Pre-crash seat positioning mechanism
View Patent ↗An occupant protection system for a vehicle includes a vehicle seat, a seat moving mechanism configured to move the vehicle seat in a substantially vertical direction, and a vehicle rollover sensor signaling a safety controller. The safety controller determines if a rollover situation is imminent or is occurring. The seat moving mechanism may include a motor and a linkage system. When the safety controller determines a rollover situation, the seat moving mechanism moves the seat in a substantially downward direction from an initial position to increase a head clearance for a vehicle occupant seated in the vehicle seat.
1. An occupant protection system for a vehicle, comprising:
a vehicle seat with a seat bottom and a seat back;
a seat moving mechanism configured to move the vehicle seat in a substantially vertical direction;
a vehicle rollover sensor to determine if a rollover situation is imminent or occurring; and
a motor for the seat moving mechanism,
wherein when the sensor sends a signal to a safety controller, and the safety controller determines a rollover situation, the seat moving mechanism moves the seat in a substantially downward vertical direction from an initial position to increase a head clearance for a vehicle occupant seated in the vehicle seat, and
wherein, if the safety controller determines that a rollover situation did not occur after the moving mechanism moves the seat in the downward vertical direction, the moving mechanism is configured to move the seat in a substantially upward vertical direction to return the seat to the initial position.
2. The occupant protection system of claim 1 , wherein the seat moving mechanism includes a linkage mechanism.
3. The occupant protection system of claim 2 , further including a clutch to move the vehicle seat in the downward vehicle direction.
4. The occupant protection system of claim 1 ,
a vehicle seat with a seat bottom and a seat back;
a seat moving mechanism configured to move the vehicle seat in a substantially vertical direction, wherein the seat moving mechanism includes a worm gear;
a vehicle rollover sensor to determine if a rollover situation is imminent or occurring; and
a motor for the seat moving mechanism,
wherein when the sensor sends a signal to a safety controller, and the safety controller determines a rollover situation, the seat moving mechanism moves the seat in a substantially downward vertical direction from an initial position to increase a head clearance for a vehicle occupant seated in the vehicle seat.
5. The occupant protection system of claim 1 , further including a holding pawl to hold the seat in an initial upward direction position or a downward direction position.
6. The occupant protection system of claim 5 , further comprising a solenoid configured to actuate the holding pawl.
7. The occupant protection system of claim 5 , wherein a drive direction of the motor is configured to actuate the holding pawl.
8. The occupant protection system of claim 1 , wherein the seat is capable of moving in the downward direction in a range of one to two inches.
9. The occupant protection system of claim 1 , further comprising a lap anchor mounted to the seat and a seatbelt with a lap portion and a shoulder portion.
10. The occupant protection system of claim 9 , further comprising a shoulder anchor mounted to a vehicle body component.
11. The occupant protection system of claim 10 , wherein the seat is configured to pretension the seatbelt when the seat moves in the downward direction by the seat moving mechanism.
12. A method of providing additional clearance for an occupant during a rollover situation, comprising:
determining, with a rollover sensor and a safety controller, if a vehicle rollover is imminent;
moving a vehicle seat in a substantially downward direction upon sensing of an imminent vehicle rollover and increasing a distance between the vehicle seat and a vehicle ceiling to increase a head clearance of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat; and
moving the vehicle seat in a substantially upward direction if the safety controller determines that a rollover situation did not occur after the moving mechanism moves the seat in the downward vertical direction.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the vehicle seat comprises a seat moving mechanism with a linkage mechanism to move the seat in the substantially downward direction.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the seat moving mechanism further includes a clutch to move the vehicle seat in the downward vehicle direction.
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the seat moving mechanism further includes a worm gear.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the seat moving mechanism further includes a holding pawl to hold the seat in an initial upward direction position or a downward direction position.
17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the seat is capable of moving in the substantially downward direction in a range of one to two inches.