Occupant restraint device control system and method
First Claim
1. In a motor vehicle having an interior passenger compartment including a seat on which a child seat may be placed, a control system for controlling an occupant restraint device effective for protection of an occupant of the seat, comprising:
- receiving means arranged in the vehicle for obtaining information about contents of the seat and generating a signal based on any contents of the seat, said receiving means being structured and arranged to generate a different signal for different contents of the seat when such contents are present on the seat;
analyzing means coupled to said receiving means for analyzing the signal in order to determine at least one of whether the contents of the seat include a child seat, whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular orientation and whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular position; and
deployment means coupled to said analyzing means for controlling deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determination by said analyzing means.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Control system for controlling an occupant restraint device effective for protection of an occupant of the seat including a receiving device arranged in the vehicle for obtaining information about contents of the seat and generating a signal based on any contents of the seat, a different signal being generated for different contents of the seat when such contents are present on the seat, an analysis unit such as a microprocessor coupled to the receiving device for analyzing the signal in order to determine whether the contents of the seat include a child seat, whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular orientation and/or whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular position, and a deployment unit coupled to the analysis unit for controlling deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determination by the analysis unit. The analysis unit can be programmed to determine whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a rear-facing position, in a forward-facing position, a rear-facing child seat in an improper orientation, a forward-facing child seat in an improper orientation, and the position of the child seat relative to one or more of the occupant restraint devices.
38 Citations
49 Claims
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1. In a motor vehicle having an interior passenger compartment including a seat on which a child seat may be placed, a control system for controlling an occupant restraint device effective for protection of an occupant of the seat, comprising:
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receiving means arranged in the vehicle for obtaining information about contents of the seat and generating a signal based on any contents of the seat, said receiving means being structured and arranged to generate a different signal for different contents of the seat when such contents are present on the seat;
analyzing means coupled to said receiving means for analyzing the signal in order to determine at least one of whether the contents of the seat include a child seat, whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular orientation and whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular position; and
deployment means coupled to said analyzing means for controlling deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determination by said analyzing means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. In a motor vehicle having an interior passenger compartment including a seat on which a child seat may be placed, a method for detecting the presence of a child seat on the seat, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining information about contents of the seat;
generating a signal based on the information about the contents of the seat, a different signal being generated for different contents of the seat when such contents are present on the seat;
analyzing the signal in order to determine at least one of whether the contents of the seat include a child seat, whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular orientation and whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular position; and
controlling deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the analysis of the signal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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19. A vehicle including a system for obtaining information about an object in the vehicle, comprising:
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at least one resonator arranged in association with the object, said at least one resonator being arranged to emit an energy signal upon receipt of a signal at an excitation frequency;
transmitter means for transmitting signals at least at the excitation frequency of each of said at least one resonator;
energy signal detector means for detecting the energy signal emitted by said at least one resonator upon receipt of the signal at the excitation frequency; and
a processor coupled to said detector means for obtaining information about the object upon analysis of the energy signal detected by said detector means.
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30. A vehicle including a system for obtaining information about an object in the vehicle, comprising:
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at least one reflector arranged in association with the object, said at least one reflector being arranged to reflect an energy signal;
transmitter means for transmitting energy signals in a direction of each of said at least one reflector;
energy signal detector means for detecting energy signals reflected by said at least one reflector; and
a processor coupled to said detector means for obtaining information about the object upon analysis of the energy signal detected by said detector means. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A motor vehicle detection system, comprising:
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at least one transmitter for transmitting energy signals toward a target in a passenger compartment of the vehicle;
at least one reflector arranged in association with said target; and
at least one detector for detecting energy signals transmitted by said at least one transmitter and reflected by said at least one reflector - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification