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:
Feb. 03, 2004
Filed:
Nov. 30, 2001
Matthew C. Frank, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc., Lyndhurst, OH (US);
Abstract
An apparatus ( ) for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle seat ( ) comprises a seat belt ( ) and a seat belt retractor ( ) including a spool ( ) supported for rotation about a spool axis ( ) in a seat belt withdrawal direction ( ) and an opposite seat belt retraction direction ( ). An electric motor ( ) is energizable to rotate the spool ( ) in the seat belt retraction direction ( ) and is de-energizable. The electric motor ( ) is energizable to rotate the spool ( ) in the seat belt retraction direction ( ) to apply a predetermined amount of tension to the seat belt ( ). An electrically actuatable brake ( ) associated with the motor ( ) is actuatable to maintain the predetermined amount of tension on the seat belt ( ) after the motor applies the predetermined amount of tension to the seat belt.