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AssigneeBreed Automotive Technology, Inc.
InventorsAlan Smithson, David Blackadder, John Taylor, Andrew Downie, Joe Harte, Andrew Park, Elizabeth Rees
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A load limiting device is used with a vehicle seat belt during a crash to allow a limited and controlled forward motion of a vehicle occupant after the retractor has locked. The load limiting device decreases the forces exerted by the seat belt on the vehicle occupant's torso. The load limiting device has a container which defines a flow path for a fluid, with a restriction in the flow path. An actuator is located within the container and is movable within the container under the action of a load transmitted to the seat belt webbing from the vehicle occupant under extreme acceleration conditions, to move the fluid through the restriction in the flow path to dissipate a predetermined portion of the load on the webbing.
A load limiting device for use with a vehicle safety restraint having seat belt webbing attached to a structural part of a vehicle, the load limiting device comprising a cylinder defining a flow path for a fluid, a piston arranged within the cylinder and operable to act on the fluid, a restriction in the flow path of the fluid, a spring interposed between the piston and an end of said cylinder in the direction that the piston will move in the event of a crash, and a crush tube arranged inside said cylinder and coaxial therewith interposed between the piston and said end of said cylinder in the direction that the piston will move in the event of a crash, wherein the piston is movable within the cylinder under the action of a load transmitted to the webbing from a vehicle occupant, to move the fluid through the restriction in the flow path and compress said spring and deform said crush tube to dissipate a portion of the load on the webbing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.