Patent ID: 8727257

Claim:
A seat belt retractor for a safety belt of a motor vehicle comprising: a belt shaft ( 1 ) rotatably mounted in a frame, a profile head ( 2 ) lockable in relation to the frame, a load limiting device ( 20 ) located between the profile head ( 2 ) and the belt shaft ( 1 ) for enabling the belt shaft ( 1 ) to undergo a load limited rotation during extraction of webbing of the safety belt in the extraction direction (A) with the profile head ( 2 ) being locked and a load limiting level predetermined by the load limiting device ( 20 ) being exceeded, wherein the load limiting device ( 20 ) is formed from at least a first and a second load limiting element ( 4 , 5 ), by the activation of which the load limiting level can be switched from a lower level to a higher level during the load limited belt webbing extraction, a first load limiting element ( 4 ) providing the higher load limiting level, with the first load limiting element having a first end ( 4 a ) is connected to the profile head ( 2 ), and having a second end ( 4 b ), a second load limiting element ( 5 ) providing the lower load limiting level, which second load limiting element with a second end ( 5 b ) is connected to the belt shaft ( 1 ), and having a first end ( 5 a ), the second end ( 4 b ) of the first load limiting element ( 4 ) with the higher load limiting level is connected to the first end ( 5 a ) of the second load limiting element ( 5 ) with the lower load limiting level via a connecting element ( 6 ), and a coupling element ( 7 ) for coupling the connecting element ( 6 ) to the belt shaft ( 1 ), the connecting element ( 6 ) configured to move into a coupling position in which it is coupled to the belt shaft ( 1 ) after the belt shaft has undergone a rotation of at least a predetermined angle, the coupling element being formed by a spring element resiliently pre-loaded in the direction of the coupling position.