Patent ID: 7147251

Claim:
A pretensioner for a three point seat belt comprising: a cylinder adapted to be attached to a structural member of a vehicle and a piston disposed within the cylinder; a pyrotechnic means for moving the piston in a direction that is longitudinal relative to the cylinder in a pretensioning direction; a slider bar that is oriented substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cylinder; a seat belt webbing that is looped around the slider bar such that the seat belt webbing can freely move along a portion of the slider bar that is oriented substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cylinder so long as the pyrotechnic means for moving the piston has not been activated; and a cable that extends from the piston and loops around the seat belt webbing to cause the seat belt webbing to move along the slider bar in a pretensioning direction when the pyrotechnic means for moving the piston is activated.