Method of initially characterizing an occupant of a vehicle seat based on weight and seat belt tension
First Claim
1. A method of characterizing an occupant of a vehicle seat for allowing or suppressing deployment of an inflatable restraint, the method comprising the steps of:
- detecting an event indicative of vehicle entry at a beginning of a period of vehicle operation, and in response to such detection, initially characterizing the occupant of the vehicle seat based on a measure of weight applied to the vehicle seat and a measure of tension applied to a seat belt for the vehicle seat;
subsequently characterizing the occupant of the vehicle seat during said period of vehicle operation based on the measure of weight applied to the vehicle seat; and
allowing or suppressing deployment of the inflatable restraint based on (1) the initial characterization if the measure of weight applied to the vehicle seat during said period of vehicle operation is consistent with the initial characterization, and (2) the subsequent characterization if the measure of weight applied to the vehicle seat during said period of vehicle operation is inconsistent with the initial characterization.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved weight-based occupant characterization method reliably distinguishes between a minimum weight adult and a child seated on a booster seat. An early characterization of the seat occupant is made in an interval following a transition event such as a door opening or ignition state change that activates the occupant detection system. During this interval, an initial characterization routine monitors the seat belt tension and the raw seat pressure to identify signal values characteristic of a minimum weight adult or a child seated on a booster seat. If the indicated occupant weight during subsequent operation of the vehicle is inconsistent with the initial characterization, the initial characterization is discarded, and the seat occupancy is characterized based on the indicated occupant weight.
15 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A method of characterizing an occupant of a vehicle seat for allowing or suppressing deployment of an inflatable restraint, the method comprising the steps of:
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detecting an event indicative of vehicle entry at a beginning of a period of vehicle operation, and in response to such detection, initially characterizing the occupant of the vehicle seat based on a measure of weight applied to the vehicle seat and a measure of tension applied to a seat belt for the vehicle seat;
subsequently characterizing the occupant of the vehicle seat during said period of vehicle operation based on the measure of weight applied to the vehicle seat; and
allowing or suppressing deployment of the inflatable restraint based on (1) the initial characterization if the measure of weight applied to the vehicle seat during said period of vehicle operation is consistent with the initial characterization, and (2) the subsequent characterization if the measure of weight applied to the vehicle seat during said period of vehicle operation is inconsistent with the initial characterization. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification