Occupant information detection system, occupant restraint system, and vehicle
First Claim
1. In combination, a vehicle and a detection apparatus for detecting information about a vehicle occupant, the detection apparatus comprising:
- a cabin of the vehicle having a seat for the vehicle occupant;
a detection device mounted in the cabin for obtaining an image of the vehicle occupant and the vehicle seat on which the occupant is to be seated;
a storage device for storing information relating to potential vehicle occupants seated on the vehicle seat;
a controller configured to derive positional information from the obtained image of a predetermined one of a plurality of body regions of the vehicle occupant by comparing the obtained image with the stored information relating to the potential vehicle occupants, the controller further being configured to derive positional information from the obtained image of a predetermined reference region of the vehicle seat; and
a body size estimation unit of the controller that is configured to derive body size information of the vehicle occupant including at least one of sitting height, chest thickness, and shoulder width of the vehicle occupant based on the derived positional information of the one body region and the derived positional information of the predetermined reference region of the vehicle seat.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A technology is provided which is effective for precisely detecting information about a vehicle occupant in a vehicle seat. In one form, an occupant restraint system to be installed in a vehicle is adapted to associate occupant surface profile information relating to a specific body region of a vehicle occupant, which is obtained by a camera for obtaining an image relating to a single view point, with previously stored body information so as to derive body information about the vehicle occupant and varies the occupant restraining mode of an occupant restraint device according to the derived body information.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. In combination, a vehicle and a detection apparatus for detecting information about a vehicle occupant, the detection apparatus comprising:
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a cabin of the vehicle having a seat for the vehicle occupant; a detection device mounted in the cabin for obtaining an image of the vehicle occupant and the vehicle seat on which the occupant is to be seated; a storage device for storing information relating to potential vehicle occupants seated on the vehicle seat; a controller configured to derive positional information from the obtained image of a predetermined one of a plurality of body regions of the vehicle occupant by comparing the obtained image with the stored information relating to the potential vehicle occupants, the controller further being configured to derive positional information from the obtained image of a predetermined reference region of the vehicle seat; and a body size estimation unit of the controller that is configured to derive body size information of the vehicle occupant including at least one of sitting height, chest thickness, and shoulder width of the vehicle occupant based on the derived positional information of the one body region and the derived positional information of the predetermined reference region of the vehicle seat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of determining information regarding a vehicle occupant, the method comprising:
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storing information regarding configurations of individual body regions including neck and adjacent shoulder and jaw regions and positional relations between individual ones of the body regions and body regions adjacent thereto of potential vehicle occupants; obtaining an image of the vehicle occupant in the vehicle; selecting a region of the vehicle occupant image determined as corresponding to only the neck region of the vehicle occupant based on an initial comparison of the selected image region with the stored neck region configurations; subsequently comparing positional relations between the selected image region determined as corresponding to only the neck region and adjacent image regions with the stored information regarding the positional relations between the stored neck region configurations and the body regions adjacent thereto including the shoulder and jaw regions when the initial comparison results in multiple ones of the stored individual body regions as being a potential match for only the neck region so that the initial comparison generally is inconclusive and so that the subsequent comparison optimizes the accuracy of matching the selected image region to only the neck region; and deriving body size information regarding the vehicle occupant based on information relating to the selected image region corresponding to only the neck region via the initial comparison and, when the initial comparison is generally inconclusive, the subsequent comparison. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification