking mechanism selectively locks the spool against paying out webbing. A switch has a first position for activating the automotive locking mechanism in dependence upon a predetermined amount of webbing being wound off the spool, and a second position for deactivating the automatic locking mechanism in dependence upon a predetermined amount of webbing being wound back onto the spool. A gear connects the spool with the switch mechanism having a first and a second actuator tab on the gear. A pivotally mounted actuator member has an actuator pawl for locking the spool and parts engaging with the first and second tabs to move the switch between the first and second positions. The tabs and the engaging parts are radially oriented in line, one with the other.

Seat belt retractor with automatic locking mechanism

A seat belt retractor operates in two distinct modes: a first, Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR), mode; and a second, Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR), mode. A toothed ratchet wheel is mounted to rotate with a spool that is biased in a seat belt webbing rewinding direction. A sensor detects an emergency condition of the vehicle. A vehicle acceleration sensor lever responsive to the sensor engages the ratchet wheel in the event of an emergency condition. The vehicle acceleration sensor lever performs two functions: it locks the retractor when the sensor detects accelerations and decelerations greater than a predetermined magnitude and it also prevents rotation of the spool in the seat belt webbing pay-out direction when operating in its second mode. A cam connected to the spool via a step-down gearing arrangement acts as a switch.

A spool for a vehicle safety restraint has a cylindrical central spool member made of two separate pieces. The cylindrical portion has a hollow section along its axis for accommodating seat belt webbing and a torsion bar, with a seat belt webbing entrance slot and a seat belt webbing exit slot. A filler plate is shaped to fit snugly into the entrance slot and to hold the parts of the spool assembly including the torsion bar and the spool against movement thereby holding the spool together.

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Carlisle, United Kingdom

Martyn N Palliser