Claims:We claim:
1. A safety belt system for seats in an automobile, the system comprising:
a belt configured to be fastened around torso of occupant of the seat, wherein the belt incorporates at least one identifiable marking on its surface; and
a first sensor configured to detect presence of the at least one identifiable markings in zone of the occupant’s torso;
characterized in that, inability of the first sensor to detect presence of the identifiable markings in zone of the occupant’s torso is interpreted as non-fastening of the safety belt.
2. The safety belt system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is a camera configured to take images of the zone of the occupant’s torso.
3. The safety belt system of claim 2, wherein the camera gets activated after ignition of the automobile is put ON.
4. The safety belt system of claim 2, wherein the camera is located at a place to get an unhindered view of the zone of the occupant’s torso.
5. The safety belt system of claim 2, wherein the system further comprises a second sensor configured to sense presence of an occupant in the seat, and wherein the camera gets activated to take images only when an occupant is detected in the seat.
6. The safety belt system of claim 5, wherein the second sensor is a weight sensor and it detects presence of an occupant in the seat based on weight of the occupant.
7. The safety belt system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises means for warning or reminding the occupant regarding fastening of the safety belt, and the means for warning or reminding gets activated in the event of inability of the first sensor to detect presence of the identifiable markings in zone of the occupant’s torso.
8. The safety belt system of claim 7, wherein the means for warning or reminding the occupant are either or a combination of a warning lamp configured in instrument cluster of the automobile and a buzzer.
9. A method for warning or reminding a user regarding fastening of safety belt after occupying a seat in an automobile, the method comprising steps of:
providing at least one identifiable mark on the seat belt:
providing a first sensor to detect the at least one identifiable mark in zone of torso of an occupant occupying the seat;
providing a second sensor to detect presence of an occupant in the seat, and
activating the first sensor to detect the at least one identifiable mark in the zone of the occupant’s torso on detecting presence of an occupant in the seat,
wherein in the event of non-detection of the marks a warning or reminder is issued to user to put on/fasten the safety belt.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first sensor is a camera configured to take images of the zone of torso of the occupant of the seat; and wherein the camera gets activated only after ignition of the automobile is put ON.
, Description:[0001] DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:
[0002] The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:
[0003] Technical Field of the Invention
[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to safety systems for Automobiles. In particular, it pertains to a seat belt for passengers that incorporate a more dependable feature to detect non-adherence to safety guidelines.
[0005] Background of the Invention
[0006] While advent of automobiles increased personal mobility and created new economic, social, and recreational opportunities changing the way people lived, its benefits were accompanied by dramatic new risks. Automobiles placed speed and power in the hands of individuals. In the early twentieth century, a soaring rate of traffic deaths and injuries prompted expressions of concern.
[0007] At first, the automobile was perceived as a neutral device that merely responded to a driver’s commands and could not cause an accident. However, a dialogue among physicians, safety advocates, engineers, journalists, and others revealed differing opinions about the causes of accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Driver behaviour, automobile design, highway engineering, and traffic hazards all were blamed. Efforts to retain the benefits of personal mobility while minimizing its sometimes tragic consequences focused on specific problems from controlling driver behaviour to redesigning automobiles to improving the driving environment.
[0008] Focus on automobile design to enhance safety of its occupants resulted in various measures. There are some that help avoid accidents such as good steering and brakes and include highly advanced systems such as anti-lock braking system, electronic stability control and collision warning/avoidance through automatic braking. These are known as active safety features as they work to prevent accidents as against passive ones that are active during an accident to reduce the effects of an accident such as seat belts, airbags and strong body structures.
[0009] Safety belts (or seat belts or belts and the terms used interchangeably hereinafter) are designed to limit, in the event of a crash, forward motion of an occupant. They stretch to absorb energy and lengthen the time of the occupant's negative acceleration in a crash, reducing the loading on the occupant’s body. They also prevent occupants being thrown around within the vehicle and ejected out from the vehicle, and also ensure that they are in the correct position for the operation of the airbags.
