Seat belt retractor with energy management
First Claim
1. A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:
- a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions;
means for stopping rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction;
means for enabling rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and upon the occurrence of tension in the webbing above a predetermined amount;
cutter means located radially within said spool sleeve for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount;
said means for stopping said spool sleeve including a member rotatable in the withdrawal and retraction directions, and means for blocking rotation of said rotatable member in the withdrawal direction, said spool sleeve being rotatable relative to said rotatable member in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; and
a shaft fixed for rotation with said rotatable member, said cutter means being constrained to rotate with said shaft and being movable along said shaft during rotation of said spool sleeve relative to said rotatable member in the webbing withdrawal direction, said cutter means cutting a helical groove in said spool as said cutter means rotates with said shaft and moves along said shaft.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
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).
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:
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a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions; means for stopping rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction; means for enabling rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and upon the occurrence of tension in the webbing above a predetermined amount; cutter means located radially within said spool sleeve for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; said means for stopping said spool sleeve including a member rotatable in the withdrawal and retraction directions, and means for blocking rotation of said rotatable member in the withdrawal direction, said spool sleeve being rotatable relative to said rotatable member in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; and a shaft fixed for rotation with said rotatable member, said cutter means being constrained to rotate with said shaft and being movable along said shaft during rotation of said spool sleeve relative to said rotatable member in the webbing withdrawal direction, said cutter means cutting a helical groove in said spool as said cutter means rotates with said shaft and moves along said shaft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:
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a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions; means for stopping rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction; means for enabling rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and upon the occurrence of tension in the webbing above a predetermined amount; cutter means located radially within said spool sleeve for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; said means for stopping said spool sleeve including a member rotatable in the withdrawal and retraction directions, and means for blocking rotation of said rotatable member in the withdrawal direction, said spool sleeve being rotatable relative to said rotatable member in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; and a second rotatable member rotatable in the webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions, and means for blocking rotation of said second rotatable member in the withdrawal direction, said spool sleeve being rotatable in the webbing withdrawal direction relative to said second rotatable member, said cutter means including a first cutting device which cuts into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates relative to said first rotatable member, and a second cutting device which cuts into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates relative to said second rotatable member. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:
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a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions; means for stopping rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction; means for enabling rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and upon the occurrence of tension in the webbing above a predetermined amount; and cutter means located radially within said spool sleeve for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; wherein said cutter means has a cutting element for penetrating the material of the spool sleeve; and wherein said cutting element is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to a rotational axis of said spool sleeve for causing said cutter means to move axially relative to said spool sleeve during cutting of said spool sleeve by said cutter means. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23)
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15. A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:
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a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions; means for stopping rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction; means for enabling rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and upon the occurrence of tension in the webbing above a predetermined amount; and cutter means located radially within said spool sleeve for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; said spool sleeve including a plurality of pieces; said plurality of pieces including first and second pieces each having a hollow half cylinder shape and each having two sides extending parallel to a rotational axis of the spool sleeve, said sides of said first piece engage said sides of said second piece. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:
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a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions; means for stopping rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction; means for enabling rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and upon the occurrence of tension in the webbing above a predetermined amount; and cutter means for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount, said cutter means including means for causing said cutter means to move along a rotational axis of said spool sleeve during cutting of said spool sleeve by said cutter means; wherein said cutter means includes a helical projection extending about the axis. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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24. A seat belt retractor comprising:
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a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable about a rotational axis in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions; means for stopping rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction; means for enabling rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and upon the occurrence of tension in the webbing above a predetermined amount; and cutter means for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; said spool sleeve comprising a plurality of pieces fitted together and extending around the rotational axis of the spool sleeve; said plurality of pieces including first and second pieces, said first and second pieces each having a hollow half cylinder shape and each having two sides extending parallel to the axis, said sides of said first piece engage said sides of said second piece. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:
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a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable about a rotational axis in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions; means for stopping rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction; means for enabling rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and upon the occurrence of tension in the webbing above a predetermined amount; and cutter means for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction subsequent to being stopped by said means for stopping and in response to tension in the webbing above the predetermined amount; said spool sleeve comprising a plurality of pieces fitted together and extending around the rotational axis of the spool sleeve; said cutter means includes a portion inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the axis for causing said cutter means to move axially relative to said spool sleeve during cutting of said spool sleeve by said cutter means. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A seat belt webbing retractor for a vehicle, said retractor comprising:
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a spool sleeve around which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool sleeve being rotatable about a rotational axis in webbing withdrawal and webbing retraction directions; means for resisting rotation of said spool sleeve in the webbing withdrawal direction including cutter means for cutting into said spool sleeve when said spool sleeve rotates in the webbing withdrawal direction; and means for changing the amount of resistance provided by said means for resisting. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification