Apparatus and method to monitor the occupancy of seating
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A seating monitoring system, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors, each associated with one of a plurality of passenger seats on a commercial aircraft;
the sensors configured to communicate with at least one control circuit; and
wherein the control circuit is configured to determine the occupancy states of the seats using input from the associated sensors and communicate the occupancy states to a display, wherein the input is adjusted based on a measured altitude input; and
wherein the display is configured to present an amount of occupancy information.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a system and method for monitoring the occupancy of seating. Sensors provide measurements to a control circuit that determines an occupancy state for each seat. Information regarding the occupancy of the seats can be presented on a display. In some instances, additional inputs can be used to adjust the occupancy determinations to account for environmental factors. Also, the occupancy states of the seats can be cross-checked with a passenger manifest to facilitate the boarding of a vehicle containing the seating.
-
Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A seating monitoring system, comprising:
-
a plurality of sensors, each associated with one of a plurality of passenger seats on a commercial aircraft; the sensors configured to communicate with at least one control circuit; and
wherein the control circuit is configured to determine the occupancy states of the seats using input from the associated sensors and communicate the occupancy states to a display, wherein the input is adjusted based on a measured altitude input; andwherein the display is configured to present an amount of occupancy information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A system for monitoring the occupancy of a passenger enclosure, comprising:
-
a plurality of sensors, each associated with one of a plurality of passenger seats;
wherein each sensor is a laser sensor;wherein each sensor configured to measure a distance between the particular sensor and the nearest surface in a direction of interest; at least one control circuit, together configured to receive from each sensor a distance measurement and determine an occupancy state for each of the passenger seats, wherein the distance measurement is adjusted based on a measured altitude input; and a display, configured to receive from the control circuits the occupancy state of each of the passenger seats and present an amount of occupancy information. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method of monitoring the occupancy of at least one seat, comprising the steps of:
-
providing at least one seat, each having at least one associated sensor; providing at least one control circuit; measuring using the sensors the distance between each sensor and each associated seat when the seats are empty; measuring using the sensors the present distance between each sensor and each associated seat; determining using the control circuits an occupancy state for each seat based in the measured present distance, wherein the measured present distance is adjusted according to a measured altitude input, adjusting for according to a measured altitude input; and presenting on a display an amount of occupancy information regarding the occupancy states of the seats. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification