The invention relates to a child safety seat (100) comprising an integral harness belt (102) for restraining a child in the child safety seat (100), a belt tension monitor (106) adapted for monitoring a belt tension acting on the harness belt (102), a motorized harness belt tensioner (104) comprising a tensioning element (114) driven by an electromechanical actuator (122) and adapted for adjusting the belt tension acting on the harness belt (102), and a controller adapted for controlling the motorized harness belt tensioner (104) to adjust the belt tension to match a first predefined belt tension and for monitoring the resulting belt tension using the belt tension monitor (106).

The invention relates to a child safety seat (100) comprising an integral harness belt (102) for restraining a child in the child safety seat (100), a belt tension monitor (106) adapted for monitoring a belt tension acting on the harness belt (102), a motorized harness belt tensioner (104) comprising a tensioning element (114) driven by an electromechanical actuator (122) and adapted for adjusting the belt tension acting on the harness belt (102), and a controller adapted for controlling the motorized harness belt tensioner (104) to adjust the belt tension to match a first predefined belt tension and for monitoring the resulting belt tension using the belt tension monitor (106).

A vehicle safety system comprising a series of lights. One set of lights in a prominent turn indicator device indicates to the driver in a more prominent way whether the driver has indicated a turn. The turn indicator lights are either heads-up on a windshield, visible to the driver atop the dashboard or on an interior vehicle pillar, and away from vehicle instrument clusters. Another set of lights on a seatbelt compliance light device indicate to motorists external to the vehicle whether one or more occupants of a vehicle is in seatbelt. Each light system can be used to improve both the safety of the driver, pedestrians, surrounding vehicles, and vehicle occupants.

A vehicle safety system comprising a series of lights. One set of lights in a prominent turn indicator device indicates to the driver in a more prominent way whether the driver has indicated a turn. The turn indicator lights are either heads-up on a windshield, visible to the driver atop the dashboard or on an interior vehicle pillar, and away from vehicle instrument clusters. Another set of lights on a seatbelt compliance light device indicate to motorists external to the vehicle whether one or more occupants of a vehicle is in seatbelt. Each light system can be used to improve both the safety of the driver, pedestrians, surrounding vehicles, and vehicle occupants.

A CPU of an ECU is configured to compute an estimated acceleration that is estimated to be applied to a vehicle and a remaining time that is taken from present time to acceleration occurrence time at which the estimated acceleration occurs from a road surface condition detected by a road surface condition detection unit and a vehicle status detected by a vehicle speed determination unit and a steering angle velocity determination unit. The CPU is configured to, when the remaining time becomes shorter than or equal to a predetermined value, drive a retractor motor. The webbing is retracted before an occupant moves with an acceleration that is applied to the vehicle, so the occupant is held in a normal seated position. The retractor motor is driven when the time that is taken from present time to acceleration occurrence time becomes shorter than or equal to the predetermined value.

A CPU of an ECU is configured to compute an estimated acceleration that is estimated to be applied to a vehicle and a remaining time that is taken from present time to acceleration occurrence time at which the estimated acceleration occurs from a road surface condition detected by a road surface condition detection unit and a vehicle status detected by a vehicle speed determination unit and a steering angle velocity determination unit. The CPU is configured to, when the remaining time becomes shorter than or equal to a predetermined value, drive a retractor motor. The webbing is retracted before an occupant moves with an acceleration that is applied to the vehicle, so the occupant is held in a normal seated position. The retractor motor is driven when the time that is taken from present time to acceleration occurrence time becomes shorter than or equal to the predetermined value.

The methods and systems herein enable relative movement-based seatbelt use detection. Image data of an occupant of a vehicle is received over time. The image data is then input into a machine-learned model or other module that determines whether relative movement between one or more portions of the occupant and corresponding portions of a seatbelt are less than a threshold amount. If the relative movement is less than the threshold amount, an indication of seatbelt misuse (e.g., a fake seatbelt) is output to a vehicle component. By basing the indication of seatbelt misuse on relative movement between the occupant and the seatbelt, seatbelt use detection may be improved.

The methods and systems herein enable relative movement-based seatbelt use detection. Image data of an occupant of a vehicle is received over time. The image data is then input into a machine-learned model or other module that determines whether relative movement between one or more portions of the occupant and corresponding portions of a seatbelt are less than a threshold amount. If the relative movement is less than the threshold amount, an indication of seatbelt misuse (e.g., a fake seatbelt) is output to a vehicle component. By basing the indication of seatbelt misuse on relative movement between the occupant and the seatbelt, seatbelt use detection may be improved.

A vehicle occupant messaging system includes a communication tag located in a buckle of a vehicle seatbelt assembly and configured to wirelessly transmit signals, to a mobile device, representing a location of a passenger using the mobile device in a host vehicle. The system further includes a communication transceiver programmed to transmit messages to the mobile device and a system processor programmed to generate the messages to the mobile device, the messages identifying the location of the passenger.

A vehicle occupant messaging system includes a communication tag located in a buckle of a vehicle seatbelt assembly and configured to wirelessly transmit signals, to a mobile device, representing a location of a passenger using the mobile device in a host vehicle. The system further includes a communication transceiver programmed to transmit messages to the mobile device and a system processor programmed to generate the messages to the mobile device, the messages identifying the location of the passenger.