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:
Oct. 20, 1998
Filed:
Oct. 10, 1996
Wendell C Lane, Jr, Romeo, MI (US);
Barney J Bauer, Fenton, MI (US);
Charles E Steffens, Jr, Washington, MI (US);
Robert D Sayles, Rochester, MI (US);
TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc., Lyndhurst, OH (US);
Abstract
A spool sleeve (78) is rotatable in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions (A, B). A lock pawl (122) engageable with a ratchet wheel (114), stops rotation of the spool sleeve (78) in the webbing withdrawal direction (A). The spool sleeve (78) is rotatable relative to the ratchet wheel (114) upon the occurrence of tension in webbing (16) above a predetermined amount. A cutter (94) is located radially within the spool sleeve (78) for cutting the spool sleeve (78) when the spool sleeve (78) rotates relative to the stopped ratchet wheel (114). In one preferred embodiment, the cutter (220) includes a portion (226) which is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to a rotational axis (164) of the spool sleeve (192) to cause the cutter (220) to move axially relative to the spool sleeve. In another preferred embodiment, the spool sleeve (284, 286) is comprised of a plurality of pieces fitted together to extend around the axis (164). In another preferred embodiment, the rotation of the spool sleeve (396, 398) is resisted and the amount of resistance can be changed. Two cutters (472, 510) provide different amounts of resistance when they cut the spool sleeve (396, 398).