Breed Automotive Technology, Inc.

Steve Marshall

Martin Specht

Joseph Patrick Harte

Kenneth Williamson

Peter Jungbauer

Gerrit Kooy

A seat belt retractor has a belt reel mounted rotatably on a frame for retracting and letting out the seat belt. A belt webbing and/or vehicle sensitive sensor activates a control element which in. turn actuates a blocking device that blocks rotation of the belt reel. A load limiter allows a load-limiting rotation of the belt reel relative to at least one part of the load limiter when the blocking device is actuated. The blocking device can be guided by the load-limiting rotation of the belt reel into a permanent blocking position or readiness for the blocking position.

Seat belt retractor

A restraint device for a seat belt that can be wound on a belt reel has a belt tightener adapted to be driven by a propellant gas. The ignition of the propellant gas increases the working pressure in the pressure chamber so that the driving part of the belt tightener is moved in the driving direction. A load limiter cooperates with the belt reel and, after blocking of the belt reel, allows extraction of belt webbing with energy consumption. The working pressure in the pressure chamber can be reduced by a gas blowout passageway and, when the load limiter is actuated, the driving part remaining in a driving connection with the belt reel can be moved counter to the driving direction.

Device for restraining a seat belt

A vehicle seat belt retractor has a frame, a spool rotatably mounted to the frame and a spool locking device for locking the spool against rotation. The spool locking device includes actuating means for actuating the locking device. The actuating means is a support carrying a mass and a pawl, the mass being arranged to move from an initial position to an actuating position to actuate the pawl into engagement with the ratchet on the spool. The actuating means is an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the distance between the pawl and the ratchet. The adjustment mechanism may adjust the support relative to a housing, and adjust the tip of the pawl relative to the pawl body or a deformable pawl tip.

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Low Seaton, United Kingdom

Steve Marshall