System for warning a failure to wear a seat belt
First Claim
1. A system for warning a failure to wear a seat belt to urge a vehicle operator to wear the seat belt, comprising:
- a sound emitter for emitting a warning sound;
a seat belt sensor for detecting a fastened state of a seat belt;
a vehicle speed sensor; and
an electronic controller for receiving a detection signal from said seat belt sensor and a vehicle speed signal from said vehicle speed sensor, and activating said sound emitter according to said detection signal from said seat belt sensor and vehicle speed signal from said vehicle speed sensor;
wherein said electronic controller is adapted to activate said sound emitter when a vehicle speed is higher than a first threshold level and said seat belt is not fastened, said sound emitter cyclically alternating between a sound emitting state and a silent state when activated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a system for warning a failure to wear a seat belt to urge a vehicle operator to wear the seat belt, a sound emitter is activated when a vehicle speed is higher than a threshold level and the seat belt is not fastened. The sound emitter cyclically alternates between a sound emitting state and a silent state when activated, the silent state lasting for a period of at least three seconds each time. Because the silent state is interposed between sound emitting states and because the warning is not emitted when traveling for a short period of time at a low speed, for instance, in a parking garage or the like or when the vehicle is stationary, the annoyance to the vehicle operator is minimized while allowing the vehicle operator to be kept warned.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for warning a failure to wear a seat belt to urge a vehicle operator to wear the seat belt, comprising:
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a sound emitter for emitting a warning sound;
a seat belt sensor for detecting a fastened state of a seat belt;
a vehicle speed sensor; and
an electronic controller for receiving a detection signal from said seat belt sensor and a vehicle speed signal from said vehicle speed sensor, and activating said sound emitter according to said detection signal from said seat belt sensor and vehicle speed signal from said vehicle speed sensor;
wherein said electronic controller is adapted to activate said sound emitter when a vehicle speed is higher than a first threshold level and said seat belt is not fastened, said sound emitter cyclically alternating between a sound emitting state and a silent state when activated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification