Infrared proximity sensor for air bag safety
First Claim
1. An object proximity sensor system for use in a motor vehicle having an occupant area defining an air bag deployment zone, and an air bag module, said object proximity sensor system comprising:
- a light transmitter capable of emitting light beams that illuminate a predefined area and are capable of reflecting off an object positioned in the predefined area;
a light receiver capable of detecting the reflected light beams, said light receiver comprising an image sensor capable of acquiring an image of the object in the illuminated predefined area and capable of distinguishing a plurality of imaged spots in the image; and
a microcontroller coupled to said light receiver and operable to determine diameters of the imaged spots and to use the determined diameters to calculate the object'"'"'s distance from said light transmitter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides an object proximity sensor system and method to determine the distance between a vehicle occupant and the system. Once determined, the distance is used in determining whether to enable or disable an air bag in the vehicle. In an exemplary embodiment, the object proximity sensor system includes a light transmitter capable of emitting light beams that illuminate a predefined area and are capable of reflecting off an object positioned in the predefined area, a light receiver capable of detecting the reflected light beams and including an imaging sensor capable of acquiring an image of the object in the illuminated predefined area and capable of distinguishing a plurality of imaged spots in the image, and a microcontroller coupled to the light receiver and operable to determine diameters of the imaged spots. The microcontroller then uses the diameters of the spots to determine the object'"'"'s distance from the light transmitter.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An object proximity sensor system for use in a motor vehicle having an occupant area defining an air bag deployment zone, and an air bag module, said object proximity sensor system comprising:
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a light transmitter capable of emitting light beams that illuminate a predefined area and are capable of reflecting off an object positioned in the predefined area;
a light receiver capable of detecting the reflected light beams, said light receiver comprising an image sensor capable of acquiring an image of the object in the illuminated predefined area and capable of distinguishing a plurality of imaged spots in the image; and
a microcontroller coupled to said light receiver and operable to determine diameters of the imaged spots and to use the determined diameters to calculate the object'"'"'s distance from said light transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. In a motor vehicle having an occupant area defining an air bag deployment zone, and an air bag module, a method of establishing the distance between a light transmitter and a target positioned in the occupant area, said method comprising the steps of:
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emitting a plurality of light beams, said light beams illuminating the occupant area and capable of reflecting off the target;
acquiring an image of the target in the occupant area, said image including a plurality of imaged spots produced by said reflected light beams, each of said imaged spots having a diameter;
determining the diameters of each said imaged spots; and
determining the distance of the target from the light transmitter based upon the diameters of said plurality of imaged spots. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 29)
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16. An object proximity sensor for use in a motor vehicle having an occupant area defining an air bag deployment zone, and an air bag module, the object proximity sensor for use in determining the distance between a light transmitter and a target positioned in the occupant area, the object proximity sensor comprising:
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light detecting means for detecting a plurality of light beams emitted by the light transmitter and reflected off the target, said light detecting means and the light transmitter adapted to be positioned proximate to the air bag module;
image capture means for capturing an image of the target in the occupant area, said image containing a plurality of imaged spots produced by said reflected light beams; and
means for determining diameters of each of said imaged spots and using the diameters to determine the target'"'"'s distance from the light transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An object proximity sensor system for use in a motor vehicle having an occupant area defining an air bag deployment zone, the sensor system for determining the distance from an object, said sensor system comprising:
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a plurality of light sources for generating a plurality of light beams that illuminate the object positioned in the occupant area;
imaging optics for imaging the plurality of light beams on a photosensitive device, said imaged light beams forming reflected imaged spots on said photosensitive device, said imaged spots each having a diameter;
an image processor in electrical communication with said imaging optics; and
a microcontroller coupled to said imaging optics and said image processor, said microcontroller and said image processor together operable to determine the diameter of said reflected imaged spots, and said microcontroller operable to use the diameters to determine the object'"'"'s distance. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification