Safety apparatus against automobile clash

• US 20040021305A1
• Filed: 07/15/2003
• Published: 02/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Takagi, Akira, Widodo, Ari
• Granted Patent: US 7,134,688 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/735
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01538 for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01552 detecting position of specific human body parts, e.g. face, eyes or hands
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01556 Child-seat detection systems

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to determine a kind of a passenger, e.g., adult or child, without executing a complicated image processing, thereby controlling an unfolding of an air bag. The safety apparatus against an automobile clash extracts a head ellipse from an image outputted from an area sensor. The apparatus stores beforehand reference head ellipses of every possible kinds of passenger'"'"'s heads. The extracted head ellipse of the present passenger is selected among the references. Then, a region including the extracted head ellipse is designated to a future processing region for searching the same passenger'"'"'s head at a time to come. Thus, the passenger'"'"'s head is recognized simply and rapidly, even when the passenger once moved outside the future processing region.

Claims

1. In a safety apparatus against automobile clash, comprising:

at least one imaging means for picking up an image including a passenger on a seat;

extracting means for extracting passenger'"'"'s information on the basis of passenger'"'"'s head image;

safety means for protecting said passenger against said automobile clash; and

controlling means for controlling said safety means on the basis of said passengeir'"'"'s information,

characterized in that said extracting means;

stores reference images similar to head outlines a part of which is a part of an ellipse;

detects said ellipse in an image outputted from said imaging means;

selects one of said reference images almost the same as that of said passenger; and

outputs said passenger'"'"'s information included in said selected one pf said reference images.

2. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reference image is limited to said ellipse.

4. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said reference images represent kinds of said passenger; and

said passenger'"'"'s information is one of said kinds.

5. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said extracting means determines that said seat is vacant, if any image almost the same as that of said passenger can not be selected.

6. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said passenger'"'"'s information is a position of said passenger along the front-rear direction.

7. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reference images include the detected image of said passenger including said ellipse.

8. The safety apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a region including said detected image of said passenger is preferentially processed at a time to come.

9. The safety apparatus according to claim 8, wherein only said region is preferentially processed.

10. The safety apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when any image was not detected within said region, whole of a two dimensional image area is processed at next time to come.

11. The safety apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when any image was not detected within said region, whole of a two dimensional image area is further continuously processed.

12. The safety apparatus according to according to claim 2, wherein a shape and position of said ellipse expressed by mathematical parameters are employed for selecting one of said reference images almost the same as that of said passenger.

13. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said imaging means is or are disposed at a lateral side of said seat.

14. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said imaging means are disposed at both lateral sides of said seat.

15. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said imaging means are disposed at a lateral side and a rear of said seat.

16. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a couple of said imaging means constructs a stereo range finder.

17. The safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein another imaging means enlarges or reducing a picked-up image in accordance with a position of the passenger'"'"'s head measured by said range finder.

3. The safety apparatus according to calim 1, wherein said safety means is an air bag.