Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8104794 | Seat belt retractor, seat belt apparatus, seat belt winding method, computer program, and seat belt system A seat belt retractor (1) is provided which comprises a rotation sensor (8) for detecting the withdrawn amount of a seat belt, a control amount setting unit for setting a first control amount for winding up the seat belt (3) and a second control... | 01/31/2012 |
| 8087697 | Seat belt apparatus and seat belt control method To allow an occupant to easily wear a seat belt without twisting his or her body when the occupant sits in a seat. When a door sensor 60 detects the opening of a door, a motor is driven to wind up a seat belt 2 so as to move a belt guide 4 | 01/03/2012 |
| 8087696 | Vehicle occupant restraint and method A component of a vehicle occupant restraint system, the vehicle occupant restraint system having a webbing with a lap belt portion and a shoulder belt portion contiguous with the lap belt portion, the component including a web engaging device adapted to toggle betwe... | 01/03/2012 |
| 8083262 | Seat belt retractor and seat belt apparatus A seat belt retractor includes a cylindrical member, a torsionally deformable shaft arranged inside the cylindrical member and having one end side connected to the cylindrical member, a plate mounting member arranged in the cylindrical member and disposed on an oute... | 12/27/2011 |
| 7988197 | Seat belt retractor and seat belt apparatus provided therwith A seat belt retractor (6) according to the present invention, when mounted on a vehicle body, has an ECU (16) laid out in such a manner that an ECU connector (16c) faces a vehicle side connector (18) mounted to a predetermined posi... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7954854 | Seat belt retractor and torsion bar providing secondary load limiting A torsion bar, constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, an elongated bar has a first end, a second end, and a mid-section between the first and second ends. The first end of the elongated bar has a material void. The first end preferabl... | 06/07/2011 |
| 7942449 | Seat belt apparatus and seat belt retractor A seat belt retractor includes a frame having a back plate and a side wall protruding from each of multiple side edges of the back plate. The seat belt retractor also includes a spool supported by the frame and configured to rotate and wind a seat belt, a motor conf... | 05/17/2011 |
| 7942448 | Vehicular seatbelt device A vehicular seatbelt device whereby slack in a lap belt is sufficiently eliminated according to a traveling state of a vehicle, and a comfortable ride for a vehicle occupant is maintained. A seatbelt device comprises a belt retraction part and an actuator for drivin... | 05/17/2011 |
| 7905519 | Vehicle seatbelt apparatus A vehicle seatbelt apparatus includes a power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section incorporated in a control device for detecting fluctuations of power supply voltage occurring when an engine cranking operation is being performed. The control device changes ... | 03/15/2011 |
| 7883114 | Cap for a seat belt retractor A cap is provided for a seat belt retractor having a housing. The cap is placed onto a side of the seat belt retractor facing a sensor. The cap is made of aluminum and is equipped with an adhesive plate by which the cap is glued onto the housing. The adhesive plate ... | 02/08/2011 |
| 7866704 | Seat belt retractor and seat belt apparatus A seat belt retractor includes at least one frame having a back board and side walls extending from side rims of the back board, a spool supported by the at least one frame configured to wind up a seat belt, a motor configured to rotate the spool, and an electronic ... | 01/11/2011 |
| 7819430 | Seat belt apparatus and seat belt retractor A seat belt retractor includes a frame having a back plate and a side wall protruding from each of multiple side edges of the back plate. The seat belt retractor also includes a spool supported by the frame and configured to rotate and wind a seat belt, a motor conf... | 10/26/2010 |
| 7793984 | Seat belt retractor and seat belt apparatus A seatbelt retractor integrated with an electronic control unit. A motor is disposed above both side walls of a frame and on the same side as a spool with respect to a back board. The motor is detachably fixed to at least one of the back board and the both side wall... | 09/14/2010 |
| 7793983 | Seat belt retractor and seat belt apparatus A seat belt retractor including an integral electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU is detachably installed between lower edges of respective both side walls of a frame. Further, a motor is detachably fixed to a lower surface of a case of the ECU. Since the ECU is di... | 09/14/2010 |
| 7784832 | Pretensioner and seat belt apparatus To protect a wire without increasing the manufacturing cost. A pretensioner 10 comprises a housing 12 through which the wire 11 is passed and a cylinder 14 supported to the housing 12. One end of the wire 11 is connec... | 08/31/2010 |
| 7735871 | Seat belt retractor and pretensioner combination The invention relates to a seat belt retractor including a pretensioner especially for use in motor vehicles. The seat belt retractor includes a spool belt which supports belt webbing of the seat belt and rotates in the take-up direction of the safety belt when the ... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7726693 | Motor retractor and drive control thereof When the worn state of the webbing is lifted, current of a current value I0 corresponding to the appropriate storing speed of the webbing is supplied to the motor, whereby a take-up shaft rotates and the webbing is taken up. At a point in time when the webbin... | 06/01/2010 |
| 7641237 | Seatbelt device The seatbelt device includes: a current wound position detection unit; a driving state detection unit that detects a driving state of the vehicle to transmit a driving state detection signal; a driving state change determination unit that determines a driving state ... | 01/05/2010 |
| 7625011 | Systems and methods for dampening seat belt latch vibration According to one embodiment of the present invention a seatbelt system is provided having a seat belt with a latch slidably disposed thereupon and operable to connect with a buckle to fasten the belt, having a pillar extending within the vehicle and covered by a gar... | 12/01/2009 |
| 7533903 | Seat belt apparatus A seat belt retractor, which is capable of winding and unwinding a seat belt for occupant restraint by an electric motor, warns a vehicle occupant. A seat belt retractor of a seat belt apparatus to be installed in a vehicle is structured such that a motor is control... | 05/19/2009 |
| 7530601 | Seatbelt retractor and seatbelt apparatus using the same A motor-driven seatbelt retractor is provided in which vibrations of a cover can be minimized while minimizing increase in weight. In one form, a predetermined number of ribs are provided on a thin plate portion of a cover of a power transmission gear mechanism. The... | 05/12/2009 |
| 7484763 | Fixing device for a seat belt winder The inventive device for fixing a seat belt winder is fixed to the part of a motor vehicle. The plate of the housing of the winder is provided with at lest one fixing hole for receiving a screw connection which maintains the vehicle part embodied therein. The housin... | 02/03/2009 |
| 7484764 | Frame for a safety belt retractor A frame for a safety belt retractor includes a rear wall (12) and a fastening section which provides for at least one of fastening the frame (10) to a section (22) of a component which is fixed to a vehicle and pre-positioning the frame (10 | 02/03/2009 |
| 7431340 | Restrictor/protector of passenger in vehicle A main controlling section of a controlling unit (13), when judging a collision risk, drives a motor (12) in a direction of retracting a seat belt (3) and raises tension of the seat belt (3). The main controlling section, when tension of ... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7431119 | Seat belt retractor A seat belt retractor of a seat belt apparatus to be installed in a vehicle is structured such that when a vehicle door corresponding to a seat belt moves from the closed state to the open state, the seat belt retractor is configured to be in the power transmission ... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7428941 | Restraint system for a motor vehicle A restraint system for a vehicle having sensors for detecting a collision of the vehicle is described. The system has a control unit which analyzes the signals and, in the event of a recognized collision of the motor vehicle, transmits a first signal to a safety bel... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7429012 | High performance tightener A self stopping seat belt retractor is provided with a belt shaft for winding a seat belt thereonto and unwinding a wound seat belt therefrom and a housing rotatably supporting the belt shaft and having a locking device that includes a locking means for the belt sha... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7424985 | Helical pretensioner A seatbelt pretensioner mechanism (10) for use with a seatbelt retractor (11). The retractor (11) has a spool (16) configured for winding a seatbelt webbing thereon. The pretensioner mechanism (10) is housed inside the retractor sp... | 09/16/2008 |
| 7424986 | Belt spool retractor A seatbelt pretensioner mechanism (10) for use with a seatbelt retractor (11). The retractor (11) has a spool (16) configured for winding a seatbelt webbing thereon. The pretensioner mechanism (10) includes a movable actuator membe... | 09/16/2008 |
| 7419026 | Seat belt device A seat belt for constraining an occupant to a seat is provided with both a tension varying means 16 allowing for providing a tension to the seat belt to vary, and a tension detecting means for detecting an actual tension on the seat belt. There is provided fa... | 09/02/2008 |
| 7416151 | Webbing retractor A webbing retractor has two torque transmitting routes for taking-up, such that rapid and reliable taking-up, and gentle taking-up are possible. When an engaging claw of a pawl restricts rotation of a ratchet plate, due to planetary gears rotating around a sun gear,... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7407184 | Micro gas generator including an initiator blast shield A micro gas generator 10 is provided primarily for supplying and directing gas from the combustion of pyrotechnic materials into a seatbelt pretensioner 26, for example. A perforated housing 12 of gas generator 10 provides a body for cont... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7397208 | Winding control method of seatbelt retractor and seatbelt device A winding control method of a seatbelt retractor for winding a seatbelt with a motor includes detecting a current flowing through the motor, and stopping the motor when the current exceeds a predetermined value. The winding action is not stopped while the motor is a... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7389843 | Automotive passenger restraint and protection apparatus An automotive passenger restraint and protection apparatus for an automotive vehicle, having a seatbelt, for restraining an occupant of the automotive vehicle by the seatbelt to protect the occupant, including a danger degree determining device which determines a de... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7380740 | Seat belt retractor and seat belt device A seat belt retractor is provided in which two winding performances are achieved while reduced power consumption of a motor and simplified control of the motor are also achieved. A clutch gear is meshed with a carrier gear by rotation of a motor in the normal direct... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7380631 | Automotive passenger restraint and protection apparatus An automotive passenger restraint and protection device for an automotive vehicle has a seatbelt which restrains an occupant of the automotive vehicle. The device includes an electric retractor, a power supply, a detector, first and second switches and a controller.... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7377550 | Retractor fixing structure of rear seatbelt system A retractor of a three-point rear seatbelt system is affixed to a rear roof rail without excessively protruding out at the bottom of the rear roof rail. Such an arrangement provides sufficient rear vision of the vehicle and strengthens the rigidity of the rear roof ... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7374206 | Seatbelt apparatus A retractor of a seatbelt apparatus to be installed in a vehicle is structured such that a Hall sensor and a magnetic disc as a mechanism configured to detect the position of a rotor in a motor are also used as mechanisms for detecting the amount of winding or unwin... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7370887 | Rider restraint apparatus To provide rider restraint means capable of allowing a rider to freely leave a vehicle without a manual release operation when there is no need to restrain the rider to the vehicle. The rider restraint means includes a belt restraining a rider, buckles making the be... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7367103 | Method of forming a vehicle component A method of manufacturing a vehicle trim panel having a storage compartment includes providing a first mold assembly comprising a first mold section and a second mold section, wherein the first mold assembly defines a first cavity. A second mold assembly is provided... | 05/06/2008 |
