ELMSHORN, Germany, Sept. 5, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The front seats of the new Phaeton - Volkswagen's luxury top-of-the-range vehicle - feature a new double seatbelt retractor system supplied by Autoliv. The retractor system consists of two automatic reels: one above the shoulder on the B- pillar between the doors and a second one built into the side of the seat.
The system offers superior comfort and convenience. Since both reels provide a pretensioning function, the new Phaeton system ensures maximum safety as well.
The combination of two automatic reels gives the occupants greater freedom of movement. With a conventional one-reel system, the belt is subject to friction as it slides through an eye in the tongue of the buckle. As a result, it takes a certain amount of force to adjust the length of the lap portion of the belt, restricting hip movement and making the belt less convenient in use. But Autoliv's dual reel system allows greater freedom of movement, so that the occupants hardly notice they are wearing a belt. Reaching into a trouser pocket for a handkerchief or in other ways changing position in the seat will be much easier in the new Phaeton than in other cars without this dual reel system.
In order to keep the restraining force on the shoulder as low as possible, the reel on the pillar contains two separate springs. As soon as the front-seat occupant clicks the tongue into the buckle, an electrical signal switches the reel to the spring with the lower tension, so that the belt hardly presses on the shoulder at all. When the belt is unbuckled, the stronger spring is activated and the belt retracts rapidly onto the reel.
Because the new belt is not free to slide through the tongue, the lap and shoulder portions remain independent of each other, allowing the hips and torso to move freely without exerting a force on the other. The tongue of the new belt is more robust than conventional models to protect both portions of the belt from accidental damage or even intentional manipulation.
The increase in comfort and convenience may also contribute to a gain in safety, since a seat belt that is not used cannot save lives. In addition, the double pretensioner system takes up nearly two times more slack than a conventional system with only one pretensioner. And since the lap and shoulder portion of the belt are tensioned separately, the occupant of a Phaeton is held more securely in the seat in the event of a crash, which naturally means better overall restraint.
After the world debut in the Phaeton, Autoliv will start to offer the new seat belt system with dual retractors also for medium-sized and compact cars.
For additional information:
Matthias Baker, Projekt Manager VW, Autoliv GmbH - Werk Nord, Tel: +49- 4121-797 524 Birgit Degler, Marketing Manager, Autoliv GmbH, Tel +49-8131-295 265
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