Method and apparatus for in-vehicle presence detection and driver alerting
First Claim
1. A system for alerting a responsible party to the presence of an occupant in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, the system comprising:
- at least one vibration sensor disposed in the passenger compartment and configured to detect movement of an occupant and to output signals related to the sensed movement;
at least one microphone disposed within the passenger compartment and configured to detect sound made by the occupant and to output signals related to the sensed sound;
at least one door sensor configured to monitor an open/closed status of at least one door of the vehicle and output signals related to the open/closed status;
at least one powertrain sensor configured to monitor a condition of a vehicle powertrain and to output signals related to the powertrain condition;
a processor configured to receive the signals output from the vibration sensor and the microphone and to use a combination of the vibration sensor signals and the microphone signals to determine whether the occupant is present, and the processor further configured to receive the signals output from the door sensor and the powertrain sensor and to use a combination of the door sensor signals and the powertrain sensor signals to determine whether the vehicle is in a parked condition; and
an alerting device configured to provide an alert to the responsible party if the processor determines that the occupant is present and that the vehicle is in the parked condition.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for alerting a responsible party to the presence of an occupant in a passenger compartment of a vehicle includes a vibration sensor detecting movement of an occupant, a microphone detecting sound made by the occupant, a processor configured to receive signals output from the vibration sensor and the microphone and to use a combination of the signals to determine whether the occupant is present, and an alerting device to provide an alert to the responsible party if the processor determines that the occupant is present. The microphone may also be used in a communication or voice-recognition command system. Two or more microphones may be used to locate the sound'"'"'s source of origin.
60 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for alerting a responsible party to the presence of an occupant in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, the system comprising:
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at least one vibration sensor disposed in the passenger compartment and configured to detect movement of an occupant and to output signals related to the sensed movement; at least one microphone disposed within the passenger compartment and configured to detect sound made by the occupant and to output signals related to the sensed sound; at least one door sensor configured to monitor an open/closed status of at least one door of the vehicle and output signals related to the open/closed status; at least one powertrain sensor configured to monitor a condition of a vehicle powertrain and to output signals related to the powertrain condition; a processor configured to receive the signals output from the vibration sensor and the microphone and to use a combination of the vibration sensor signals and the microphone signals to determine whether the occupant is present, and the processor further configured to receive the signals output from the door sensor and the powertrain sensor and to use a combination of the door sensor signals and the powertrain sensor signals to determine whether the vehicle is in a parked condition; and an alerting device configured to provide an alert to the responsible party if the processor determines that the occupant is present and that the vehicle is in the parked condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for alerting a responsible party that an occupant has been inadvertently left in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, the system comprising:
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a plurality of vibration sensors disposed in the passenger compartment, each of the vibration sensors disposed adjacent a defined seating position and detecting movement of an occupant of the defined seating position and outputting signals related to the sensed movement; a plurality of microphones disposed within the passenger compartment and detecting sounds made by any one or more of the occupants of the seating positions and outputting signals related to the sensed sounds; a plurality of door sensors monitoring an open/closed status of a plurality of doors of the vehicle and outputting signals related to the open/closed status; at least one powertrain sensor monitoring a condition of a vehicle powertrain and outputting signals related to the powertrain status; a processor using the signals output from the vibration sensors and the microphones to determine an occupancy status of the passenger compartment, the occupancy status including a total number of occupants and which of the seating positions is occupied, and the processor further using the signals from the door sensors and the powertrain sensors to determine that the vehicle is in a parked condition; and an alerting device providing an alert to the responsible party when the processor has determined that the occupant is present in the passenger compartment and that the vehicle is in the parked condition.
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13. A method for detecting the presence of an occupant in a passenger compartment of a vehicle and alerting a responsible party of the presence of the occupant, the method comprising:
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monitoring an open/closed status of a door of the vehicle; monitoring a status of a powertrain component; processing signals related to the door open/closed status and to the powertrain status to determine that; sensing motion of the occupant in the passenger compartment using a vibration sensor associated with a seating position in which the occupant is seated; sensing sounds in the passenger compartment; generating signals related to the sensed motions and sounds; processing the signals to determine whether the sensed motions and sounds indicate that the occupant is present in the passenger compartment; and alerting the responsible party if the processed signals indicate that the vehicle is in a parked condition and that the occupant is present in the passenger compartment. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification