US 12,071,096 B2
Web length adjuster
Nathan Andrew Beadle, Westfield, IN (US); Matthew Grubbs Farrar, Westfield, IN (US); and Chris P. Jessup, Sheridan, IN (US)
Assigned to Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc., Westfield, IN (US)
Filed by Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc., Westfield, IN (US)
Filed on Dec. 14, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/065,750.
Prior Publication US 2024/0198953 A1, Jun. 20, 2024
Int. Cl. A44B 11/12 (2006.01); B60R 22/30 (2006.01)
CPC B60R 22/30 (2013.01) [A44B 11/125 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A web length adjuster, comprising:
a frame having a base and spaced-apart, elongated sidewalls each extending away from a respective side of the base, the elongated sidewalls each defining a slot,
a reaction bar mounted to and between the sidewalls with respective ends of the reaction bar extending into the sidewall slots such that the reaction bar is movable along the slots in a longitudinal direction of the elongated sidewalls, the reaction bar defining a first web clamping surface between the sidewalls of the frame,
a handle assembly rotatably mounted to and between the sidewalls, the handle assembly defining a second web clamping surface extending between the sidewalls of the frame and configured complementarily to the first web clamping surface, the handle assembly rotatable relative to the frame between a first position to clamp a web of a vehicle occupant restraint web between the first and second clamping surfaces and a second position to allow the web to pass between the first and second clamping surfaces, and
a biasinq member coupled to and between the handle assembly and the frame or the reaction bar, the biasinq member biasinq the handle assembly to the first position,
wherein the handle assembly is configured to move, under force applied to the handle assembly greater than a biasinq force of the biasinq member, from the first position to the second position,
and wherein, with the handle assembly in the first position, the reaction bar is responsive to load applied to the web to move within the slots toward the handle assembly to force the first web-clamping surface against the second web-clamping surface with the web clamped therebetween.