Vehicle occupant protection apparatus

• US 20040080204A1
• Filed: 09/08/2003
• Published: 04/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Enomoto, Takaaki, Kato, Hideki
• Granted Patent: US 7,299,118 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 297/480
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01265 Seat belts
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01311 monitoring the braking system, e.g. ABS
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01313 monitoring the vehicle steering system or the dynamic control system
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01317 monitoring seat belt tensiont
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4685 with means to adjust or regulate the tensioning force in relation to external parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01546 using belt buckle sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01556 Child-seat detection systems

Abstract

An occupant protection apparatus appropriately protects occupants of a vehicle, when a vehicle crush occurs, without requiring a troublesome task to the occupants. The occupant protection apparatus is provided with a steering angle sensor, a distance sensor and a brake depressing amount sensor. An electronic control unit predicts a vehicle crash based on the detection signals of each sensor so as to set a tension applied to a driver seat seatbelt to be smaller than a tension applied to passenger seat seatbelts. Additionally, the electronic control unit increases the tension applied to the seatbelts when a temperature detected by an outside-temperature detection sensor and/or an inside-temperature detection sensor is low as compared to the detected temperature is high.

Claims

1. An occupant protection apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

driver-seat seatbelt tension changing means for changing a tension applied to a driver-seat seatbelt provided to a driver seat of the vehicle;

passenger-seat seatbelt tension changing means for changing a tension applied to a passenger-seat seatbelt provided to a seat other than said driver seat;

crash predicting means for predicting a crash of said vehicle; and

belt tension controlling means for controlling said driver-seat seatbelt tension changing means and said passenger-seat seatbelt tension changing means so as to increase the tension applied to each of said driver-seat seatbelt and said passenger-seat seatbelt when said crash predicting means determines that there is a possibility of a vehicle crash, and set the tension applied to said driver-seat seatbelt to be smaller than the tension applied to said passenger-seat seatbelt.

2. An occupant protection apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

occupant belt tension changing means for changing a tension applied to an occupant seatbelt provided to the vehicle;

outside-temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature outside said vehicle;

crash predicting means for predicting a crash of said vehicle; and

belt tension controlling means for controlling said occupant belt tension changing means so as to increase the tension applied to the occupant seatbelt when said crash predicting means determines that there is a possibility of a vehicle crash, and set the tension applied to the occupant seatbelt, when the outside temperature detected by said outside-temperature detection means is a first temperature, to be larger than the tension applied to the occupant seatbelt when the detected outside temperature is a second temperature higher than the first temperature.

3. The occupant protection apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising physique detecting means for detecting physique of an occupant, and wherein said belt tension controlling means further controls said occupant belt tension changing means based on the physique detected by said physique detecting means so that the tension applied to said occupant seatbelt is set to be smaller as the detected physique is larger.

5. The occupant protection apparatus as claimed in claim 3, further comprising physique detecting means for detecting physique of an occupant, and wherein said belt tension controlling means further controls said occupant belt tension changing means based on the physique detected by said physique detecting means so that the tension applied to said occupant seatbelt is set to be smaller as the detected physique is larger.

4. An occupant protection apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

occupant belt tension changing means for changing a tension applied to an occupant seatbelt provided to the vehicle;

inside-temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature inside said vehicle;

crash predicting means for predicting a crash of said vehicle; and

belt tension controlling means for controlling said occupant belt tension changing means so as to increase the tension applied to the occupant seatbelt when said crash predicting means determines that there is a possibility of a vehicle crash, and set the tension applied to the occupant seatbelt, when the inside temperature detected by said inside-temperature detection means is a first temperature, to be larger than the tension applied to the occupant seatbelt when the detected inside temperature is a second temperature higher than the first temperature.

6. An occupant protection apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

occupant belt tension changing means for changing a tension applied to an occupant seatbelt provided to the vehicle;

belt wear detecting means for detecting wear of said occupant seatbelt;

crash predicting means for predicting a crash of said vehicle; and

belt tension controlling means for controlling said occupant belt tension changing means, when it is judged by said crash predicting means that there is a possibility of a vehicle crash and also when wear of said occupant seatbelt is detected by said belt wear detecting means, so as to increase the tension applied to the occupant seatbelt.

7. An occupant protection apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

occupant belt tension changing means for changing a tension applied to an occupant seatbelt provided to the vehicle;

belt wear detecting means for detecting wear of said occupant seatbelt;

child seat detecting means for detecting attachment of a child seat to a passenger seat of said vehicle;

crash predicting means for predicting a crash of said vehicle; and

belt tension controlling means for controlling said occupant belt tension changing means, when it is judged by said crash predicting means that there is a possibility of a vehicle crash and when wear of said occupant seatbelt is detected by said belt wear detecting means and also when attachment of said child seat is not detected by child seat detecting means, so as to increase the tension applied to the occupant seatbelt.