Emergency locking seat belt retractor

An emergency locking seatbelt retractor, comprising:

• a spool shaft;
• first and second spool side flanges coupled to the spool shaft, the first and second spool side flanges having a spool diameter;
• a plurality of ratchet teeth circumferentially disposed about the first and second spool side flanges;
• a lock bar operative to selectively engage the ratchet teeth, thereby preventing rotation of the spool shaft in a first direction;
• a lock bar spring operative to bias the lock bar toward engagement with the ratchet teeth;
• a quantity of webbing material fixedly attached to the spool shaft and wound therearound in a retracted position;
• a lock plate rotatable through a limited arc between a first position and a second position;
• a toothed wheel mounted to the spool shaft for rotation therewith and selectively engageable with the lock plate;
• and
• an emergency sensor operative to couple the lock plate to the toothed wheel when activated;
• wherein the lock plate remains in the first position when the emergency sensor is not activated and biases the lock bar against the lock bar spring, thereby preventing engagement between the lock bar and the ratchet teeth;
• and
• wherein activation of the emergency sensor causes the lock plate to couple to the toothed wheel, thereby rotating the lock plate to the second position upon withdrawal of the webbing from the retractor, the lock plate thereby ceasing to bias the lock bar and allowing the lock bar spring to bias the lock bar toward engagement with the ratchet teeth.

An emergency locking seatbelt retractor, comprising:

• a spool shaft;
• first and second spool side flanges coupled to the spool shaft, the first and second spool side flanges having a spool diameter;
• a plurality of ratchet teeth circumferentially disposed about the first and second spool side flanges;
• a lock bar operative to selectively engage the ratchet teeth, thereby preventing rotation of the spool shaft in a first direction;
• a quantity of webbing material fixedly attached to the spool shaft and wound therearound in a retracted position;
• and
• a vehicle sensor operative to bias the lock bar toward engagement with the ratchet teeth in response to a lateral acceleration of the vehicle sensor above a predetermined limit, the vehicle sensor comprising:
• a frame having a bottom frame surface;
• a spherical ball positioned on the bottom frame surface;
• a cap pivotally mounted to the frame, the cap covering an upper portion of the ball;
• and
• an arm coupled to the frame and extending through the cap, wherein the arm limits vertical movement of the ball without limiting lateral movement of the ball;
• wherein lateral movement of the ball relative to the frame pivots the cap in a vertical direction, causing the lock bar to be biased toward engagement with the ratchet teeth.

An emergency locking seatbelt retractor, comprising:

• a spool shaft;
• first and second spool side flanges coupled to the spool shaft, the first and second spool side flanges having a spool diameter;
• a plurality of ratchet teeth circumferentially disposed about the first and second spool side flanges;
• a lock bar operative to selectively engage the ratchet teeth, thereby preventing rotation of the spool shaft in a first direction;
• a quantity of webbing material fixedly attached to the spool shaft and wound therearound in a retracted position,
• means for initiating engagement of the lock bar with the ratchet teeth with said means having a locked position and and unlocked position;
• and,
• noise means connected to said shaft operable to provide a noise warning when a predetermined amount of said webbing material is withdrawn from said spool shaft in said retracted position while said means for initiating is in said locked position.

An emergency locking seatbelt retractor, comprising:

• a spool shaft;
• first and second spool side flanges coupled to the spool shaft, the first and second spool side flanges having a spool diameter;
• a plurality of ratchet teeth circumferentially disposed about the first and second spool side flanges;
• a lock bar operative to selectively engage the ratchet teeth, thereby preventing rotation of the spool shaft in a first direction;
• a quantity of webbing material fixedly attached to the spool shaft and wound therearound in a retracted position;
• an initiator operable to initiate engagement of the lock bar with the ratchet teeth;
• and
• an isolator operable to isolate the initiator from withdrawal forces applied to the lock bar once the lock bar has engaged the ratchet teeth.