Safety belt control method and control system for a safety belt

Abstract

The present application relates to a safety belt control method and a control system for a safety belt. The safety belt control method comprises the following steps: judging the insertion state of a buckle based on a position signal of the buckle; judging the retraction state of a webbing based on the pulled-out length of the webbing; controlling a motor to drive a retractor to tighten the webbing according to the insertion state of the buckle and the retraction state of the webbing; and after judging that the webbing has been tightened, judging whether the safety belt is in a false fastening state according to the pulled-out length of the webbing, the false fastening state being that the buckle is inserted into a lock but at least a part of the webbing is located between the back of an occupant and a seat corresponding to the safety belt or the webbing is not pulled out, wherein if the safety belt is in the false fastening state, a warning is given to the occupant that the safety belt is not worn correctly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of seat belts, and more specifically, to seat belt control methods and control systems for seat belts. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, seat belts are safety devices that restrain occupants during a car collision to prevent them from secondary collisions with the steering wheel and dashboard, or to prevent them from being ejected from the vehicle and resulting in injury or death.

[0003] Typically, a seatbelt includes a latch, a buckle that inserts into the latch, a webbing connected to the latch, and a coil spring that winds up the webbing. However, the coil spring's winding function diminishes with seatbelt use. That is, after a period of use, when the webbing is pulled out, the spring's restoring force is insufficient to fully retract the webbing. This results in a certain amount of slack in the webbing when the occupant wears the seatbelt, thus compromising the optimal fit.

[0004] Furthermore, in situations where the webbing length needs to be used to determine whether an occupant is wearing a seatbelt correctly, if the webbing is loose, the actual length of the webbing cannot be accurately determined. This can affect the judgment of whether the seatbelt is worn correctly, which often leads to a failure to issue timely warnings or reminders to the occupant.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a seat belt control method and control system that can eliminate webbing slack in real time in order to accurately detect whether the seat belt is falsely fastened. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a novel seat belt control system and a seat belt control system that executes the seat belt control method, which can determine whether the seat belt is in a false fastening state after eliminating the slack of the webbing.

[0007] This invention provides a seat belt control method for seat belts. The seat belt includes a latch, a buckle that can be inserted into the latch, a webbing connected to the latch, a retractor for winding the webbing, and a motor for controlling the winding action of the retractor. The seat belt control method includes the following steps: determining the latch's insertion / distraction state based on the buckle's position signal; determining the webbing's tension / retraction state based on the webbing's extended length; controlling the motor to drive the retractor to tighten the webbing based on the buckle's insertion / distraction state and the webbing's tension / retraction state; and after determining that the webbing has been tightened, determining whether the seat belt is in a false fastening state based on the buckle's insertion / distraction state and the webbing's extended length. The false fastening state refers to the buckle being inserted into the latch but at least a portion of the webbing being located between the occupant's back and the seat corresponding to the seat belt, or the webbing not being extended. If the seat belt is in the false fastening state, a warning is issued to the occupant that the seat belt is not being worn correctly.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the seat belt control method further includes the following steps: when the buckle changes from an unlocked state to a locked state, if the webbing is in an unstretched state, the motor is activated to drive the retractor to tighten the webbing.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the seat belt control method further includes the following steps: when the buckle is in the locked state and the webbing is in the stretched state, continuously detecting the change in the pulled-out length of the webbing, and determining whether to perform a retraction operation on the webbing based on the change.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the seat belt control method further includes the following steps: when the buckle is in the locked state and the webbing is in the stretched state, if the pulled-out length of the webbing stops changing, the motor is activated to drive the retractor to tighten the webbing.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the seat belt control method further includes the following step: determining whether the webbing has been tightened based on the actual tightening force acting on the webbing and the preset target tightening force.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the seat belt control method further includes the following steps: when the buckle is in the locked state and the actual tightening force is less than the target tightening force, the tightening operation of the webbing is repeatedly performed.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the seat belt control method further includes the following steps: when the buckle is in the locked state and the actual tightening force is greater than or equal to the target tightening force, if the webbing is in the unstretched state, then it is determined that the seat belt is in the false fastening state.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the seat belt control method further includes the following step: if the pull-out length of the webbing is less than a preset pull-out length threshold, then it is determined that the webbing is in the unstretched state.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the pull-out length threshold is in the range of 500mm to 900mm.

[0016] The present invention also provides a seat belt control system installed in a vehicle, which is configured to perform the above-described seat belt control method.

[0017] Therefore, the seatbelt control method and control system according to the present invention can utilize the buckle state and the webbing extension length to trigger the elimination of webbing slack, and can detect false fastening of the seatbelt after eliminating webbing slack, so as to issue a warning or reminder to the occupant. The seatbelt control method and control system according to the present invention has low cost and can be applied to seatbelts in all seats in a vehicle. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 A flowchart of a seatbelt control method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 The flowchart shows an application example of the seat belt control method.

[0020] Figure 3 It shows Figure 1 The flowchart shows another application example of the seat belt control method.

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the seatbelt control system and other components according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The following describes specific embodiments of the seat belt control method and seat belt control system according to the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings below are provided to illustrate the principles of the invention. The invention is not limited to the described preferred embodiments; the various embodiments described can be used individually or in any combination. The scope of protection of the invention is defined by the claims.

[0023] Furthermore, spatially related terms (such as "up," "down," "left," and "right") are used to describe the relative positional relationship between elements shown in the accompanying drawings and other elements. Therefore, spatially related terms can be applied to directions different from those shown in the accompanying drawings. Clearly, while all these spatially related terms refer to the directions shown in the accompanying drawings for ease of explanation, those skilled in the art will understand that directions different from those shown in the accompanying drawings can be used.

[0024] As described above, as the coil spring's retraction function deteriorates, the seat belt webbing becomes loose, which will affect the optimal wearing effect of the seat belt and may even prevent timely warnings or reminders to occupants that the seat belt is not being worn correctly.

[0025] To eliminate slack in the webbing for proper restraint of occupants, the present invention provides a seat belt control method for seat belts and a seat belt control system installed in a vehicle.

[0026] The seat belt control method and control system according to the present invention can be used in various types of vehicles, but the present invention will be described using a passenger car as an example.

[0027] Typically, a car includes multiple seats, each containing a seatbelt for securing the occupants, and each seatbelt includes a seatbelt control system according to the present invention. The specific structure of the seatbelt will be described below.

[0028] Seat belts typically include a latch, a buckle that inserts into the latch, a webbing connected to the latch, a retractor for winding the webbing, and a motor for controlling the winding action of the retractor. One end of the webbing is fixed to the vehicle body (e.g., the floor), while the other end is wound around the retractor. The motor is driven by the retractor, thereby enabling it to rotate and wind up the webbing.

[0029] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the seatbelt control system and other components according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. Reference is made below. Figure 4 A seatbelt control system installed in a vehicle according to the present invention is described.

[0030] like Figure 4 As shown, the seatbelt control system 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is connected to or communicates with the same as, for example, a vehicle electronic control unit 20. Furthermore, the seatbelt control system 10 also communicates with the seatbelt motor 30 and the vehicle's alarm device 40. The alarm device 40 includes a buzzer and / or an indicator light.

[0031] The vehicle electronic control unit 20 is connected to various vehicle detection devices, such as buckle position detection devices, webbing length detection devices, and webbing tension detection devices. Therefore, the seatbelt control system 10 can acquire data such as the seatbelt buckle position signal, seatbelt webbing length, and actual tension force acting on the webbing from the vehicle electronic control unit via the CAN bus. Based on this data, the seatbelt control system 10 can execute the seatbelt control method according to the present invention to control the motor 30 to perform corresponding winding operations and activate the alarm device 40 to indicate whether the seatbelt is being worn correctly.

[0032] The seatbelt control system 10 may include various devices with processing capabilities, including but not limited to general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc. The seatbelt control system 10 may include computer-executable instructions that are executed to perform the actions described in this application. The seatbelt control system 10 may include one or more memories. The memories can be used to store data, instructions, software, code, etc. The memories may include semiconductor memories, such as random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc. The memories may also include any memory using, for example, paper media, magnetic media, and / or optical media, such as paper tape, hard disks, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, magneto-optical disks (MO), CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, etc.

[0033] Figure 1 A flowchart of a seatbelt control method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 The flowchart shows an example of a seatbelt control method. Figure 3 It shows Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating another example of a seatbelt control method is shown. See below for reference. Figures 1 to 3 The present invention describes a seatbelt control method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] In step S10, the latch's insertion / distraction state is determined based on the latch's position signal. The latch's insertion / distraction state includes the locked state when the latch is inserted into the latch and the unlocked state when the latch is removed from the latch. In step S10, in addition to determining whether the latch is in the locked state and whether it is in the unlocked state, it is also necessary to determine whether the latch changes from the unlocked state to the locked state or whether there is an instantaneous change from the locked state to the unlocked state.