[0010] While the provision of a safety belt in the car makes sure that the user, in case of any unforeseen incident, particularly major accidents, gets better protection, there have been instances when post-accident investigation revealed non-use or in some instances misuse/improper use of the safety belts. In such instances, the user was subject to fatal injuries, severity of which could have been reduced had the safety belt been used properly.
[0011] Safety belts are quite easy to use and provide considerable protection for users. They are secured conveniently to a buckle at the side of the car seat and have a roll to adjust the length of the belt to suite user profile. Most modern cars have sensors capable of sending a warning to the driver through a lampin the instrument cluster and/or a buzzer to fasten the seat belt. These sensors are generally provided in the buckle and the signal sent by them is switched off once the presence of the seat belt is confirmed (based on fastening of the buckle). In some cases, users manage to make the warning light/buzzer non-operational and bypass the safety feature by buckling the seat belt before sitting on the seat and, therefore, the belt does not restrain the forward motion of an occupant in the event of a crash as the belt is behind their torso and does not hug the user
[0012] Therefore, it is desirable to have a warning system that senses the position of the seat/safety belt in front of the user to ensure its proper use. There can be many possible mechanisms to detect if the seatbelt is in front of the user. For example, it can be done based on sensing buckled length of the seat belt wherein a less than desired buckled length can be interpreted to imply that the belt has not been positioned in front of the user. Other possibility is to directly sense presence of the seat belt in a passenger location. In both the cases detection can be done based on identifiable markings on the belt and means to detect these markings.
[0013] Though there are number of prior art references that teach use of identifiable markings on the seat belt for purposes such as sensing of buckled length of the seat belt, none of them teaches using it to detect proper positioning of the belt and providing a warning in this respect.
[0014] For example European patent no EP2797794A1 discloses a vehicle having safety belts with optically identifiable markings on the seat belt which can be detected with help of a camera and later analysed to determine the buckled length. The camera may obtain one or more images of the safety belt, which includes optically identifiable marking patterns to determine the buckled safety belt length which in turn is used for identifying or learning the identity of an occupant in conjunction with the other sensors in the vehicle. However, the prior art fails to disclose using the sensed length to provide a warning in respect of proper positioning of the belt. In addition, it suffers from drawback that it does not elaborate operation of camera such as when the camera gets activated to detect optically identifiable markings on the belt which is crucial from the point of view of conserving power.
[0015] There are other prior art references namely CN102941835A, KR100306612B1, and US6016985A that also teach use of codes engrossed on belt’s surface which are detected with the help of a reader to achieve different objectives. However, these prior arts references also fail to suggest using the sensed buckled length to ensure that the seatbelt is in front of the user.
[0016] There is, therefore, need in the art to provide a system and method for detecting safety belt usage that overcomes above stated shortcoming of the conventional method.
[0017] Object of the Invention
[0018] A general object of the present disclosure is to provide a safety mechanism to ensure foolproof operation and application of safety belts in an automobile.
[0019] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a system that detects if the safety belt has been buckled after proper positioning around a user in the seat and issues warning if not so.
[0020] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a means to ensure that the safety belt is being used in proper position based on detection of identifiable markings on the belt.
[0021] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an energy saving and enhanced safety feature for the safety belt system.
[0022] Summary of the Invention
[0023] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a system, method and mechanism for enhancing safety feature of the seat/safety belt in an automobile. The disclosed system and mechanism is an improvement over the conventional method that is based on sensing buckling of the seat belt, and overcomes its deficiency that allowed a user to bypass the conventional warning mechanism by buckling the belt before the user occupies the seat i.e. he sits over the buckled belt.
[0024] In an aspect, the disclosed system and mechanism identifies proper use of the safety belt based on presence of the belt in zone of passenger’s torso.
[0025] In an aspect, presence of the belt in zone of passenger’s torso can be based on identifiable markings such as codes on the belt. The identifiable markings such as codes on the belt can be positioned at appropriate place so that the markings are in the zone of passenger’s torso when the belt is fastened properly. Alternatively, the appropriately positioned markings shall not be visible if the safety belt is buckled before the passenger sits on the belt i.e. he sits over the buckled belt by either being hidden by the passenger or being within the roll on account of low buckled length. In an embodiment, there can be plurality of markings to meet these conditions under passengers of differing physique.
