System for detecting when a vehicle occupant exits the vehicle, system for activating or deactivating a function in a vehicle and corresponding vehicle

• US 9,533,644 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2014
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Kasper, Mario, Steinert, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): GOODEN JR, BARRY J
• Application Number:
  US14/320,173
• Publication Number:
  US 20150014082A1
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/015 including means for detecting the presence or position of passengers, passenger seats or child seats , and the related safety parameters therefor, e.g. speed or timing of airbag inflation in relation to occupant position or seat belt use
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01512 Passenger detection systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 13/74 with electrical assistance or drive
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/22 Devices for monitoring or checking brake systems; Signal devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/12 for automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger limiting speed of vehicles other than rail vehicles B60K31/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/14 operated upon collapse of driver deadman's devices for electrically propelled vehicles B60L3/02

Abstract

A system for detecting when a vehicle occupant exits the vehicle is disclosed. The system includes a sensor device is configured to measure an acceleration of the vehicle along one direction or accelerations of the vehicle along several directions and to make available a time-dependent signal(s) that represents the acceleration(s). The system also includes an evaluation device configured to evaluate the time-dependent signal(s) in a way to ascertain whether the signal(s) contains a sequence of acceleration values characteristic of the occupant exiting the vehicle.

Claims

1. A system for detecting when an occupant of a vehicle exits the vehicle comprising:

a sensor device configured to determine at least one of a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and to output the determined at least one of the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle as a time-dependent signal representative solely of the determined at least one of the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle; and

an evaluation device configured to receive the time dependent signal from the sensor device and to determine when an occupant has exited the vehicle based solely upon the time-dependent signal.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor device is configured to determine the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle and to output a first time-dependent signal that is representative of the longitudinal acceleration and a second time-dependent signal that is representative of the lateral acceleration, and wherein the evaluation device is configured to evaluate the first signal and the second signal to ascertain whether the first signal contains a sequence of longitudinal acceleration values and the second signal contains a sequence of lateral acceleration values which are in combination characteristic of the occupant exiting the vehicle.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the sensor device is configured to simultaneously measure the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the sensor device comprises a part of a measuring system configured to output data to a stability control system of the vehicle.

5. The system according to claim 4 wherein the stability control system comprises a yaw rate sensor unit.

6. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a control device configure to control a vehicle function, wherein the evaluation device is further configured to transmit a command to the control device when the evaluation device determines that an occupant has exited the vehicle.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the system is configured to activate an electric parking brake of the vehicle as function in the vehicle in dependence on the result of the evaluation.

8. A vehicle comprising a system according to claim 1.

9. A system for detecting when an occupant of a vehicle exits the vehicle comprising:

a sensor device configured to determine a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and to output the determined longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle as a time-dependent signal representative solely of the determined longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle; and

an evaluation device configured to receive the time dependent signal from the sensor device and to determine when an occupant has exited the vehicle based solely upon the time-dependent signal.