GB1526240A - Safety belts - Google Patents

Abstract

1526240 Safety belts AMERICAN SAFETY EQUIPMENT CORP 30 Dec 1975 [31 Oct 1975 26 Nov 1975] 53193/75 Heading A3V To prevent undue tensioning of a seat belt in normal use a pawl 20 and ratchet wheel 41 are provided to prevent reeling in of the belt beyond a certain point thus preventing undue pressure on the passenger during normal use. An arm 10 with belt engaging roller 13 is pivotally mounted and urged against the belt by a spring 12 the arm having a surface 11 which can act on a pin 24 on pawl 20 to lift it out of engagement with ratchet 41. A friction wheel 30 is mounted for limited rotation controlled by a pin 32 thereon moving in a slot 9 the wheel 30 having a cam surface 31 which acts on a pin 22 on pawl 20. In operation starting from a stored position of the belt initial protraction of the belt will cause arm 10 to move in a clockwise direction before the reel is rotated. The pawl 20 is held unlocked by surface 31 but as soon as the reel rotates the disc 30 rotates to allow latching of the pawl 20. When protraction ceases the pawl 20 latches into teeth 41 of wheel 40 and prevents further retraction and any slack in the belt is taken up by the spring biassed arm 10. If the slackness is too great the pawl 20 is released by arm 10 and a further rewinding takes place. In an emergency condition a pivotable weight 8 causes teeth 5 to engage in ratchet wheels 4, 4' thus locking the belt against unwinding. Several embodiments of tension relieving mechanisms are described.