System for Obtaining Information about Vehicular Components
First Claim
1. A vehicle, comprising:
- a frame defining a passenger compartment;
a vehicular component arranged in or defining part of said passenger compartment and having a plurality of positions relative to said frame; and
a system for obtaining information about said component, said system comprising at least one reflective device arranged in association with said component;
a detector for detecting waves reflected by said at least one reflective device; and
a processor coupled to said detector for obtaining information about said component from the detected waves.
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Accused Products
Abstract
System and method for obtaining information about components in a vehicle in which reflective devices are arranged in association with each component, a detector detects waves reflected by the reflective device(s), and a processor obtains information about the components from the detected waves. Reflection of waves from each reflective device is transformed into information about the reflective device, such as deriving the distance between the reflective device and the detector from the reflected waves and transforming this distance determination into a determination of the position of the component. In addition to or instead of the position of the component, the orientation of the component can be determined, or the presence of the component. Information derived from the reflective device(s) can be used to control any number and variety of vehicular systems, such as an occupant protection system.
162 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A vehicle, comprising:
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a frame defining a passenger compartment;
a vehicular component arranged in or defining part of said passenger compartment and having a plurality of positions relative to said frame; and
a system for obtaining information about said component, said system comprising at least one reflective device arranged in association with said component;
a detector for detecting waves reflected by said at least one reflective device; and
a processor coupled to said detector for obtaining information about said component from the detected waves. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for obtaining information about a vehicular component arranged in or defining part of a passenger compartment of a vehicle and having a plurality of positions, comprising:
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arranging at least one reflective device in association with the component;
detecting waves reflected by the at least one reflective device; and
processing the detected waves in order to obtain information about the component. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A vehicle, comprising:
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a frame defining a passenger compartment;
a seat arranged in said passenger compartment and having a plurality of positions relative to said frame;
a seatbelt associated with said seat for use by an occupant when situated in said seat; and
a system for determining use of a seatbelt, said system comprising at least one reflective device arranged on said seatbelt;
a detector for detecting waves reflected by said at least one reflective device; and
a processor coupled to said detector for processing the detected waves into an indication of the location of said seatbelt, whereby the location of said seatbelt is correlated to use or non-use of said seatbelt.
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Specification