Method, system, and computer program product for detection of securely fastened seat belts

• US 10,315,620 B1
• Filed: 12/08/2017
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Morgantini, Daniele, Bevini, Stefano, Galli, Giulia, Biondi, Domenico
• Primary Examiner(s): Blouin, Mark S
• Application Number:
  US15/836,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20190176751A1
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4816 for sensing locking of buckle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01532 using electric or capacitive field sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/48 Control systems, alarms, or interlock systems, for the correct application of the belt or harness
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/70 specially adapted for specific purposes

Abstract

An electronic tag programmed with an identification in a seat belt assembly is identified by reading the programmed identification via an electronic device embedded in a seat. In response to identifying the electronic tag, a determination is made that an occupant has not fastened a seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

in response to determining that a tongue of a seat belt assembly of a vehicle has been inserted into a buckle of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle, determining whether a Near-field Communication (NFC) tag installed in a seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a front surface of a backrest of a seat of the vehicle; and

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining that an occupant of the vehicle has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a rear surface of the backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

3. The method of claim 2, the method further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

4. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within a backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

5. The method of claim 4, the method further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

6. A system, comprising:

a Near-field Communication (NFC) tag installed in a seat belt of a seat belt assembly; and

a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a front surface of a backrest of a seat of a vehicle, wherein the system performs operations, the operations comprising;

in response to determining that a tongue of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle has been inserted into a buckle of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle, determining whether the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle; and

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining that an occupant of the vehicle has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat.

7. The system of claim 6, the operations further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a rear surface of the backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

8. The system of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

9. The system of claim 6, the operations further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within a backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

10. The system of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

11. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code configured to perform operations on a processor, the operations comprising:

in response to determining that a tongue of a seat belt assembly of a vehicle has been inserted into a buckle of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle, determining whether a Near-field Communication (NFC) tag installed in a seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a front surface of a backrest of a seat of the vehicle; and

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining that an occupant of the vehicle has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a rear surface of the backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, the operations further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within a backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, the operations further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

16. A system, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor performs operations, the operations comprising;

in response to determining that a tongue of a seat belt assembly of a vehicle has been inserted into a buckle of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle, determining whether a Near-field Communication (NFC) tag installed in a seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a front surface of a backrest of a seat of the vehicle; and

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining that an occupant of the vehicle has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat.

17. The system of claim 16, the operations further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a rear surface of the backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

18. The system of claim 17, the operations further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

19. The system of claim 16, the operations further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within a backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

20. The system of claim 19, the operations further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

21. A vehicle, comprising:

a seat;

a seat belt assembly coupled to the seat;

a Near-field Communication (NFC) tag installed in a seat belt of the seat belt assembly; and

a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a front surface of a backrest of the seat of a vehicle, wherein a system in the vehicle performs operations, the operations comprising;

in response to determining that a tongue of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle has been inserted into a buckle of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle, determining whether the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle; and

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining that an occupant of the vehicle has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat.

22. The vehicle of claim 21, the operations further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a rear surface of the backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

23. The vehicle of claim 22, the operations further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

24. The vehicle of claim 21, the operations further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within a backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.

25. The vehicle of claim 24, the operations further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within the backrest of the seat.