Vehicle seatbelt apparatus

• US 7,905,519 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2008
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Odate, Shotaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson; Paul N
• Assistant Examiner(s): ENGLISH, JAMES A
• Application Number:
  US12/209,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20090066072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 280/804, 280/807, 701/45, 701/47, 180/268, 180/270, 242/385
• US Class Current: 280/807
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4666 characterised by electric actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4816 for sensing locking of buckle
• 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 seatbelt apparatus includes a power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section incorporated in a control device for detecting fluctuations of power supply voltage occurring when an engine cranking operation is being performed. The control device changes drive mode of the motor when such fluctuations of the power supply voltage are detected by the power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section.

Claims

1. A vehicle seatbelt apparatus, comprising:

a belt reel having a seat belt wound thereon;

an electric motor for rotationally driving the belt reel to take up the seat belt;

a vehicle-mounted power supply; and

a control device including an input port connected to the vehicle-mounted power supply and an output port connected to the electric motor, the control device being operable to control an amount of electric power supplied from the output port of the control device to the electric motor,

wherein the control device includes a power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section for detecting fluctuations of a power supply voltage supplied from the vehicle-mounted power supply during start-up operation of a vehicle-mounted motive power source, and

wherein the control device changes drive mode of the electric motor when the power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section detects fluctuations of the power supply voltage at the input port of the control device during the start-up operation of the vehicle-mounted motive power source.

2. The vehicle seatbelt apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control device temporarily stops driving of the electric motor when the power supply voltage fluctuations are detected by the power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section.

3. The vehicle seatbelt apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotational speed detecting means for detecting a rotational speed of the belt reel, wherein the control device keeps the rotational speed of the electric motor at a constant speed from when the power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section detects the power supply voltage fluctuations to when the control device determines that the power supply voltage fluctuations do not exist any more.