Seat belt retractor with cinch mechanism

A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:

• a spool on which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool being rotatable about a first axis in a belt winding direction and in an opposite belt withdrawal direction;
• a ratchet rotatable about said first axis;
• a lock pawl movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position in engagement with said ratchet to block rotation of said ratchet in the belt withdrawal direction to block rotation of said spool in the belt withdrawal direction;
• an actuator movable to move said lock pawl between the disengaged position and the engaged position;
• an intermediate lever mounted on said actuator and movable relative to said actuator to effect movement of said actuator;
• a cinch lever engageable with said intermediate lever for moving said intermediate lever, said cinch lever being movable between a non-cinching position and a cinching position in which said cinch lever causes said intermediate lever to effect movement of said actuator and in turn movement of said lock pawl;
• a spring biasing said cinch lever toward the cinching position and biasing said intermediate lever;
• and
• a cinch control mechanism for controlling movement of said cinch lever to control movement of said lock pawl into the engaged position to block rotation of said spool in the belt withdrawal direction after a first predetermined amount of seat belt webbing is withdrawn from said spool and then a second predetermined amount of webbing is rewound on said spool;
• said cinch control mechanism comprising means for maintaining said cinch lever in the non-cinching position during withdrawal of the first predetermined amount of webbing including a drive disc rotatable about said first axis and having a cam lobe movable into engagement with said cinch lever upon rotation of said drive disc about said first axis in the belt withdrawal direction and movable out of engagement with said cinch lever upon rotation of said spool in the belt winding direction after winding of said second predetermined amount of belt webbing to allow said spring to move said cinch lever into the cinching position to cause said lock pawl to move into the engaged position.

A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:

• a spool on which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool being rotatable about a first axis in a belt winding direction and in an opposite belt withdrawal direction;
• a ratchet rotatable about said first axis;
• a pawl pivotally movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position in engagement with said ratchet to block rotation of said ratchet in the belt withdrawal direction to block rotation of said spool in the belt withdrawal direction;
• a gear train having a plurality of gears rotatable in response to rotation of said spool including one gear which is rotatable about a second axis which is spaced from said first axis and which moves around said first axis;
• a control mechanism for controlling movement of said pawl into the engaged position to block rotation of said spool in the belt withdrawal direction after a first predetermined amount of seat belt webbing is withdrawn from said spool and then a second predetermined amount of webbing is rewound on said spool;
• said control mechanism including a member which rotates in response to rotation of said spool;
• said member being rotatable about said first axis in response to movement of said second axis of said one gear around said first axis to control movement of said pawl between the engaged position and the disengaged position;
• a cinch lever engageable with said lock pawl for moving said lock pawl into the engaged position, said cinch lever being movable between a non-cinching position in which said lock pawl is in the disengaged position and a cinching position in which said cinch lever causes said lock pawl to move into the engaged position, said cinch lever being moveable between the non-cinching position and the cinching position in response to rotation of said member about said first axis;
• and
• a spring biasing said cinch lever toward the cinching position and biasing said lock pawl into the engaged position;
• said rotatable member including a first cam lobe movable relative to said cinch lever upon rotation of said rotatable member to move said cinch lever radially between the cinching position and the non-cinching position, said control mechanism further including a cam disc rotatable about said first axis, said cam disc having a portion engageable by said rotatable member to drive said cam disc for rotation in response to rotation of said rotatable member, said cam disc including a second cam lobe axially coincident with said first cam lobe on said rotatable member, said second cam lobe being movable relative to said cinch lever upon rotation of said cam disc to move said cinch lever radially between the cinching position and the non-cinching position.

A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:

• a spool on which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool being rotatable about a first axis in a belt winding direction and in an opposite belt withdrawal direction;
• a ratchet rotatable about said first axis;
• a pawl pivotally movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position in engagement with said ratchet to block rotation of said ratchet in the belt withdrawal direction to block rotation of said spool in the belt withdrawal direction;
• a gear train having a plurality of gears rotatable in response to rotation of said spool including one gear which is rotatable about a second axis which is spaced from said first axis and which moves around said first axis;
• and
• a control mechanism for controlling movement of said pawl into the engaged position to block rotation of said spool in the belt withdrawal direction after a first predetermined amount of seat belt webbing is withdrawn from said spool and then a second predetermined amount of webbing is rewound on said spool;
• said control mechanism including a member which rotates in response to rotation of said spool;
• said member being rotatable about said first axis in response to movement of said second axis of said one gear around said first axis to control movement of said pawl between the engaged position and the disengaged position;
• said rotatable member including surface means for defining a circular opening in said rotatable member centered on said second axis, said one gear being disposed in said opening.

A seat belt webbing retractor comprising:

• a spool on which seat belt webbing is wound, said spool being rotatable about a first axis in a belt winding direction and in an opposite belt withdrawal direction;
• a ratchet rotatable about said first axis;
• a pawl pivotally movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position in engagement with said ratchet to block rotation of said ratchet in the belt withdrawal direction to block rotation of said spool in the belt withdrawal direction;
• a gear train having a plurality of gears rotatable in response to rotation of said spool including one gear which is rotatable about a second axis which is spaced from said first axis and which moves around said first axis;
• a control mechanism for controlling movement of said pawl into the engaged position to block rotation of said spool in the belt withdrawal direction after a first predetermined amount of seat belt webbing is withdrawn from said spool and then a second predetermined amount of webbing is rewound on said spool;
• said control mechanism including a member which rotates in response to rotation of said spool;
• said member being rotatable about said first axis in response to movement of said second axis of said one gear around said first axis to control movement of said pawl between the engaged position and the disengaged position;
• and
• a cinch lever engageable with said lock pawl for moving said lock pawl into the engaged position, said cinch lever being movable between a non-cinching position in which said lock pawl is in the disengaged position and a cinching position in which said cinch lever causes said lock pawl to move into the engaged position, said cinch lever being movable between the non-cinching position and the cinching position in response to rotation of said rotatable member about said first axis;
• said rotatable member comprising a generally planar drive disc including a circular disc portion and a first cam lobe projecting radially outward and axially from said disc portion, said first cam lobe being movable relative to said cinch lever upon rotation of said rotatable member to move said cinch lever radially between the cinching position and the non-cinching position;
• said control mechanism further including a cam disc rotatable about said first axis, said cam disc having a second cam lobe engageable by said first cam lobe on said drive disc to drive said cam disc for rotation in response to rotation of said rotatable member, said second cam lobe on said cam disc being axially coincident with said first cam lobe on said rotatable member, said second cam lobe being movable relative to said cinch lever upon rotation of said cam disc to move said cinch lever radially between the cinching position and the non-cinching position.