Unattended vehicle passenger detection system

• US 9,227,484 B1
• Filed: 03/20/2014
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kit David Kuss, Mark Duane Denney, Wayne P. Justice
• Original Assignee: Kit David Kuss, Mark Duane Denney, Wayne P. Justice
• Inventors: Justice, Wayne P., Kuss, Kit David, Denney, Mark Duane
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Albert
• Application Number:
  US14/220,691
• Time in Patent Office: 656 Days
• Field of Search: 340/449, 340/457.1, 340/459
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00742 by detection of the vehicle occupants' presence; by detection of conditions relating to the body of occupants, e.g. using radiant heat detectors
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00778 the input being a stationary vehicle position, e.g. parking or stopping
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00978 Control systems or circuits characterised by failure of detection or safety means; Diagnostic methods
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0024 for identifying, categorising or investigation of the occupant or object on the seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0029 for detecting the motion of the occupant
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/267 alerting means responsive to presence or absence of children
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/274 characterised by the communication means between the child seat and another entity, e.g. vehicle or portable device
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/28 Seats readily mountable on, and dismountable from, existing seats or other parts of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/18 Infrared
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/24 Cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/30 Temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/20 Wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors

Abstract

A system detects the presence of a living being within a vehicle and triggers an alarm should the temperature rise above or fall below a predetermined threshold limit. The system uses a carbon dioxide monitor to determine for the living being'"'"'s presence, which is backed up by one or more subsystems that include a motion sensor that senses motion, a sound sensor that senses sounds, especially those made by distressed living beings, and a camera that uses facial recognition software to detect a face within the vehicle. The alarm can be staged so that a lower level of alarm is triggered when the hazardous temperature is approaching, but has not yet reached critical levels, and one of the subsystems has detected a living being within the vehicle, but the others have not yet activated, and a higher level alarm once critical temperatures have been reached.

Claims

1. A detection system for detecting the presence of a living being within an interior compartment of a vehicle, the detection system comprising:

a control unit adapted to be mounted within the vehicle;

a temperature sensor that senses temperatures, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle, the temperature sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a carbon dioxide sensor that senses carbon dioxide levels, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle, the carbon dioxide sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit;

an alarm system communicatively coupled to the control unit; and

wherein the temperature sensor senses the temperature within interior compartment and if the temperature crosses a first predetermined threshold temperature which is outside a safe temperature range, the carbon dioxide sensor senses the carbon dioxide level within the interior compartment of the vehicle and this carbon dioxide level is stored by the control unit as a baseline carbon dioxide level, and thereafter the carbon dioxide sensor senses at least one subsequent carbon dioxide level within the interior compartment of the vehicle and the control unit compares each of the at least one subsequent carbon dioxide levels against the baseline carbon dioxide level in order to obtain a differential, and if the differential is positive and exceeds a predetermined amount, the control unit commands the alarm system to trigger at least one first alarm event.

2. The detection system as in claim 1 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation.

3. The detection system as in claim 1 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle.

4. The detection system as in claim 1 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

5. The detection system as in claim 1 wherein the first alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

6. The detection system as in claim 1 wherein after the first alarm command is issued, the temperature sensor continues to sense the temperature within interior compartment and if the temperature crosses a second predetermined threshold temperature which is outside the safe temperature range and the first predetermined threshold temperature is between the safe temperature range and the second threshold temperature, the control unit commands the alarm system to trigger at least one second alarm event.

7. The detection system as in claim 6 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle.

8. The detection system as in claim 6 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

9. The detection system as in claim 6 wherein the first alarm event comprises a first vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which first vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle and the second alarm event comprises a second vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which second vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

10. The detection system as in claim 6 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

11. The detection system as in claim 6 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle and the second alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

12. The detection system as in claim 6 wherein the first alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient, which recipient does not include an emergency center and the second alarm event comprises a second telephone system message issued to the emergency center.

13. A detection system for detecting the presence of a living being within an interior compartment of a vehicle, the detection system comprising:

a control unit adapted to be mounted within the vehicle;

a temperature sensor that senses temperatures, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle, the temperature sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a carbon dioxide sensor that senses carbon dioxide levels, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle, the carbon dioxide sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a camera having facial recognition capability, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a sound sensor capable of sensing a sound, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a motion detector capable of sensing motion capability, adapted mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the control unit;

an alarm system communicatively coupled to the control unit, such that the alarm system is capable of triggering a first alarm event; and

wherein the temperature sensor senses the temperature within interior compartment and if the temperature crosses a first predetermined threshold temperature which is outside a safe temperature range, the carbon dioxide sensor senses the carbon dioxide level within the interior compartment of the vehicle and this carbon dioxide level is stored by the control unit as a baseline carbon dioxide level, and thereafter the carbon dioxide sensor senses at least one subsequent carbon dioxide level within the interior compartment of the vehicle and the control unit compares each of the at least one subsequent carbon dioxide levels against the baseline carbon dioxide level in order to obtain a differential, and if the differential is positive and exceeds a predetermined amount, the control unit commands the alarm system to trigger the first alarm event if the camera detects a face within the interior compartment of the vehicle via its facial recognition capability, or if the sound sensor detects a sound within the interior compartment of the vehicle and the control unit determines that the sound detected is from either a human cry or an animal, or if the motion detector detects a motion within the interior compartment of the vehicle.

