Safety Device and Method for a Motor Vehicle

• US 20070208474A1
• Filed: 04/08/2005
• Published: 09/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: Reutter, Dominic, Breitner, Roland, Bertele, Frank, Woerner, Ulrich
• Application Number:
  US11/578,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20070208474A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0268 using sensors or detectors for adapting the seat or seat part, e.g. to the position of an occupant
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42727 involving substantially rigid displacement
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4279 electric or electronic triggering
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/888 with arrangements for protecting against abnormal g-forces, e.g. by displacement of the head-rest

Abstract

A safety device for a motor vehicle and related method, in which a head restraint is provided on a seat backrest of a vehicle seat, as well as a control unit with an evaluation of data relevant to safety during driving. The control unit temporally activates a head restraint displacing drive so that, before an accident event which can be anticipated occurs, a positioning of the head restraint into a head restraint setting for an occupant that is safety-optimum is initiated. The safety-optimized head restraint setting is dependent on the current backrest inclination setting of the seat backrest of the vehicle seat.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A safety device for a motor vehicle, having a head restraint provided on a seat backrest of a vehicle seat, comprising a control unit configured to evaluate data relevant to safety during driving and to temporally activate a head restraint displacing drive so that, before occurrence of an anticipated accident event, a positioning of the head restraint into a safety-optimized head restraint setting for an occupant is initiated, wherein the safety-optimized head restraint setting is a function of a current backrest inclination setting of the seat backrest of the vehicle seat.

12. The safety device as claimed in claim 11, wherein before occurrence of the accident event, a positioning of the seat backrest into a safety-optimized backrest inclination setting is additionally initiated by a backrest inclination displacing drive.

13. The safety device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the positioning of the head restraint and of the seat backrest takes place in a temporally correlated manner.

14. The safety device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the safety-optimized backrest inclination setting of the seat backrest is a function of at least one of a current longitudinal position and a current seat cushion inclination of a seat cushion of the vehicle seat.

15. The safety device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the safety-optimized inclination setting of the seat backrest is a function of a usage state of a belt system of the vehicle seat.

16. The safety device as claimed in claim 12, wherein an occupant classification is provided for the vehicle seat, so that the safety-optimized head restraint setting functions in relation to the occupant classification.

17. The safety device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the function relates to at least one of size and weight of a vehicle occupant.

18. The safety device as claimed in claim 11 wherein the vehicle seat is a rear seat of the motor vehicle.

19. The safety device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the data relevant to safety during driving include at least one of driving state variables, ambient data, and evaluated driver activities.

20. The safety device as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one of the safety-optimized head restraint setting and the safety-optimized inclination setting of the seat backrest is reached before the accident event occurs.

21. The safety device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the head restraint and the seat backrest are moved back again into their original settings if the accident does not occur as anticipated.

22. A method comprising:

evaluating data relevant to safety during driving of a motor vehicle; and

temporarily activating a head restraint displacing drive before occurrence of an anticipated accident event based on the evaluated data to position a head restraint for a vehicle occupant in a safety-optimized setting as a function of a current backrest inclination setting of a vehicle seat backrest.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein before occurrence of the accident event, a positioning of the seat backrest into a safety-optimized backrest inclination setting is additionally initiated by a backrest inclination displacing drive.

24. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the positioning of the head restraint and of the seat backrest takes place in a temporally correlated manner.

25. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the safety-optimized backrest inclination setting of the seat backrest is a function of at least one of a current longitudinal position and a current seat cushion inclination of a seat cushion of the vehicle seat.

26. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the safety-optimized inclination setting of the seat backrest is a function of a usage state of a belt system of the vehicle seat.

27. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein an occupant classification is provided for the vehicle seat, so that the safety-optimized head restraint setting functions in relation to the occupant classification.

28. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the data relevant to safety during driving include at least one of driving state variables, ambient data, and evaluated driver activities.

29. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein at least one of the safety-optimized head restraint setting and the safety-optimized inclination setting of the seat backrest is reached before the accident event occurs.

30. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the head restraint and the seat backrest are moved back again into their original settings if the accident does not occur as anticipated.