Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a vehicle seat belt retractor having an activation system that responds to an anti-locking braking system and that actuates the retractor to prevent protraction of the seat belt. The preferred activation system includes a control circuit that energizes an activation mechanism when the anti-locking braking system is activated and prohibits energization of the activation mechanism when the braking system is deactivated. The preferred activation mechanism is a small modular unit which is externally mounted to a seat belt retractor and which generally includes a base, an activation lever and a solenoid. The base is mounted to the side of the retractor, and the solenoid and the activation lever are mounted on the base. More particularly, the activation lever is pivotally mounted on the base and extends into the retractor to a position underneath the pawl of the retractor.

Abstract: A dual spring seat-belt retractor system with a tension-ease system operable to provide one of two springs continuously maintaining a retractive force on the belt to maintain the belt against the wearer in the tension-ease mode, which tension-ease system is automatically initiated at the cessation of belt protraction with a slight retraction to engage latch means that renders one of the springs ineffective to provide a reduced belt tension. A lost motion connection between the belt reel and the latch means permits limited belt movement by the user while maintaining the reduced tension until a predetermined retraction occurs.

Abstract: A compact safety belt retractor is provided with a large coil of webbing on a rotatable reel and locking pawl teeth are able to have locking engagement with toothed wheels on the reel even when the coil of webbing has a larger diameter than the diameter of a circle defined by the teeth of the ratchet wheels. The coil of webbing preferably extends the full depth of the retractor from front edges of the sidewalls of the frame to the rear frame wall of the retractor. Thus, a large coil of webbing may be stored for the depth of the retractor. To reduce the side-to-side width of retractor, it is preferred to have reel ratchet wheels mounted in the plane of the frame sidewalls and to have the pawl teeth also mounted in openings in the sidewalls of the retractor frame. The pawl teeth are elongated columns and are loaded in columnar manner with substantially small shear or bending stresses thereon.

Abstract: An inertia retractor may be provided with an automatic locking mode by the addition of an assembly mounted as an attachment to sidewall of the inertia retractor. The assembly allows the retractor to be used as an inertia retractor until the belt is pulled to a predetermined extent whereupon a belt coil sensor senses this predetermined belt extraction and operates an actuator to shift a pawl into locking engagement with the ratchet wheels and thereby into the automatic locking mode. When the belt rewinds, the belt coil sensor deactivates the ALR mechanism by latching the pawl actuator thereby allowing an inertia member to again operate the pawl to the locking position upon a deceleration of sufficient magnitude.

Abstract: A safety belt retractor which has a belt gripping or braking mechanism that is movable between a belt gripping position and an inactive position. The braking mechanism includes a brake shoe which engages one side of the seat belt webbing and forces the opposite side of the webbing into tight frictional engagement with a compressible elastomeric pad having a high coefficient of friction. The filaments of the seat belt are compressed into the compressible pad and the pad protrudes into interstices between the filaments. This gripping action by the pad increases the pull load by a substantial amount, for example, about ten percent (10%).

Abstract: A seat belt buckle having a buckle frame and a pivotal latching member mounted therein includes an improved actuating system which locks the latching member and which assists in ejecting a tongue plate from the frame when the latch mechanism is in its open position. The actuating system includes a stirrup-like linkage including a cylindrical ejector member joined at each end to a pair of pivotally mounted arms. A locking cylinder also extends between the arms. A generally U-shaped retainer includes flat plate-like walls which are pinned to the pair of arms. The ejector member making up the central portion of the stirrup is mounted for sliding reciprocation in a slider member which is attached thereto with a snap-lock action. The slider member includes a sliding tail which reciprocates back and forth in the buckle frame.

Abstract: Disclosed is a safety belt buckle including a switch which is preferably located between the buckle frame and a bottom cover of the buckle. An ejector for the tongue plate slides on a bottom web of the buckle frame and the ejector is displaced by entry of a tongue plate into the buckle frame. The ejector includes a portion projecting through an opening in the buckle base to a switch mounted in a cavity in the bottom cover and this portion engages a movable switch contact to open and close the switch.