Seat belt retracting and locking mechanism

Abstract

A seat belt retractor and locking mechanism includes a cable attached to the restraint belt and attached to a spring biased reel. A housing encircles the cable and encloses first and second collet members having aligned inner walls with mating recesses defining a cable passage therethrough and opposed-facing angularly-inclined outer walls. First and second rollers are interposed respectively between the housing and the inclined outer walls of the collet members. A pair of spring clips acting between the collet members and an adjustable support plate for the rollers cooperate to establish a normal spaced apart position of the collet members in which the cable passes freely through the cable passage during belt extension and retraction induced by winding and unwinding of the cable from the reel. A pendulum sensitive to a predetermined magnitude of vehicle deceleration is effective to initiate axial movement of the collet members so that the rollers coact with the inclined outer walls to contract the collet members into gripping engagement with the cable. The forward momentum of the occupant imparts a load on the restraint belt and cable so that the coaction between the rollers and the inclined outer walls cause the cable to be progressively gripped to thereby lock the effective length of the restraint belt.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.