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:
Jun. 10, 1997
Filed:
Oct. 24, 1995
Robert D Sayles, Rochester, MI (US);
TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc., Lyndhurst, OH (US);
Abstract
A seat belt retractor (10) has a spool assembly (14) with a spool sleeve (34) on which a seat belt webbing (16) is wound. The spool sleeve (34) is supported for rotation in webbing retraction and webbing withdrawal directions (A, B). A ratchet wheel (48) is provided for stopping rotation of the spool sleeve (34) in the webbing withdrawal direction (B). The ratchet wheel (48) is rotatable with the spool sleeve (34) in the webbing retraction and webbing withdrawal directions (A, B). A blocking mechanism (72) prevents rotation of the ratchet wheel (48) in the webbing withdrawal direction (B) to stop rotation of the spool sleeve (34). A portion (62, 64) of said spool sleeve (34) can deform a portion (54, 58) of the ratchet wheel (48). When the ratchet wheel (48) is prevented from rotating by the blocking mechanism (72) and a withdrawal force above a predetermined amount is applied to the webbing (16), the spool sleeve (34) is permitted to rotate in the webbing withdrawal direction (B) relative to the ratchet wheel (48) by deformation of the ratchet wheel, thereby absorbing kinetic energy. In another embodiment, a member (120) is mounted to rotate with a ratchet wheel (110) as a unit. Deformation of the member (120) can occur to absorb energy when the ratchet wheel (110) is blocked. In another embodiment a wheel (330) and a ratchet wheel (358) are provided and deformation of each can occur. Other embodiments are disclosed.