Infrared out-of-position detection system and method for a vehicle restraint system
First Claim
1. A system for detecting the position of an occupant of a motor vehicle including an IR transmitter for emitting a beam of IR light for reflection off the occupant, an IR receiver for receiving the reflected IR light, and a controller coupled to the IR transmitter and IR receiver for determining the position of the occupant relative to a predefined out-of-position zone of the vehicle, the improvement wherein:
- the IR transmitter includes an array of IR light emitters that are consecutively activated to emit individual beams of IR light in a predetermined pattern within said out-of-position zone;
the IR receiver generates an output signal corresponding to an intensity of the reflected IR light for each of the emitted IR beams; and
the controller;
determines an individual intrusion factor for each emitted IR beam based a comparison of the receiver output signal for that beam and a threshold intensity for that beam;
determines a composite intrusion factor based on the individual intrusion factors for all of the emitted beams; and
develops an out-of-position signal based on the composite intrusion factor for indicating a relative intrusion of the occupant into the out-of-position zone.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved infrared occupant detection system that provides accurate and reliable occupant intrusion information at a speed sufficient to timely inhibit or otherwise control deployment of occupant restraints. An array of infrared emitters is selectively activated to emit a predetermined pattern of IR beams in an area between the passenger seat and the point of deployment of the restraint, and the reflected IR energy is detected by a photo-sensitive receiver and analyzed to determine whether an occupant is out of position for deployment of the restraint. In the preferred embodiment, the intensity of the received beam energy and the position of the respective beam are used to construct a table of individual intrusion factors, and a composite intrusion factor based on the individual intrusion factors is categorized by magnitude to form an indication of occupant intrusion level, which in turn, is used to determine whether, or how forcefully, to deploy the restraint in the event of a serious crash.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for detecting the position of an occupant of a motor vehicle including an IR transmitter for emitting a beam of IR light for reflection off the occupant, an IR receiver for receiving the reflected IR light, and a controller coupled to the IR transmitter and IR receiver for determining the position of the occupant relative to a predefined out-of-position zone of the vehicle, the improvement wherein:
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the IR transmitter includes an array of IR light emitters that are consecutively activated to emit individual beams of IR light in a predetermined pattern within said out-of-position zone;
the IR receiver generates an output signal corresponding to an intensity of the reflected IR light for each of the emitted IR beams; and
the controller;
determines an individual intrusion factor for each emitted IR beam based a comparison of the receiver output signal for that beam and a threshold intensity for that beam;
determines a composite intrusion factor based on the individual intrusion factors for all of the emitted beams; and
develops an out-of-position signal based on the composite intrusion factor for indicating a relative intrusion of the occupant into the out-of-position zone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of detecting intrusion of an occupant of a motor vehicle into a predefined out-of-position zone of the vehicle, including the steps of:
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emitting successive beams of IR light in a predetermined pattern within said out-of-position zone for reflection off the occupant;
receiving reflected IR light beams, and generating an output signal corresponding to an intensity of the received IR light beam for each of the emitted IR light beams;
determining an individual intrusion factor for each emitted IR light beam based a comparison of a respective output signal and a respective threshold intensity;
determining a composite intrusion factor based on the individual intrusion factors for all of the emitted IR light beams; and
developing an out-of-position signal based on the composite intrusion factor for indicating a relative intrusion of the occupant into the out-of-position zone. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification