Importance

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Abstract

An automatically locking safety belt retractor has a belt storage spool with side mounted ratchet wheels, a locking bar pivotally mounted in the retractor side walls with pawl teeth for engaging the ratchet wheels, a programming ratchet wheel mounted to turn with the spool, a programming pawl and associated vehicle inertia sensor means mounted on the locking bar to cause the programming pawl to engage the programming ratchet wheel in response to actuation of the sensor means, the programming pawl movement imparted by the programming ratchet lifting the locking bar into engagement with the spool ratchet wheels and control means for preventing movement of the programming pawl when the webbing is not protracted to a position of use, the exemplary control means including a webbing sensor arm formed integrally of the programming pawl and shaped to engage webbing build up on the spool inwardly of the spool side ratchet wheel while the programming pawl engages a programming ratchet outwardly of the spool ratchet wheel.

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First Claim