Seatbelt use indicating apparatus and method

• US 20040155765A1
• Filed: 12/12/2003
• Published: 08/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Okita, Munechika, Oyabu, Masanori
• Granted Patent: US 7,199,703 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/457.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4816 for sensing locking of buckle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4866 Displaying or indicating arrangements thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/48 Control systems, alarms, or interlock systems, for the correct application of the belt or harness

Abstract

A simple and inexpensive seatbelt use indicating apparatus that allows easy recognition of the states of use/non-use of the seatbelt is provided. The apparatus includes a design figure that implies whether the seatbelt is used or not, and a lamp portion that indicates the use or the non-use of the seatbelt of each seat location via the color of light. The lamp portion causes two-color LEDs to glow corresponding to indications of the seat locations in accordance with the on/off states of buckle switches provided in seatbelt devices. Whether a seatbelt is used or not is indicated by changing the color of light of a corresponding LED, that is, changing the fashion of indication. The glow of LEDs is changed between red and green. Red glow of an LED indicates that a corresponding seatbelt is used, and green glow of the LED indicates that the corresponding seatbelt is not used.

Claims

1. A seatbelt use indicating apparatus comprising:

a detector that detects whether a seatbelt is used;

a use indicator that indicates that the seatbelt is used based on a result of detection provided by the detector; and

a non-use indicator that indicates that the seatbelt is not used based on a result of detection provided by the detector.

2. The seatbelt use indicating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the use indicator and the non-use indicator are formed by a single indicator device that indicates a state where the seatbelt is used and a state where the seatbelt is not used, in different indication fashions.

3. The seatbelt use indicating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the indication fashions relate to at least one of a display color, a display brightness and a display state.

4. The seatbelt use indicating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of a plurality of the detectors, one of a plurality of the use indicators and one of a plurality of the non-use indicators are provided for each of a plurality of seats in a vehicle.

5. The seatbelt use indicating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detector detects the state of use/non-use of the seatbelt based on whether a tongue plate is engaged with a buckle portion.

6. The seatbelt use indicating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the use indicator and the non-use indicator use an LED to indicate whether the seatbelt is used.

7. A seatbelt use indicating method comprising the steps of:

detecting whether a seatbelt is used;

indicating that the seat belt is used based on a result of detection; and

indicating that the seatbelt is not used based on a result of detection.

8. The seatbelt use indicating method according to claim 7, wherein a state where the seatbelt is used and a state where the seatbelt is not used are indicated in different indication fashions by a single indicator device.

9. The seatbelt use indicating method according to claim 8, wherein the indication fashions relate to at least one of a display color, a display brightness and a display state.

10. The seatbelt use indicating method according to claim 7, wherein a detection regarding the state of use/non-use of the seatbelt, an indication that the seatbelt is used, and an indication that the seatbelt is not used are provided for each of a plurality of seats in a vehicle.

11. The seatbelt use indicating method according to claim 7, wherein whether the seatbelt is used is detected based on whether a tongue plate is engaged with a buckle portion.

12. The seatbelt use indicating method according to claim 7, wherein an LED is used to indicate whether the seatbelt is used.