Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshihiro Goi

Toru Hara

Sae Kumakura

Shozo Kamiharako

An apparatus for estimating a drowsiness level of a vehicle driver first prepares a frequency distribution of blink durations of the driver for a first predetermined period after the start of a driving operation, and sets a threshold value for a discrimination of slow blinks by the frequency distribution. Thereafter, the apparatus calculates, every second predetermined period, a ratio of the number of slow blinks to the total number of blinks of the driver's eyes during the second period, and discriminates a rise in the drowsiness level of the driver in accordance with the calculated ratio.

Apparatus for estimating the drowsiness level of a vehicle driver

A driving device for a motor car seat belt which drives a seat belt supporting member such as an anchor, a ring, etc. in response to opening and closing of a door of a motor car, so that a motor car seat belt may be held in a restraining position for a person on a motor car when the door is fully closed, while being held in an unrestraining position when the door has been opened to a predetermined open angle position between the fully closed position and a fully opened position. The driving device for the seat belt supporting member is essentially composed of a rack that is movable in response to the opening and closing of the door and a pinion which meshes with the rack and is operatively coupled to the seat belt supporting member. Notched portions having no teeth are formed respectively on the rack and on the pinion so that the notched portion on the rack is opposite to the notched portion on the pinion when the door is opened beyond the predetermined opening angle position for stopping the pinion regardless of further movement of the rack.

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Anjo, Japan

Yoshihiro Goi