Locking mechanism for a safety belt

摘要

An improved locking mechanism for a safety belt of the type having a rotatable storage reel from which the belt may be automatically wound and a pivoting pawl for engaging the teeth of a ratchet wheel connected to the reel for locking it in position to prevent rotation includes the provision of an oval shaped bearing hole means located within the pawl for permitting sliding movement of the pawl on a pivot in addition to pivoting movement. A recess means formed on the pawl receives the arm of a lever for actuating the pawl and defines a cam-like surface on which the lever arm slides so that the lever returns to its position prior to actuation when the pawl slides on the pivot after locking engagement with the ratchet wheel. The oval shaped bearing hole may have a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to a plane tangent to the circumference of the ratchet wheel thus providing a high moment of force on the ratchet wheel along with a small bearing load on the wheel and pawl. The lever may be actuated by electrical coil means operated by an inertia responsive release system including a mercury switch.