A seat belt retractor includes a housing including a pair of side walls facing each other, a winding drum configured to wind up a webbing, a locking base prevented from being rotated in the pull-out direction, in an emergency of a vehicle, an impact energy absorbing member including a first end side coupled to the winding drum and a second end side coupled to the locking base, the impact energy absorbing member connecting the winding drum and the locking base so as to be integrally rotatable, in a normal state, at least one impact energy absorbing wire housed in at least one slot that is provided in the winding drum, and a stopper member configured to define an allowable amount of relative rotation between the winding drum and the locking base in a case where the impact energy absorbing member absorbs the impact energy.

A seat belt retractor includes a housing including a first side wall and a second side wall facing each other, a winding drum configured to wind up a webbing, a locking base, a torsion bar including one end side, which is opposite to the locking base, coupled to the winding drum without being rotatable relative to the winding drum, and the other end side coupled to the locking base without being rotatable relative to the locking base, a pretensioner including: a pretensioner casing attached to the first side wall; and a drive wheel attached to the locking base, a lock member located in the locking base, and a stopper member being screwed onto a male screw of the locking base.

A 3-point seat belt system having a seat belt retractor (20) with a spool (32), the spool (32) having a locked mode of operation and a freewheeling mode of operation; a seat belt (411) characterized as having a known elongation rate under stress; a collapsible member (40) wrapped about a center portion of the spool (32) of the retractor (20), the member (40) having an initial diameter dl when unstressed and collapsible to a lesser diameter of d2 under stress. The method having the step of generating a retarding force on the occupant (404) in proportion to the degree by which the collapsible member (40) collapses.

A retractor includes a spool, a torsion bar and a torsion tube rotationally fixed to the spool, and a locking member aligned with the torsion bar. The torsion bar and the torsion tube extend coaxially from the spool to respective first ends, and the torsion bar has a key. The locking member is movable from an unlocked position rotationally disengaged with the torsion bar to a locked position wherein the key rotationally fixes the locking member to the first end of the torsion bar. When the locking member is in the unlocked position, the torsion bar may be plastically deformed to limit the load applied by webbing against an occupant. If sufficient force is applied to the webbing, the locking member moves to the locked position in which both torsion bar and the torsion tube are locked together and, in tandem, limit the load applied by the webbing.

[Object] To provide a seat belt retractor that is capable of generating a more stable load when restricting a load acting on the seat belt and when absorbing energy, and a seat belt apparatus including the same. [Solution] A seat belt retractor 3 includes a frame 11, a seat belt 4, a spool 12 that is rotatably supported by the frame 11 and that retracts the seat belt 4, a lock mechanism 60 that allows rotation of the spool 12 while not in operation and that prevents rotation of the spool 12 in a seat belt withdrawing direction while in operation, and an energy absorption mechanism 20 that restricts a load acting on the seat belt 4 and that absorbs energy of an occupant. In the seat belt retractor 3, the energy absorption mechanism 20 includes a first energy absorption member 21 that absorbs energy through a rotational difference between the spool 12 and the lock mechanism 60, a first energy transmission member 22 that is attached on one end side of the first energy absorption member 21, a second energy transmission member 23 that meshes with the first energy transmission member 22, and a second energy absorption member 24 that absorbs energy through a rotational difference between the second energy transmission member 23 and the spool 12.

A belt tensioner for a seat belt system comprises a pinion (10) pivoted about an axis of rotation A which is adapted to be coupled to a best reel of a belt retractor, a drive unit, a force transmission element (12) and a guide means. By activating the drive unit the force transmission element (12) is moved along the guide means so that it engages in the pinion (10). The guide means includes a portion (16) which is deformable in a direction x perpendicular to the axis of rotation A of the pinion (10) and to the direction of movement y of the force transmission element (12).

A seat belt retractor includes a housing including a pair of side walls facing each other, a winding drum configured to wind up a webbing, a locking base being prevented from being rotated in the pull-out direction, in an emergency of a vehicle, an impact energy absorbing member connecting the winding drum and the locking base so as to be integrally rotatable in a normal state, an impact energy absorbing wire housed in a slot provided in the winding drum so as to form an opening in the first end surface of the winding drum, a ring provided integrally with or separately from the locking base, and a stopper member being configured to define an allowable amount of relative rotation between the winding drum and the locking base in a case where the impact energy absorbing member absorbs the impact energy.

A webbing take-up device includes a spool, a lock gear that restricts pull-out direction rotation of the spool, a force limiter mechanism that permits pull-out direction rotation of the spool at or above a force limiter load, and a pawl that switches the force limiter load. The webbing take-up device further includes a cylinder section that includes a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion, a gas generator that supplies gas into the second cylindrical portion, and a piston section that is moved along the first cylindrical portion by an increase in pressure inside the second cylindrical portion and the first cylindrical portion so as to press and displace the pawl. An axial center of the second cylindrical portion is disposed offset with respect to an axial center of the first cylindrical portion, and an abutted portion that is abutted by the piston section is provided at a boundary between the first cylindrical portion and the second cylindrical portion.

A fluid damper for modulating a retaining force of a seat belt is provided. The fluid damper includes an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder. The inner cylinder encloses an inner space. The fluid damper includes a piston shiftable in the inner space. The fluid damper includes a duct. The duct conductively connects a front fluid chamber disposed in front of the piston to a rear fluid chamber disposed behind the piston and/or a reservoir for the damping fluid. The duct includes an outer duct portion and an inner duct portion. The inner cylinder is deflectable from a rest position by a force acting on the piston so that the deflection of the inner cylinder causes an adjustment of an overlap of the outer duct portion and the inner duct portion depending on the magnitude of the force.

A seat belt retractor includes a housing including a pair of side walls facing each other, a winding drum configured to wind up a webbing, a locking base prevented from being rotated in the pull-out direction, in an emergency of a vehicle, an impact energy absorbing member including a first end side coupled to the winding drum and a second end side coupled to the locking base, the impact energy absorbing member connecting the winding drum and the locking base so as to be integrally rotatable, in a normal state, at least one impact energy absorbing wire housed in at least one slot that is provided in the winding drum, and a stopper member configured to define an allowable amount of relative rotation between the winding drum and the locking base in a case where the impact energy absorbing member absorbs the impact energy.