Patent 7607604 was granted and assigned to Takata Corporation on October, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The disclosed seat belt tensioner may comprise a drive motor, a gear connected to the drive motor, and a seat belt spindle connected to the gear by a spindle clutch. The spindle clutch may have spindle clutch pawls, which engage in pawl teeth of the seat belt spindle to couple the seat belt spindle and the gear. The spindle clutch may also comprise a synchronization pawl configured to alit the pawl teeth before the spindle clutch pawls engage in the pawl teeth.