Child seat detection system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for detecting a child seat in a vehicle including the steps of:
- a) determining weight on a vehicle seat;
b) comparing the weight on the vehicle seat to a rear-facing infant seat maximum;
c) if the weight on the vehicle seat exceeds the rear-facing infant seat maximum, determining whether a forward-facing infant seat is on the seat;
d) if the weight on the vehicle seat does not exceed the rear-facing infant seat maximum, determining whether a rear-facing infant seat is on the seat.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A child seat detection system determines the presence of an infant seat and can distinguish between a forward-facing infant seat and a rearward-facing infant seat. The system determines the weight on a vehicle seat and compares the weight on the vehicle seat to a rear-facing infant seat maximum. If the weight on the vehicle seat exceeds the rear-facing infant seat maximum, the system determines whether a forward-facing infant seat is on the seat. If the weight on the vehicle seat does not exceed the rear-facing infant seat maximum, then the system determines whether a rear-facing infant seat is on the seat.
21 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for detecting a child seat in a vehicle including the steps of:
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a) determining weight on a vehicle seat;
b) comparing the weight on the vehicle seat to a rear-facing infant seat maximum;
c) if the weight on the vehicle seat exceeds the rear-facing infant seat maximum, determining whether a forward-facing infant seat is on the seat;
d) if the weight on the vehicle seat does not exceed the rear-facing infant seat maximum, determining whether a rear-facing infant seat is on the seat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
determining that the seat is empty if the weight on the vehicle seat does not exceed an empty threshold and performing said steps b)-d) only if the weight on the seat exceeds the empty threshold.
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3. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:
determining whether a seatbelt for the vehicle seat is in use and using a belted rear-facing infant seat maximum if the seatbelt is in use and using an unbelted rear-facing infant seat maximum if the seatbelt is not in use, the unbelted rear-facing infant seat maximum less than the belted rear-facing infant seat maximum.
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4. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:
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determining a proximity gain of an occupant on the vehicle seat relative to a sensor in the vehicle headliner; and
determining that an infant seat is present based upon the proximity gain.
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5. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:
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measuring capacitance from a seat back sensor; and
determining that an infant seat is present based upon the measured capacitance.
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6. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:
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measuring weight on a front portion of the vehicle seat; and
determining that an infant seat is present based upon the measured weight on the front portion.
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7. A method for detecting a child seat in a vehicle including the steps of:
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a) determining a seat weight on a vehicle seat;
b) determining a proximity gain of an occupant on the vehicle seat relative to a sensor in the vehicle headliner;
c) determining that the seat is empty if the seat weight does not exceed an empty threshold;
d) comparing the seat weight to a rear-facing infant seat maximum greater than the empty threshold;
e) if the seat weight exceeds the rear-facing infant seat maximum, determining whether a forward-facing infant seat is on the seat by comparing the seat weight to a forward-facing infant seat maximum and by comparing the proximity gain to a forward-facing infant seat proximity gain threshold; and
f) if the seat is not empty and if the seat weight does not exceed the rear-facing infant seat maximum, determining whether a rear-facing infant seat is on the seat by comparing the proximity gain to a rear-facing infant seat gain threshold. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
determining whether a seatbelt for the vehicle seat is in use, wherein the rear-facing infant seat maximum is a belted rear-facing infant seat maximum if the seatbelt is in use and an unbelted rear-facing infant seat maximum if the seatbelt is not in use, the unbelted rear-facing infant seat maximum less than the belted rear-facing infant seat maximum.
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9. The method of claim 8 wherein the forward-facing infant seat maximum is a belted forward-facing infant seat maximum if the seatbelt is in use and an unbelted forward-facing infant seat maximum if the seatbelt is not in use, the unbelted forward-facing infant seat maximum less than the belted forward-facing infant seat maximum.
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10. The method of claim 9 further including the steps of:
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measuring capacitance from a seat back; and
determining that a forward-facing infant seat is present only if the measured capacitance is less than a threshold value.
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11. The method of claim 10 further including the steps of:
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measuring weight on a front portion of the vehicle seat; and
determining that a forward-facing infant seat is present only if the measured weight on the front portion is less than a front weight threshold.
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12. A computer-readable medium storing a computer program which when executed by a computer performs the steps of:
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a) determining that a vehicle seat is empty if a seat weight does not exceed an empty threshold;
b) comparing the seat weight to a rear-facing infant seat maximum greater than the empty threshold;
c) if the seat weight exceeds the rear-facing infant seat maximum, determining whether a forward-facing infant seat is on the seat by comparing the seat weight to a forward-facing infant seat maximum and by comparing a proximity gain relative to an overhead sensor to a forward-facing infant seat proximity gain threshold;
d) if the seat is not empty and if the seat weight does not exceed the rear-facing infant seat maximum, determining whether a rear-facing infant seat is on the seat by comparing the proximity gain to a rear-facing infant seat gain threshold.
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13. A child seat detection system comprising:
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a weight sensor for measuring seat weight on a vehicle seat; and
a controller comparing the seat weight to a rear-facing infant seat maximum and determining whether a forward-facing infant seat is on the seat if the weight on the vehicle seat exceeds the rear-facing infant seat maximum, and determining whether a rear-facing infant seat is on the seat if the weight on the vehicle seat does not exceed the rear-facing infant seat maximum. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
a sensor determining a height of the occupant;
the controller determining that a rear-facing infant seat is present only if the height exceeds a rear-facing infant seat height threshold.
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15. The child seat detection system of claim 14 wherein the controller determines that a forward-facing infant seat is present only if the height exceeds a forward-facing infant seat height threshold.
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16. The child seat detection system of claim 15 further comprising:
- a capacitance sensor in a seat back; and
the controller determining that a forward-facing infant seat is present only if the capacitance measured by the capacitance sensor is less than a threshold value.
- a capacitance sensor in a seat back; and
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17. The child seat detection system of claim 16 wherein the weight sensor includes a front weight sensor measuring a front weight on a front portion of the seat independent of a rear portion of the seat, the controller determining that a forward-facing infant seat is present only if the front weight is less than a front weight threshold.
Specification