Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Richard D Loose

Alfonsas Arlauskas

Gregory S Ches

Kenneth M Zawisa

Harley L Kapanka

Edward J Plesniarski

Juan M Capo

Carl E Hedeen

Michael J Wendzinski

Joseph W Struck

John De Bano

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

A seat belt guide loop is comprised of a stamped metal bracket having an aperture adapted to receive a bolt for pivotally mounting the guide loop on a vehicle body pillar. The stamped metal bracket has a belt slot therein of a width somewhat greater than the width of the belt and a height greater than the thickness of the belt. A molded plastic cover is molded in situ upon the stamped metal bracket and overlies the lower wall of the belt slot to define a low friction wall over which the belt is slidable. This plastic cover has a clearance slot which underlies the low friction wall and cooperates therewith to define a plastic bridge integral with and supporting the low friction wall. The clearance slot is of a width somewhat less than the width of the belt. When the belt is loaded during the restraint of an occupant, the plastic bridge elastically yields whereby the low friction wall bows into a curvilinear sagging configuration by which the belt is induced to remain in the center of the belt slot against any tendency to migrate to a bunched up condition at one end of the belt slot.

Seat belt guide loop

A seat belt retractor is comprised of a minimum number of component parts which may be interchangeably and optionally assembled upon a standard frame to provide a desired combination of mechanisms which control rotation of the belt reel. The optional control mechanisms include spring windup, belt sensitive lockup, vehicle sensitive lockup, and a comfort device for relieving tension on the belt. A pair of support members abut against the side walls of the frame to carry the control mechanisms and have integral bushings which journal the reel shaft. Covers are provided to enclose the operating mechanisms and have plug-in projections which extend through aligned apertures of the support members and frame side walls to attach the support members and associated control mechanism interchangeably on either of the frame side walls. The frame has first and second opposed facing pairs of mounting apertures to selectively mount the lock bar for engagement with oncoming sprocket teeth regardless of the selected direction of belt unwinding reel rotation. One of the support members carries the inertia weight and has first and second pairs of oppositely arranged apertured mounting bosses for selective alternate mounting of a lock bar energizing pawl to orient the pawl for engagement with oncoming gear teeth carried by the sprocket regardless of the direction of belt unwinding reel rotation.

Seat belt retractor

A seat belt retractor includes a housing having laterally spaced first and second housing walls and a belt reel journaled for rotation by a reel shaft extending between the housing walls. A ratchet plate is attached to each end of the reel. A lock bar extends between the housing walls and has locking teeth adapted to selectively engage the ratchet plates to lock the reel against belt unwinding so that occupant movement away from the seat imposes an occupant restraint load on the belt which tends to spool down the belt on the reel. A belt clamping mechanism is mounted on the housing and is operable in response to the imposition of occupant restraint load on the belt subsequent to lockup of the belt reel to a clamp the belt against extending from the reel. A manually actuable release mechanism is operable by the occupant to forcibly disengage the lock bar from engagement with the ratchet plate and to simultaneously forcibly disengage the belt clamping mechanism from the belt to assure restoration of belt winding and unwinding.

Lock bar and belt clamp release for seat belt retractor

A seat belt retractor includes a belt reel rotated in the belt winding direction by a winding spring. An inertia actuated reel locking device acts to selectively lock the reel against belt unwinding rotation so that a load imposed on the belt during restraint of an occupant tends to tighten or spool down the wound-up belt stored on the reel. A belt clamp mechanism for limiting the extension of belt from the reel subsequent to reel lockup includes a lever pivotally mounted on the housing and having a belt clamping surface at one end thereof overlying the belt wound-up on the reel. A spring urges the lever to a normal position in which the belt clamping surface is spaced from the wound-up belt. The belt passes around a belt roller at the other end of the lever so that the imposition of occupant restraint load on the belt simultaneous with lockup of the reel by the inertia locking means forcibly pivots the lever to carry the belt clamping surface into clamping engagement of the belt wound upon the reel and thereby prevent belt from spooling off the reel.

Belt clamping retractor

A seat belt retractor includes a housing having laterally spaced first and second housing walls and a belt reel journaled for rotation by a reel shaft extending between the housing walls. A ratchet plate is attached to each end of the reel. A lock bar extends between the housing side walls and has locking teeth at the ends thereof adapted for selective engagement with the ratchet plates upon pivotal movement of the lock bar toward the ratchet plate. A release member is provided to forcibly disengage the lock bar from engagement with the ratchet plates and includes laterally spaced first and second abutment portions which respectively extend between the ratchet plate and the adjacent housing wall to overlie the locking teeth of the lock bar in spaced relation therefrom. A manually actuated release lever moves the release member into simultaneous engagement with the locking teeth at both ends of the lock bar to forcibly disengage the lock bar from engagement with the ratchet plates to permit belt unwinding rotation.

Lock bar release for inertia locking seat belt retractor

An extruded resilient plastic reveal molding for a vehicle body window installation has a decorative trim portion adapted to bridge the space between the window panel and the body in overlying engagement therewith. The molding has a stem extruded integral with the decorative trim portion and extending generally normal therefrom for insertion into the space between the window panel and the body panel. A bulbous enlargement at the distal end of the stem projects into the adhesive for embedment therein upon curing of the adhesive. A plurality of retrorse fins extend outwardly from both sides of the stem and are angled toward the decorative trim portion for respective engagement with the edge of the window panel and the body panel flange to resiliently and yieldably center the stem therebetween. The stem and flange yield to permit tilting of the decorative trim portion into overlying engagement with the window panel and body panel when the window panel is mounted in a plane offset from the plane of the body panel. The fins on each side of the stem provide serially arranged dams and reservoirs to prevent overflow of adhesive onto the molding and the panels.

Window reveal molding

An inertia seat back lock includes a frame secured to the seat cushion member and having side walls pivotally supporting the shaft portion of a reel. A coil spring secured to the shaft portion and an abutment of one side wall biases the reel in a winding direction. A strap secured to the reel and to the pivoted seat back member normally permits free pivoting movement of the back member relative to the cushion member as the reel unwinds and winds. An inertia responsive member pivoted to the frame includes a pawl portion traversing toothed end plates of the reel and a pair of extensions overlying the shaft portion and located between the end plates and the frame side walls. The center of gravity of the inertia member normally locates the pawl portion out of the path of the end plates. When a predetermined deceleration level is exceeded, the inertia member pivots relative to the frame and the pawl portion engages one tooth of each of the end plates to block forward tilting movement of the back member relative to the cushion member. The flexible strap takes up a portion of the shock loads. The spring is initially preloaded and hooked to the reel. When the reel is assembled to the frame and the strap is initially unwound, the outer end of the spring is transferred to the abutment of the frame side wall.

Inertia seat back lock

An inertia seat back lock includes first and second pivotally interconnected members respectively secured to a seat back and seat cushion to pivot the back to the cushion for forward tilting movement. The first member includes a pair of detent shoulders spaced circumferentially of each other relative to the seat back pivot to define respective first and second locked positions of the seat back. The first member has a first limit shoulder engageable with a stop on the second member to define the forward limit position of normal tilting movement of the seat back. An inertia member pivoted to the second member engages a stop on the second member under gravity bias to positively locate a latch shoulder thereof in a normal inoperative position out of the path of movement of the detent shoulders during normal tilting movement of the seat back. The center of gravity of the inertia member is below the pivot thereof. Inertia forces applied to the seat cushion are transferred to the inertia member to swing the inertia member to an operative position in the path of movement of the detent shoulders for engagement by one shoulder to lock the seat back in a respective locked position against tilting movement. The line of force between the engaged shoulders is normal to a line between the engaged shoulders and seat back pivot to bias the inertia member further toward the operative position and maintain the shoulders in engagement. A second limit shoulder of the first member engages the inertia member pivot to locate the seat back in upright position. A manually operable push button may be provided to swing the inertia member from the operative position to the inoperative position prior to full cessation of the inertia forces.

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Birmingham, MI, United States of America

Richard D Loose