Vehicle seat belt device

• US 7,481,460 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2006
• Issued: 01/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Odate, Shotaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleming; Faye M.
• Application Number:
  US11/557,331
• Publication Number:
  US 20070102915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 280/806, 280/807, 280/801.1, 180/268, 297/480, 701/36, 701/45
• US Class Current: 280/806
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01272 Belt tensioners
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4666 characterised by electric actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0132 responsive to vehicle motion parameters , e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0134 responsive to imminent contact with an obstacle , e.g. using radar systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/46 Reels with means to tension the belt in an emergency by forced winding upelectrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements B60R21/01 ; tensioners using reels only guiding the belt during normal use, e.g. splitted reels B60R22/195

Abstract

A vehicle seat belt device includes an electric motor for retracting a loose portion of a seat belt during an emergency in a vehicle, and a control unit for controlling the electric motor. The control unit causes the electric motor to continuously rotate only in a belt retraction direction and repeatedly alternate between low-speed rotation and high-speed rotation when an emergency condition of the vehicle is predicted. The belt tension is varied by the repeated changing of the rotational speed between high speed and low speed, and the seat belt therefore vibrates. An occupant can be alerted to a predicted emergency by this vibration.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat belt device comprising:

a seat belt for restraining an occupant seated in a seat of a vehicle;

a pretensioner for retracting a loose portion of the seat belt during an emergency;

an electric motor for driving the pretensioner; and

a control unit for controlling the electric motor,

wherein the control unit performs control for causing the electric motor to continuously rotate only in a belt retraction direction and repeatedly alternate between low-speed rotation and high-speed rotation when an emergency condition of the vehicle is predicted.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the electric motor such that a drive torque generated by the electric motor increases in direct proportion to the urgency of the predicted emergency condition.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the electric motor such that a drive torque generated by the electric motor decreases over time after repetitive control of the electric motor is initiated.

4. A vehicle seat belt device comprising:

a seat belt for restraining an occupant seated in a seat of a vehicle;

a pretensioner for retracting a loose portion of the seat belt during an emergency;

an electric motor for driving the pretensioner; and

a control unit for controlling the electric motor,

wherein, when an emergency condition of the vehicle is predicted, the control unit selects a mode that corresponds to a nature of the predicted emergency condition from among a plurality of drive control modes for controlling the electric motor at the time of prediction, and controls the electric motor based on the selected mode; and

the plurality of drive control modes comprise;

a first drive control mode having control characteristics whereby the electric motor is controlled so as to continuously rotate only in a belt retraction direction and repeatedly alternate between low-speed rotation and high-speed rotation; and

a second drive control mode having characteristics in which at least one of characteristics of the electric motor that include a repetition time characteristic, a drive torque characteristic, and a rotational direction characteristic differs from the control characteristics of the first drive control modes.