14. The detection system as in claim 13 wherein the motion detector is integrated within the camera.

15. The detection system as in claim 13 wherein the motion detector is a standalone passive infrared detector.

16. The detection system as in claim 13 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation.

17. The detection system as in claim 13 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle.

18. The detection system as in claim 13 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

19. The detection system as in claim 13 wherein the first alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

20. The detection system as in claim 13 wherein after the first alarm command is issued, the temperature sensor continues to sense the temperature within interior compartment and if the temperature crosses a second predetermined threshold temperature which is outside the safe temperature range and the first predetermined threshold temperature is between the safe temperature range and the second threshold temperature, the control unit commands the alarm system to trigger at least one second alarm event.

21. The detection system as in claim 20 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle.

22. The detection system as in claim 20 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

23. The detection system as in claim 20 wherein the first alarm event comprises a first vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which first vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle and the second alarm event comprises a second vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which second vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

24. The detection system as in claim 20 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

25. The detection system as in claim 20 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle and the second alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

26. The detection system as in claim 20 wherein the first alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient, which recipient does not include an emergency center and the second alarm event comprises a second telephone system message issued to the emergency center.

27. A detection system for detecting the presence of a living being within an interior compartment of a vehicle, the detection system comprising:

a control unit adapted to be mounted within the vehicle;

a temperature sensor that senses temperatures, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle, the temperature sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a carbon dioxide sensor that senses carbon dioxide levels, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle, the carbon dioxide sensor communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a camera having facial recognition capability, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a sound sensor capable of sensing a sound, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the control unit;

a motion detector capable of sensing motion capability, adapted to be mounted within the interior compartment of the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the control unit;

an alarm system communicatively coupled to the control unit, such that the alarm system is capable of triggering a first alarm event; and

wherein the temperature sensor senses the temperature within interior compartment and if the temperature crosses a first predetermined threshold temperature which is outside a safe temperature range, the carbon dioxide sensor senses the carbon dioxide level within the interior compartment of the vehicle and this carbon dioxide level is stored by the control unit as a baseline carbon dioxide level, and thereafter the carbon dioxide sensor senses at least one subsequent carbon dioxide level within the interior compartment of the vehicle and the control unit compares each of the at least one subsequent carbon dioxide levels against the baseline carbon dioxide level in order to obtain a differential, and if the differential is positive and exceeds a predetermined amount and a second fault event occurs, the control unit commands the alarm system to trigger the first alarm event, the second fault event occurs if the camera detects a face within the interior compartment of the vehicle via its facial recognition capability, or if the sound sensor detects a sound within the interior compartment of the vehicle and the control unit determines that the sound detected is either a human cry or a dog bark or a cat meow, or if the motion detector detects a motion within the interior compartment of the vehicle.

28. The detection system as in claim 27 wherein the motion detector is integrated within the camera.

29. The detection system as in claim 27 wherein the motion detector is a standalone passive infrared detector.

30. The detection system as in claim 27 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation.

31. The detection system as in claim 27 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle.

32. The detection system as in claim 27 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

33. The detection system as in claim 27 wherein the first alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

34. The detection system as in claim 27 wherein after the first alarm command is issued, the temperature sensor continues to sense the temperature within interior compartment and if the temperature crosses a second predetermined threshold temperature which is outside the safe temperature range and the first predetermined threshold temperature is between the safe temperature range and the second threshold temperature, the control unit commands the alarm system to issue a second command in order to activate the second alarm, the second alarm triggering at least one second alarm event.

35. The detection system as in claim 34 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle.

36. The detection system as in claim 34 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

37. The detection system as in claim 34 wherein the first alarm event comprises a first vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which first vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle and the second alarm event comprises a second vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which second vehicle signal activates a window motor of the vehicle or activates an engine of the vehicle and activates an HVAC system of the vehicle.

38. The detection system as in claim 34 wherein the first alarm event comprises an alarm speaker annunciation and the second alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

39. The detection system as in claim 34 wherein the first alarm event comprises a vehicle signal issued to the vehicle, which vehicle signal activates a light of the vehicle or activates an alarm of the vehicle or activates a horn of the vehicle and the second alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient.

40. The detection system as in claim 34 wherein the first alarm event comprises a cellular telephone system message issued to at least one predetermined remote cellular telephone system recipient, which recipient does not include an emergency center and the second alarm event comprises a second telephone system message issued to the emergency center.