Vehicle occupant discriminating apparatus

• US 20060217862A1
• Filed: 03/21/2006
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Haneda, Hideo, Sakai, Morio, Mori, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,295,910 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0152 using strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/4142 for controlling activation of safety devices, e.g. airbag systems electrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements in case of vehicle accidents B60R21/015

Abstract

A vehicle occupant discrimination apparatus is provided, which is capable of precisely discriminating a vehicle occupant using load data detected by a small number of load sensors for detecting a load applied to a vehicle seat. In a vehicle occupant discrimination apparatus for discriminating the kind of an occupant on a vehicle seat on the basis of the load applied to the vehicle seat, the apparatus includes state detecting means for detecting the occupant state on the vehicle seat, load measuring means for measuring the load applied to the vehicle seat, and discriminating means for discriminating the kind of the occupant on the basis of a discrimination condition differing in accordance with the result detected by the state detecting means and the result measured by the load measuring means.

Claims

1. A vehicle occupant discrimination apparatus for discriminating the kind of an occupant on a vehicle seat on the basis of the load applied to the vehicle seat, the apparatus comprising:

state detecting means for detecting the occupant state on the vehicle seat;

load measuring means for measuring the load applied to the vehicle seat; and

discriminating means for discriminating the kind of the occupant on the basis of a discrimination condition discriminating whether the occupant is an adult or a child and the result measured by the load measuring means, wherein the discriminating means discriminates the kind of the occupant on the basis of the discrimination condition differing in accordance with the result detected by the state detecting means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discriminating means discriminates the kind of the occupant on the basis of the discrimination conditions differing from a case, where the load measured by the load measuring means varies from a smaller side to a larger side, to a case where it varies from the larger side to the smaller side.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the load measuring means measures the load applied to the rear side of the vehicle seat and the state detecting means detects a presence of an occupant body on the front side of the vehicle seat.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the state detecting means detects the presence of the occupant, the discriminating means discriminates the kind of the occupant on the basis of a first discrimination condition while discriminates the kind of the occupant on the basis of a second discrimination condition using a larger load than that in the first discrimination condition when the state detecting means detects no presence of the occupant.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the discriminating means includes discrimination state confirming means for confirming a former discrimination state, and

wherein when the former discrimination state is an adult, the discriminating means discriminates the kind of the occupant on the basis of a third discrimination condition using a smaller load than that in the first discrimination condition while discriminates the kind of the occupant on the basis of the result detected by the state detecting means when the former discrimination state is a child.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discriminating means includes discrimination state confirming means for confirming a former discrimination state,

wherein when the former occupant kind is an adult and the presence of an occupant body is detected by the state detecting means, or when the former occupant kind is a child and the presence of an occupant body is not detected by the state detecting means, the discriminating means determines the former occupant to be the kind of the occupant, and

wherein when the former discrimination state is other than the states described above, the discriminating means discriminates the kind of the occupant on the basis of the result measured by the load measuring means.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the kind of the occupant discriminated on the basis of the discrimination condition changes to the kind different from that before load change in accordance with the load change due to change in sitting posture of the occupant, the discriminating means holds the kind before the load change for a predetermined time established on the basis of the kind before the load change and the result detected by the state detecting means.