Passenger restraining protective apparatus

• US 6,382,667 B1
• Filed: 10/04/2000
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Joyson Safety Systems Japan K.K.
• Original Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Aoki, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Culbreth, Eric
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunn, David R.
• Application Number:
  US09/678,679
• Time in Patent Office: 580 Days
• Field of Search: 280/735, 280/801.1, 180/273, 180/268, 297/216.11, 701/45
• US Class Current: 280/735
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0152 using strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01546 using belt buckle sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0155 sensing belt tension
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01556 Child-seat detection systems

Abstract

To detect the presence of the child seat being fixed on the seat, and to prohibit deployment of the air bag even in the case of collision. A seat sensor for detecting the value of the load applied on the seat, and a tension switch that detects tension applied on the seat belt and turns into the ON-state when the tension is in a certain range are provided. The air bag actuation deciding section determines whether it is in the state that the tension is below the lower threshold value and the tension switch is in the ON-state and the seat belt is attached to the buckle, or in the state that the tension switch is in the OFF-state and the sum of the seat weight obtained from the seat sensor and the increase of the weight due to the tension of the seat belt is not more than a prescribed weight. When the collision sensor detects a collision, a regulating control signal for the deployment of the air bag corresponding to the determination is supplied to the ignition unit.

Claims

1. A passenger restraining protective device comprising:

a seat sensor for detecting a value of a load applied to a seat, and

a tension switch for detecting a tension applied to a seat belt and being turned ON when the tension exceeds a threshold value, wherein a control signal for regulating an air bag deployment is supplied when a passenger state is such that the tension exceeds the threshold value and the tension switch is in the ON-state, or that the load obtained from the seat sensor with the tension switch in an OFF-state is not more than a first evaluation weight,

wherein the tension switch is turned ON when the tension of the seat belt is between 3 kgf and 20 kgf.

2. A passenger restraining protective device comprising:

a seat sensor for detecting a value of a load applied to a seat, and

a tension switch for detecting a tension applied to a seat belt and being turned ON when the tension exceeds a threshold value, wherein a control signal for regulating an air bag deployment is supplied when a passenger state is such that the tension exceeds the threshold value and the tension switch is in the ON-state, or that the load obtained from the seat sensor with the tension switch in an OFF-state is not more than a first evaluation weight,

wherein the first evaluation weight is obtained by an equation W=α

X+Y, where,

W;

the first evaluation weight;

α

;

a conversion factor of the seat load;

X;

the tension of the tension switch (<

threshold value); and

,

Y;

a threshold value of the seat load.

3. The passenger restraining protective device of claim 2, wherein when the tension switch is in the ON-state and the seat load is not less than a second evaluation weight that is larger than the first evaluation weight, the regulating control signal is not supplied, thereby enabling the deployment of the air bag.

4. The passenger restraining protective device of claim 2, wherein the regulating control signal is a signal for prohibiting the deployment of the air bag.

5. The passenger restraining protective device of claim 2, wherein an output signal representing the ON-state of the tension switch is effective only when a buckle switch is in an ON-state.

6. The passenger restraining protective device of claim 2, wherein the ON-state of the tension switch is accepted after a prescribed holding period.

7. The passenger restraining protective device of claim 2, wherein the regulating control signal is a signal to decrease the deployment speed of the air bag.

8. The passenger restraining protective device of claim 2, wherein the tension switch is turned ON when the tension of the seat belt is between 3 kgf and 20 kgf.