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US 11,440,666 B2Granted
Intelligent aircraft seat belt system and method
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorSk Sahariyaz Zaman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Seat belts, seat belt assemblies, seat belt systems, and methods for incorporating the seat belts, seat belt assemblies, and seat belt assembly systems are disclosed, with the seat belt including a seat belt locking mechanism sensor that, in tandem with a seat belt thermal sensor provides confirmatory information as to a definitive locking condition or locking state of a seat belt.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- a vehicle seat belt assembly for a vehicle seat, said vehicle seat belt assembly configured to attach to a vehicle seat, said vehicle seat belt assembly comprising:
- a seat belt insertion end, said seat belt insertion end in communication with a first strap, said first strap configured to attach to a vehicle seat;
- a seat belt receiving end, said seat belt receiving end in communication with a second strap, said second strap configured to attach to the vehicle seat, said seat belt receiving end comprising:
- a seat belt receiving end first side;
- a seat belt receiving end second side that is pivotally connected to the seat belt receiving end first side, the seat belt receiving end first and second sides movable between an open orientation to release from the seat belt insertion end and a closed orientation to engage with the seat belt insertion end;
- a seat belt locking sensor;
- a thermal sensor mounted to the seat belt receiving end and positioned in proximity to each of the seat belt receiving end first and second sides in the closed orientation;
- and
- wherein the seat belt insertion end, the first strap, the seat belt receiving end, and the second strap are configured to form a vehicle seat belt;
- wherein the thermal sensor is positioned between the seat belt receiving end first and second sides to simultaneously sense a seat belt receiving end first side temperature and a seat belt receiving end second side temperature when the seat belt receiving end is in the closed orientation.
7 more elements
A system comprising:
- a vehicle seat belt comprising;
- a seat belt insertion end, said seat belt insertion end in communication with a first strap, said first strap configured to attach to a vehicle seat;
- a seat belt receiving end, said seat belt receiving end comprising a seat belt receiving end first side and a seat belt receiving end second side that are pivotally connected together and movable between an open orientation and a closed orientation, said seat belt receiving end in communication with a second strap, said second strap configured to attach to the vehicle seat, said seat belt receiving end dimensioned to receive the seat belt insertion end and engage with the seat belt insertion end in the closed orientation;
- a seat belt locking mechanism, said seat belt locking mechanism comprising a seat belt locking mechanism transmitter;
- and
- a seat belt thermal sensor oriented on at least one of the seat belt receiving end first side and the seat belt receiving end second side and positioned in proximity to each of the seat belt receiving end first and second sides in the closed orientation to sense a first temperature of the seat belt receiving end first side and a second temperature of the seat belt receiving end second side, said seat belt thermal sensor further comprising a seat belt thermal sensor transmitter;
- and
- at least one receiver, said at least one receiver configured to receive a signal from the seat belt locking mechanism transmitter and the seat belt thermal sensor transmitter.
5 more elements
A method comprising:
- providing a vehicle seat belt assembly, said seat belt assembly configured to attach to a vehicle seat, said vehicle seat belt assembly comprising:
- a seat belt insertion end, said seat belt insertion end in communication with a first strap;
- a seat belt receiving end, said seat belt receiving end in communication with a second strap, said seat belt receiving end comprising a seat belt receiving end first side and a seat belt receiving end second side, said seat belt receiving end dimensioned to receive the seat belt insertion end;
- a seat belt locking mechanism comprising:
- a seat belt locking mechanism transmitter;
- and
- a seat belt thermal sensor oriented on at least one of the seat belt receiving end first side and the seat belt receiving end second side, said seat belt thermal sensor positioned between the seat belt receiving end first and second sides to simultaneously sense a temperature of the seat belt receiving end first side and a temperature of said seat belt receiving end second side, said thermal sensor comprising a seat belt thermal sensor transmitter;
- and
- providing a receiver configured to receive a seat belt locking mechanism signal from the seat belt locking mechanism transmitter, and said receiver further configured to receive a thermal sensor signal from the seat belt thermal sensor transmitter.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.