Arrangements for detecting the presence or location of an object in a vehicle and for controlling deployment of a safety restraint

• US 20020082756A1
• Filed: 02/09/2001
• Published: 06/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Vehicular Sciences LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Andrew J. Varga, David S. Breed, Wilbur E. Duvall
• Inventors: Breed, David S., Duvall, Wilbur E., Varga, Andrew J.
• Granted Patent: US 6,459,973 B1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0152 using strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01532 using electric or capacitive field sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01534 using electromagneticwaves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01536 using ultrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01546 using belt buckle sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01548 sensing the amount of belt winded on retractor
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01554 Seat position sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/04 Systems determining presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S15/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/88 Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications seismic or acoustic prospecting or detecting G01V1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands

Abstract

Arrangements for a vehicle including ultrasonic transmitters for transmitting ultrasonic waves into the passenger compartment, each transmitter operating at a distinct transmitting frequency and positioned at a distinct location relative to the other transmitter(s), at least one receiver disposed so as to receive ultrasonic waves transmitted from a transmitter and modified by passing through the passenger compartment, and a processor operatively coupled to the receiver(s). Based on the received waves, the processor determines whether an object is located in the passenger compartment, controls deployment of a safety restraint device and/or determines the location of an object in the passenger compartment. Other arrangements include receivers arranged at different locations in the vehicle and which facilitate a distance measurement capability. A processor analyzes the distances between the object and each receiver and based thereon, determines if an object is present, controls a safety restraint device and/or determines the location of an object.

Claims

1. An arrangement for detecting the presence of an object in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising

a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters for transmitting ultrasonic waves into the passenger compartment, each of said transmitters operating at a distinct transmitting frequency and positioned at a distinct location relative to the other of said transmitters,

at least one receiver disposed so as to receive from the passenger compartment ultrasonic waves transmitted from at least one of said transmitters and modified by passing through at least part of the passenger compartment, and

a processor operatively coupled to said at least one receiver for determining whether an object is located in the passenger compartment based on the ultrasonic waves received by said at least one receiver.

2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one receiver and one of said transmitters form a transducer.

3. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one receiver comprises a plurality of receivers, said receivers and said transmitters being arranged to form transducers including one of said receivers and one of said transmitters.

4. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein a first one of said transmitters is arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle and a second one of said transmitters is arranged at a different location in the vehicle such that a first axis connecting the first and second transmitters is substantially parallel to a second axis traversing a volume in the passenger compartment of the vehicle above a seat in which the object is situated.

5. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said processor controls deployment of an occupant restraint device based on the ultrasonic waves received by said at least one receiver.

6. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein one of said transmitters is arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle.

7. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said plurality of transmitters comprises three transmitters, a first one of said transmitters being arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle, a second one of said transmitters being arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle and a third one of said transmitters being arranged on or adjacent an interior side surface of the passenger compartment.

8. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said plurality of transmitters comprises four transmitters, a first one of said transmitters being arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle, a second one of said transmitters being arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle, a third one of said transmitters being arranged on an interior side surface of the passenger compartment and a fourth one of said transmitters being arranged on or adjacent an interior side surface of the passenger compartment.

9. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said processor employs pattern recognition techniques to determine whether an object is located in the passenger compartment.

10. An arrangement for controlling activation of a deployable safety restraint system of a vehicle, comprising

a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters for transmitting ultrasonic waves into a passenger compartment of the vehicle, each of said transmitters operating at a distinct transmitting frequency and positioned at a distinct location relative to the other of said transmitters,

at least one receiver disposed so as to receive from the passenger compartment ultrasonic waves transmitted from at least one of said transmitters and modified by passing through at least part of the passenger compartment, and

a processor operatively coupled to said at least one receiver for controlling deployment of the safety restraint device based on the ultrasonic waves received by said at least one receiver.

11. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein said at least one receiver and one of said transmitters form a transducer.

12. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein said at least one receiver comprises a plurality of receivers, said receivers and said transmitters being arranged to form transducers including one of said receivers and one of said transmitters.

13. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein a first one of said transmitters is arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle and a second one of said transmitters is arranged at a different location in the vehicle such that a first axis connecting the first and second transmitters is substantially parallel to a second axis traversing a volume in the passenger compartment of the vehicle above a seat in which an object is situated.

14. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein said processor determines whether an object is located in the passenger compartment based on the ultrasonic waves received by said at least one receiver.

15. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein one of said transmitters is arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle.

16. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein said plurality of transmitters comprises three transmitters, a first one of said transmitters being arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle, a second one of said transmitters being arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle and a third one of said transmitters being arranged on or adjacent an interior side surface of the passenger compartment.

17. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein said plurality of transmitters comprises four transmitters, a first one of said transmitters being arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle, a second one of said transmitters being arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle, a third one of said transmitters being arranged on an interior side surface of the passenger compartment and a fourth one of said transmitters being arranged on or adjacent an interior side surface of the passenger compartment.

18. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein said processor employs pattern recognition techniques to analyze the waves received by said at least one receiver.

20. The arrangement of claim 19, wherein said at least one receiver and one of said transmitters form a transducer.

21. The arrangement of claim 19, wherein said at least one receiver comprises a plurality of receivers.

22. The arrangement of claim 21, wherein said receivers and said transmitters are arranged to form transducers including one of said receivers and one of said transmitters whereby the distance between the object and each of said receivers is obtained based on the ultrasonic waves received by said receiver such that the location of the object can be determined from the distances between said receivers and the object.

23. The arrangement of claim 19, wherein a first one of said transmitters is arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle and a second one of said transmitters is arranged at a different location in the vehicle such that a first axis connecting the first and second transmitters is substantially parallel to a second axis traversing a volume in the passenger compartment of the vehicle above a seat in which the object is situated.

