OCCUPANT PROTECTION DEVICE

• US 20110148085A1
• Filed: 03/03/2011
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Shuji, Fukawatase, Osamu
• Granted Patent: US 8,286,999 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/736
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23384 having ends which are movable or detachable during deployment
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/287 of torsion rods or tubes
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0136 responsive to actual contact with an obstacle , e.g. to vehicle deformation, bumper displacement or bumper velocity relative to the vehicle monitoring crash strength in combination with passenger seat detection B60R21/01558
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2338 Tethers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/239 characterised by their venting means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/3413 operating between belt reel and retractor frame B60R22/4676 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/4628 characterised by fluid actuators, e.g. pyrotechnic gas generators actuating a cable B60R22/4619

Abstract

An occupant protection device includes a plurality of gas generators that actuate respective mechanisms, and a control portion that actuates the gas generators. If a condition for actuating at least one of the gas generators is fulfilled and a condition for actuating the other gas generators are unfulfilled, the other gas generators are controlled by the control portion at a timing that is uninfluential on an actuation state of one of the mechanism actuated by the one of the gas generators and that is different from a preset timing for actuating the other mechanisms actuated by the other gas generators.

Claims

1. An occupant protection device comprising:

a plurality of gas generators that are provided in respective mechanisms for protecting an occupant to generate gas for actuating the respective mechanisms; and

a control portion that performs control such that, if a condition for actuating at least one of the gas generators is fulfilled and conditions for actuating the other gas generators different from the one of the gas generators whose condition is fulfilled are unfulfilled, the one of the gas generators whose condition is fulfilled is actuated, and performs control such that the other gas generators whose conditions are unfulfilled are actuated at a timing that is uninfluential on an actuation state of one of the mechanisms which is actuated by the one of the gas generators whose condition is fulfilled and that is different from a preset timing for actuating the other mechanisms which are actuated by the other gas generators whose conditions are unfulfilled,

wherein the first gas generator actuates a retraction mechanism, as the first mechanism, that retracts a seat belt for restraining the occupant, and

the second gas generator actuates a change mechanism, as the second mechanism, that changes a tensile force applied to the retracted seat belt.

2. An occupant protection device comprising:

a seat belt unit including a seat belt that restrains an occupant and a retraction unit that retracts the seat belt;

a tensile force adjustment portion that adjusts a tensile force applied to the seat belt so as to reduce the tensile force if the occupant is restrained by the seat belt;

a first gas generator that generates gas for rotating the retraction unit so as to retract the seat belt;

a detection portion that detects information on a build of the occupant;

a second gas generator that generates gas for actuating the tensile force adjustment portion based on the information on the build of the occupant detected by the detection portion; and

a control portion that performs control such that the first gas generator is actuated if a condition for actuating only the first gas generator is fulfilled, and performs control such that the second gas generator is actuated at a timing after a lapse of a predetermined time from a timing when the first gas generator is actuated.