Belt carried automatic locking retractor

An automatic locking belt carried safety belt take-up reel includes a U-shaped polymeric resin body member having a cross web and side arms and a spring biased reel journaled between the side arms proximate the cross web. A buckle coupling tongue is longitudinally slidably engaged between the confronting outer ends of the side arms and projects forwardly thereof and is provided with a wide transverse slot between the side arms. A knurled locking bar longitudinally slidably rests on the end borders of the slot and a safety belt has one end anchored to the reel and extending from the bottom thereof upwardly through the slot rearward of the lock bar, about the lock bar and then downwardly between the lock bar and the front edge of the slot and then rearwardly through a guide formed proximate the cross web bottom edge and then to a vehicle anchor point. Withdrawal of the belt is effected by pulling the body member with the tongue being free and locking is affected in response to a pull on the tongue plate attendant to the belt engaging a seat occupant and the tongue engaging a buckle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to improvements in safety belt 
retractor device and it relates more particularly to an improved automatic 
locking belt retractor reel of the belt carried type. 
There are generally two broad types of automatic locking safety belt 
retractor reels which are widely employed, one in which the reel device is 
anchored directly to the vehicle body and the other in which the reel 
device is carried by the free end of the safety belt, the opposite end of 
the belt being anchored to the vehicle. While the vehicle mounted type of 
safety belt reel has many advantages, it possesses an important drawback 
in that being of relatively large size or bulk, it cannot be installed in 
many vehicles because of the lack of sufficient space and as a 
consequence, retractor reel devices of the second type must be used. 
However, while many forms of automatic locking belt carried retractor 
wheels have been heretofore proposed, they leave much to be desired. 
Typical of such retractor reels is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,227,489 to Stufflefield in which an articulated body member includes a 
buckle coupling tongue section and a retractor wheel mounting section 
which are swingably pivoted to each other, the locking and unlocking of 
the belt being responsive to the angular relationship of the two sections. 
This latter type of reel is complex, expensive and often unreliable and 
inconvenient and awkward to apply and use. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved 
safety belt retractor device. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved automatic 
locking safety belt retractor device. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved 
automatic locking safety belt retractor device of the belt carried type. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved safety 
belt carried device which functions as a belt coupling unit and as a belt 
take-up reel. 
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a coupling 
tongue mounted, belt carried belt retractor device which is automatically 
locked in response to the linear or translational movement of the tongue 
away from the belt rewind reel. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved device of 
the above nature characterized by its simplicity, compactness, ruggedness, 
reliability, low cost, ease of manufacture and assembly, ease and 
convenience of operation and application, and great versatility and 
adaptability. 
The above and other objects of the present invention will become apparent 
from a reading of the following description taken in conjunction with the 
accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof. 
In a sense the present invention contemplates the provision of an improved 
automatic locking belt carried belt retractor device comprising a body 
member, a transversely extending take-up reel rotatably mounted to said 
body member, spring means biasing said reel to rotate in a belt retraction 
direction, a belt coupling member longitudinally slidably mounted to said 
body member forwardly of said reel and projecting forwardly of said body 
member and having a transversely extending opening in its rear portion, a 
locking bar registering with and extending transversely in registry with 
said opening and being longitudinally movable relative to said opening and 
a belt having an end thereof secured to said reel and being windable in 
said reel, said belt extending from said reel rearwardly, upwardly through 
said opening proximate the rear edge of said locking bar, rearwardly about 
the top of said locking bar and downwardly through said opening proximate 
the forward edge of said locking bar and thence rearwardly toward an 
anchoring point proximate the opposite end of said belt. 
According to a preferred form of the improved retractor device, the body 
member is formed of a synthetic organic polymeric resin and is U-shaped 
including a rear cross-piece and forwardly projecting parallel side arms, 
the reel being journaled between the side arms proximate the cross-piece. 
Parallel longitudinal track grooves are formed in the confronting faces of 
the side arm front portions and the coupling member is a buckle coupling 
tongue plate having a transversely enlarged rear section whose side 
borders slidably engage the track grooves. A transversely extending slot 
is formed in the tongue member rear section and the locking bar is 
relatively flat and knurled and longitudinally rests on the side borders 
of the slot and terminates at its side ends in yoke portions which 
longitudinally slidably engage the side borders of the slot. Extraction of 
the belt from the reel is effected merely by pulling the body member with 
the tongue member being freely movable therein so as to permit such 
withdrawal of the belt. However, when the tongue member is coupled around 
an occupant to an anchored buckle, any pull on the belt pulls the locking 
bar outwardly to lock the belt and prevent withdrawal thereof. Unbuckling 
of the tongue plates releases it. 
The improved belt carried retractor device is reliable, simple and rugged, 
economical to fabricate and assemble, and easy and convenient to apply and 
operate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of 
the present invention, the reference numeral 10 generally designates the 
improved belt carried or minor automatic locking belt retractor device 
which includes a main body member 11, a tongue member 12 and a locking bar 
13. The retractor device 10 is carried by the inner end of a belt 14, the 
outer end of which is anchored in a suitable manner at one side of a 
vehicle seat. A suitable buckle or coupling device, not shown, for 
releasably engaging the coupling tongue member 12, is anchored either 
directly or by way of a connector member to the opposite side of the seat. 
The body member 11 is advantageously integrally formed of a suitable 
synthetic organic polymeric resin and is of U-shaped configuration 
including a rear cross wall or cross-piece 16 and forwardly longitudinally 
projecting parallel side arms 17 the upper intermediate portions are 
joined by a reinforcing cross bar 18. Formed in the confronting faces of 
the forward end portions of side arms 17 are parallel coplanar track or 
guide grooves 19 which extend rearwardly from the side arm front ends to a 
point short of cross-bar 18. A transversely extending belt guide 20 is 
suspended from the rear ends of side arms 17 proximate cross wall 16 by 
end arms 21 depending from side arms 17. 