[0035] In step S12, the tension / retraction state of the webbing is determined based on the webbing's pull-out length. In an exemplary embodiment, the webbing tension / retraction state is determined based on a pull-out length threshold. The pull-out length threshold is pre-calibrated based on the seat's fore-and-aft position (e.g., foremost and rearmost positions) and vertical position (e.g., highest and lowest positions), seat back position (e.g., foremost and reclined positions), and seatbelt height adjustment position (e.g., highest and lowest height adjustment positions). Typically, the shortest and longest pull-out lengths of the webbing when no occupant is seated and the buckle is inserted into the latch are set as minimum and maximum limits, respectively. The minimum limit is, for example, 500 mm, and the maximum limit is, for example, 900 mm. Therefore, the webbing pull-out length threshold is in the range of 500 mm to 900 mm. Preferably, the webbing pull-out length is in the range of 600 mm to 800 mm. If the webbing pull-out length is less than this pull-out length threshold, it is determined that the webbing is not in a stretched state. Furthermore, if the pull-out length of the webbing is within the pull-out length threshold range, the webbing is determined to be in a stretched state.

[0036] In step S14, the motor is controlled to drive the retractor to tighten the webbing based on the latch's engagement / disengagement state and the webbing's tension / contraction state. For example, when the latch changes from the unlocked state to the locked state and the webbing is not in a stretched state, the motor 30 is activated to pre-tighten the webbing. Alternatively, if a change in webbing length is detected when the latch is in the locked state and the webbing is in a stretched state, but this change stops after a period of time, the motor 30 is activated to retract the webbing.

[0037] In step S16, after the webbing tightening action is completed, it is determined whether the seat belt is in a false fastening state based on the buckle's insertion / distraction status and the webbing's extended length. A false fastening state occurs when the buckle is inserted into the latch, but at least a portion of the webbing is located between the occupant's back and the seat, or the webbing is not extended at all. For example, although the buckle is inserted into the latch and part of the webbing wraps around the occupant's shoulders and chest, another portion of the webbing passes between the occupant's back and the seat, so the seat belt only restrains the occupant's chest, thus failing to achieve optimal restraint; in this case, the seat belt is in a false fastening state. Similarly, although the buckle is inserted into the latch and part of the webbing wraps around the occupant's waist and abdomen, another portion of the webbing passes between the occupant's back and the seat, so the seat belt only restrains the occupant's waist and abdomen, thus failing to achieve optimal restraint; in this case, the seat belt is also in a false fastening state. For example, since many seat belts are now universal, many drivers insert an additional buckle into the latch to avoid the alarm device from going off. In this case, although the buckle is inserted into the latch, the webbing is not pulled out at all, so the latch is in a false state, and the seat belt does not restrain the occupant in any way.

[0038] Therefore, in step S16, if the buckle is in the locked state but the webbing is not in the stretched state (i.e., the webbing pull-out length is less than the aforementioned pull-out length threshold), the seat belt is in a false fastening state. At this time, the seat belt control system 10 will activate the alarm device 40 to issue a warning to the occupant that the seat belt is not being worn correctly.

[0039] According to the aforementioned seatbelt control method, the webbing can first be tightened to eliminate any slack. Then, after the slack is eliminated, it can be determined whether the seatbelt is in a false fastening state. Therefore, eliminating webbing slack helps to more accurately determine the actual pulled-out length of the webbing, thus aiding in a more precise determination of whether the seatbelt is falsely fastened.

[0040] The following will refer to Figure 2 The following describes an application example of the seatbelt control method of the present invention. In this application example, before the occupant wears the seatbelt, the buckle is inserted into the latch, and the seatbelt control method of the present invention is executed to determine the slack state of the seatbelt after the webbing slack has been eliminated.

[0041] like Figure 2 As shown, in step S20, it is determined whether the latch has changed from the unlocked state to the locked state. If it is determined that the latch is still in the unlocked state ("No" in step S20), the state of the latch is continuously determined. If it is determined that the latch has changed from the unlocked state to the locked state ("Yes" in step S20), the method proceeds to step S22.

[0042] In step S22, it is determined whether the webbing is in a stretched state. As described above, if the pulled-out length of the webbing is within the pull-out length threshold range, it is determined that the webbing is in a stretched state, which means that the occupant has correctly worn the seat belt, so no tightening operation is performed on the webbing. If the pulled-out length of the webbing is less than the pull-out length threshold range, it is determined that the webbing is not in a stretched state, and the process proceeds to step S24.

[0043] In step S24, the motor is started to drive the take-up unit to tighten the webbing once. Then, the method proceeds to step S26.

[0044] In step S26, it is determined whether the actual tension force acting on the webbing is greater than or equal to the target tension force. As mentioned above, the actual tension force is obtained from the vehicle electronic control unit 20 via the CAN bus or directly from the webbing tension force detection device. The target tension force is preset by the seat belt control system. The target tension force cannot be set too high or too low. If the target tension force is too high, the passenger must exert a great deal of pulling force to fasten the seat belt. If the target tension force is too low, the webbing cannot provide adequate restraint for the passenger. Therefore, the target tension force is typically 30N. Of course, the target tension force can also be set to other values ​​according to actual needs.

[0045] If it is determined in step S26 that the actual tightening force is greater than or equal to the target tightening force, then the webbing is determined to be tightened, and no further tightening operation is performed on the webbing; the method proceeds to step S28. However, if it is determined in step S26 that the actual tightening force is less than the target tightening force, then the tightening operation on the webbing is repeated until the actual tightening force is greater than or equal to the target tightening force.

[0046] In step S28, it is determined whether the seat belt is falsely fastened. In an exemplary embodiment, the determination of whether the seat belt is falsely fastened is made by comparing the webbing extension length with the aforementioned extension length threshold. If the webbing extension length is within the extension length threshold range, it is determined that the webbing is in a stretched state, which means that the occupant has correctly worn the seat belt, and therefore the seat belt is in a normal wearing state. If the webbing extension length is less than the extension length threshold, it is determined that the webbing is not in a stretched state, which means that at least a portion of the webbing is located between the occupant's back and the seat, or the webbing has not been pulled out at all. In this case, it is determined that the seat belt is falsely fastened, and the method proceeds to step S29.

[0047] In step S29, the alarm device 40 is activated to warn the occupant that they are not wearing their seat belts correctly.

[0048] Therefore, by utilizing the above operations, the seat belt control method of the present invention can eliminate webbing slack before the occupant wears the seat belt, thereby enabling a more accurate determination of whether the seat belt is falsely fastened after the webbing slack is eliminated, so as to issue an instruction or warning to the occupant to wear the seat belt correctly. In addition, eliminating webbing slack also ensures the best restraining effect of the seat belt on the occupant.

[0049] The following will refer to Figure 3 Here is another application example of the seatbelt control method of the present invention. In this application example, when an occupant performs an action that affects the change in webbing length (e.g., adjusting their sitting posture to pick up something or retrieving a card after stopping the vehicle), the seatbelt control method of the present invention is executed to determine the false fastening state of the seatbelt after the webbing slack has been eliminated.

[0050] like Figure 3 As shown, in step S30, it is determined whether the latch is in the locked state. If it is determined that the latch is not in the locked state ("No" in step S30), the method terminates. If it is determined that the latch is in the locked state ("Yes" in step S30), the method proceeds to step S32.

[0051] In step S32, it is determined whether the webbing is in a stretched state. The determination of the webbing state is the same as in step S22 above, so it will not be repeated here. If it is determined that the webbing is in a stretched state, the method proceeds to step S34.

[0052] In step S34, it is determined whether the webbing pull-out length has changed. If it is determined that the webbing pull-out length has not changed, the change in webbing length is continuously assessed. If it is determined that the webbing pull-out length has changed, the method proceeds to step S36.

[0053] In step S36, it is determined whether the webbing extension length has stopped changing. If it is determined that the webbing extension length has not stopped changing, the cessation of the change in webbing length is further assessed. If it is determined that the webbing extension length has stopped changing, this means that the action affecting the webbing length has ended, and the method proceeds to step S38.

[0054] In step S38, the motor is started to drive the take-up unit to tighten the webbing once. Then, the method proceeds to step S40.

[0055] In step S40, it is determined whether the actual tightening force acting on the webbing is greater than or equal to the target tightening force. The determination of the tightening force is the same as in step S26 above, so it will not be repeated here.

[0056] If it is determined in step S40 that the actual tightening force is greater than or equal to the target tightening force, then the webbing is determined to be tightened, and no further tightening operation is performed on the webbing; the method proceeds to step S42. However, if it is determined in step S40 that the actual tightening force is less than the target tightening force, then the tightening operation on the webbing is repeated until the actual tightening force is greater than or equal to the target tightening force.

[0057] In step S42, it is determined whether the seat belt is falsely fastened. The determination of false fastening of the seat belt is the same as that described in step S28 above, so it will not be repeated here. If it is determined that the seat belt is falsely fastened, the method proceeds to step S44.

[0058] In step S44, the alarm device 40 is activated to warn the occupant that they are not wearing their seat belts correctly.

[0059] Therefore, by utilizing the above operations, the seatbelt control method of the present invention can eliminate webbing slack after the occupant adjusts the seat or retrieves items. This allows for a more accurate determination of whether the seatbelt is falsely fastened after the webbing slack is eliminated, enabling the system to issue instructions or warnings to the occupant regarding proper seatbelt wearing. Furthermore, eliminating webbing slack also ensures optimal restraint from the seatbelt for the occupant.

[0060] As mentioned above, although some exemplary embodiments of the seatbelt unfastened warning system and method of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, but may have various other embodiments.

[0061] For example, the description above uses a passenger car as an example of the vehicle to which this invention is applied. However, this invention can be applied to any vehicle with passenger seats and seat belts, such as buses, trucks, and trains. Furthermore, for vehicles with multiple seats and corresponding seat belts, the webbing control method and webbing control system of this invention can be applied to only a portion of them.

[0062] The foregoing description states that the seatbelt control system 10 can acquire data such as the seatbelt buckle position signal, seatbelt webbing length, and actual tension force acting on the webbing from the vehicle's electronic control unit via a CAN bus. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the seatbelt control system 10 can also be directly connected to a buckle position detection device, a webbing length detection device, and a webbing tension force detection device to obtain relevant data.

[0063] As mentioned above, although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the scope of the present invention should be defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A seat belt control method for a seat belt, the seat belt comprising a latch, a buckle insertable into the latch, a webbing connected to the latch, a retractor for winding the webbing, and a motor for controlling the winding action of the retractor, characterized in that, The seatbelt control method includes the following steps: The insertion / disengagement state of the latch is determined based on the position signal of the latch; The tension / contraction state of the webbing is determined based on the length of the webbing pulled out. The motor is controlled based on the engagement / disengagement state of the latch and the tension / contraction state of the webbing to drive the take-up device to tighten the webbing; and After determining that the webbing has been tightened, the seatbelt is judged to be in a false fastening state based on the buckle's insertion / distraction status and the webbing's extended length. A false fastening state means that the buckle is inserted into the latch, but at least a portion of the webbing is located between the occupant's back and the seat corresponding to the seatbelt, or the webbing has not been extended. If the seatbelt is in the false fastened state, a warning is issued to the occupant that the seatbelt is not being worn correctly.

2. The seat belt control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: When the latch changes from the unlocked state to the locked state, if the webbing is not in a stretched state, the motor is activated to drive the retractor to tighten the webbing.

3. The seatbelt control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: When the buckle is in the locked state and the webbing is in the stretched state, the change in the pulled-out length of the webbing is continuously detected, and the decision is made based on the change whether to perform a retraction operation on the webbing.

4. The seat belt control method according to claim 3, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: When the buckle is in the locked state and the webbing is in the stretched state, if the pulled-out length of the webbing stops changing, the motor is activated to drive the retractor to tighten the webbing.

5. The seatbelt control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: The determination of whether the webbing has been tightened is based on the actual tightening force acting on the webbing and the preset target tightening force.

6. The seatbelt control method according to claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: When the buckle is in the locked state and the actual tightening force is less than the target tightening force, the tightening operation on the webbing is repeated.

7. The seatbelt control method according to claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: If the webbing is not in a stretched state when the buckle is in the locked state and the actual tightening force is greater than or equal to the target tightening force, then the seat belt is determined to be in the false fastening state.

8. The seatbelt control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, If the pulled-out length of the webbing is less than a preset pull-out length threshold, it is determined that the webbing is not in a stretched state.

9. The seatbelt control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pull-out length threshold is in the range of 500mm to 900mm.

10. A seatbelt control system installed on a vehicle, configured to perform the seatbelt control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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