Automotive occupant sensor system and method of operation by sensor fusion
First Claim
1. A method for determining whether or not to de-activate a vehicle'"'"'s passenger passive restraint system as a function of a current state value determined by comparing measured signal features to a predetermined set of confidence values and empirical relationships obtained using various known occupancy scenarios and a set of state change criteria, comprising the steps of:
- (a) sensing the characteristics of occupancy of a particular passenger seat within the vehicle using a plurality of sensors functionally associated with said passenger seat and developing a set of corresponding electrical signals;
(b) evaluating said electrical signals to determine a plurality of signal features included in each of said signals;
(c) combining certain ones of said signal features to obtain a plurality of fused features;
(d) associating said signal features and said fused features with the confidence values and empirical relationships to determine a feature state value;
(e) identifying the feature state value as the current state value if the set of state change criteria is met; and
(f) generating a de-activate signal if said current state value is one of a predetermined subset of state values for which said passive restraint system is to be de-activated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for sensing the presence, position and type of an occupant in a passenger seat of a vehicle, as well as for sensing the presence of a rear-facing child seat therein, for use in enabling or disabling a related airbag activator. The sensor system employs sensor-fusion, a process of combining information provided by two or more sensors, each of which "sees" the world in a unique sense. In a preferred embodiment, occupancy sensor samples two detectable properties, a first being a thermal signature and associated motion, and a second is acoustically measured distance and the associated motion. Infrared sensor inputs and an ultrasonic sensor input are combined in a microprocessor circuit by means of a sensor fusion algorithm to produce an output signal to the air bag controller. The output signal results from preselected confidence weighing for feature parameters generated by the two sensors and upon a fusion process which ultimately makes a decision which is extremely reliable. The sensor fusion matrix processes the sensor outputs in a decision making operation which includes weighing inputs to guarantee reliability. All sensor outputs, along with calibration data, initial conditions and historical reference data are considered in the process of making a decision of whether or not to deploy the passenger-side air bag in a collision.
336 Citations
65 Claims
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1. A method for determining whether or not to de-activate a vehicle'"'"'s passenger passive restraint system as a function of a current state value determined by comparing measured signal features to a predetermined set of confidence values and empirical relationships obtained using various known occupancy scenarios and a set of state change criteria, comprising the steps of:
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(a) sensing the characteristics of occupancy of a particular passenger seat within the vehicle using a plurality of sensors functionally associated with said passenger seat and developing a set of corresponding electrical signals; (b) evaluating said electrical signals to determine a plurality of signal features included in each of said signals; (c) combining certain ones of said signal features to obtain a plurality of fused features; (d) associating said signal features and said fused features with the confidence values and empirical relationships to determine a feature state value; (e) identifying the feature state value as the current state value if the set of state change criteria is met; and (f) generating a de-activate signal if said current state value is one of a predetermined subset of state values for which said passive restraint system is to be de-activated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. Apparatus for determining whether or not to control a vehicle'"'"'s passenger passive restraint system as a function of a current state value determined by comparing measured signal features to a predetermined set of confidence values and empirical relationships obtained using various known occupancy scenarios and a set of state change criteria, comprising:
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(a) means for sensing the characteristics of occupancy of a passenger seat within the vehicle using a plurality of sensors functionally associated with said passenger seat and a set of corresponding electrical signals; (b) means for evaluating said electrical signals to determine a plurality of signal features included in each of said signals; (c) means for combining certain ones of said signal features to obtain a plurality of fused features; (d) means for associating said signal features and said fused features with the confidence values and empirical relationships to determine a feature state value; (e) means for identifying the feature state value as the current state value if the set of state change criteria is met; and (f) means for generating a state of control signal if said current state value is one of a predetermined set of state values for which said passive restraint system is to be controlled, including possible deactivation of said restraint system. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. An application specific integrated circuit device for processing sensory input signals received from sensors adapted to sense the characteristics of occupancy of a particular passenger seat within a vehicle, and for determining whether or not to de-activate a vehicle'"'"'s passenger passive restraint system as a function of a current state value determined by comparing measured signal features to a predetermined set of confidence values and empirical relationships obtained using various known occupancy scenarios and a set of state change criteria, comprising in one or more chips:
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(a) means for evaluating said input signals to determine a plurality of signal features; (b) means for combining certain ones of said signal features to obtain a plurality of fused features; (c) means for associating said signal features and said fused features with the confidence values and empirical relationships to determine a feature state value; (d) means for identifying the feature state value as the current state value if the set of state change criteria is met; and (e) means for generating a de-activate signal if said current state value is one of a predetermined set of state values for which said passive restraint system is to be de-activated.
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Specification