SYSTEM FOR DETECTING WHEN A VEHICLE OCCUPANT EXITS THE VEHICLE, SYSTEM FOR ACTIVATING OR DEACTIVATING A FUNCTION IN A VEHICLE AND CORRESPONDING VEHICLE

• US 20150014082A1
• Filed: 06/30/2014
• Published: 01/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Kasper, Mario, Steinert, Christian
• Granted Patent: US 9,533,644 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 180/282
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/015 including means for detecting the presence or position of passengers, passenger seats or child seats , and the related safety parameters therefor, e.g. speed or timing of airbag inflation in relation to occupant position or seat belt use
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01512 Passenger detection systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 13/74 with electrical assistance or drive
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/22 Devices for monitoring or checking brake systems; Signal devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/12 for automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger limiting speed of vehicles other than rail vehicles B60K31/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/14 operated upon collapse of driver deadman's devices for electrically propelled vehicles B60L3/02

Abstract

A system for detecting when a vehicle occupant exits the vehicle is disclosed. The system includes a sensor device is configured to measure an acceleration of the vehicle along one direction or accelerations of the vehicle along several directions and to make available a time-dependent signal(s) that represents the acceleration(s). The system also includes an evaluation device configured to evaluate the time-dependent signal(s) in a way to ascertain whether the signal(s) contains a sequence of acceleration values characteristic of the occupant exiting the vehicle.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A system for detecting when an occupant of a vehicle exits the vehicle comprising:

a sensor device configured to measure an acceleration of the vehicle along a direction of the vehicle and to make available a time-dependent signal that is representative of the acceleration; and

an evaluation device configured to evaluate the signal to ascertain whether the signal contains a sequence of acceleration values which is characteristic of the occupant exiting the vehicle.

12. The system according to claim 11 wherein the sensor device is configured to measure accelerations along several directions of the vehicle and for each acceleration to make available a time-dependent signal representative of the acceleration, and wherein the evaluation device is configured to evaluate the signals to ascertain whether the signals respectively contain a sequence of acceleration values which in combination are characteristic of the occupant exiting the vehicle.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the sensor device is configured to measure a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and to make available a first time-dependent signal that is representative of the longitudinal acceleration and a second time-dependent signal that is representative of the lateral acceleration, and wherein the evaluation device is configured to evaluate the first signal and the second signal to ascertain whether the first signal contains a sequence of longitudinal acceleration values and the second signal contains a sequence of lateral acceleration values which are in combination characteristic of the occupant exiting the vehicle.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the sensor device is configured to simultaneously measure the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle.

15. The system according to claim 11 further comprising a detection device configured to detect the opening state of a vehicle door of the vehicle, wherein the evaluation device is configured to carry out the evaluation of the signal in dependence on the detected opening state of the vehicle door

16. The system according to claim 15 wherein the evaluation device is configured to carry out the evaluation of the signal when the detection device signals that the vehicle door is in an opened state.

17. The system according to claim 11 wherein the system is configured to detect when a driver exits the vehicle.

18. The system according to claim 11 wherein the sensor device comprises a part of a measuring system configured to make available data for a stability control system of the vehicle.

19. The system according to claim 18 wherein the stability control system comprises a yaw rate sensor unit.

20. The system according to claim 11 further comprising a control device configure to control a vehicle function, wherein the evaluation device is further configured to transmit a command to the control device depending on whether the evaluation by means of the evaluation device shows that the pattern of the signal contains a component that is characteristic for the occupant exiting the vehicle.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the evaluation device is configured to process information made available by a data source, and to transmit the command to the control device for the function depending on the information from the data source.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the information is selected from the group consisting of:

information on the on/off state of the ignition of the vehicle;

information on whether the ignition key is inserted into or removed from an ignition lock of the vehicle;

information on the presence of a transponder of a keyless entry system of the vehicle within a reception range of the keyless entry system or on the position of the transponder;

information on the locking state of a central locking system of the vehicle;

information of a headlight sensor system of the vehicle;

a speed signal representative of the moving speed of the vehicle;

a pressure pattern signal that is representative of a tire pressure; and

combinations thereof.

23. The system according to claim 20, wherein the system is configured to activate an electric parking brake of the vehicle as function in the vehicle in dependence on the result of the evaluation.

24. A vehicle comprising a system according to claim 11.