Method of operation for a vision-based occupant sensing system
First Claim
1. A method of operation for vision-based occupant sensing in a vehicle cabin with a solid-state imaging chip, comprising the steps of:
- producing image data with said imaging chip during periodic image capture intervals that are separated by idle intervals;
sensing ambient illumination in said cabin during said idle intervals; and
setting control parameters of said imaging chip for an upcoming image capture interval based on ambient illumination sensed in an idle period just prior to such upcoming image capture interval.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Image processing parameters of an imaging chip in a vision-based occupant sensing system are adjusted for each frame based on ambient illumination responsive information obtained in the idle period preceding that frame. The same sensing data is also used to determine if active illumination is needed to supplement existent ambient illumination during the ensuing image acquisition interval. The inter-frame ambient illumination is detected with an external light sensor or with selected pixels of the imaging chip, and the information is used to calculate and set the gain and integration time of the imaging chip. In applications where the resolution of the imaging chip significantly exceeds the resolution required for occupant sensing, intensity data from one or more otherwise inactive pixels is averaged with the intensity data from the normally active pixels to adapt the sensitivity of the imaging chip to changing ambient illumination.
16 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of operation for vision-based occupant sensing in a vehicle cabin with a solid-state imaging chip, comprising the steps of:
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producing image data with said imaging chip during periodic image capture intervals that are separated by idle intervals;
sensing ambient illumination in said cabin during said idle intervals; and
setting control parameters of said imaging chip for an upcoming image capture interval based on ambient illumination sensed in an idle period just prior to such upcoming image capture interval. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification