Seatbelt retractor having a cushioned sensor actuator

Abstract

A seatbelt retractor assembly (10) has a seatbelt retractor (14) and an actuator (26) for locking and unlocking the seatbelt retractor (1). An inertial sensor mass (30) detects changes in vehicle speed. The mass (30) has a guide surface (34) for interacting with the actuator (26). The guide surface (34) moves between an unlocking position (38) in which the actuator (26) unlocks the seatbelt retractor (14) and a locking position (42) in which the actuator (26) locks the seatbelt retractor (14). The actuator (26) has an actuator arm (25) with a surface contacting portion (54) in contact with the guide surface (34) and an open slot (57) above the surface contacting portion (54). The surface contacting portion (54) is connected to the actuator arm (25) by a beam structure (56) having a spring rate Kbeam sufficient to maintain the open slot (57) open during normal vehicle operation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.