Occupant protecting apparatus

• US 6,422,598 B1
• Filed: 04/30/2001
• Issued: 07/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Yasui, Katsuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnson, Brian L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WINNER, TONY H
• Application Number:
  US09/843,770
• Publication Number:
  US 20020041089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 449 Days
• Field of Search: 280/735, 180/271, 180/282, 701/45
• US Class Current: 280/735
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01534 using electromagneticwaves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01538 for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01552 detecting position of specific human body parts, e.g. face, eyes or hands
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01556 Child-seat detection systems

Abstract

An occupant protecting apparatus capable of safely controlling the operation method with a simple structure. The occupant protecting apparatus comprises infrared beam emitting device (11) disposed on an upper portion of an occupant room of a vehicle at a position diagonally rearward of a position of a passenger seat for emitting an infrared beam, an infrared beam detecting device (16) disposed on a position offset from the infrared beam emitting device for detecting a position of a light spot generated in such a manner that flat infrared beam impinges an occupant on a seat and scatters, and a control device for obtaining a size of the occupant or a three-dimensional shape of sitting position or the like from output of the infrared beam detecting device to control motion of a protecting apparatus such as an air bag (3).

Claims

1. An occupant protecting apparatus comprising:

infrared beam emitting means disposed on an upper portion of an occupant room of a vehicle at a position diagonally rearward of a position of a passenger seat for emitting a flat infrared beam,

infrared beam detecting means disposed on a position offset from said infrared beam emitting means for detecting a position of a light spot generated in such a manner that said infrared beam impinges on an occupant on a seat and scatters, and

control means for obtaining a size of said occupant or a three-dimensional shape of a sitting position from output of said infrared beam detecting means to control motion of an air bag protecting apparatus.

2. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said infrared beam emitting means is disposed on a ceiling of the vehicle in the vicinity of a room lamp diagonally rearward of a head position of an occupant on a driver'"'"'s seat or a passenger seat.

3. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said infrared beam emitting means emits a flat infrared beam sheet, a set of a plurality of an infrared beams arranged in a form of a sheet or infrared beam that scans in a form of a sheet.

4. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said infrared beam detecting means comprises a two-dimensional image sensor disposed on a position offset from said infrared beam emitting means in order to detect the position of the light spot generated in such a manner that said infrared beam sheet or beam impinges the occupant on the seat and scatters.

5. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said infrared beam emitting means includes an anamorphic optical system.

6. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means judges whether the occupant is an adult or a child from the size of the head of the occupant detected by said infrared beam detecting means.

7. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said control means judges whether an object is a stationary object such as a child seat from presence or absence of motion of the light spot on said object.

8. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said infrared beam emitting means can emit a flat infrared beam sheet, a set of a plurality of infrared beams arranged in a form of a sheet or an infrared beam that scans in a form of a sheet to a plurality of vertical positions.

9. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said infrared beam detecting means includes an image sensor having a frame rate of 200 frames per second or greater in order to detect the position of the light spot generated in such a manner that said infrared beam sheet or beam impinges the occupant on the seat and scatters.

10. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said infrared beam detecting means comprises a two-dimensional CMOS image sensor having a projection function.

11. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said two-dimensional CMOS image sensor functions as a one-dimensional image sensor using said projection function when acceleration of said vehicle exceeds a predetermined value.

12. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means detects a collision state from longitudinal motion of said occupant detected by said infrared beam detecting means at an instant when a front collision of said vehicle occurs.

13. An occupant protecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means detects a collision state from lateral motion of said occupant detected by said infrared beam detecting means at an instant when a side collision of said vehicle occurs.