Passenger protecting apparatus

• US 6,921,106 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2001
• Issued: 07/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Yasui, Katsuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn, David R.
• Application Number:
  US09/861,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20020070538A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,526 Days
• Field of Search: 280/735, 701/45, 307/10.1, 342/72, 340/438, 348/77, 348/143, 348/148, 382/106, 382/100, 382/103, 382/291
• US Class Current: 280/735
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01534 using electromagneticwaves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01538 for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01556 Child-seat detection systems

Abstract

A passenger protecting apparatus according to the invention is disposed rearward of the position of the head of a driver or another passenger, and is arranged to control the operation thereof in accordance with the output from a position detecting means detecting the distance to the rear surface such as the back of the head, the back etc. of the passenger. According to the invention, there is an advantage of being able to obtain a safer passenger protecting apparatus.

Claims

1. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

position detecting means only disposed rearward of a head position of a seated passenger inside a vehicle room and detecting a distance to a rear surface of the seated passenger, wherein there are no position detecting means disposed in front of the head position of the seated passenger when said seated passenger is sitting substantially erect; and

control means modifying an operational method of protecting means such as an airbag in accordance with a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rear surface is a back of said head or a back of the seated passenger.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus does not include a camera.

4. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

position detecting means only disposed rearward of a head position of a passenger inside a vehicle room and detecting a distance to a rear surface of the passenger, wherein there are no position detecting means disposed in front of the head position of the passenger when said seated passenger is sitting substantially erect; and

control means modifying an operational method of protecting means such as an airbag in accordance with a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means, wherein

said control means includes;

means for determining validity of an output result of said position detecting means in accordance with shapes of light spots, which are scattered by said infrared sheet or said beams striking on a surface of the passenger sensed by a two-dimensional image sensor.

5. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

infrared emission means emitting a planar infrared sheet or a plurality of infrared beams aligned in a sheet form;

position detecting means having an image sensor with a frame rate of 200 fps or more detecting positions of light spots which are scattered by said infrared sheet or the beams striking on a surface of a passenger; and

collision detecting means detecting an occurrence of a collision as well as a direction of said collision based on a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means.

6. The passenger protecting apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a two-dimensional CMOS image sensor having a projecting function.

7. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

position detecting means disposed rearward of a head position of a passenger inside a vehicle room and detecting a distance to a rear surface of the passenger;

control means modifying an operational method of protecting means in accordance with a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means; and

a two-dimensional CMOS image sensor having a projecting function that enables the CMOS image sensor to operate as a linear image sensor.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when detecting a longitudinal position, the projecting function outputs, as one-dimensional data, luminance values of pixels in a z-direction with respect to corresponding pixel rows in an x-direction.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the protecting means is an airbag.

10. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

infrared emission means emitting a planar infrared sheet or a plurality of infrared beams aligned in a sheet form;

position detecting means having an image sensor with a frame rate of 200 fps or more detecting positions of light spots which are scattered by said infrared sheet or the beams striking on a surface of a passenger;

collision detecting means detecting a collision based on a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means; and

a two-dimensional CMOS image sensor having a projecting function that enables the CMOS image sensor to operate as a linear image sensor.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein when detecting a longitudinal position, the projecting function outputs, as one-dimensional data, luminance values of pixels in a z-direction with respect to corresponding pixel rows in an x-direction.

12. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

position detecting means only disposed rearward of a head position of a passenger inside a vehicle room and detecting a distance to a rear surface of the passenger, wherein there are no position detecting means disposed in front of the head position of the passenger;

control means modifying an operational method of protecting means such as an airbag in accordance with a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means; and

a two-dimensional CMOS image sensor having a projecting function, wherein when acceleration is greater than a predetermined value, the two-dimensional CMOS image sensor operates as a linear image sensor.

13. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

position detecting means disposed rearward of a head position of a passenger inside a vehicle room and detecting a distance to a rear surface of the passenger; and

control means modifying an operational method of protecting means in accordance with a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means,

wherein said detecting is performed utilizing a principle of trigonometric surveying, whereby a position of a small beam spot caused by hitting at least a driver is observed by a camera located at a position that is different from a position of the position detecting means and the control means.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the protecting means is an airbag.

15. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

position detecting means only disposed rearward of a head position of a passenger inside a vehicle room and detecting a distance to a rear surface of the passenger, wherein there are no position detecting means disposed in front of the head position of the passenger; and

control means modifying an operational method of protecting means such as an airbag in accordance with a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means,

wherein said position detecting means comprises at least one infrared emission means and at least one infrared detection means, said at least one infrared emission means and said at least one infrared detection means being only disposed rearward of the head position of the passenger inside the vehicle room.

16. A passenger protecting apparatus comprising:

position detecting means only disposed rearward of a passenger seat that has a substantially erect back portion, inside a vehicle room, and detecting a distance to a rear surface of one of a seated passenger and a standing passenger, wherein there are no position detecting means disposed in front of the head position of said one of the seated passenger and the standing passenger; and

control means modifying an operational method of protecting means such as an airbag in accordance with a passenger position signal outputted from said position detecting means.