Monitoring respiration of a vehicle operator
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a first sensor electrode associated with a seatbelt of a vehicle, wherein the first sensor electrode is positioned adjacent to a torso of a vehicle operator;
a second sensor electrode positioned within the vehicle to be proximate to a body part of the vehicle operator during operation of the vehicle;
a capacitance-to-voltage converter that converts a capacitance signal received from one of the first sensor electrode or the second sensor electrode to a voltage signal;
one or more processors; and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media maintaining executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;
receiving the voltage signal from the capacitance-to-voltage converter; and
determining a respiration rate of the vehicle operator based at least partially on measuring an amplitude and period of the voltage signal.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In some examples, a system may generate an alternating current signal to one of a first sensor electrode or a second sensor electrode. For instance, the first sensor electrode may be associated with a seatbelt and located adjacent to a torso of a vehicle operator of a vehicle. Further, the second sensor electrode may be positioned to be contacted by or otherwise proximate to another body part of the vehicle operator, such as at least one of an arm, hand, leg, or foot of the vehicle operator. The system may receive from the other one of the first sensor electrode or the second sensor electrode, a signal indicative of a capacitance, and may determine a respiration rate of the vehicle operator based at least partially on the signal indicative of the capacitance.
8 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a first sensor electrode associated with a seatbelt of a vehicle, wherein the first sensor electrode is positioned adjacent to a torso of a vehicle operator; a second sensor electrode positioned within the vehicle to be proximate to a body part of the vehicle operator during operation of the vehicle; a capacitance-to-voltage converter that converts a capacitance signal received from one of the first sensor electrode or the second sensor electrode to a voltage signal; one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media maintaining executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising; receiving the voltage signal from the capacitance-to-voltage converter; and determining a respiration rate of the vehicle operator based at least partially on measuring an amplitude and period of the voltage signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method comprising:
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generating an alternating current signal to one of a first sensor electrode or a second sensor electrode, wherein the first sensor electrode is associated with a seatbelt and located adjacent to a torso of a vehicle operator of a vehicle, and the second sensor electrode is positioned to be proximate to at least one of an arm, hand, leg, or foot, of the vehicle operator; receiving from the other one of the first sensor electrode or the second sensor electrode, a signal indicative of a capacitance; and determining, by a processor, a respiration rate based at least partially on the signal indicative of the capacitance, wherein there are multiple second sensor electrodes, the method further comprising; determining that the vehicle operator is contacting a certain one of the second sensor electrodes; determining that the vehicle operator has contacted the certain second sensor electrode for a threshold time; and receiving the signal indicative of the capacitance from the certain second sensor electrode. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus comprising:
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a first sensor electrode associated with a seatbelt for restraining a vehicle operator of a vehicle; a second sensor electrode positioned within the vehicle to be proximate to a body part of the vehicle operator; a signal generator that generates a signal to one of the first sensor electrode or the second sensor electrode; a capacitance-to-voltage converter that converts a capacitance signal received from the other one of the first sensor electrode or the second sensor electrode to a voltage signal; and a voltage measurement circuit that determines, at least in part, a respiration rate based on an amplitude and period of the voltage signal received from the capacitance-to-voltage converter. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification