Face clutch vehicle sensitive inertial retractors

Abstract

A vehicle sensitive inertial retractor for safety belting and the like which includes a frame or base supporting a webbing receptacle in the form of a spring motor loaded reel or drum and biased to rewind. The frame also supports a saddle and the saddle provides a fulcrum seat for an inertially displaceable pendulum mass. A lever, pivotal in the frame is positioned to engage the pendulum in a following relation and a finger portion of the lever holds a face clutch plate against movement corresponding to the outgoing of the adjacent drum or reel which accompanies withdrawal of webbing. The clutch plate includes a cam portion which normally blocks a spring biased pawl bar from lock engagement with ratchet wheels on the reel or drum. Clutch rotation limiting means are also provided in the frame of the retractor restricting the extremes of rotation of the clutch plate in the manner of a stop. The retractor construction is of the inertial locking type in which a mass displaces a lever and the lever thereupon frees a face type friction clutch for limited rotation with the drum of the retractor. Upon the limited displacement of the clutch, the blocking cam is moved away from blocking relation with tbe spring loaded pawl bar and the pawl bar thereupon pivots in the retractor frame to engage the ratchet teeth on the drum flanges and thus preventing any further withdrawal of webbing from the retractor. As a consequence, webbing is freely withdrawn from and retracted onto the retractor reel except under sensed inertial imbalance.