System and method to detect an unattended occupant in a vehicle and take safety countermeasures
First Claim
1. A vehicle safety system, comprising:
- an inside air temperature (IAT) sensor disposed within a passenger compartment of a vehicle and in communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controller disposed within said vehicle, said IAT sensor configured to provide a IAT sensor signal;
a first and second high frequency speaker disposed within the passenger compartment and in communication with an infotainment system disposed within said vehicle; and
a safety controller in communication with said IAT sensor, said infotainment system, and various vehicle controllers, said safety controller having non-volatile memory containing instructions that, when executed, cause the safety controller tomonitor a value of the IAT sensor signal,determine whether the value of the IAT sensor signal deviates from an acceptable temperature range,transmit a first command to the infotainment system to generate a first ultrasonic signal via the first high frequency speaker while the second high frequency speaker provides a first audio signal based on the first ultrasonic signal,transmit a second command to the infotainment system to generate a second ultrasonic signal via the second high frequency speaker while the first high frequency speaker provides a second audio signal based on the second ultrasonic signal,determine whether the occupant is in the vehicle based on a comparison of the first and second audio signals, andtransmit a command to at least one of the various vehicle controllers to perform a safety countermeasure when the safety controller determines that the vehicle is occupied and the value of the IAT sensor signal is outside the acceptable temperature range.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A safety system and a method configured to determine whether a passenger compartment of a vehicle is occupied whether the temperature of the passenger compartment is outside an acceptable temperature range, and to take a safety countermeasure if needed. An occupant is detected by sounds received by an audio transducer within the passenger compartment connected to an infotainment system. The temperature is detected by a temperature sensor connected to the heating, ventilation and air condition system of the vehicle. Example safety countermeasures include activating the horn, transmitting a wireless signal indicating that an unattended occupant is in the vehicle to a remote wireless receiver, and/or at least partially opening a vehicle window. A pair of high frequency speakers connected to the infotainment system may be used to transmit and receive ultrasonic signals so that an occupant may be detected using ultrasonic motion detection techniques.
27 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A vehicle safety system, comprising:
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an inside air temperature (IAT) sensor disposed within a passenger compartment of a vehicle and in communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controller disposed within said vehicle, said IAT sensor configured to provide a IAT sensor signal; a first and second high frequency speaker disposed within the passenger compartment and in communication with an infotainment system disposed within said vehicle; and a safety controller in communication with said IAT sensor, said infotainment system, and various vehicle controllers, said safety controller having non-volatile memory containing instructions that, when executed, cause the safety controller to monitor a value of the IAT sensor signal, determine whether the value of the IAT sensor signal deviates from an acceptable temperature range, transmit a first command to the infotainment system to generate a first ultrasonic signal via the first high frequency speaker while the second high frequency speaker provides a first audio signal based on the first ultrasonic signal, transmit a second command to the infotainment system to generate a second ultrasonic signal via the second high frequency speaker while the first high frequency speaker provides a second audio signal based on the second ultrasonic signal, determine whether the occupant is in the vehicle based on a comparison of the first and second audio signals, and transmit a command to at least one of the various vehicle controllers to perform a safety countermeasure when the safety controller determines that the vehicle is occupied and the value of the IAT sensor signal is outside the acceptable temperature range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of taking safety countermeasures in a vehicle having various vehicle controllers, wherein an air temperature within a passenger compartment of the vehicle deviates from an acceptable temperature range, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing an IAT sensor disposed within the passenger compartment of the vehicle and in communication with an HVAC controller disposed within said vehicle, said IAT sensor configured to provide an IAT sensor signal; providing a first and second high frequency speaker in communication with an infotainment system; generating a first ultrasonic signal via the first high frequency speaker while the second high frequency speaker provides a first audio signal based on the first ultrasonic signal; generating a second ultrasonic signal via the second high frequency speaker while the first high frequency speaker provides a second audio signal based on the second ultrasonic signal; monitoring the TAT sensor signal; determining whether an occupant is in the vehicle based on a comparison of the first and second audio signals; determining whether a value of the TAT sensor signal deviates from the acceptable temperature range; and performing a safety countermeasure when it is determined that the vehicle is occupied and the value of the TAT sensor signal is outside the acceptable temperature range. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification