Belt attachment detection device

Abstract

To enhance detection accuracy of the presence or absence of wearing in a belt wearing detection device of a three point type seat belt device.SOLUTION: The belt wearing detection device 1 is for a three point seat belt device 2 mounted on a seat 3 of a vehicle. The belt 5 includes a colored portion 12 colored in a second color different from a first color of the initial length portion 11, the colored portion 12 being a portion of the belt 5 excluding the initial length portion 11 pulled out from the retractor 4 in an unmanned wearing state in which the three point seat belt device 2 is worn when there is no passenger P on the seat 3, the colored portion 12 being wound up by the retractor 4 in the unmanned wearing state and being pulled out from the retractor 4 in a manned wearing state in which the belt 4 is hung on the passenger P on the seat 3 and the three point seat belt device 2 is worn.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a belt fastening detection device that detects whether an occupant in a vehicle seat is fastening a three-point seat belt device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, some seats installed in vehicles such as trucks and passenger cars are equipped with a three-point seat belt system (hereinafter also referred to as "seat belt system") that restrains the occupant's body at three points: one shoulder and both sides of the waist, as a safety device for restraining the occupant's body in the seat. The seat belt system is fastened by the occupant seated in the seat pulling out the belt-like belt (webbing) wound up by the retractor, and then inserting the tongue plate loosely inserted in the belt into the buckle to secure it.

[0003] It is known that a seat belt device installed in a vehicle detects whether an occupant in a seat is wearing the seat belt device, and if the occupant is not wearing the seat belt device, emits an alarm sound or displays a warning light. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which an occupant is detected by an occupancy detection sensor built into the seat, and detects whether the seat belt device is worn by using a buckle switch that detects insertion or removal of a tongue plate in the buckle, or detects whether the seat belt device is worn by using a sensor that detects movement of a shoulder anchor, which is one of the components of the seat belt device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-93728 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, conventional technologies such as those disclosed in Patent Document 1 that detect whether a seat belt device is fastened by inserting or removing a tongue plate or moving a shoulder anchor may not be able to detect whether a seat belt device is properly fastened by a seat occupant. For example, if the tongue plate is inserted into the buckle without the occupant fastening the belt, the conventional technology may determine that the seat belt device is fastened, and may not be able to detect that the seat belt is not fastened properly. As described above, conventional seat belt fastening detection devices may not be able to detect whether or not a passenger is properly fastening a three-point seat belt. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of detecting whether or not a seat belt is fastened.

[0006] The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned problems, and one of its objects is to improve the detection accuracy of whether a belt is fastened or not in a belt fastening detection device for a three-point seat belt system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve at least part of the above problems, and can be realized as the following aspects or application examples.

[0008] (1) The belt fastening detection device according to this application example is a belt fastening detection device that is equipped on a vehicle seat and detects whether a three-point seat belt device is fastened by pulling out a belt stored in a retractor in a wound state from the retractor and inserting a tongue plate loosely inserted in the pulled-out belt into a buckle, and that detects whether a passenger in the seat is fastening the three-point seat belt device. The belt fastening detection device detects whether a passenger in the seat is fastening the three-point seat belt device by pulling out a belt stored in a wound-up state from the retractor and inserting a tongue plate loosely inserted in the pulled-out belt into a buckle. The part excluding the initial length part is wound up by the retractor in the unmanned wearing state, and is pulled out from the retractor in the manned wearing state where the belt is fastened around the occupant of the seat and the three-point seat belt device is worn, and is equipped with a colored part colored a second color different from the first color of the initial length part, a detection part that detects the second color of the colored part, and a judgment part that judges that the occupant of the seat is wearing the three-point seat belt device when the second color is detected by the detection part.

[0009] According to this application example, the belt is wound around a retractor when the seat belt is not worn by a occupant and is pulled out from the retractor when the occupant is wearing the belt, and the belt is provided with a colored portion that is colored a second color different from the first color of the initial length portion. When the detection unit detects the second color of the colored portion, the determination unit determines that the seat belt device is being worn. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish between an occupied state in which the seat occupant is properly fastened with the seat belt device and an unoccupied state in which the seat occupant is not fastened with the seat belt (an improper fastening state), and to determine whether the seat belt device is being fastened. In other words, it is possible to detect whether the occupant is properly fastening the seat belt device. Therefore, the belt wearing detection device 1 can improve the detection accuracy of whether or not a belt is worn, compared to the conventional technology that cannot distinguish between the worn state with a person and the worn state without a person. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, the belt fastening detection device for a three-point seat belt system can improve the detection accuracy of whether the belt is fastened or not. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a belt fastening detection device according to an embodiment together with a three-point seat belt device, illustrating a case where an occupant in a seat is properly fastening the three-point seat belt device; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a three-point seat belt device is fastened to an unoccupied vehicle, showing a case in which no occupant is seated in the seat; [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an unoccupied state of a three-point seat belt device, showing a case where an occupant is seated in a seat but the three-point seat belt device is improperly fastened. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an initial length portion and a colored portion of a belt. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process performed by a control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The following describes embodiments (aspects, application examples) of the present invention with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to exclude various modifications or applications of techniques not explicitly described in the embodiments. The configurations of the following embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, they can be selected or combined as needed. In the following description, the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions are defined based on the vehicle. That is, the vehicle length direction corresponds to the "front-rear direction." The vehicle width direction corresponds to the "left-right direction," and left and right are defined based on the forward-facing posture of the vehicle. The vehicle height direction corresponds to the "up-down direction." In Figures 1 to 3, "right" is indicated by the symbol D1, "left" by the symbol D2, "up" by the symbol D3, and "down" by the symbol D4.

[0013] [1. Configuration] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a belt fastening detection device 1 according to one embodiment together with a three-point seat belt device 2 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "seat belt device"). This belt fastening detection device 1 is applied to a seat belt device 2 installed in a seat 3 provided in the passenger compartment of a vehicle (not shown). Here, the seat belt device 2 installed in the seat 3 on the front right side of the vehicle is shown. Note that Fig. 1 is a view of the seat 3 equipped with the seat belt device 2 as seen from the front of the vehicle, with part of the passenger compartment omitted.

[0014] The vehicle to which the belt fastening detection device 1 is applied may be any type of vehicle, such as a truck, bus, or car, as long as the seat 3 is equipped with a seat belt device 2. A seat 3 is a space for one occupant P to sit in, and each seat 3 (one seat is shown in FIG. 1 ) provided in the vehicle cabin is equipped with one seat belt device 2. For example, a driver's seat provided in the front of the vehicle includes one seat 3 for the driver to sit in, and is equipped with one seat belt device 2. Also, a bench-type seat that can accommodate multiple occupants, such as the rear seat of a passenger car, includes multiple seats 3 corresponding to each occupant, and is equipped with multiple seat belt devices 2 corresponding to each seat 3.

[0015] The seat belt device 2 is a three-point type seat belt device that restrains the body of the occupant P at three points: one shoulder and both left and right sides of the waist. The seat belt device 2 is fastened by pulling out the belt 5 stored in a wound state in the retractor 4 from the retractor 4 and inserting the tongue plate 6 loosely inserted in the pulled-out belt 5 into the buckle 7. The retractor 4 (shown by a dashed line in FIG. 1) is a winding device that supports one end 5A of the belt 5 and generates a predetermined tension by winding up the end 5A. The retractor 4 is built into an inner wall 8 of the vehicle compartment on one side of the seat 3 (on the right side of the seat 3 in FIG. 1). A shoulder anchor 9 for supporting the belt 5 pulled out from the retractor 4 is provided at the upper right position of the seat 3, slightly behind the right shoulder PS of the occupant P seated in the seat 3.

[0016] The belt 5 is a long, strip-shaped member (webbing). One end 5A of the belt 5 is supported by the retractor 4 as described above, and the other end 5B of the belt 5 is fixed to an anchor 10 attached to the vehicle body on the right side of the seat 3. The position of the anchor 10 is set, for example, slightly behind the waist of the occupant P seated in the seat 3. A tongue plate 6 is loosely inserted into the belt 5, and a buckle 7 is provided on the left side of the seat 3. The buckle 7 incorporates a locking mechanism (not shown) for constantly gripping the tongue plate 6, and an unlocking mechanism (not shown) for removing the locked tongue plate 6 with a single touch. By inserting the tongue plate 6 into the buckle 7, the occupant fastens the seat belt device 2, and by operating the unlocking mechanism of the buckle 7, the seat belt device 2 is released.

[0017] When an occupant P seated in a seat 3 fastens the seat belt device 2, as shown in Fig. 1, the belt 5 pulled out from the retractor 4 is passed from the right shoulder PS to the left side of the waist on the front side (ventral side) of the upper body of the occupant P, and is also passed across the waist between the buckle 7 and the anchor 10. In this specification, the state in which the seat belt device 2 is fastened by fastening the belt 5 around the occupant P in the seat 3 is referred to as the "manned fastening state." This "manned fastening state" is the state in which the seat belt device 2 is properly fastened.

[0018] On the other hand, in this specification, a state in which an occupant P in a seat 3 is wearing the seat belt device 2 without fastening the belt 5 is referred to as an "unmanned wearing state." The "unmanned wearing state" includes a state in which the seat 3 is unoccupied and the seat belt device 2 is worn, as shown in FIG. 2, and a state in which an occupant P' seated in the seat 3 is wearing the seat belt device 2 without fastening the belt 5, as shown in FIG. 3. The unmanned wearing state shown in FIG. 3 is a state in which the seat belt device 2 is improperly worn. In this unmanned wearing state, the belt 5 is routed behind the occupant P' seated in the seat 3, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 3, and does not restrain the body. In other words, in this unmanned wearing state, the occupant P' is seated in the seat 3 without properly fastening the seat belt device 2.

[0019] The belt fastening detection device 1 of the present invention is configured to distinguish between a state in which the seat belt device 2 is properly fastened (a state in which an occupant is fastened) as described above and a state in which the seat belt device 2 is improperly fastened (a state in which an occupant is fastened), and to detect whether the seat belt device 2 is fastened or not. This belt wearing detection device 1 includes a colored portion 12, which is a portion of the belt 5 excluding the initial length portion 11 and is colored in a second color different from the first color of the initial length portion 11, a detection portion 13 that detects the second color of the colored portion 12, and a control device 14.

[0020] Here, the initial length portion 11 and the colored portion 12 will be described. 4 is a plan view showing the belt 5 in a stretched state. The belt 5 is divided into two parts: an initial length part 11 and a colored part 12. Of the belt 5, the portion from the other end 5B to the colored portion 12 is the initial length portion 11, and the portion from the one end 5A to the initial length portion 11 is the colored portion 12. It can also be said that of the belt 5, the portion excluding the colored portion 12 is the initial length portion 11, and the portion excluding the initial length portion 11 is the colored portion 12.

[0021] The initial length portion 11 is the portion that is pulled out from the retractor 4 in the unmanned mounted state. The initial length portion 11 is also pulled out from the retractor 4 in the manned mounted state shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, the initial length portion 11 can also be said to be the portion that is not wound up by the retractor 4 and is exposed inside the vehicle cabin in both the manned mounted state shown in Fig. 1 and the unmanned mounted state shown in Fig. 2 or 3. The length L1 (see FIG. 4) of the initial length portion 11 of the entire belt 5 is set in advance according to the specifications of the seat belt device 2. Specifically, the length L1 of the initial length portion 11 is set to a length that is approximately equal to the sum of the distance LA (see FIG. 2) from the shoulder anchor 9 to the buckle 7 and the distance LB (see FIG. 2) from the buckle 7 to the anchor 10.

[0022] The colored portion 12 is a portion that is wound up by the retractor 4 in the unmanned mounted state shown in Fig. 2 or 3 and is pulled out from the retractor 4 in the manned mounted state shown in Fig. 1. The colored portion 12 is not exposed to the interior of the vehicle in the unmanned mounted state shown in Fig. 2 or 3, but is exposed to the interior of the vehicle in the manned mounted state shown in Fig. 1. The length L2 of the colored portion 12 (see FIG. 4) is calculated by subtracting the length L1 of the initial length portion 11 from the total length L of the belt 5.

[0023] The colored portion 12 is a portion provided as a reference for the belt fastening detection device 1 to determine whether or not the seat belt device 2 is fastened. In the seatbelt worn by a passenger as shown in FIG. 1, the belt 5 is pulled out from the retractor 4 by a greater amount than in the unmanned state, by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the passenger's body. Therefore, in the seatbelt worn by a passenger, the belt 5 is pulled out from the retractor 4 beyond the initial length portion 11 to the colored portion 12. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the seatbelt is worn by a passenger depending on whether the colored portion 12 is exposed inside the vehicle cabin. The length of the colored portion 12 pulled out from the retractor 4 varies depending on the physique of the passenger.

[0024] The second color of the colored portion 12 is set to a color different from the first color of the initial length portion 11. The second color is preferably different from the first color and different from the color of the interior of the vehicle compartment. This makes it easier to distinguish the second color from not only the first color but also the color of the interior of the vehicle compartment, thereby improving the distinguishability of the second color. The first color of the initial length portion 11 may be a color (native color) set for the belt 5 in the seat belt device 2 of a typical vehicle. For example, the first color is set to black, gray, navy, or the like, which is the same color as the interior color of the vehicle. In contrast, the second color is set to a color that can be clearly distinguished from the first color. Specifically, the second color may be set to red, green, or blue.

[0025] The colored portion 12 is preferably provided on the rear side of the belt 5, not on the front side of the belt 5. Here, the front side of the belt 5 refers to the side facing the front of the vehicle when the seat belt device 2 is in a worn state (manned worn state and unmanned worn state), and is the side that is easily visible when viewed from the front of the vehicle. The rear side of the belt 5 refers to the side opposite the front side, and is the side that is difficult to see when viewed from the front of the vehicle. In this case, the part of the front side of the belt 5 that corresponds to the colored portion 12 can be set to the same color as the first color of the initial length portion 11. This makes the colored portion 12 of the second color less noticeable, and ensures the aesthetic appearance of the interior of the vehicle cabin.

[0026] The detection unit 13 is provided to detect the second color of the colored portion 12. For example, a well-known color sensor is applied to the detection unit 13. Specifically, the color sensor used in the detection unit 13 has a light-emitting portion that emits light toward the colored portion 12, which is the detection target, and a light-receiving portion that detects the light reflected by the detection target, and is able to determine the color of the target based on the amount of received red, blue, and green light.

[0027] The detection unit 13 is attached at a position in the vehicle interior where it can detect the second color of the colored portion 12. The detection unit 13 in Fig. 1 is disposed below the shoulder anchor 9 on the inner wall 8, facing the rear side of the belt 5. By disposing the detection unit 13 in this position, it is possible to detect the colored portion 12 provided on the rear side of the belt 5. 2 and 3, the initial length portion 11 is disposed opposite the detection portion 13, so the detection portion 13 detects the first color of the initial length portion 11. In the manned state shown in FIG. 1, the colored portion 12 is disposed opposite the detection portion 13, so the detection portion 13 can detect the second color of the colored portion 12.

[0028] 1, a load sensor 15 (shown by a dashed line in FIG. 1) is built into the seat surface of the seat 3 to detect whether or not an occupant is seated. The load sensor 15 is a sensor that detects the magnitude of the load acting on the seat surface of the seat 3. Here, a load (force) of a magnitude corresponding to the weight of the occupant seated on the seat 3 is detected. A buckle switch 16 is provided inside the buckle 7 to detect whether the tongue plate 6 is inserted into or removed from the buckle 7. The buckle switch 16 outputs an ON signal when the tongue plate 6 is inserted, and outputs an OFF signal when the tongue plate 6 is removed.

[0029] The control device 14 is, for example, an electronic control device (for example, a VCU (Vehicle Control Unit)) that controls various devices provided in the vehicle. The control device 14 is configured as an LSI device or an embedded electronic device that integrates a microprocessor, ROM, RAM, etc. The input side of the control device 14 is connected to the detection unit 13, the load sensor 15, and the buckle switch 16.

[0030] The output side of the control device 14 is connected to a warning light 17 for outputting a display urging the occupant to fasten the seat belt device 2, and a warning sound 18 for outputting a warning sound urging the occupant to fasten the seat belt device 2. The warning light 17 is an indicator such as a display or an LED lamp arranged on an instrument panel (not shown), for example. The horn 18 includes a speaker and an amplifier.

[0031] [2. Control configuration] The control device 14 includes, as functional elements, a seating determination unit 14A, an insertion / removal determination unit 14B, and a color determination unit 14C (determination unit). The seating determination unit 14A determines whether or not an occupant is seated on the seat 3 based on the magnitude of the load detected by the load sensor 15. Specifically, the seating determination unit 14A determines that an occupant is seated if the magnitude of the detected load is equal to or greater than a predetermined load value. The predetermined load value is, for example, a value set in advance as a load (force) corresponding to the weight of the occupant. The seat belt device 2 is fastened on the assumption that an occupant P is seated in the seat 3, and therefore, if the occupant P is not seated, it is not necessary to determine whether the seat belt device 2 is fastened. Therefore, it can be said that the seating determination unit 14A determines the preconditions for the control device 14 to determine whether the seat belt device 2 is fastened.

[0032] The insertion / removal determining unit 14B determines whether the tongue plate 6 is inserted into the buckle 7 based on an ON signal or an OFF signal output from the buckle switch 16. The color judgment unit 14C determines whether or not the second color is detected based on the detection signal of the detection unit 13. If the second color is not detected, the color judgment unit 14C can determine that the belt 5 has not been pulled out to the colored portion 12. If the second color is detected, the color judgment unit 14C can determine that the belt 5 has been pulled out to the colored portion 12.

[0033] The control device 14 determines whether the seat belt device 2 is fastened or not based on the determination results of the seating determination unit 14A, the insertion / removal determination unit 14B, and the color determination unit 14C. Specifically, when the seating determination unit 14A determines that a person is seated, the insertion / removal determination unit 14B determines that the tongue plate 6 is inserted into the buckle 7, and the color determination unit 14C detects the second color, the control device 14 determines that the seat belt device 2 is fastened.

[0034] On the other hand, if the seat occupancy determination unit 14A determines that a passenger is seated, but the insertion / removal determination unit 14B determines that the tongue plate 6 is not inserted into the buckle 7, and / or the color determination unit 14C does not detect the second color, the control device 14 determines that the seat belt device 2 is not fastened. In this case, the control device 14 issues a warning using the warning light 17 and the horn 18. If the seat occupancy determining unit 14A determines that no occupancy is present, it is not necessary to determine whether the seat belt device 2 is fastened, and therefore it is not necessary to check the determination results of the insertion / removal determining unit 14B and the color determining unit 14C.

[0035] [3. Flowchart] 5 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure performed by the control device 14. This flow is performed by the control device 14, for example, at predetermined intervals, when the vehicle is in a state where it can run (i.e., when a drive source such as an engine or a motor is running).

[0036] In step S1, the control device 14 checks the determination result of the seating determination unit 14A. The determination result of the seat occupancy determination unit 14A is represented by two values: a seat flag F1=1 indicating that a seat is present, and a seat flag F1=0 indicating that a seat is not present. In step S1, if the determination result of the seat occupancy determination unit 14A is that a seat is not present (F1=0), there is no need to determine whether the seat belt device 2 is fastened, and therefore the process ends without performing the processes from step S2 onwards.

[0037] If the result of the determination by the seating determination unit 14A is that a person is seated (F1=1), the control unit 14 branches to YES in step S1 and checks the result of the determination by the insertion / removal determination unit 14B (step S2). The determination result of the insertion / removal determination unit 14B is represented by two values: a buckle flag F2=1 indicating that the tongue plate 6 is inserted into the buckle 7, and a buckle flag F2=0 indicating that the tongue plate 6 is not inserted.

[0038] If the tongue plate 6 is inserted (F2=1), the control device 14 branches to YES in step S2 and checks the result of the determination by the color determination unit 14C (step S3). The judgment result of the color judgment unit 14C is indicated by two values: color flag F3=1, which indicates that the second color has been detected, and color flag F3=0, which indicates that the second color has not been detected.

[0039] If the determinations in steps S2 and S3 are both positive (YES in step S2 and YES in step S3), the control device 14 can determine that the seat belt device 2 is fastened, i.e., the belt 5 is properly fastened around the occupant P (the seat belt fastening state shown in FIG. 1) ("fastened" in step S4). In this case, the control device 14 does not issue a warning using the warning light 17 or the horn 18, and ends the process.

[0040] On the other hand, if the judgment in step S2 or S3 is negative (NO in step S2 or NO in step S3), the control device 14 determines that the seat belt device 2 is not fastened ("Not fastened" in step S5), and in step S6, a warning is issued using the warning light 17 or the horn 18, and the processing ends.

[0041] [4. Actions and Effects] (1) According to the seat belt wearing detection device 1, the belt 5 is wound around the retractor 4 when the occupant is not wearing the belt and is pulled out from the retractor 4 when the occupant is wearing the belt, and is provided with a colored portion 12 that is colored a second color different from the first color of the initial length portion 11. When the detection unit 13 detects the second color of the colored portion 12, the judgment unit 14C judges that the seat belt device 2 is being worn. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the seat belt device 2 is fastened by distinguishing between an occupied state in which the occupant P in the seat 3 has fastened the belt 5 and the seat belt device 2 is properly fastened, as shown in Fig. 1, and an unoccupied state (improper fastening state) in which the occupant P in the seat 3 has not fastened the belt 5, as shown in Fig. 3. In other words, it is possible to detect whether the occupant is fastening the seat belt device 2 properly.

[0042] For example, in the conventional technology that determines whether or not a seat belt device is fastened solely based on whether or not the tongue plate is inserted into the buckle, even in an unmanned fastening state (an improper fastening state) in which the belt 5 is not fastened to the occupant P in the seat 3 as shown in Figure 3, if the occupant P is seated and the tongue plate 6 is inserted into the buckle 7, it is determined that the seat belt device is fastened, and it is not possible to distinguish between the above-mentioned manned fastening state and the unmanned fastening state. Therefore, the belt wearing detection device 1 can improve the accuracy of detecting whether or not a belt is being worn, compared to the conventional technology that cannot distinguish between the state in which a person is wearing the belt and the state in which no person is wearing the belt.

[0043] [5. Other] The above-described configuration of the belt wearing detection device 1 is an example. The belt wearing detection device 1 may include at least the colored portion 12 of the belt 5, a detection unit 13 that detects the second color of the colored portion 12, and a determination unit 14C. For example, in the flowchart of Figure 5 above, an example procedure is given in which the judgment result of the insertion / removal judgment unit 14B is checked in step S2, and then the judgment result of the color judgment unit 14C is checked in step S3, but this may be reversed and the judgment result of the color judgment unit 14C may be checked first, and then the judgment result of the insertion / removal judgment unit 14B may be checked.

[0044] Furthermore, in the belt wearing detection device 1, the load sensor 15, the buckle switch 16, the seating determination unit 14A in the control device 14, and the insertion / removal determination unit 14B may be omitted. The colored portion 12 may be provided on the front side of the belt 5, or on both the front and rear sides. When the colored portion 12 is provided on the front side as well, the colored portion 12 becomes easier to see when viewed from the front of the vehicle.

[0045] The detection unit 13 is not limited to the above-mentioned color sensor as long as it can detect the second color of the colored portion 12. For example, a camera can be used as the detection unit 13. That is, a camera can be used to capture an image of the seat belt device 2 (particularly, the area above the right shoulder of the occupant P in FIG. 1 ), and the captured image can be analyzed using well-known image analysis technology to detect the second color of the colored portion 12 of the belt 5. For example, in the case of a belt fastening detection device 1 in a seat belt device 2 for the driver's seat, a camera of an existing driver monitoring system (DMS) can be applied. In this case, it is preferable that the colored portion 12 is provided on the front side of the belt 5 so that it can be easily captured by the camera.

[0046] 1 to 3, the present embodiment is configured such that the shoulder anchor 9 is provided on the right shoulder of the occupant P, P' and the anchor 10 is provided on the right side of the waist, and the buckle switch 16 is provided on the left side of the waist of the occupant P, P' (the belt 5 extends from the right shoulder and right side of the waist of the occupant P, P' toward the left side of the waist), but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the belt 5 may extend from the left shoulder and left side of the waist of the occupant P, P' toward the right side of the waist. In this case, for example, the components such as the belt fastening detection device 1, seat belt device 2, shoulder anchor 9, anchor 10, buckle switch 16, and detection unit 13 may be arranged in a left-right inverted manner relative to the components shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, as necessary. In addition, for example, in vehicles such as general trucks, buses, and passenger cars in which seat belt devices 2 and the like are provided symmetrically in the driver's seat and passenger seat, the belt fastening detection device 1 of the present invention may be provided in both the driver's seat and the passenger seat or in either one of the seats. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1. Belt wearing detection device 2 Seat belt device (three-point seat belt device) 3 seats 4 Retractor 5 Belt 5A One end 5B Other end 6 Tongue plate 7 Buckle 8 Inner wall 9 Shoulder Anchor 10 Anka 11 Initial length section 12 Coloring section 13 Detection unit 14 Control device 14A Seating judgment unit 14B Insertion / removal judgment part 14C Color judgment section (judgment section) 15 Load Sensor 16 Buckle switch 17 Warning light 18 Alarm bell F1 seat flag F2 Buckle Flag F3 Color Flag L total length LA Distance LB distance P, P′ crew member PS right shoulder

Claims

[Claim 1] A belt fastening detection device is provided on a vehicle seat, and detects whether a three-point seat belt device is fastened by pulling out a belt stored in a retractor in a wound state from the retractor and inserting a tongue plate loosely inserted in the pulled-out belt into a buckle, the device comprising: a colored portion of the belt excluding an initial length portion which is a portion pulled out from the retractor in an unmanned wearing state in which the three-point seat belt device is worn when there is no occupant in the seat, the colored portion being wound up by the retractor in the unmanned wearing state and being pulled out from the retractor in an occupant wearing state in which the belt is fastened around the occupant in the seat and the three-point seat belt device is worn, the colored portion being colored a second color different from the first color of the initial length portion; a detection unit that detects the second color of the coloring unit; a determination unit that determines, when the second color is detected by the detection unit, that the occupant in the seat is wearing the three-point seat belt device. A belt wearing detection device.

Images