TRW has devised a new “floating spool” seat belt retractor.
Next generation “floating spool” seat belt retractor, named FS1, instead uses the forward movement of the person to lock the webbing in place.
TRW describes its new "floating spool" seat belt retractor as simpler, lighter and easier to package than traditional retractors with lock pawls. Seat belt retractors are spring-loaded spools that take up any slack in the webbing when people buckle up. The lock pawl is what most seat belt systems use to hold the webbing in place in a collision. In a crash, when the car comes to a sudden stop, the seat belt needs to restrain the person safely and securely. Traditionally, either a weighted pendulum tips forward, locking the pawl onto a ratchet gear, or the sudden spooling of the seat belt activates the lock pawl via a centrifugal clutch.
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