A reel or spindle is disposed between cross members 16 and 18 and extends 
between and is suitably journaled to the side arms 17 so as to be 
rotatable in opposite counterclockwise belt retraction and clockwise belt 
extraction directions as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 4. A coiled wind-up spring 
23 of known construction is connected between reel 22 and a side arm 17 
and biases the reel to rotate in a belt retraction direction and is loaded 
with the belt extraction rotation of the reel. The inner end of the belt 
14 is secured to the reel 22 so as to be retracted with the 
counterclockwise rotation of the reel. 
The tongue member 12 is in the form of a flat plate and includes a 
rectangularly apertured front buckle coupling tongue portion 23' and a 
transversely enlarged rear head portion 24 whose outer lateral borders 
slidably engage respective track grooves 19, the tongue portion 23' 
projecting forwardly of body member side arms 17. Formed in the rear head 
portion 24 is a transversely extending rectangular slot 26 which extends 
to points inwardly of the confronting face of side arms 17 and is 
delineated by side end borders or frame legs 27, rear border or frame leg 
28 and front border or frame leg 29. 
The locking bar l3 extends transversely across and registers with the 
opening 26 and terminates in enlarged flat faced end portions 30 which 
slidably rest on the top faces of opening side borders 27, the 
longitudinal dimension of locking bar 13 being less than that of opening 
26. Defining yokes with end portions 30 and disposed below and parallel to 
the respective end portions 30 are arms 32 which are secured to the 
locking bar 13 and slidably engage the underfaces of side frame legs 27 to 
longitudinally slidably retain the locking bar 13 in registry with opening 
26. The outer surface of the locking bar 13 is knurled and encircles by a 
high friction or knurled sleeve, as at 33. 
The belt 14 extends forwardly from the bottom rear portion of the belt 
thereof wound on the reel 22 upwardly through the space between the 
proximate rear edge of locking bar 13 and rear frame leg 28, and then 
forwardly around along the top face of locking bar 13 and downwardly 
through the space between the front edge of locking bar 13 and frame leg 
29 and thence rearwardly below the forwardly extending portion of belt 14 
through the belt guide 20 and to the anchor point at the belt outer end. 
The belt 14 extends approximately 180.degree. about the locking bar 13. 
In the operation of the retractor device 10 described above, when the 
device is bot being used, the tongue member 12 and the reel carrying body 
member 11 are united as a unit by the reinforcing power or pull of belt 14 
effected by reel 22 and remain as it is. When the united tongue and body 
members are to be extracted in order to engage a complementary buckle, the 
body member 11 is manually gripped at the walls 17 of the body member and 
pulled toward the mating buckle to be engaged therewith, the pull 
overcoming the retarding force of the lock bar 13 to permit the withdrawal 
of the belt 14 smoothly from the belt reel 22 and finally to a buckle 
tongue engaging position. It should be noted that as the body member is 
pulled to unwind the belt the tongue member 12 is fully retracted and the 
space between lock bar 13 and rear frame leg 28 is open to permit the 
passage of belt 14 through this space, such passage being permitted even 
when the body member is not pulled as long as tongue member 12 is not 
moved forwardly of the body member 11. 
Completion of the engagement of the tongue member 12 by the complementary 
buckle effects movement of the lock bar 13 rearwardly toward the tongue 
member rear frame leg 28, being driven by the belt take-up force and the 
forward movement of tongue member 12 relative to body member 11 to thereby 
result in the holding of the belt securely and powerfully between the lock 
bar rear edge and the inside or rear edge of the tongue member rear frame 
leg 28 to effect the automatic locking of the belt and prevent withdrawal 
thereof. In this case, the forward movement of the the tongue member 12 
relative to the body member 11 and the sliding rearward motion of the lock 
bar 13 consequent to the pull on the belt by the occupant following the 
withdrawing and retraction of the belt to occupant's body size effects the 
contraction between lock bar 13 and rear frame leg 28. 
Upon the manual selective disengagement of the tongue member 12 from the 
associated buckle, the take-up force by the reel 22 of belt effects the 
belt winding and the smooth operation thereof is continued by reason of 
the multiple contribution of both the sliding movement of the tongue 
member 12 and lock bar 13. 
As explained above, in the present improved device 10, the relatively free 
transferring motion of the body member 11 to the tongue member 12 is made 
possible by the take-up driving force from the belt 14 since these members 
are slidably associated by reason of the side edges of tongue member 12 
slidably engaging longitudinal grooves 19. Further to the lock bar 13 is 
also arranged so as to be freely slidable at the rear portion 24 of the 
tongue member 12. Each of these members can be manufactured independently 
of each other and then production and assembling of each is simplified 
without any adverse effect on each other. Still further good 
interchangeability for a part member is positively achieved which is an 
excellent advantage and results in low cost in mass production. 
Multiple effectiveness of both sliding motions of two members makes 
possible the extraction and retraction of the belt smoothly without any 
resistance. Still another advantage which is realized is that no relative 
rotational motion between parts is required for operation as in the 
earlier type of retractor (U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,912). Therefore, an 
occupant here can engage and disengage the buckle only whilekeeping his 
body moving along forwardly and rearwardly; this contributes greatly to 
the ease and smoothness of belt harnessing by the occupant. Simplicity, 
convenience and reliability are important advantages of the present 
improved device. 
While there has been described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of 
the present invention, it is apparent that numerous alterations, additions 
and omissions may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.