[0026] In an aspect, the markings can be detected by a sensor configured to detect the markings in the zone of passenger’s torso. In an aspect, the sensor can be activated after presence of a passenger in the seat is detected. In an embodiment, the presence of the passenger in the seat can be detected by a second sensor such as a weight sensor.
[0027] In an embodiment, the sensor to detect the markings can be camera configured to take images of the zone of passenger’s torso after presence of a passenger in the seat is detected.
[0028] In an aspect, the camera can be activated only after ignition of the vehicle is put on, thus saving on power consumed by the camera.
[0029] In another aspect, based on failure to detect markings/codes, a warning/reminder can be issued to the user regarding non/improper use of the safety belt. The warning/reminder can be a warning light in instrument cluster of the vehicle or/and an audio warning such as a buzzer.
[0030] Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.
[0031] Brief Description of Drawings
[0032] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary perspective view of a car seat with seat belt fastened to bypass the conventional warning mechanism by buckling the belt before the user occupies the seat i.e. he sits over the buckled belt.
[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary front view of the user in the car seat when the seat belt is fastened properly with the codes visible in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0035] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary side view of a vehicle with the user in the car seat having sensors in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0036] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary method flow diagram for method of warning or reminding a user regarding fastening of safety belt in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0037] Detailed Description of the Invention
[0038] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such details as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0039] The embodiments explained herein relate to a system, method and mechanism for enhancing safety feature of the seat/safety belt in an automobile. The disclosed system and mechanism is an improvement over the conventional method that is based on sensing buckling of the seat belt and overcomes its deficiency that allowed a user to bypass the conventional warning mechanism by buckling the belt before the user occupies the seat i.e. he sits over the buckled belt.
[0040] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view 100 of a seat 102 with the safety belt 104 that incorporates conventional warning arrangement. In the conventional arrangement, a sensor configured in the buckle holder detects absence of buckle and sends a signal to light a warning lamp or sound a buzzer. When buckle 106of the safety belt 104 is inserted in the buckle holder, the sensor can detect its presence and can result in discontinuation of the warning. Thus, the conventional arrangement works based on insertion of the buckle in the buckle holder and the feature is amenable to misuse to bypass the warning system. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the safety belt 104 can be fastened without passenger in the seat, which on account of detection of the buckle in fastened position in the buckle holder disables the alarm and passenger can thereafter occupy the seat without any protection of the safety belt.
[0041] In an aspect, the disclosed system, method and mechanism overcomes the above shortcoming of the conventional safety belt warning arrangement. The proposed system and mechanism identifies proper use of the safety belt based on presence of the belt in zone of passenger’s torso which is detected based on identifiable markings such as codes on the belt at appropriate place so that the markings are in the zone of passenger’s torso when the belt is fastened properly.
[0042] FIG. 2 discloses an exemplary front view 200 of the user in the car seat 102 with the seat belt 104 that incorporates identifiable marks such as codes 204. The markings or the codes 204 can be visible if the belt 104 is fastened properly to hug passenger 202 sitting in the seat 102. In an embodiment, the markings/codes 204 can be positioned on the belt 104 at appropriate place so that they are not visible if the safety belt is buckled before the passenger 202 sits on the seat 102 (i.e. he sits over the buckled belt) due to either being hidden by the passenger 202 or being within the roll on account of low buckled length.
[0043] In an embodiment, there can be a plurality of markings such as 204 to meet above cited conditions under passengers of differing physique. In another embodiment, each of the markings 204 can indicate the buckled length of the belt 104 and the detected buckled length can, in combination with weight detected on the seat by the second sensor, can be used to interpret if the safety belt has been fastened correctly.
[0044] In an aspect, the markings 204 can be detected by an appropriately positioned sensor. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary side view 300 of a vehicle with a passenger/occupant 202 in the seat 102, and a sensor positioned to detect markings/codes on the belt in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the sensor to detect the markings on the belt can be a camera 302 configured to take images of the zone of passenger’s torso and can be positioned at a suitable location so that view of the belt 104 is not blocked by passenger’s hand etc.
[0045] In an embodiment, the camera 302 can be activated and can take images of the belt after presence of a passenger 202 in the seat is detected by a second sensor such as a weight sensor. In an embodiment, the weight sensor can be configured to sense just the presence of a weight on the seat. In an alternate embodiment, the second sensor i.e. the weight sensor can be configured to sense amount of weight on the seat so as to assess required buckled length of the safety belt for use as indicated at paragraph [0043],
[0046] In an aspect, the camera can be activated only after ignition of the vehicle is put on thus saving on power consumed by the camera.
[0047] In an aspect, based on failure to detect markings/codes, a warning/reminder can be issued to the user regarding non/improper use of the safety belt. The warning/reminder can be a warning light in instrument cluster of the vehicle or/and an audio warning such as a buzzer.
[0048] In an aspect, the disclosure provides a method of warning or reminding a user regarding fastening of safety belt wherein the disclosed method is an improvement over the conventional method that depends on detecting presence of buckle of the safety belt in the buckle holder. FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary method flow diagram 400 for method of warning or reminding a user regarding fastening of safety belt after occupying a seat in the vehicle in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The method comprises steps of(a) providing, at step 402,at least one identifiable mark on the seat belt;(b) providing as at step 404,a first sensor configured to detect the identifiable mark of the belt in zone of torso of an occupant occupying the seat;(c) providing a second sensor to detect presence of a passenger/occupant in the seat (step 406); and (d) on detecting presence of a passenger/occupant in the seat (step 408), activating the first sensor to detect the identifiable marks (410)of the belt in the zone of torso of the passenger occupying the seat; wherein in the event of non-detection of the marks (step 412), (e) issuing a reminder to user to put on/fasten the safety belt (step 414).
[0049] In an embodiment, the identifiable markings can be positioned on the belt at appropriate place so that they are not visible if the safety belt is buckled before the passenger sits on the seat (i.e. he sits over the buckled belt) due to either being hidden by the passenger or being within the roll on account of low buckled length. In another embodiment, the markings can be configured on both sides of the belt so that they can be detected even in the event of the belt getting turned.
[0050] In an embodiment, there can be a plurality of markings to meet above cited conditions under passengers of differing physique. In another embodiment, each of the markings can indicate the buckled length of the belt and the detected buckled length can, in combination with weight detected on the seat by the second sensor, be used to interpret if the safety belt has been fastened correctly.
[0051] In an embodiment, the sensor to detect markings can be a camera configured to take images of the zone of passenger’s torso and can be positioned at a suitable location so that view of the belt is not blocked by passenger’s hand etc. In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the camera 302 is positioned above windscreen of the vehicle to provide a unhindered view of the passenger’s torso and, therefore, of the belt.
[0052] In an embodiment, the second sensor configured to detect presence of a passenger on the seat can be a weight sensor, wherein detection of a weight on the seat can be interpreted to mean that a passenger has occupied the seat. In an embodiment, the weight sensor can be configured to sense just the presence of a weight on the seat. In an alternate embodiment, the second sensor i.e. the weight sensor can be configured to sense amount of weight on the seat so as to assess required buckled length of the safety belt for use as indicated at paragraph [0050].
[0053] In an embodiment, the camera can be activated only after ignition of the vehicle is put on, thus saving on power consumed by the camera
[0054] In an embodiment, the user can be warned/reminded regarding safety belt by means of a warning light in instrument cluster of the vehicle or/and an audio warning such as a buzzer.
[0055] Thus, the present disclosure provides an improved safety belt warning system, method and mechanism that overcomes drawback of the conventional warning arrangement that works based on detecting presence of safety belt buckle in the buckle holder. The disclosed arrangement prevents users from bypassing the warning system and thus encourages them to use safety belt which is a vital safety device in a vehicle.
[0056] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.
[0057] Advantages of the invention
[0058] The present disclosure providesa safety mechanism to ensure fool proof operation of safety belts foe seats in an automobile.
[0059] The present disclosure provides a system that detects if the safety belt has been buckled after proper positioning around a user in the seat and issues warning if not so.
[0060] The present disclosure provides a means to ensure that the safety belt is being used in proper position based on detection of identifiable markings on the belt.
[0061] The present disclosure provides an energy saving and enhanced safety feature for the safety belt system.