Device and method for detecting an object or a person in the passenger compartment of a vehicle

• US 20030160154A1
• Filed: 03/14/2003
• Published: 08/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Arnold, Martin, Stierle, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,022,970 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/221
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01534 using electromagneticwaves, e.g. infrared

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and a method for detecting an object or a person is received. The receiving power is permanently detected. The laser light pulse is switched off when a threshold value that matches sufficient receiving power is obtained.

Claims

1. Device for detecting an object or a person (6) in the passenger compartment of a vehicle with a laser (10) for emitting laser light pulses and an optical receiver (18, 19) or sensor for receiving laser light pulses reflected off the object or the person (6),

characterized by a detection unit (16) connected to the laser (10), which detects the receiving power continuously and switches off the laser light pulse when a limit value (24) corresponding to an adequate receiving power is reached.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the detection unit (16) is linked to two optical sensors (18, 19), one of which (19) is for remote detection and the other (18) for local detection,

that each sensor (18, 19) is followed by an integration unit and

that a comparator stage (23) is connected downstream from the integrators (20, 21) and this compares the sum of the output signals of the integration units (20, 21) with the limit value (24).

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sensors (18, 19) have at least one photodiode.

4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the integration unit has a device to compensate for ambient light.

5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the unit to compensate for ambient light has an integrator element, which integrates the output signal of the respective sensor minus a correction signal.

6. Method for detecting an object or a person in the passenger compartment of a vehicle, in which at least one laser light pulse is emitted and the laser light pulse reflected off an object or a person is received, characterized in that the receiving power is detected continuously and the laser light pulse is switched off when a limit value corresponding to an adequate receiving power is reached.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that there is provision for remote detection or local detection at the point of receipt of the laser light pulse, that the received signals for remote detection and local detection respectively are integrated and that the sum of the two respectively integrated received signals for remote detection and local detection is compared with a limit value.