Vehicle occupant protection apparatus

1. A vehicle occupant protection apparatus, comprising:

a strap configured to extend across a front of a body of an occupant sitting on a seat of a vehicle;

a pre-tensioner configured to retract the strap;

a vehicle orientation sensor configured to detect at least one of a change in an orientation of the vehicle and an operation for changing the orientation of the vehicle: and

a controller configured to cause the pre-tensioner to start retracting the strap prior to a collision or when the collision occurs,

wherein, when the vehicle orientation sensor detects the change in the orientation of the vehicle after the retracting of the strap starts, the controller temporarily stops or eases the retracting of the strap and, when the collision is detected, the controller retracts the strap again after the controller temporarily stops or eases the retracting of the strap.

2. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case where sinking of a front of the vehicle is detected by the vehicle orientation sensor, the controller temporarily stops or eases the retracting of the strap.

3. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising:

a running condition sensor configured to detect a running condition of the vehicle,

wherein, in a case where a possibility of the collision is present on a basis of the running condition detected by the running condition sensor, the controller causes the pre-tensioner to start retracting the strap prior to the collision and causes the vehicle orientation sensor to start detecting the sinking of the front of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the vehicle orientation sensor comprises at least one of a vehicle deceleration sensor, a seat sensor, a vehicle angular-speed sensor provided at either one of a front and a rear of the vehicle, and a belt sensor provided at the strap, the vehicle deceleration sensor being configured to detect one of a deceleration of the vehicle or the occupant and a decelerating operation.

5. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the controller feeds the strap in control for temporarily easing the retracting of the strap.

6. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller feeds the strap in control for temporarily easing the retracting of the strap.

7. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising;

a running condition sensor configured to detect a running condition of the vehicle,

wherein, in a case where a possibility of a collision is present on a basis of the running condition detected by the running condition sensor and the sinking of the front of the vehicle is not detected on a basis of the vehicle orientation sensor, the controller causes the pre-tensioner to start retracting the strap, and

wherein, in a case where a possibility of a collision is present on the basis of the running condition detected by the running condition sensor and the sinking of the front of the vehicle is detected on the basis of the vehicle orientation sensor, the controller does not cause the pre-tensioner to start retracting the strap and subsequently causes the pre-tensioner to start retracting the strap after a delay.

8. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the vehicle orientation sensor comprises at least one of a vehicle deceleration sensor, a seat sensor, a vehicle angular-speed sensor provided at either one of a front and a rear of the vehicle, and a belt sensor provided at the strap, the vehicle deceleration sensor being configured to detect one of a deceleration of the vehicle or the occupant and a decelerating operation.

9. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the controller feeds the strap in control for temporarily easing the retracting of the strap.

10. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the controller feeds the strap in control for temporarily easing the retracting of the strap.

11. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the vehicle orientation sensor comprises at least one of a vehicle deceleration sensor, a seat sensor, a vehicle angular-speed sensor provided at either one of a front and a rear of the vehicle, and a belt sensor provided at the strap, the vehicle deceleration sensor being configured to detect one of a deceleration of the vehicle or the occupant and a decelerating operation.

12. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the controller feeds the strap in control for temporarily easing the retracting of the strap.

13. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the controller feeds the strap in control for temporarily easing the retracting of the strap.

14. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle orientation sensor comprises at least one of a vehicle deceleration sensor, a seat sensor, a vehicle angular-speed sensor provided at either one of a front and a rear of the vehicle, and a belt sensor provided at the strap, the vehicle deceleration sensor being configured to detect one of a deceleration of the vehicle or the occupant and a decelerating operation.

15. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the controller feeds the strap in control for temporarily easing the retracting of the strap.

16. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller feeds the strap in control for temporarily easing the retracting of the strap.

17. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle orientation sensor comprises a seat sensor provided at a surface of the seat of the vehicle to detect whether the occupant is sitting on the seat, a seat pressure, and a seated position of the occupant to detect the change in the orientation of the vehicle prior to the collision.