Patent ID: 7140641

Claim:
A safety-belt arrangement for use in a motor vehicle, the safety-belt arrangement comprising a safety-belt, one end of which is connected to a retractor, a sensor adapted to generate a signal representative of the amount of the safety-belt paid-out from the retractor, a force limiter associated with the retractor adapted to permit the safety-belt to be paid-out with a variable force limiting effect, means to change the level of force applied by the force limiter, and a control unit to receive a signal from the sensor and to generate, at least partially in response to said signal, an output signal to control the means which change the level of force, and wherein means are provided to lock the safety-belt in response to a sensed parameter and wherein the control unit generates said output signal at least partly in response to a predetermined amount of safety-belt being paid-out in excess of a reference length, wherein the sensor determines the reference length at or shortly after the instant of locking of the safety-belt.