Seatbelt device

• US 6,626,463 B1
• Filed: 09/17/1999
• Issued: 09/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NSK Autoliv Co., Ltd. (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: NSK Autoliv Co., Ltd. (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Arima, Takashi, Yamada, Hiroshi, Midorikawa, Yukinori, Ono, Katsuyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Morris, Lesley D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROYAL, PAUL
• Application Number:
  US09/397,728
• Time in Patent Office: 1,474 Days
• Field of Search: 280/806, 280/735, 280/801.1, 297/474, 297/477, 297/480, 180/268, 180/271, 180/282
• US Class Current: 280/806
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01317 monitoring seat belt tensiont
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4609 using a plurality of tensioners
• 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 21/01336 using filtering
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0134 responsive to imminent contact with an obstacle , e.g. using radar systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/1952 Transmission of tensioning power by cable; Return motion locking means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/1955 Linear actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/22 secured to the vehicle floor
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/4633 Linear actuators, e.g. comprising a piston moving along reel axis and rotating along its own axis

Abstract

Provided is a seatbelt device capable of reliably securing and protecting a passenger. This seatbelt device has a first seatbelt tension increasing unit (9a) for increasing the tension of the seatbelt (4), and a second seatbelt tension increasing unit (9b, 20, 30) for increasing the tension of the seatbelt (4). When this seatbelt device judges that the collision of a vehicle is unavoidable, it operates the first seatbelt tension increasing unit (9a) before the collision and operates the second seatbelt tension increasing unit (9b, 20, 30) when it detects the collision of the vehicle. Thereby, the passenger is reliably secured to the seat and his/her safety is ensured.

Claims

1. A seatbelt device, comprising:

a seatbelt for securing a passenger to a seat;

a retractor for retracting one end of said seatbelt;

a tongue plate through which said seatbelt passes;

a buckle arranged in the vicinity of the abdominal region of said passenger and connected removably to said tongue plate;

a collision prediction device for predicting a collision of a vehicle with an obstacle and generating a collision unavoidable signal when a distance from the vehicle to the obstacle is less than or equal to a collision unavoidable distance;

a collision detection device for generating a collision signal upon detecting a collision based on the impact acceleration inflicted upon the vehicle upon collision;

a first seatbelt tension increasing element for increasing the tension of said seatbelt when said collision unavoidable signal is received,

a second seatbelt tension increasing element for increasing the tension of said seatbelt when said collision signal is received,

wherein said first seatbelt tension increasing element increases the tension of the seatbelt before said second seatbelt tension increasing element increases the seatbelt tension, and after activation, said first seatbelt tension increasing element continues in operation until the impact acceleration has abated after the collision of the vehicle or until the buckle is disengaged.

2. A seatbelt device according to claim 1, wherein said first seatbelt tension increasing element increases the tension of said seatbelt with the driving force of a motor, and said second seatbelt tension increasing element increases the tension of said seatbelt with a power generating mechanism using expansion gas.

3. A seatbelt device according to claim 1, wherein said collision prediction device outputs the collision unavoidable signal at least 0.1 second before the collision, and the first seatbelt tension increasing element operates before the collision.

4. A seatbelt device according to claim 1, wherein said first seatbelt tension increasing element, after activation, continues in operation for at least 5 seconds.

5. A seatbelt device according to claim 2, wherein said first and second seatbelt tension increasing element are provided within said retractor.

6. A seatbelt device according to claim 2, wherein said first seatbelt tension increasing element is provided to said retractor, and said second seatbelt tension increasing element is mounted on a mounting portion which mounts said buckle or the other end of said seatbelt to the vehicle body.

7. A seatbelt device according to claim 3, wherein said collision prediction device for predicting said collision measures the distance from one'"'"'s vehicle to the obstacle, obtains the time until collision by dividing said distance with the speed of one'"'"'s vehicle, and judges whether or not the collision is avoidable.

8. A seatbelt device according to claim 7, wherein said collision prediction device includes at least one among an infrared laser radar, millimeter wave radar, or ultrasonic radar for conducting said measurement of distance by measuring the reverberation of the detection wave from the obstacle.

9. A seatbelt device according to claim 7, wherein said collision prediction device includes a stereo camera for conducting said measurement of distance by trigonometrical survey.

10. A seatbelt device according to claim 1, wherein said first and second seatbelt tension increasing element increase the tension of said seatbelt by the driving force of their respective motors.

11. A seatbelt device, comprising:

a seatbelt for securing a passenger to a seat of a vehicle;

an electromotive retractor for retracting said seatbelt with a motor;

a pretensioner for rapidly retracting said seatbelt using expansion gas as the driving power source;

a collision prediction element for predicting a collision of said vehicle;

a collision detection element for detecting the collision of said vehicle; and

a control unit for controlling at least the operation of said electromotive retractor based on the output of said collision prediction element and the operation of said pretensioner based on the output of said collision detection element,

wherein said control unit sets a threshold value on a collision judgment of said collision detection element in accordance with the action/non-action of said electromotive retractor based on the output of said collision prediction element, in the case of the electromotive retractor being activated, a higher threshold value is set compared with the threshold value for a case of the electromotive retractor being non-activated to lessen a likelihood of the collision judgment as a collision.

12. A seat belt device according to claim 11, wherein said control unit changes a detection standard so that said pretensioner is less likely activated in case said electromotive retractor is activated.

13. A seatbelt device, comprising:

a seatbelt for securing a passenger to a seat;

a retractor for retracting one end of said seatbelt;

a tongue plate through which said seatbelt passes;

a buckle arranged in the vicinity of the abdominal region of said passenger and connected removably to said tongue plate;

a collision prediction device for predicting a collision of a vehicle with an obstacle and generating a collision unavoidable signal when a time or distance from the vehicle to the obstacle is less than or equal to a collision unavoidable time or distance;

a collision detection device for generating a collision signal upon detecting a collision based on the impact acceleration inflicted upon the vehicle upon collision;

a first seatbelt tension increasing element for increasing the tension of said seatbelt when said collision unavoidable signal is received,

a second seatbelt tension increasing element for increasing the tension of said seatbelt when said collision signal is received,

wherein said first seatbelt tension increasing element increases the tension of the seatbelt before said second seatbelt tension increasing element increases the seatbelt tension, and after activation, said first seatbelt tension increasing element continues in operation until the impact acceleration has abated after the collision of the vehicle or until the buckle is disengaged.