Apparatus for detecting the wearing of a seat belt assembly
First Claim
1. In a vehicle including a seat and a seat belt, an apparatus for detecting whether an occupant seated on said seat is wearing said seat belt, said apparatus comprising:
- a seat belt assembly including said belt which may be disposed around said occupant;
a belt electrode positioned along at least a portion of said belt;
a detecting electrode positioned so as to produce an electric field between said belt electrode and said detecting electrode and passing through at least part of said occupant when said belt is disposed around said occupant;
capacitance detecting means for detecting the capacitance formed between said belt electrode and said detecting electrode; and
monitoring means responsive to changes in the detected capacitance for monitoring the detected capacitance to determine whether said belt is disposed around said occupant.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A wearing condition of a seat belt assembly is detected while considering a difference in a preferred mode of the seat belt assembly between the presence and the absence of a personnel who is seated upon a seat. In the prior art arrangement, in which a mechanical coupling of a seat belt assembly is considered alone, an alarm may be given off in the absence of the coupling. This may result in giving off an alarm for a vacant seat on which no personnel is seated. Such inconvenience is completely eliminated in accordance with the invention in which a decision differs between the presence or absence of a seating. The relationship between a webbing and a personnel sitting on the seat is analyzed, whereby an anomaly in the wearing condition such as sitting over the webbing after coupling the seat belt assembly can be detected.
72 Citations
50 Claims
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1. In a vehicle including a seat and a seat belt, an apparatus for detecting whether an occupant seated on said seat is wearing said seat belt, said apparatus comprising:
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a seat belt assembly including said belt which may be disposed around said occupant; a belt electrode positioned along at least a portion of said belt; a detecting electrode positioned so as to produce an electric field between said belt electrode and said detecting electrode and passing through at least part of said occupant when said belt is disposed around said occupant; capacitance detecting means for detecting the capacitance formed between said belt electrode and said detecting electrode; and monitoring means responsive to changes in the detected capacitance for monitoring the detected capacitance to determine whether said belt is disposed around said occupant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. In a vehicle including a seat and a seat belt, an apparatus for detecting whether an occupant of said seat is wearing said seat belt, said apparatus comprising:
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a seat belt assembly including selectively engagable fastening means for selectively fastening said seat belt assembly; fastening detecting means for providing a first positive detection when the seat belt assembly is fastened; seating detecting means for providing a second positive detection when an occupant is seated on the vehicle seat, said seating detecting means comprising a seating detecting electrode and a ground electrode positioned to define an electric field which passes through at least part of an occupant of said vehicle seat, capacitance detecting means for detecting the capacitance between said seating detecting electrode and said ground electrode, and monitoring means for monitoring the detected capacitance, said monitoring means determining that an occupant is seated on said vehicle seat if an increase per unit time of the detected capacitance exceeds a predetermined value; decision means for determining an anomaly in the wearing of the seat belt assembly when only one of the first and the second positive detections is provided; and output means for out-putting the determination of said decision means. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. In an automobile including a seat and a seat belt assembly, said seat belt assembly including a belt which may be disposed around a passenger of said automobile, an apparatus for detecting whether said passenger is wearing said seat belt assembly, said apparatus comprising:
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a belt electrode positioned along at least a portion of said belt; a detecting electrode, spaced from said belt electrode, and positioned to produce an electric field between said belt electrode and said detecting electrode; and monitoring means responsive to changes in the detected capacitance for monitoring the detected capacitance to determine whether a passenger is positioned between said belt electrode and said detecting electrode.
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18. In an automobile including a seat and a seat belt assembly,the seat belt assembly including a belt which may be disposed around a passenger of said automobile and a belt electrode positioned along at least a portion of said belt, said automobile further including a detecting electrode disposed therein, a method of sensing whether a passenger is wearing said seat belt assembly comprising the steps of:
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detecting the capacitance formed between said belt electrode and said detecting electrode; and monitoring the detected capacitance to determine whether a passenger is positioned between said belt electrode and said detecting electrode.
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19. In a vehicle including a seat and a seat belt, an apparatus for detecting whether an occupant of said seat is properly wearing said seat belt of the vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
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a seat belt assembly including said belt which may be disposed around said occupant and a selectively engagable fastening means for selectively fastening said seat belt assembly, said seat belt assembly being properly worn when said fastening means is engaged and said belt is disposed around said occupant; fastening detecting means for providing a first positive detection when the seat belt assembly is fastened; seating detecting means for providing a second positive detection when said occupant is seated on the vehicle seat; lacing detecting means for providing a third positive detection when said belt is disposed around said occupant; decision means for determining an anomaly in the wearing of the seat belt assembly when only one or two of the first, the second, and the third positive detections are provided; and
p1 output means for outputting the determination of the decision means. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. In a vehicle including a seat and a seat belt, an apparatus for detecting whether an occupant of said seat is properly wearing said seat belt, said apparatus comprising:
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a seat belt assembly including said belt which may be disposed around an occupant of said vehicle seat and a selectively engagable fastening means for selectively fastening said seat belt assembly, said seat belt assembly being properly worn when said fastening means is engaged and said belt is disposed around said occupant; fastening detecting means for determining when the seat belt assembly is fastened; a detecting electrode mounted in the vehicle seat; a ground electrode maintained at ground potential and positioned to define an electric field between the detecting electrode and the ground electrode and passing through at least part of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat; a belt electrode insulated from the ground electrode and positioned to define an electric field between the detecting electrode and the belt electrode and passing through at least part of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat when said belt is disposed around said occupant; first capacitance detecting means for detecting the capacitance between said ground electrode and said detecting electrode; second capacitance detecting means for detecting the capacitance between said detecting electrode and said belt electrode; monitoring means for monitoring changes in capacitance detected by the first capacitance detecting means to determine whether an occupant is seated on said vehicle seat and for monitoring changes in the capacitance detected by said second capacitance detecting means to determine whether said belt is disposed around an occupant of said vehicle seat; decision means responsive to said monitoring means and said fastening detecting means for determining whether said seat belt assembly is properly worn; and output means for outputting the determination of the decision means. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification