Apparatus for use with child a child seat in a vehicle having a seat belt webbing pretensioner
First Claim
1. Apparatus for use with a removable child seat in a vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
- a vehicle seat on which a removable child seat may or may not be present;
a seat belt webbing pretensioner for retracting seat belt webbing associated with said vehicle seat;
a first sensor for providing a first output signal in response to a vehicle collision of a magnitude above a predetermined threshold;
a second sensor for providing a second output signal in response to the presence of a child seat on said vehicle seat;
a controller for receiving said first and second signals and, in response to said first output signal, for actuating said seat belt webbing pretensioner when a child seat is not present on said vehicle seat and inhibiting actuation of said seat belt webbing pretensioner when a child seat is present on said vehicle seat; and
a visual indicator operatively coupled with said controller to receive a signal from said controller indicating the presence of a child seat on said vehicle seat and to provide a visual indication that actuation of said seat belt webbing pretensioner is inhibited.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (10) for use with a removable child seat (12) in a vehicle (14) comprises a vehicle seat (20) on which a removable child seat may or may not be present, and a seat belt webbing pretensioner (40) for retracting seat belt webbing (30) associated with the vehicle seat. A first sensor (58) provides a first output signal in response to a vehicle collision of a magnitude above a predetermined threshold. A second sensor (60) provides a second output signal in response to the presence of a child seat (12) on the vehicle seat (20). A controller (50) receives the first and second output signals and, in response to the first output signal, actuates the seat belt webbing pretensioner (40) when a child seat (12) is not present on the vehicle seat (20) and inhibits actuation of the seat belt webbing pretensioner when a child seat is present on the vehicle seat.
51 Citations
8 Claims
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1. Apparatus for use with a removable child seat in a vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
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a vehicle seat on which a removable child seat may or may not be present;
a seat belt webbing pretensioner for retracting seat belt webbing associated with said vehicle seat;
a first sensor for providing a first output signal in response to a vehicle collision of a magnitude above a predetermined threshold;
a second sensor for providing a second output signal in response to the presence of a child seat on said vehicle seat;
a controller for receiving said first and second signals and, in response to said first output signal, for actuating said seat belt webbing pretensioner when a child seat is not present on said vehicle seat and inhibiting actuation of said seat belt webbing pretensioner when a child seat is present on said vehicle seat; and
a visual indicator operatively coupled with said controller to receive a signal from said controller indicating the presence of a child seat on said vehicle seat and to provide a visual indication that actuation of said seat belt webbing pretensioner is inhibited. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification