Vehicle Seat Belt Guide Element for Recumbent Position Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles with electrically adjustable front passenger seats, the seat belt system faces safety issues when the backrest is tilted to a recumbent position, as the conventional three-point seat belt cannot follow the adjustment, leading to an improper belt route and potential safety problems.
Innovation Solution
A control device with a monitoring system that detects belt parameters using sensor elements to ensure a proper belt route is maintained before allowing the backrest to adjust to a recumbent position, preventing adjustments if the route is improper and generating warning signals if safety is compromised.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the backrest is tilted to a recumbent position with a conventional three-point seat belt connected to the vehicle pillar, then the seat occupant can achieve a relaxed seating position, but the belt route becomes improper and safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring device checks the belt parameter (whether the seat belt is properly routed through the guide element) before allowing the backrest to be adjusted to the recumbent position. This preliminary verification ensures that the safety condition is met before the position change occurs, preventing improper belt routing during tilt adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
A guide element is introduced as an intermediary component to redirect the seat belt along a proper path when the backrest is in the recumbent position. The guide element ensures that the shoulder belt portion of the three-point seat belt maintains correct routing over the seat occupant's shoulder even when the backrest is tilted, thus resolving the safety issue without requiring an integral seat design.
2Device complexity
If the seat belt is connected directly to the vehicle pillar in the shoulder region, then the seat belt remains fixed and cannot follow backrest adjustment, but this connection method is simpler than using a guide element
Solution Approach 1:
The guide element is designed to move together with the backrest during tilt adjustment, dynamically maintaining the proper belt route. As the backrest rotates to different positions, the guide element rotates accordingly, ensuring the seat belt always follows the correct path over the seat occupant's shoulder, thereby maintaining safety while allowing backrest adjustability.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring device continuously monitors the belt parameter and provides feedback to the control device. When the belt routing is improper, the monitoring device prevents backrest adjustment. This feedback mechanism ensures that the seat belt system maintains proper routing configuration, compensating for the added complexity of the guide element by providing active safety verification.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle is provided that includes at least one vehicle seat, which has a backrest, the inclination of which can be adjusted, and a control device, by means of which the backrest can be controlled to a lying position having a greater angle of inclination at the request of a seat user. The control device has a signal connection to a monitoring device, which detects at least one belt parameter, by means of which it can be determined whether a flawless belt course of a safety belt being worn by a seat user is ensured in the lying position.