Patent ID: 7140571

Claim:
An electric seat belt retractor comprising: a spool connected to a seat belt wound around the spool, the spool being rotatable about an axis fixed within a retractor frame; the retractor frame comprising a belt opening at one end of the retractor frame which allows extraction and retraction of the seat belt from the retractor and wherein the tension in the seat belt is measured by a tension sensor in contact with the seat belt, the tension sensor comprising an arm which extends over the belt opening, one end of the arm being pivotally attached to the retractor frame, the other end of the arm being in contact with a portion of the seat belt extending from the belt opening, and wherein the arm pivots in response to tension in the seat belt; and a motor coupled to the spool to rotate the spool, the motor being in electrical communication with a circuit which activates and deactivates the motor to extract and retract the seat belt in response to tension in a portion of the seat belt extending from the spool.