Method and device for detecting the occupancy state of a seat
First Claim
1. A method for detecting an occupancy state of a seat in a vehicle, comprising:
- recording a 3D image of the seat using an image recording system;
obtaining a 3D pattern of the seat;
evaluating the 3D image of the seat with respect to at least one of the occupancy state of the seat and an occupancy type of the seat, wherein the evaluation includes consideration of the 3D pattern of the seat, and wherein if a deviation between the 3D image and the 3D pattern exceeds a predetermined minimum value for the evaluation, a determination of the occupancy state is made indicating that the seat is occupied, and wherein the determination of the occupancy state is regarded as conclusive only if substantially identical evaluation result is obtained over a plurality of sequential time points; and
activating a restraint mechanism associated with the seat, as a function of at least one of the occupancy state of the seat and the occupancy type of the seat.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and a device for detecting the occupancy state of a seat, e.g., in a vehicle, and for use in activating a restraint mechanism allocated to the seat, as a function of the occupancy state, are provided. With the aid of an image recording system, a 3D image of the seat is recorded and evaluated with respect to the occupancy state, and optionally also with respect to the type of the occupancy. For the evaluation, a 3D pattern is drawn upon, which is available externally or which is able to be generated internally in an initialization step. A hierarchically constructed evaluation also permits, after determination of an occupancy state, a classification with respect to the type of the respective occupancy.
19 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for detecting an occupancy state of a seat in a vehicle, comprising:
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recording a 3D image of the seat using an image recording system; obtaining a 3D pattern of the seat; evaluating the 3D image of the seat with respect to at least one of the occupancy state of the seat and an occupancy type of the seat, wherein the evaluation includes consideration of the 3D pattern of the seat, and wherein if a deviation between the 3D image and the 3D pattern exceeds a predetermined minimum value for the evaluation, a determination of the occupancy state is made indicating that the seat is occupied, and wherein the determination of the occupancy state is regarded as conclusive only if substantially identical evaluation result is obtained over a plurality of sequential time points; and activating a restraint mechanism associated with the seat, as a function of at least one of the occupancy state of the seat and the occupancy type of the seat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A device for determining an occupancy state of a seat in a vehicle, the occupancy state being considered in the activation of a restraint mechanism associated with the seat, the device comprising:
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an image recording system for recording a 3D image of the seat; and an evaluation circuit for evaluating the 3D image of the seat with respect to at least one of the occupancy state of the seat and an occupancy type of the seat, wherein the evaluation includes comparing a 3D pattern of the seat to the recorded 3D image of the seat, and wherein if a deviation between the 3D image and the 3D pattern exceeds a predetermined minimum value for the evaluation, a determination of the occupancy state is made indicating that the seat is occupied, and wherein the evaluation circuit includes a filter circuit for temporal filtering of a plurality of evaluation results sequentially obtained over time, and wherein the determination of the occupancy state is regarded as conclusive only if substantially identical evaluation result is obtained over a plurality of sequential time points. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification