Occupant protection system for vehicle

• US 6,906,621 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2002
• Issued: 06/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Inventors: Kore, Haruhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent A.
• Application Number:
  US10/060,400
• Publication Number:
  US 20020105416A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 340/903, 340/435, 340/436, 340/438, 701/45, 180/271, 180/274, 180/281, 280/806, 280/807, 280/735, 297/478, 297/480
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0011 Rear collision or recoiling bounce after frontal collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0048 Head
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01313 monitoring the vehicle steering system or the dynamic control system
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01322 comprising variable thresholds, e.g. depending from other collision parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4666 characterised by electric actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0134 responsive to imminent contact with an obstacle , e.g. using radar systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01542 detecting passenger motion
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93272 in the back of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/415 Identification of targets based on measurements of movement associated with the target

Abstract

An occupant protection system of the type of predicted rear-end collision adaptive control raises an alarm when a rear-end collision is predicted and activates a belt tensioning motor to strain a safety belt so as to restrain the occupant strongly against the back of a seat at a point of time specified seconds before a possible occurrence of the predicted rear-end collision. In specific running situations such as cornering a sharp bent lane and making a right or left turn where the occupant protection system possibly confuses a stationary traffic device with a following vehicle, the occupant protection system is prevented from raising an alarm of a possible rear-end collision and straining the safety belt.

Claims

1. An occupant protection system having a seat equipped with a seat belt system for a vehicle, said occupant protection system comprising:

collision prediction means for predicting a possible occurrence of a rear-end collision of the vehicle with a following vehicle approaching from the rear, and further predicting a possible rear-end collision of the vehicle and raising an alarm of said possible rear-end collision;

collision adaptive control means for straining said seat belt so as thereby to restrain an occupant of said seat tightly against said seat when said collision prediction means predicts said possible occurrence of said rear-end collision;

speed monitoring means for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle;

angle monitoring means for detecting a steering angle of said vehicle; and

inhibition means for preventing said collision adaptive control means from operating when said vehicle speed and said steering angle are greater than a specified vehicle speed and a specified steering angle, respectively and further preventing said collision prediction means from raising said alarm when said vehicle speed and said steering angle are greater than specified vehicle speed and a specified steering angle, respectively;

wherein said collision adaptive control means changes a straining time for which said collision adaptive control means strains said seat belt.

2. An occupant protection system as defined in claim 1, wherein said collision adaptive control means changes a straining time longer when said vehicle speed is less than nearly zero than when said vehicle speed is greater than nearly zero.

3. An occupant protection system having a seat equipped with a seat belt system for a vehicle, said occupant protection system comprising:

collision prediction means for predicting a possible rear-end collision of the vehicle with a following vehicle approaching from the rear;

alarm means for raising an alarm of said rear-end collision when said collision prediction means predicts said possible rear-end collision;

speed monitoring means for detecting a vehicle speed of said vehicle;

angle monitoring means for detecting a steering angle of said vehicle; and

inhibition means for preventing said alarm means from raising an alarm when said vehicle speed and said steering angle are greater than a specified vehicle speed and a specified steering angel, respective;

wherein said collision adaptive control means changes a straining time for which said collision adaptive control means strains said seat belt.

4. An occupant protection system as defined in claim 3, wherein said collision adaptive control means changes a straining time longer when said vehicle speed is less than nearly zero than when said vehicle speed is greater than nearly zero.

5. An occupant protection system having a seat equipped with a seat belt system for a vehicle, said occupant protection system comprising:

collision prediction means for predicting a possible occurrence of rear-end collision of the vehicle with a following vehicle approaching from the rear and a possible rear-end collision on the basis of a threshold value of a relative attribution of said vehicle with said following vehicle and raising an alarm of said rear-end collision when predicting said possible rear-end collision and changes said threshold value according to a specific condition; and

collision adaptive control means for straining said seat belt so as thereby to restrain an occupant of said seat tightly against said seat when said collision prediction means predicts said possible occurrence of rear-end collision; and

distance detection means installed in a head restraint of said seat for detecting a head distance of an occupant'"'"'s head to said head restraint;

wherein said collision prediction means raises an alarm of said rear-end collision when predicting said possible rear-end collision and changes said threshold value according to a specific condition; and

wherein said specific condition is said head distance.

6. An occupant protection system having a seat equipped with a seat belt system for a vehicle, said occupant protection system comprising:

collision prediction means for predicting a possible occurrence of rear-end collision of the vehicle with a following vehicle approaching from the rear and a possible rear-end collision on the basis of a threshold value of a relative attribution of said vehicle with said following vehicle and raising an alarm of said rear-end collision when predicting said possible rear-end collision and changes said threshold value according to a specific condition; and

collision adaptive control means for straining said seat belt so as thereby to restrain an occupant of said seat tightly against said seat when said collision prediction means predicts said possible occurrence of rear-end collision;

wherein said threshold value is a braking distance which said following vehicle travels before a halt if said following vehicle slows down at a specified deceleration; and

wherein said specified deceleration is changed according to said specific condition.

7. An occupant protection system as defined in claim 6, wherein said specific condition is a relative approaching speed between said vehicle and said following vehicle.

8. An occupant protection system as defined in claim 6, and further comprising distance detection means installed in a head restraint of said seat for detecting a head distance of an occupant'"'"'s head to said head restraint, wherein said specific condition is said head distance.