Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho

Shingo Izuchi

Shinji Mori

Keiichi Tamura

Kenji Matsui

Tosio Saitou

Toshimasa Yamamoto

A lock mechanism for a webbing retractor prevents an occupant restraining webbing from being wound off from a webbing takeup shaft when a vehicular emergency occurs. The lock mechanism is provided with a member to which the rotational force of the takeup shaft is transmitted through frictional contact and which cancels the locked state of the lock mechanism when the takeup shaft rotates in the webbing wind-up direction. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the webbing from being gradually wound up when the vehicle is running thus avoiding any possibility of causing the webbing to undesirably tighten against the body of the occupant.

Locking mechanism for webbing retractor

A webbing lock apparatus for use in a vehicle has a U-shaped frame, and a webbing take-up shaft rotatably supported by a shaft carriage. The carriage is pivotally mounted on the frame and biased toward one direction. When an emergency situation of a vehicle occurs, a ratchet is activated so as to lock the take-up shaft and to cause the shaft carriage to pivot on the frame in another direction as a result of the webbing tension. This movement causes the webbing wound around the take-up shaft to abut against a fixed pressing member also mounted on the frame. In consequence, the amount of webbing wound off of the take-up shaft in an emergency situation of the vehicle is minimized.

Webbing lock apparatus

In a webbing retractor, a spring member is caused to abut on a webbing takeup shaft to be rotated together therewith by a frictional force between the takeup shaft and the spring member within a range defined by rotation restricting means, locking means for preventing a webbing unwinding rotation of the takeup shaft is put in a released situation when the spring member is rotated in a direction of a webbing unwinding, and the locking means is put a locking situation when the spring member is rotated in a direction of a webbing winding. Accordingly, an occupant can be put in a surely restrained situation by the webbing when the webbing is wound on the takeup shaft in a slight amount after the webbing is worn on the occupant, though the webbing retractor has a simple construction.

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Aichi, Japan

Shingo Izuchi