24. The arrangement of claim 19, wherein said processor controls deployment of an occupant restraint device based on the location of the object.

25. The arrangement of claim 19, wherein one of said transmitters is arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle.

26. The arrangement of claim 19, wherein said plurality of transmitters comprises three transmitters, a first one of said transmitters being arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle, a second one of said transmitters being arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle and a third one of said transmitters being arranged on or adjacent an interior side surface of the passenger compartment.

27. The arrangement of claim 19, wherein said plurality of transmitters comprises four transmitters, a first one of said transmitters being arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle, a second one of said transmitters being arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle, a third one of said transmitters being arranged on an interior side surface of the passenger compartment and a fourth one of said transmitters being arranged on or adjacent an interior side surface of said passenger compartment.

28. The arrangement of claim 19, wherein said processor employs pattern recognition techniques to determine the location of the object.

30. The arrangement of claim 29, wherein said first, second and third receivers are arranged to receive ultrasonic radiation.

31. The arrangement of claim 29, wherein said first, second and third receivers are arranged to receive electromagnetic radiation.

32. The arrangement of claim 29, further comprising:

a fourth receiver arranged at a different location in the passenger compartment than said first, second and third receivers, said fourth receiver comprising distance measurement means such that a fourth distance from said fourth receiver to the object based on the output of said fourth receiver, said processor analyzing said first, second, third and fourth distances and determining if an object is present based thereon.

33. The arrangement of claim 29, wherein said first, second and third receivers are of the same type.

34. The arrangement of claim 29, further comprising at least one transmitter for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment, said first, second and third receivers being arranged to receive the waves transmitted by said at least one transmitter.

36. The arrangement of claim 35, wherein said first, second and third receivers are arranged to receive ultrasonic radiation.

37. The arrangement of claim 35, wherein said first, second and third receivers are arranged to receive electromagnetic radiation.

38. The arrangement of claim 35, further comprising:

a fourth receiver arranged at a different location in the passenger compartment than said first, second and third receivers, said fourth receiver comprising distance measurement means such that a fourth distance from said fourth receiver to the object based on the output of said fourth receiver, said processor analyzing said first, second, third and fourth distances and controlling activation of the safety restraint device based thereon.

39. The arrangement of claim 35, wherein said first, second and third receivers are of the same type.

40. The arrangement of claim 35, further comprising at least one transmitter for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment, said first, second and third receivers being arranged to receive the waves transmitted by said at least one transmitter.

19. An arrangement for determining the location of an object in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising

a plurality of ultrasonic transmitters for transmitting ultrasonic waves into the passenger compartment, each of said transmitters operating at a distinct transmitting frequency and positioned at a distinct location relative to the other of said transmitters,

at least one receiver disposed so as to receive from the passenger compartment ultrasonic waves transmitted from at least one of said transmitters and modified by passing through at least part of the passenger compartment, and

a processor operatively coupled to said at least one receiver for determining the location of the object in the passenger compartment based on the ultrasonic waves received by said at least one receiver.

29. An arrangement for detecting the presence of an object in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising

a first receiver arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle,

a second receiver arranged at a different location in the vehicle than said first receiver such that a first axis connecting said first and second receivers is substantially parallel to a second axis traversing a volume in the passenger compartment of the vehicle above a seat in which the object is situated,

a third receiver arranged at a different location in the passenger compartment than the first and second receivers,

each of said first, second and third receivers comprising distance measurement means such that a first distance from said first receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said first receiver;

a second distance from said second receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said second receiver and a third distance from said third receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said third receiver, and

a processor for analyzing said first, second and third distances and determining if an object is present based thereon.

35. An arrangement for controlling activation of a deployable safety restraint system of a vehicle, comprising

a first receiver arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle,

a second receiver arranged at a different location in the vehicle than said first receiver such that a first axis connecting said first and second receivers is substantially parallel to a second axis traversing a volume in a passenger compartment of the vehicle above a seat in which an object is situated,

a third receiver arranged at a different location in the passenger compartment than the first and second receivers,

each of said first, second and third receivers comprising distance measurement means such that a first distance from said first receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said first receiver;

a second distance from said second receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said second receiver and a third distance from said third receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said third receiver, and

a processor for analyzing said first, second and third distances and controlling activation of the safety restraint device based thereon.

41. An arrangement for determining the location of an object in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising

a first receiver arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle,

a second receiver arranged at a different location in the vehicle than said first receiver such that a first axis connecting said first and second receivers is substantially parallel to a second axis traversing a volume in the passenger compartment of the vehicle above a seat in which the object is situated,

a third receiver arranged at a different location in the passenger compartment than the first and second receivers,

each of said first, second and third receivers comprising distance measurement means such that a first distance from said first receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said first receiver;

a second distance from said second receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said second receiver and a third distance from said third receiver to the object is obtained based on the output of said third receiver, and

a processor for analyzing said first, second and third distances and determining the location of the object based thereon.

42. The arrangement of claim 41, wherein said first, second and third receivers are arranged to receive ultrasonic radiation.

43. The arrangement of claim 41, wherein said first, second and third receivers are arranged to receive electromagnetic radiation.

44. The arrangement of claim 41, further comprising:

a fourth receiver arranged at a different location in the passenger compartment than said first, second and third receivers, said fourth receiver comprising distance measurement means such that a fourth distance from said fourth receiver to the object based on the output of said fourth receiver, said processor analyzing said first, second, third and fourth distances and determining the location of the object based thereon.

45. The arrangement of claim 41, wherein said first, second and third receivers are of the same type.

46. The arrangement of claim 41, further comprising at least one transmitter for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment, said first, second and third receivers being arranged to receive the waves transmitted by said at least one transmitter.