Patent ID: 8196961

Claim:
A pretensioner for use as part of a motor vehicle occupant belt restraint system of the type mountable to a motor vehicle structure and coupled with a belt restraint system component, and upon being activated, pulls the belt restraint component to pretension the belt restraint system, the pretensioner comprising: a housing having a first housing half member and a second housing half member formed separately from the first housing half member, the first and second housing half members, when assembled, forming an elongated piston bore, the first and second housing half members joined together along a joining plane having a portion generally parallel with and intersecting the piston bore, wherein the first and second housing half members each form flanges which are matched together along the joining plane as the housing half members are joined, a piston positioned in the piston bore, a cable coupled with the piston and to the belt restraint component, and a gas generator communicating with the piston bore which upon activation, drives the piston along the piston bore with the piston exerting tension on the cable.