Warning device for vehicle seat belts

Abstract

The present invention relates to a warning device for vehicle seat belts, characterised in that the control unit includes activation means for activating the vehicle's emergency lights when an unfastened seat belt of an occupied seat is detected. The device further comprises an external light warning device for indicating such a violation.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] SEAT BELT WARNING DEVICE IN VEHICLES

[0003] TECHNICAL SECTOR

[0004] The present invention relates to a warning device for unfastened safety belts, whose evident purpose is to establish a means that alerts both the driver and occupants of a vehicle and any person outside the vehicle, that at least one of the occupants, whether the driver or some occupant of the vehicle, does not have their safety belt properly fastened.

[0005] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0006] As is well known, failure to use the seat belt often causes irreversible injuries, and although there are numerous devices and alarm systems in vehicles that warn that the seat belt has not been properly fastened or attached, these devices and alarm systems, in most cases, cease to be active within a reasonable period of time.

[0007] In any case, there is no known system or device that jointly establishes an acoustic warning system inside the vehicle and an external warning system outside the vehicle itself, in those cases where some of the seat belts are not fastened and yet their seats are occupied, warning traffic officers of such negligent action.

[0008] EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The proposed seat belt reminder device for vehicles fully and satisfactorily resolves the aforementioned problem, based on a highly effective solution. To this end, pressure sensors have been installed for each seat in the vehicle, determining whether the corresponding seat is occupied. These sensors are complemented by additional sensors associated with the seat belts, detecting both the fastened and unfastened positions of the belt.

[0010] These pairs of pressure and seatbelt sensors are controlled by a central unit that activates, on the one hand, an audible warning inside the vehicle to indicate that one of the seatbelts has not been properly fastened, provided the corresponding seat is occupied by a person. Simultaneously, this unit activates the vehicle's warning lights, both front and rear, and establishes an external visual warning system that alerts all drivers on the road that one or more seatbelts are not fastened. This highly visible system can even alert traffic police or any member of the security forces, potentially leading to a fine for the driver for not using the seatbelt properly.

[0011] The device activates automatically once the vehicle is started if one of the seat belts has not been fastened, provided that the seat belts correspond to occupied seats, and each time if there are pressure sensors in which, if the seat or seats are not occupied, the activation of that sensor will not occur and therefore it will not act on the acoustic or visual warning, provided that the rest of the seat belts are correctly fastened.

[0012] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] To complement the description that follows and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of its practical embodiment, a set of drawings is included as an integral part of said description, in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented: Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a vehicle in which a seat belt warning device is installed, made in accordance with the object of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 2 shows a detail of the external warning device that allows visualization of the number of occupants who are not wearing a safety belt.

[0015] PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0016] In view of the figures described, it can be observed how the warning device for unfastened seat belts in a vehicle is made up of a control unit (1) that governs as many pressure sensors (2) as there are seats in the vehicle as well as respective fastening sensors (3) of the corresponding seat belts associated with each of the seats.

[0017] In this way, and as is conventional, the control unit, based on the pressure sensors (2), is able to detect how many seats are occupied, and whether or not those seats have their corresponding seat belt fastened.

[0018] Well, according to the essence of the invention, the system not only provides for the inclusion of an internal warning device (4) that allows the driver to know at all times the safety status of each of its occupants, but this control unit is additionally connected to the emergency lighting (5) of the vehicle generating an external light warning, which is complemented by an external light warning device (6) which includes one or more light indicators (7) that allow security agents to quickly verify the infraction that is being carried out, the system being complemented by an acoustic warning device (8) that will not be deactivated until all the seat belts of the occupied seats are fastened.

Claims

CLAIMS 1 a - A safety belt warning device in vehicles, of the type that incorporates a control unit (1) that governs as many pressure sensors (2) as there are seats in the vehicle as well as respective fastening sensors (3) of the corresponding safety belts associated with each of the seats, including an internal warning device (4) of the fastening status of the occupied seats, characterized in that the control unit (1) includes means of activating the emergency lighting (5) of the vehicle upon detection of an unfastened belt in an occupied seat, complemented by an external light warning device (6) indicating such infringement. 2 a - Seat belt warning device in vehicles, according to claim 1 a, characterized in that it includes an internal acoustic warning device (8), the deactivation of which is linked to the fastening of the seat belts of all occupied seats. 3 a - Seat belt warning device in vehicles, according to claim 1 a , characterized in that the external light indicator (6) includes at least one light indicator (7), preferably as many as the number of seats in the vehicle.

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