Patent ID: 7299118
Filing Date: 2007-11-20
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
1. An occupant protection apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: driver-seat seatbelt tension changing means for changing a tension applied to a driver-seat seatbelt provided to a driver seat of the vehicle; passenger-seat seatbelt tension changing means for changing a tension applied to a passenger-seat seatbelt provided to a seat other than said driver seat; crash predicting means for predicting a crash of said vehicle; and belt tension controlling means for controlling said driver-seat seatbelt tension changing means and said passenger-seat seatbelt tension changing means so as to increase the tension applied to each of said driver-seat seatbelt and said passenger-seat seatbelt when said crash predicting means determines that there is a possibility of a vehicle crash, and set the tension applied to said driver-seat seatbelt to always be smaller than the tension applied to said passenger-seat seatbelt.