Vehicle seat thermistor for classifying seat occupant type
First Claim
1. A system for classifying an object occupying a vehicle seat comprising:
- a seat having a seat back and a seat base;
a signal-generating classification thermal sensor fitted to said seat back;
a signal-generating classification thermal sensor fitted to said seat base;
a signal-generating reference sensor; and
a controller to which said sensors are operatively associated,wherein said controller classifies the object occupying the vehicle seat as an adult when said thermal sensors identify that there is an increase in temperature in both the seat back and the seat base, a child in a booster seat when said thermal sensors identify that there is an increase in temperature in the seat back alone, or a child in a child restraint system when said thermal sensors identify that there is no increase in temperature in neither the seat back nor the seat base.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermistor-based system and method for distinguishing between adult and child passengers and, of the child passengers, between those seated in a child restraint system and those seated in a child booster is provided. The disclosed inventive concept includes at least one classification thermistor/temperature sensing device, at least one reference thermistor, an algorithm to compute and classify conditions, and related wiring and hardware. The classification thermistor/temperature sensing device is located in a seat cushion assembly and a seat back. The temperature sensors are used to detect heat transfer between an object in contact with the cushion through the seat trim and, if applicable, some amount of seat comfort base material. The reference thermistor may be provided to enhance robustness of classification determination. The algorithm computes and classifies conditions based on at least the magnitude and/or the rate of temperature change between the classification sensor and the reference sensor.
22 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for classifying an object occupying a vehicle seat comprising:
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a seat having a seat back and a seat base; a signal-generating classification thermal sensor fitted to said seat back; a signal-generating classification thermal sensor fitted to said seat base; a signal-generating reference sensor; and a controller to which said sensors are operatively associated, wherein said controller classifies the object occupying the vehicle seat as an adult when said thermal sensors identify that there is an increase in temperature in both the seat back and the seat base, a child in a booster seat when said thermal sensors identify that there is an increase in temperature in the seat back alone, or a child in a child restraint system when said thermal sensors identify that there is no increase in temperature in neither the seat back nor the seat base. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for classifying an object occupying a vehicle seat comprising:
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a seat having a seat back and a seat base; a signal-generating classification thermal sensor associated with said seat; a signal-generating reference sensor; and a controller to which said sensors are operatively associated, wherein said controller classifies the object occupying the vehicle seat as an adult when said thermal sensor identifies that there is an increase in temperature in both the seat back and the seat base, a child in a booster seat when said thermal sensor identifies that there is an increase in temperature in the seat back alone, or a child in a child restraint system when said thermal sensor identifies that there is no increase in temperature in neither the seat back nor the seat base. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for classifying an occupant in a vehicle seat, the method comprising the steps of:
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forming a vehicle having a seat with a seat back and a seat base, at least one thermal sensor fitted to said back and said base, a reference sensor, and a controller; and causing said controller to classify the object based on sensor inputs from the sensors, wherein said controller classifies the object occupying the vehicle seat as an adult when the at least one thermal sensor identifies that there is an increase in temperature in both the seat back and the seat base, a child in a booster seat when the at least one thermal sensor identifies that there is an increase in temperature in the seat back alone, or a child in a child restraint system when the at least one thermal sensor identifies that there is no increase in temperature in neither the seat back nor the seat base. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification