Patent ID: 6405962
Filing Date: 2002-06-18
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
A retractor for use with a seat belt webbing, comprising:a retractor base; a substantially cylindrical-shaped winding shaft assembly which is integrally formed and is rotatably supported on said retractor base and around which a seat belt webbing can be wound; a torsion bar to be inserted through a center hole formed in said winding shaft assembly in such a manner that one end thereof is connected to said winding shaft assembly in a mutually unrotatable manner and the other end thereof is connected to a locking member in a mutually unrotatable manner; an emergency lock mechanism which , in a vehicle emergency, connects said locking member to said retractor base to stop the rotation of said torsion bar to thereby prevent said winding shaft assembly from rotating in a webbing pull-out direction thereof, said emergency lock mechanism being structured such that, when said emergency lock mechanism is in operation and also a tensile force acting on said webbing exceeds a given value, said emergency lock mechanism can absorb a shock produced in the body of an occupant by means of the torsional deformation of said torsion bar; a longitudinally disposed slit which is formed in said winding shaft assembly and extending laterally therethrough at a location spaced from said center hole but communicating therewith; said seat belt webbing extending through said slit and including a loop at one end thereof, said loop comprising a large diameter portion which is larger in size than a width of said slit, said slit terminating at one side thereof at an enlarged longitudinal opening bounded by upper and lower walls, said webbing when under tension, being substantially tangential to said torsion bar; and a preventive portion of one of said walls disposed between said large diameter portion and said torsion bar, to thereby prevent said large diameter portion from moving in a direction approaching said torsion bar, wherein said preventive portion comprises a projecting portion disposed on a surface of said slit that is located near to said torsion bar and projected into a space between said torsion bar and said large diameter portion.