Patent ID: 8087697

Claim:
A seat belt apparatus comprising: a retractor having a reel onto which one end side of a seat belt is wound; a motor for rotating the reel; a clutch mechanism which transmits driving power from a driving shaft of the motor to a shaft of said reel relative to rotation of the driving shaft of the motor in a seat belt winding direction and which blocks the transmission of the driving power from said driving shaft to the shaft of said reel relative to the rotation of said driving shaft in a seat belt withdrawing direction; wherein the retractor includes a first spring to bias the reel of the retractor in the seat belt winding direction when the clutch mechanism is disengaged; a belt guide which is supported at its proximal end pivotally in a forward/backward direction of the vehicle to guide another end side of said seat belt; a second spring configured to bias said belt guide in the forward direction of the vehicle; wherein the second spring has a biasing force initially greater than the biasing force of the first spring when the clutch mechanism is disengaged so that the belt guide is biased in the forward direction of the vehicle; a buckle connected to a stationary member of said vehicle; and a tongue which is disposed on said seat belt and can be latched into said buckle.