Seat belt retractor with automatic locking mechanism

A seat belt retractor comprising:

• a rotatably mounted spool for supporting seat belt webbing;
• an emergency locking mechanism for selectively locking the spool against rotation;
• an automatic locking mechanism for selectively locking the spool against pay out of the webbing;
• a switch having a first position for activating the automatic locking mechanism in dependence upon a predetermined amount of webbing being wound off the spool;
• a second position for deactivating the automatic locking mechanism in dependence upon a predetermined amount of webbing being wound back onto the spool;
• a gear for connecting the spool with the switch mechanism;
• the switch mechanism comprising a first and a second actuator tab on the gear;
• and
• a pivotally mounted octuator member having an actuator pawl for locking the spool and two spaced teeth engaging with the first and second tabs to move the switch between the first and second positions, wherein the tabs and said two spaced teeth are radially oriented in line, one with the other.