Motor vehicle safety devices
First Claim
1. An automatic locking safety belt mechanism comprising a safety belt movable between withdrawn and retracted positions, belt retraction means normally urging said belt toward its retracted position, braking means for alternatively releasing or locking said safety belt against withdrawal, an inertia switch, an RC timing circuit including a timing capacitor and a resistor, brake activating means including a braking solenoid operatively connected to said braking means and having a normal first position in which it deactivates said braking means for withdrawal of said safety belt, and a second position in which it activates said braking means to a safety belt locking position, a relay solenoid responsive to the voltage on said capacitor being within a predetermined range for bringing said braking solenoid to its second position, whereby to lock said safety belt through said braking means, and means responsive to the actuation of said inertia switch for imparting a voltage to said capacitor within said predetermined range, the charge on said capacitor changing through said resistor upon deactuation of said inertia switch to change said voltage to a value outside said predetermined range, said capacitor and resistor being operative to provide a selectively-controlled predetermined timing interval following the deactuation of said inertia switch and prior to deactivating of said braking means by said braking solenoid.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle safety belt system includes a spring rewind belt retractor reel provided with a solenoid actuated brake and a network controlled by an inertia switch to brake the reel by the energization or deenergization of the solenoid and to maintain the reel in a braked condition an adjustable time interval following the deactuation of the inertia switch. The network includes a solid state Darlington switch having across its input a memory capacitor which is charged by the actuation of the inertia switch and a relay across its output which controls the brake solenoid.
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Citations
8 Claims
- 1. An automatic locking safety belt mechanism comprising a safety belt movable between withdrawn and retracted positions, belt retraction means normally urging said belt toward its retracted position, braking means for alternatively releasing or locking said safety belt against withdrawal, an inertia switch, an RC timing circuit including a timing capacitor and a resistor, brake activating means including a braking solenoid operatively connected to said braking means and having a normal first position in which it deactivates said braking means for withdrawal of said safety belt, and a second position in which it activates said braking means to a safety belt locking position, a relay solenoid responsive to the voltage on said capacitor being within a predetermined range for bringing said braking solenoid to its second position, whereby to lock said safety belt through said braking means, and means responsive to the actuation of said inertia switch for imparting a voltage to said capacitor within said predetermined range, the charge on said capacitor changing through said resistor upon deactuation of said inertia switch to change said voltage to a value outside said predetermined range, said capacitor and resistor being operative to provide a selectively-controlled predetermined timing interval following the deactuation of said inertia switch and prior to deactivating of said braking means by said braking solenoid.
Specification