Patent ID: 7946519

Claim:
A seatbelt retractor for a seat belt device in a vehicle, the retractor comprising: a frame; a spool configured to be fixed to one end of a webbing so that the webbing may be wound around the spool, the spool being rotatably mounted at both ends to the frame and configured to rotate in a webbing extraction direction and a webbing retraction direction; a torsion bar positioned in the spool, a first end of the torsion bar being coupled to a torsion bar cam and a second end of the torsion bar being connected to a pinion, wherein the torsion bar cam is configured to engage the spool; a pretensioner coupled to the second end of the torsion bar via the pinion, the pretensioner configured to rotate the pinion in a webbing retraction direction when the pretensioner activates in response to an acceleration of the vehicle greater than a predetermined high acceleration; and at least one coupler pawl positioned in a cavity in the spool and connecting the spool to a locking mechanism to prevent rotation of the spool in response to an acceleration of the vehicle greater than a low acceleration, but less than the predetermined high acceleration, wherein the locking mechanism is configured to prevent rotation of the spool, wherein the at least one coupler pawl is configured to pivot so that when the vehicle acceleration exceeds the predetermined high acceleration and the pretensioner is activated, the spool is not connected to the locking mechanism thereby allowing the spool to rotate relative to the locking mechanism.