Apparatus for detecting head of occupant in vehicle
First Claim
1. An apparatus for detecting the head of an occupant in a seat within a vehicle, comprising:
- an area image sensor for periodically taking an image of an area including the occupant in the seat, and outputting a signal sequentially representing 1-frame images of the area; and
a head position calculating section for deciding a position of a head of the occupant on the basis of the 1-frame images sequentially represented by the signal outputted by the area image sensor;
wherein the head position calculating section includes means for calculating motion quantities of portions of each of the 1-frame images, means for detecting, in each of the 1-frame images, a maximum-motion image region in which portions having substantially largest one among the calculated motion quantities collect to a highest degree, and means for recognizing the detected maximum-motion image region as corresponding to the head of the occupant.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for detecting the head of an occupant in a seat within a vehicle includes an area image sensor for periodically taking an image of an area including the occupant in the seat, and outputting a signal sequentially representing 1-frame images of the area. A head position calculating section operates for deciding a position of a head of the occupant on the basis of the 1-frame images sequentially represented by the signal outputted by the area image sensor. The head position calculating section includes a device for calculating motion quantities of portions of each of the 1-frame images, a device for detecting, in each of the 1-frame images, a maximum-motion image region in which portions having substantially largest one among the calculated motion quantities collect to a highest degree, and a device for recognizing the detected maximum-motion image region as corresponding to the head of the occupant.
26 Citations
10 Claims
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1. An apparatus for detecting the head of an occupant in a seat within a vehicle, comprising:
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an area image sensor for periodically taking an image of an area including the occupant in the seat, and outputting a signal sequentially representing 1-frame images of the area; and
a head position calculating section for deciding a position of a head of the occupant on the basis of the 1-frame images sequentially represented by the signal outputted by the area image sensor;
wherein the head position calculating section includes means for calculating motion quantities of portions of each of the 1-frame images, means for detecting, in each of the 1-frame images, a maximum-motion image region in which portions having substantially largest one among the calculated motion quantities collect to a highest degree, and means for recognizing the detected maximum-motion image region as corresponding to the head of the occupant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10)
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7. An apparatus for detecting the head of an occupant in a seat within a vehicle, comprising:
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an area image sensor for periodically taking an image of an area including the occupant in the seat, and outputting a signal sequentially representing 1-frame images of the area; and
a head position calculating section for deciding a position of a head of the occupant on the basis of the 1-frame images sequentially represented by the signal outputted by the area image sensor;
wherein the head position calculating section includes means for calculating a difference between current one and immediately preceding one among the 1-frame images to generate a difference 1-frame image as an indication of a two-dimensional distribution pattern of the calculated motion quantities of portions of each of the 1-frame images, means for dividing and shaping the two-dimensional distribution pattern into an arrangement pattern of image blocks corresponding to respective portions of the occupant, means for collating the arrangement pattern with predetermined reference patterns corresponding to different occupant postures to detect which of the predetermined reference patterns the arrangement pattern best matches, and means for deciding a longitudinal-direction position of the head of the occupant in response to the predetermined reference pattern which best matches the arrangement pattern.
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8. An apparatus for detecting the head of an occupant in a seat within a vehicle, comprising:
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an area image sensor for periodically taking an image of an area including the occupant in the seat, and outputting a signal sequentially representing 1-frame images of the area; and
a head position calculating section for deciding a position of a head of the occupant on the basis of the 1-frame images sequentially represented by the signal outputted by the area image sensor;
wherein the head position calculating section includes means for extracting image portions from each of the 1-frame images, means for calculating motion vectors regarding the extracted image portions respectively and defined between current one and immediately preceding one among the 1-frame images, means for detecting a two-dimensional distribution pattern of the calculated motion vectors, means for dividing and shaping the two-dimensional distribution pattern into an arrangement pattern of image blocks corresponding to respective portions of the occupant, means for collating the arrangement pattern with predetermined reference patterns corresponding to different occupant postures to detect which of the predetermined reference patterns the arrangement pattern best matches, and means for deciding a longitudinal-direction position of the head of the occupant in response to the predetermined reference pattern which best matches the arrangement pattern.
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Specification