Seat belt device and seat belt device control method
First Claim
1. A seat belt device comprising:
- a first obstacle detection portion that detects an obstacle located within a predetermined distance from a vehicle in an area surrounding the vehicle;
a second obstacle detection portion that detects the obstacle located at a longer distance from the vehicle than the predetermined distance, wherein the first obstacle detection portion and the second obstacle detection portion are different sensors having different obstacle detection ranges;
a collision prediction portion that predicts a probability of a collision of the vehicle with the obstacle, based on a detection signal from the first obstacle detection portion or the second obstacle detection portion;
a pretensioner device that sets multiple levels of tension for a seat belt;
a sudden braking detection portion that includes an occupant movement detection portion that detects that an occupant of the vehicle has plunged forward, and a vehicle condition detection portion that detects that the vehicle has suddenly tilted forward to detect a state of sudden braking of the vehicle; and
a pretensioner control portion that (1) controls, either when the obstacle is detected by the second obstacle detection portion or when the sudden braking detection portion detects a sudden braking of the vehicle, an operation of the pretensioner device such that the seat belt is retracted at a first tension prior to the collision, and (2) controls the operation of the pretensioner device such that the seat belt is retracted at a second tension prior to the collision when the obstacle is detected by the first obstacle detection portion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A seat belt device (1) including an obstacle detection portion for detecting an obstacle in an area surrounding a vehicle, a collision prediction portion (21) for predicting a probability of a collision between the vehicle and the obstacle based on a detection signal from the obstacle detection portion, a pretensioner device (40), and a pretensioner control portion (22) which controls, when a collision prediction is received from the collision prediction portion (21), the operation of the pretensioner device (40) such that seat belt is retracted prior to the collision. Multilevel tensions for retraction of the seat belt are set for the pretensioner device (40), and furthermore, the tension of the seat belt can be change by the pretensioner control portion (22) in accordance with a collision prediction level determined by the collision prediction portion (21).
25 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A seat belt device comprising:
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a first obstacle detection portion that detects an obstacle located within a predetermined distance from a vehicle in an area surrounding the vehicle; a second obstacle detection portion that detects the obstacle located at a longer distance from the vehicle than the predetermined distance, wherein the first obstacle detection portion and the second obstacle detection portion are different sensors having different obstacle detection ranges; a collision prediction portion that predicts a probability of a collision of the vehicle with the obstacle, based on a detection signal from the first obstacle detection portion or the second obstacle detection portion; a pretensioner device that sets multiple levels of tension for a seat belt; a sudden braking detection portion that includes an occupant movement detection portion that detects that an occupant of the vehicle has plunged forward, and a vehicle condition detection portion that detects that the vehicle has suddenly tilted forward to detect a state of sudden braking of the vehicle; and a pretensioner control portion that (1) controls, either when the obstacle is detected by the second obstacle detection portion or when the sudden braking detection portion detects a sudden braking of the vehicle, an operation of the pretensioner device such that the seat belt is retracted at a first tension prior to the collision, and (2) controls the operation of the pretensioner device such that the seat belt is retracted at a second tension prior to the collision when the obstacle is detected by the first obstacle detection portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A seat belt control method comprising the steps of:
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detecting an obstacle located within a predetermined distance from a vehicle in an area surrounding the vehicle by a first obstacle detection portion; detecting the obstacle at a longer distance from the vehicle than the predetermined distance by a second obstacle detection portion, wherein the first obstacle detection portion and the second obstacle detection portion are different sensors having different obstacle detection ranges; predicting a probability of the vehicle colliding with the obstacle; determining a level of the predicted collision; detecting a sudden braking of the vehicle by detecting that an occupant of the vehicle has plunged forward, or that the vehicle has suddenly tilted forward to detect a state of sudden braking of the vehicle; controlling an operation of a pretensioner device such that a seat belt is retracted at a first tension prior to the collision, either when the obstacle is detected by the second obstacle detection portion or when the sudden braking detection portion detects the sudden braking of the vehicle; and controlling the operation of the pretensioner device such that the seat belt is retracted at a second tension prior to the collision when the obstacle is detected by the first obstacle detection portion. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A seat belt device comprising:
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an obstacle detection portion that detects an obstacle in an area surrounding a vehicle; a collision prediction portion that predicts a probability of a collision of the vehicle with the obstacle, based on a detection signal from the obstacle detection portion; a pretensioner device that retracts a seat belt; a sudden braking detection portion which includes an occupant movement detection portion that detects that an occupant of the vehicle has plunged forward and a vehicle condition detection portion that detects that the vehicle has suddenly tilted forward, and which determines the vehicle sudden braking when the occupant movement detection portion detects that the occupant of the vehicle has plunged forward and the vehicle condition detection portion detects that the vehicle has suddenly tilted forward; and a pretensioner control portion that controls, when the sudden braking detection portion determines the vehicle sudden braking, the operation of the pretensioner device such that the seat belt is retracted prior to the collision. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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Specification