The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 30, 1980
Filed:
Sep. 21, 1979
Algis G Augunas, Warren, MI (US);
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
A ratchet wheel carried by a rotatably mounted seat belt reel is selectively engageable by a pawl to prevent belt winding reel rotation and thereby hold the belt extended at a set slackened length about the occupant. The pawl is mounted on the housing in a manner which permits radial movement between ratchet wheel engaging and disengaging positions and for tangential shifting movement between a first limit in the winding direction and a second limit in the unwinding direction. The mounting of the pawl is effective to block radial movement to the engaging position when the pawl is tangentially positioned at the second limit in the unwinding direction. A control disc is frictionally clutched to the reel and has an abutment for shifting the pawl to the first limit upon reel winding and to the second limit upon reel unwinding. The control disc functions to engage the pawl with the ratchet wheel upon initiation of reel unwinding subsequent to a prior reel winding having shifted the pawl to the first limit to unblock the pawl for movement to the engaged position, thereby holding the belt at a slackened length with respect to the occupant. The disc is further effective to move the pawl to the disengaged position upon further reel unwinding and then shift the pawl to the second limit upon engagement by the abutment to again block the pawl in the disengaged position and thereby permit belt winding reel rotation to pull the belt taut against the occupant.