Arrangement for detecting the occupancy of a seat in vehicles and the like
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An arrangement for detecting the occupancy of a seat comprising:
- a device for the acquisition of an image of the seat; and
a processor for processing the acquired image of the seat and determining whether the seat is occupied by at least one of a person or an object, or whether the seat is not occupied,wherein the device for the acquisition of the image of the seat includes;
a plurality of light emitters directed at the seat in order to form a plurality luminous spots on the seat, anda photodetector field arranged at a defined distance from the seat for detecting the luminous spots formed on the seat by the plurality of light emitters and thereby acquiring an image of the seat.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Arrangement for detecting the occupancy of a seat for safety systems having a plurality of light emitters, which are imaged onto the seat via an optical unit and the luminous spots created there are imaged via a further optical unit onto a photodetector field. The contour is acquired with a microprocessor via the evaluation of the position of these luminous spots on the photodetector field, and thus the type of occupancy is determined. This information can be supported via passive IR detectors for the acquisition of the temperature differential.
71 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An arrangement for detecting the occupancy of a seat comprising:
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a device for the acquisition of an image of the seat; and a processor for processing the acquired image of the seat and determining whether the seat is occupied by at least one of a person or an object, or whether the seat is not occupied, wherein the device for the acquisition of the image of the seat includes; a plurality of light emitters directed at the seat in order to form a plurality luminous spots on the seat, and a photodetector field arranged at a defined distance from the seat for detecting the luminous spots formed on the seat by the plurality of light emitters and thereby acquiring an image of the seat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus for evaluating seat occupancy, the apparatus comprising:
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emitter means for emitting light in the direction of the seat; detector means for detecting the emitted light returning from the direction of the seat and producing an output representative thereof; and processing means for controlling the emitter means to emit light, for receiving the output of the detector means, and for comparing the output from the detector means with a plurality of prestored contours representative of seat occupancy states to determine whether or not the seat is occupied, and if occupied, by what. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification