GB1357369A - Inertia reels for vehicle safety belts - Google Patents

Abstract

1357369 Inertia reels for safety belts KANGOL MAGNET Ltd 18 Aug 1971 [6 Nov 1970] 38772/71 Divided out of 1357369 Heading A3V An inertia reel, Figs. 1 and 3, for a vehicle safety belt, comprises a spindle 18 rotatably mounted in the side limbs 14 and 16 of a pressing 10, a spring 19 for automatically taking-up slack in the belt, a pair of ratchet wheels 20 and 22 non-rotatably connected to the spindle, a locking bar 24 tiltably mounted in apertures in the limbs, and a bell-shaped pendulum 34 weighted at its mouth 38 and supported on a pin 36 secured to and extending upwardly from the floor of a bowl-shaped support member 30 having an overturned lip 42 extending through a circular aperture 44 in the limb 16 and engaging the outer side of the limb, there being an arcuate slot 46 below the aperture 44 through which extends a pin 48 connected to a flange 50 on the support member and by means of which the position of the support member may be adjusted to ensure that the pin 36 extends vertically in use. In use, when the vehicle is subject to acceleration the pendulum tilts causing a flat surface 40 at its upper end to move a trigger arm 52 pivotally mounted at one end 54 on the support member, the free end 56 of the trigger then contacts an abutment 58 on a pawl 60 pivotally mounted on the outer side of the limb 16 rotating the pawl until a tooth 64 engages a ratchet wheel 66 non-rotatably connected to the spindle, and any tension on the belt then causes the ratchet wheel 66 to further rotate the pawl until an abutment 68 on the pawl lifts the locking bar 24 into engagement with the ratchet wheels 20 and 22 locking the reel against any further rotation. Alternative embodiments are described which utilise a pendulum and a locking mechanism as described in the parent Specification 1356257/70. One of such alternative embodiments is illustrated in Fig. 11 in conjunction with a mechanism sensitive also to belt withdrawal rate, the reel having a further pawl member 232 pivotally carried on a member 230, the pawl having an abutment 236 at one end contacting the teeth of a further ratchet wheel 246 on the spindle, the movement of the ratchet teeth against the abutment 236 on belt withdrawal tending to rotate a tooth 234 at the other end of the pawl into engagement with the ratchet wheel such that at a predetermined rate of belt withdrawal the reel becomes locked.