Seat occupancy monitor

• US 10,482,752 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2017
• Issued: 11/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mclaren Applied Technologies Limited (Mclaren Group Limited)
• Original Assignee: Mclaren Applied Technologies Limited (Mclaren Group Limited)
• Inventors: Griffiths, Matthew John
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phung
• Application Number:
  US16/343,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20190251823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 760 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: B60N 2/24 for particular purposes or particular vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 5/00 Arrangements or devices on vehicles for entrance or exit control of passengers, e.g. turnstiles
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 41/00 Indicators for reserved seats; Warning or like signs; Devices or arrangements in connection with tickets, e.g. ticket holders; Holders for cargo tickets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 30/00 Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance

Abstract

A device for monitoring one or more passenger seats of a vehicle, the device comprising: at least one sensor configured to monitor an occupancy status for each of the one or more seats; and a communication interface configured to receive reservation conditions for each of the one or more seats; wherein the device is configured to: display an occupancy condition for each of the one or more seats and a reservation condition for each of the one or more seats; and determine the occupancy condition for each of the one or more seats based on the occupancy status for each of the one or more seats over a predefined time period.

Claims

1. A device for monitoring one or more passenger seats of a vehicle, the device comprising:

at least one sensor configured to monitor an occupancy status for each of the one or more seats; and

a communication interface configured to receive reservation conditions for each of the one or more seats;

wherein the device is configured to;

display an occupancy condition for each of the one or more seats and a reservation condition for each of the one or more seats; and

determine the occupancy condition for each of the one or more seats based on the occupancy status for each of the one or more seats over a predefined time period.

2. The device according claim 1, wherein the occupancy status comprises occupied and vacant.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the occupancy condition comprises occupied and vacant.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the reservation condition comprises reserved and unreserved.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein a vehicle journey is associated with the vehicle, and the reservation condition comprises periods of the vehicle journey where a seat is reserved and periods of the vehicle journey where the seat is unreserved.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to determine that the occupancy condition for a seat is occupied if the occupancy status for the respective seat is occupied during the predefined time period and/or for a threshold period of the predefined time period.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to determine that the occupancy condition for a seat is vacant if the occupancy status for the respective seat is vacant during the predefined time period and/or for a threshold period of the predefined time period.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to display the occupancy condition for each of the one or more seats and the reservation condition for each of the one or more seats only during display periods when passengers of the vehicle are boarding the vehicle and initially locating a seat.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to display the occupancy condition for each of the one or more seats and the reservation condition for each of the one or more seats during display periods starting from a display starting time associated with when the vehicle enters a passenger pick-up location and until a display duration has elapsed.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device monitors two or three passenger seats, the sensor is configured to monitor the occupancy status for each of the two or three seats, and the device is configured to display the occupancy condition for each of the two or three seats and the reservation condition for each of the two or three seats.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises a seat occupancy indicator for each of the one or more seats and the seat occupancy indicators each display the occupancy condition for a respective one of the one or more seats.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises a reservation indicator for each of the one or more seats and the reservation indicators each display the reservation condition for a respective one of the one or more seats.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to transmit the occupancy conditions to a controller device.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to transmit the occupancy conditions to a controller device when the individual occupancy conditions change.

15. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises one sensor per seat of the one or more seats and each sensor is configured to monitor the occupancy status for a respective one of the one or more seats.

16. The device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor(s) comprise infra-red sensors and/or ultra-sound sensors.

17. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises a power source.

18. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is formed as part of the vehicle.

19. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a discrete device and is configured to be attached to the vehicle.

20. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to be attached to the vehicle above the one or more seats the device monitors.

21. A system for monitoring one or more passenger seats of a vehicle, the system comprising:

at least one sensor configured to monitor an occupancy status for each of the one or more seats;

a first display unit configured to;

display an occupancy condition for each of the one or more seats, and determine the occupancy condition for each of the one or more seats based on the occupancy status for each of the one or more seats over a predefined time period; and

a second display unit configured to;

receive reservation conditions for each of the one or more seats, and display a reservation condition for each of the one or more seats;

wherein the first and second display units are positioned proximal to the one or more seats.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the first and second display units are positioned so that the occupancy conditions and reservation conditions are visible to a passenger located beside the one or more seats.

23. The system according to claim 21, the second display unit comprises a communication interface configured to receive the reservation conditions for each of the one or more seats.