Presence detecting and safety control apparatus

• US 5,404,128 A
• Filed: 03/12/1993
• Issued: 04/04/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Miki, Masayoshi, Watanabe, Yoshiaki, Ogino, Hiroyuki, Shiba, Fumikazu, Nagamoto, Shunichi
• Primary Examiner(s): SWANN III, GLEN R
• Application Number:
  US08/030,531
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: 340/576, 340/573, 340/575, 340/439, 340/425.5, 340/568, 340/540, 340/667, 180/273, 180/272, 180/270, 180/268
• US Class Current: 340/425.5
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4816 for sensing locking of buckle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4858 for sensing pressure on seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4866 Displaying or indicating arrangements thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01512 Passenger detection systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01542 detecting passenger motion
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/48 Control systems, alarms, or interlock systems, for the correct application of the belt or harness

Abstract

A safety control apparatus positively discriminates between an object and a person through the detection of subtle physical movement corresponding to the heart activity and the breathing unique to the life activity of the human body from a output signal of a vibration sensor disposed on a seat so as to accurately decide whether or not a person is present. The maintenance of the safe operation of the moving vehicle can be realized. The starting of the moving vehicle is inhibited if the reserved seat is determined to be unoccupied in accordance with the decision result. In the case where the person is present, the moving of the vehicle is not started before the engagement of the seat belt has been detected.

Claims

1. A safety control apparatus of a moving vehicle such as vehicle or the like comprising a support member for having a human body placed on it so as to support it for its free moving operation, a driving means for moving the support member with a power source, a vibration sensor disposed in one portion of a seat placed on the support member, a physical movement characteristic detecting means for detecting the physical movement characteristics in accordance with the life activity of the human body with the signals from the vibration sensor, a presence deciding means for judging whether or not the human body is present on the seat in accordance with the physical movement signal to be inputted from the physical movement characteristic detecting means, and a control means for controlling the driving condition of the driving means in accordance with the presence signal from the presence deciding means.

2. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a seat reserving means for making reservations of seats, the control means comparing a seat reserving signal to be inputted from the seat reserving means with a presence signal to be inputted from the presence deciding means so as to control the driving condition of the driving means.

3. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a seat belt detecting means for detecting the engagement of a seat belt, and a warning generating means, the control means controlling the driving condition of the warning generating means and driving means in accordance with a presence signal to be inputted from the presence deciding means and a seat belt engagement signal to be inputted from the seat belt detecting means.

4. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, where the vibration sensor is composed of a piezo-electric material, an electrode provided on both the faces of the piezo-electric material, a connecting terminal portion being connected with the electrode so as to guide the output signal of the electrode.

5. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 4, where the vibration sensor has an impedance conversion portion connected adjacently to a connecting terminal portion.

6. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 5, where the vibration sensor has a shielded portion on its outer block.

7. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 4 where the vibration sensor has a shielded portion on its outer block.

8. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, where the vibration sensor is provided with a piezo-electric material, an electrode provided on both the faces of the piezo-electric material, a connecting terminal portion being connected with the electrode so as to guide the output signal of the electrode and a first resistor connected between the electrodes, and further comprising a second resistor connected with one of the electrode, an abnormality detecting means for detecting the abnormality of the vibration sensor in accordance with the voltage value divided with the first resistor and the second resistor.

9. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, where the vibration sensor has a piezo-electric material, an electrode provided on both the faces of the piezo-electric material, a connecting terminal portion provided on both ends of the electrodes, and further comprising an abnormality detecting means for judging the abnormality of the vibration sensor by the detection of the resistance value between the connecting terminal portions.

10. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a vibration applying means for applying the vibrations upon a vibration sensor, an abnormality detecting means for detecting the abnormality of the vibration sensor in accordance with the output signal from the physical movement characteristic detecting means at this time when the vibrations are applied by the vibration applying means.

11. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a reference signal input means for inputting the predetermined reference signal to the physical movement characteristic detecting means, an abnormality detecting means for detecting the abnormality of the physical movement characteristic detecting means in accordance with the output signal of the physical movement characteristic detecting means at the time when the reference signal has been inputted.

12. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, where the physical movement characteristic detecting means is composed of a filter for filtering only a specific frequency component among the output signals of the vibration sensor, an amplifier portion for amplifying the output signal of the filter, a smoothing portion for smoothing the output signals of the amplifying portion.

13. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, where the presence deciding means is provided with a timer to be operated if the physical movement signal to be inputted from the physical movement characteristic detecting means is a predetermined set value or more, and a deciding portion which judges the presence if a clocking signal to be inputted from the timer is a certain constant time or more, and judges the absence if it is not the time.

14. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, where the presence deciding means is composed of a first deciding portion for judging that a sitter is present if the physical movement signal to be inputted from the physical movement characteristic detecting means is a predetermined first set value or more and judging that a sitter is absent if it is not the time, and a second deciding portion retains the decision of the absence before the physical movement signal becomes the predetermined second set value or more if the absence judgment is effected by the first deciding portion and judges whether or not a sitter is present in accordance with the first deciding portion when the physical movement signal becomes the second set value or more.

15. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a running speed detecting means for detecting the running speed of a moving vehicle, the presence deciding means being composed of a calculating portion for calculating a set value for the presence judgment in accordance with the running speed signal to be inputted from the running speed detecting means, and a deciding portion for comparing the physical movement signal to be inputted from the physical movement characteristic detecting means with the set value so as to decide that a sitter is present.

16. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, where the physical movement characteristic detecting means is provided with a plurality of filters for filtering a specific frequency component of the respective output signals of the vibration sensor, and the presence deciding means judges whether or not a sitter is present in accordance with a plurality of output signals of the plurality of filters.

17. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising a physiological mental state deciding means for judging the physiological mental state such as arousal level, tension degree or the like of the present sitter in accordance with the physical movement to be inputted from the physical movement characteristic detecting means, the control means having a timer to be operated if the physiological mental state deciding signal to be inputted from the physiological mental state deciding means is beyond a predetermined set value, with a presence signal being inputted from the presence deciding means, a driving control portion for stopping the driving operation of the driving means if the clocking signal of the timer is a predetermined set time or more, and a warning generating means for generating the warning by the operation of the timer.

18. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 17, where the physiological mental state deciding means is provided with a timer to be operated if a physical movement signal to be inputted from the physical movement characteristic detecting means is a predetermined set value or more, an arousal level deciding portion for deciding an arousal level of a person present in the accordance with the clocking signal to be inputted from the timer.

19. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 18, where the physiological mental state deciding means is provided with a heart pulse detecting portion for detecting the heart pulses of a person present in accordance with the physical movement signal to be inputted from the physical movement characteristic detecting means, and an arousal level deciding portion for judging an arousal level in accordance with the heart pulse signal to be inputted from the heart pulse detecting portion.

20. The safety control apparatus as defined in claim 18, where the physiological mental state deciding means is provided with a computing portion for effecting the frequency analysis of the physical movement signals to be inputted from the physical movement characteristic detecting means, and a tension degree deciding portion for judging the mental and physical tension degree of a person present in accordance with the frequency analysis signal to be inputted from the calculating portion.