Method of operating a vehicle occupancy state sensor system

• US 6,272,411 B1
• Filed: 09/30/1998
• Issued: 08/07/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch Corporation (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch Corporation (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Inventors: Benbow, Paul K., Corrado, Anthony P., Decker, Stephen W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PIPALA, EDWARD J
• Application Number:
  US09/163,855
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 701/45, 701/47, 280/734-736, 280/739, 180/271, 180/272, 307/10.1, 340/540
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01532 using electric or capacitive field sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01534 using electromagneticwaves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01536 using ultrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0154 in combination with seat heating
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/04 Systems determining presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/523 for presence detection burglar, theft or intruder alarms G08B13/00, e.g. G08B13/16
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/86 Combinations of sonar systems with lidar systems; Combinations of sonar systems with systems not using wave reflection
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/88 Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications seismic or acoustic prospecting or detecting G01V1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/526 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/539 using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/256 of results relating to different input data, e.g. multimodal recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/147 Details of sensors, e.g. sensor lenses fingerprint or palmprint sensors G06V40/13; vascular sensors G06V40/145; eye sensors G06V40/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/803 of input or preprocessed data
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/593 Recognising seat occupancy
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands

Abstract

A system for sensing the presence, position and type classification 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 controlling a related air bag activator control system to enable, disable or control inflation rate or amount of inflation of an air bag. The sensor system employs sensor fusion, a process of combining information provided by two or more sensors (24, 26), each of which “sees” the world in a unique sense. In a preferred embodiment, infrared sensor inputs (78) and ultrasonic sensor inputs (79) are combined in a microprocessor by a sensor fusion algorithm (80) to produce an occupancy state output signal (85) to the air bag controller.

Claims

1. The method of operating a vehicle occupancy state sensor system comprising:

(a) interrogating sensors of said system periodically to provide current data;

(b) comparing current data to a history database to determine if there is a change in occupancy state; and

(c) providing a signal for an airbag control system if the occupancy state corresponds to a preselected occupancy state criteria for said signal output.

2. The method of vehicle occupancy state system operation as in claim 1 wherein said history database includes a data set of known occupancy states and said comparison includes comparison of current data to said known occupancy state.

3. The method of vehicle occupancy state system operation as in claim 2 that includes the added steps of:

a) providing to said system a signal representative of an imminent crash; and

b) increasing the rate of sensor interrogation.

4. The method of vehicle occupancy state system operation as in claim 3 that includes the added steps of:

a) detecting mass and acceleration of an object or occupant in or adjacent to a passenger seat; and

b) controlling deployment of at least one airbag in relation to at least one of detected mass and acceleration information to ameliorate crash damage to said object.

5. The method as in claim 4 wherein:

said airbag control includes control of at least one of time of initiation, direction of inflation, rate of inflation, rate of deflation, amount of inflation, sequence of inflation, and deployment of said at least one airbag.

6. The method of vehicle occupancy state sensor system operation as in claim 3 wherein the rate of sensor interrogation is increased to substantially continuous interrogation.