Patent ID: 7178835

Claim:
A belt locking device that is for use with a vehicle seat and a safety belt, and that operates advantageously in response to both a crash and actions by a user of the vehicle seat, the belt lock device comprising: a tightening unit supported by a support element and operatively connected to a belt lock by way of a transmission means, wherein (a) the tightening unit is pyrotechnical and is thereby pyrotechnically operative for pulling the belt lock, by way of the transmission means moving relative to the support element, so that the belt lock moves from an initial position into a crash position in response to the crash, and (b) the tightening unit is mounted for moving (1) relative to the support element in a first direction, which extends in a longitudinal direction of the transmission means, so that the belt lock moves from the initial position to an extended position and the transmission means moves relative to the support element, and (2) relative to the support element in a second direction, which is opposite from the first direction, so that the tightening unit pulls the belt lock, by way of the transmission means moving relative to the support element, so that the belt lock moves from the extended position to the initial position; and a motor operatively associated with the tightening unit for (a) automatically moving the tightening unit relative to the support element in the first direction in response to the user sitting on the vehicle seat, so that the belt lock moves from the initial position to the extended position and the transmission means moves relative to the support element, and (b) automatically moving the tightening unit relative to the support element in the second direction in response to the safety belt being buckled to the belt lock, so that the tightening unit pulls the belt lock, by way of the transmission means moving relative to the support element, so that the belt lock moves from the extended position to the initial position, wherein the belt lock, the transmission means, the tightening unit and the support element are in series with respect to forces occurring while the transmission means is under tension.