Control apparatus of passive seat belt
First Claim
1. In a vehicle passive seat belt apparatus including a seat belt, a retractor for housing part of the seat belt, said retractor including means for permitting withdrawal of said seat belt therefrom and means for retracting said seat belt thereinto, sensing means for sensing acceleration of a door of the vehicle and for sensing withdrawal of the seat belt from the retractor, emergency bolt locking means responsive to said sensing means for selectively locking said seat belt against withdrawal from said retractor, and a belt lock cancelling solenoid which selectively prevents operation of said emergency belt lock means in response to opening and closing of the vehicle door, the improvement comprising:
- a door switch means provided adjacent an opening edge of the vehicle door for detecting the opening and closing of the vehicle door, a releasable latch mechanism for positively retaining the vehicle door latched in a closed position, said latch mechanism having latch switch means provided therein for detecting whether the vehicle door has been positively latched in said closed position by said latch mechanism, and control means responsive to said door switch means and said latch switch means for effecting actuation of the belt lock cancelling solenoid only when both said door switch means and said latch switch means have detected that the door is open, said control means including delay means for maintaining the actuation of said solenoid for a predetermined period of time immediately after one of said door switch means and said latch switch means has detected that the vehicle door is closed, each of said door switch means and said latch switch means including an electrical switch having respective open and closed positions, said control means including electric current supply means for selectively supplying electric current for actuation of said solenoid, one of said electrical switches being arranged in series circuit with said electric current supply means and said solenoid for permitting electric current from said electric current supply means to flow through said solenoid when said one electrical switch is in said closed position, and said one electrical switch coacting with the vehicle door to be switched into said open position whenever the vehicle door is closed, thereby electrically preventing erroneous actuation of said solenoid while the vehicle door is closed.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A passive seat belt control apparatus includes a retractor for housing part of a seat belt. The retractor includes an arrangement for sensing acceleration and deceleration of a vehicle door and the speed at which the seat belt is pulled out from the retractor, and a mechanism for locking the seat belt. A solenoid operates to cancel the function of the retractor, and a door switch detects opening and closing of the vehicle door. A main control unit actuates the solenoid when the door switch detects that the door is open, and the main control unit includes an arrangement for continuously maintaining the solenoid operative for a predetermined time whenever the door switch detects that the door is closed after it has previously detected that the door is open.
10 Citations
3 Claims
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1. In a vehicle passive seat belt apparatus including a seat belt, a retractor for housing part of the seat belt, said retractor including means for permitting withdrawal of said seat belt therefrom and means for retracting said seat belt thereinto, sensing means for sensing acceleration of a door of the vehicle and for sensing withdrawal of the seat belt from the retractor, emergency bolt locking means responsive to said sensing means for selectively locking said seat belt against withdrawal from said retractor, and a belt lock cancelling solenoid which selectively prevents operation of said emergency belt lock means in response to opening and closing of the vehicle door, the improvement comprising:
a door switch means provided adjacent an opening edge of the vehicle door for detecting the opening and closing of the vehicle door, a releasable latch mechanism for positively retaining the vehicle door latched in a closed position, said latch mechanism having latch switch means provided therein for detecting whether the vehicle door has been positively latched in said closed position by said latch mechanism, and control means responsive to said door switch means and said latch switch means for effecting actuation of the belt lock cancelling solenoid only when both said door switch means and said latch switch means have detected that the door is open, said control means including delay means for maintaining the actuation of said solenoid for a predetermined period of time immediately after one of said door switch means and said latch switch means has detected that the vehicle door is closed, each of said door switch means and said latch switch means including an electrical switch having respective open and closed positions, said control means including electric current supply means for selectively supplying electric current for actuation of said solenoid, one of said electrical switches being arranged in series circuit with said electric current supply means and said solenoid for permitting electric current from said electric current supply means to flow through said solenoid when said one electrical switch is in said closed position, and said one electrical switch coacting with the vehicle door to be switched into said open position whenever the vehicle door is closed, thereby electrically preventing erroneous actuation of said solenoid while the vehicle door is closed. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. In a vehicle passive seat belt apparatus including a seat belt, a retractor for housing part of the seat belt, said retractor including means for permitting withdrawal of said seat belt therefrom and means for retracting said seat belt thereinto, sensing means for sensing acceleration of a door of the vehicle and for sensing withdrawal of the seat belt from the retractor, emergency belt locking means responsive to said sensing means for selectively locking said seat belt against withdrawal from said retractor, and a belt lock cancelling solenoid which selectively prevents operation of said emergency belt lock means in response to opening and closing of the vehicle door, the improvement comprising:
a door switch means provided adjacent an opening edge of the vehicle door for detecting the opening and closing of the vehicle door, a releasable latch mechanism for positively retaining the vehicle door latched in a closed position, said latch mechanism having latch switch means provided therein for detecting whether the vehicle door has been positively latched in said closed position by said latch mechanism, and control means responsive to said door switch means and said latch switch means for effecting actuation of the belt lock cancelling solenoid only when both said door switch means and said latch switch means have detected that the door is open, each of said door switch means and said latch switch means including an electrical switch having respective open and closed positions, said control means including electric current supply means for selectively supplying electric current for actuation of said solenoid, one of said electrical switches being arranged in series circuit with said electric current supply means and said solenoid for permitting electric current from said electric current supply means to flow through said solenoid when said one electrical switch is in said closed position, and said one electrical switch coacting with the vehicle door to be switched into said open position whenever the vehicle door is closed, thereby electrically preventing erroneous actuation of said solenoid while the vehicle door is closed.
Specification