Patent ID: 7145447

Claim:
A prompting apparatus for prompting to fasten a seatbelt for a vehicle, comprising: a detector which detects whether the seatbelt is fastened or unfastened; a warning lamp which warns that the seatbelt is unfastened, the warning lamp being capable of changing a warning level; a sensor which detects a vehicle speed; a timer which measures an elapsed time from a start of motion of the vehicle; and a controller which controls an actuation of the warning lamp, wherein the controller intensifies a warning level of the warning lamp in steps in conjunction with a predetermined condition when the vehicle is in motion when the detector has detected that the seatbelt is unfastened, and wherein the predetermined condition is any of conditions whereby (1) the elapsed time measured by the timer is or exceeds a predetermined time; and (2) the vehicle speed detected by the sensor is or exceeds a predetermined speed and the elapsed time is or exceeds the predetermined time.