Apparatus for use in a vehicle occupant restraint system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for use in a vehicle having a vehicle seat and seat belt webbing extendable around an occupant in the vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
- webbing guide means for guiding the seat belt webbing;
supporting means for supporting said webbing guide means for movement;
first sensing means for sensing at least one characteristic of an occupant in the vehicle seat and for providing a signal indicative of said occupant characteristic; and
actuatable means actuatable in response to a condition indicative of a vehicle collision for causing said webbing guide means to move to a position dependent upon said signal indicative of said occupant characteristic.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (40) includes a movable webbing guide (28) which guides seat belt webbing (26) extendable around an occupant (11) in a vehicle seat (12). A webbing guide stop (70) is movable between different stop positions for stopping movement of the guide (28). The stop (70) is moved between the different stop positions using a positioning screw (64) having one end connected to the stop (70) and the other end operatively connected with a motor (60). A first sensor (80, 84) senses at least one characteristic of an occupant (11) in the seat (12) and provides a signal (82, 86) indicative of the occupant characteristic. The webbing guide stop (70) moves to a stop position which is dependent upon the signal indicative of the occupant characteristic when the occupant (11) is seated in the seat (12) and the vehicle ignition is turned on. An actuator (32), when actuated, causes the guide (28) to move. A second sensor (76) senses vehicle deceleration of at least a predetermined magnitude which is indicative of a vehicle collision requiring actuation of the actuator (32). The actuator (32) actuates to cause the guide (28) and thus the seat belt webbing (26) to move towards the stop (70) at the stop position which is dependent upon the signal indicative of the occupant characteristic when the second sensor (76) senses vehicle deceleration of at least the predetermined magnitude which is indicative of a vehicle collision requiring actuation of the actuator (32).
49 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for use in a vehicle having a vehicle seat and seat belt webbing extendable around an occupant in the vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
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webbing guide means for guiding the seat belt webbing; supporting means for supporting said webbing guide means for movement; first sensing means for sensing at least one characteristic of an occupant in the vehicle seat and for providing a signal indicative of said occupant characteristic; and actuatable means actuatable in response to a condition indicative of a vehicle collision for causing said webbing guide means to move to a position dependent upon said signal indicative of said occupant characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for use in a vehicle having a vehicle seat and seat belt webbing extendable around an occupant in the vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
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webbing guide means for guiding the seat belt webbing; supporting means for supporting said webbing guide means for movement; first sensing means for sensing at least one characteristic of an occupant in the vehicle seat and for providing a signal indicative of said occupant characteristic; actuatable means for, when actuated, causing said webbing guide means to move to a position dependent upon said signal indicative of said occupant characteristic; and control means responsive to said signal indicative of said occupant characteristic for limiting movement of the webbing guide means comprising processing means for receiving said signal from said first sensing means, a movable webbing guide stop, moving means controlled by said processing means for moving said webbing guide stop to a position dependent upon said occupant characteristic, and means for engaging said webbing guide means against said webbing guide stop. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for use in a vehicle having a vehicle seat and seat belt webbing extendable around an occupant in the vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
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webbing guide means for guiding the seat belt webbing; supporting means for supporting said webbing guide means for movement; stop means movable between different stop positions for stopping movement of said webbing guide means; actuatable motor means for, when actuated, moving said stop means between the different stop positions; and actuatable means for, when actuated, causing said webbing guide means to move to a position dependent upon a stop position of said stop means. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus for use in a vehicle having a vehicle seat and seat belt webbing extendable around an occupant in the vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
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webbing guide means for guiding the seat belt webbing; supporting means for supporting said webbing guide means for movement; first sensing means for sensing at least one characteristic of an occupant in the vehicle seat and for providing a signal indicative of said occupant characteristic; and actuatable means for, when actuated, causing said webbing guide means to move to a position dependent upon said signal indicative of said occupant characteristic; said supporting means including means for supporting said webbing guide means for pivotal movement about a fixed point on the vehicle, and said actuatable means including means for causing said webbing guide means to pivot about the fixed point on the vehicle upon actuation of said actuatable means.
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Specification