Seatbelt apparatus

• US 7,868,572 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2008
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2007
• 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): Benson; Walter
• Assistant Examiner(s): Paul; Antony M
• Application Number:
  US12/039,138
• Publication Number:
  US 20080211442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 318/256, 318/257, 318/280, 318/400.01, 318/400.14, 318/400.38, 318/560, 318/652, 318/661, 318/700, 318/779, 318/289, 318/650, 318/651, 318/400.22, 318/430, 318/432, 318/434, 318/704, 318/773, 318/823, 280/802, 280/803, 280/804, 280/807, 242/390.9
• US Class Current: 318/400.38
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4666 characterised by electric actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4825 for sensing amount of belt winded on retractor
• 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

This seatbelt apparatus includes: a belt reel around which a belt is wound; a motor which rotationally drives the belt reel; a transmitting device which transmits a driving power between the belt reel and the motor; a controller which drives the motor while controlling an electricity to be supplied to the motor; a rotation-detection device which detects a rotation status of the belt reel. The rotation-detection device outputs, in accordance with a rotation of the belt reel, a plurality of outputs including signals indicating a first state in which a current consumption by the rotation-detection device is larger than a predetermined value, and a second state in which the current consumption by the rotation-detection device is smaller than the predetermined value. The controller executes a first motor-driving process in which the motor is driven based on an output from the rotation-detection device until reaching the second state.

Claims

1. A seatbelt apparatus, comprising:

a belt reel around which a belt is wound;

a motor which rotationally drives the belt reel;

a transmitting device which transmits a driving power between the belt reel and the motor;

a controller which drives the motor while controlling an electricity to be supplied to the motor;

a rotation-detection device which detects a rotational position of the belt reel and consumes a varying amount of electrical current depending upon the rotational position of the belt wheel, the rotation-detection device including at least one hall element and a magnetic pole ring with a first pole and a second pole, the magnetic pole ring being rotationally coupled to the belt reel, wherein;

the rotation-detection device outputs, in accordance with rotational position of the belt reel, a plurality of outputs including signals indicating a first state in which the current consumption by the rotation-detection device is larger than a predetermined value because of a close proximity of the at least one hall element to the first pole of the magnetic pole ring, and a second state in which the current consumption by the rotation-detection device is smaller than the predetermined value because of a distant proximity of the at least one hall element to the first pole of the magnetic pole ring; and

the controller executes a first motor-driving process to rotate the motor until the rotation-detection device outputs the signal indicating the second state so as to reduce the current consumption of the rotation-detection device.

2. The seatbelt apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the controller comprises a timer which works for a predetermined time since the rotation-detection device has reached the second state, and repeats the first motor-driving process when the rotation-detection device is shifted to the first state while the timer is in operation.

3. The seatbelt apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller

repeats the first motor-driving process until the rotation-detection device reaches the second state again when the rotation-detection device is shifted from the second state to the first state, and

stops repeating the first motor-driving process after executing the first motor-driving process for predetermined times, even when the rotation-detection device is in the first state.

4. The seatbelt apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller continues controlling the electricity to be supplied to the motor so as to be constant, until the rotation-detection device reaches the second state.

5. The seatbelt apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller

comprises a current-measuring device which measures the current to be supplied to the motor, and

decreases or stops the electricity to be supplied to the motor while driving the motor, if the current measured by the current-measuring device exceeds a predetermined value.

6. A seatbelt apparatus, comprising:

a belt reel around which a belt is wound;

a motor which rotationally drives the belt reel;

a transmitting device which transmits a driving power between the belt reel and the motor;

a controller which drives the motor while controlling an electricity to be supplied to the motor;

a rotation-detection device which detects a rotation status of the belt reel, wherein;

the rotation-detection device outputs, in accordance with a rotation of the belt reel, a plurality of outputs including signals indicating a first state in which a current consumption by the rotation-detection device is larger than a predetermined value, and a second state in which the current consumption by the rotation-detection device is smaller than the predetermined value;

the controller executes a first motor-driving process in which the motor is driven based on an output from the rotation-detection device until reaching the second state, and wherein

if the controller has detected that the rotation-detection device has shifted to the first state after shifting to the second state by executing the first motor-driving process,

then the controller executes a second motor-driving process in which the motor is driven in a backward direction in relation to a rotational direction in the first motor-driving process, until the rotation-detection device reaches the second state.