Vehicle occupant proximity seat sensor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for determining whether to activate a vehicle occupant safety system for an occupant of a seat including the steps of:
- a. Receiving an electromagnetic signal at a plurality of points in the vehicle seat;
b. Determining a position of the occupant relative to the seat based upon said step a; and
c. Activating the vehicle occupant safety system based upon said step b.
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Abstract
A vehicle occupant proximity sensor includes a transmitting electrode in a vehicle seat and an array of receiving electrodes mounted in the vehicle seat. The sensor determines the capacitance at each of the receiving electrodes, which varies based upon the proximity of the occupant to each receiving electrode, thus producing an array of proximity information indicating in two dimensions the position of the occupant.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for determining whether to activate a vehicle occupant safety system for an occupant of a seat including the steps of:
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a. Receiving an electromagnetic signal at a plurality of points in the vehicle seat;
b. Determining a position of the occupant relative to the seat based upon said step a; and
c. Activating the vehicle occupant safety system based upon said step b. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for activating a vehicle occupant safety system including the steps of:
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a) Receiving an electromagnetic signal at each of a plurality of points in a seat in a vehicle passenger compartment having an occupant safety system;
b) Determining a position of an occupant relative to the seat based upon said step a; and
c) Determining whether to activate the vehicle occupant safety system based upon said step a. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15)
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13. A vehicle passenger compartment proximity sensing system comprising:
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A capacitive sensor array measuring capacitance at a plurality of points in a seat in a vehicle passenger compartment; and
A controller determining a position of an occupant relative to the seat based upon the capacitance measured at the plurality of points.
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Specification