Dynamic weight sensing and classification of vehicular occupants
First Claim
1. An arrangement for classifying an occupying item in a seat, comprising:
- at least one force sensor arranged to measure the force applied to the seat at different times during a time period in which the occupying item is continuously in the seat;
a determination arrangement that obtains information that affects the weight of the occupying item; and
a processor coupled to said at least one force sensor and said determination arrangement and receiving the force measurements from said at least one force sensor and the information from said determination arrangement,said processor being arranged to analyze the force measurements from said at least one force sensor measured in the time period and the information from said determination arrangement to discern patterns in the force measurements or changes in the force measurements during the time period in the applied force and analyze any discerned pattern to determine if it approximates a known pattern indicative of an animate object or an inanimate object.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Arrangement and method for classifying an occupying item in a seat includes at least one force sensor arranged to measure the force applied to the seat at time intervals, and a processor coupled to the force sensor(s) for receiving the force measurements therefrom. The processor analyzes the force measurements from each force sensor over time to discern patterns in the force measurements and analyzes any discerned pattern to determine if it approximates a known pattern indicative of an animate object or an inanimate object. The processor may be trained to discern patterns providing information about the occupying item by conducting tests in which different occupying items are placed in the seat and measurements of the force applied to the seat are obtained by the force sensor, before, during and after placement of the occupying item in the seat.
206 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An arrangement for classifying an occupying item in a seat, comprising:
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at least one force sensor arranged to measure the force applied to the seat at different times during a time period in which the occupying item is continuously in the seat; a determination arrangement that obtains information that affects the weight of the occupying item; and a processor coupled to said at least one force sensor and said determination arrangement and receiving the force measurements from said at least one force sensor and the information from said determination arrangement, said processor being arranged to analyze the force measurements from said at least one force sensor measured in the time period and the information from said determination arrangement to discern patterns in the force measurements or changes in the force measurements during the time period in the applied force and analyze any discerned pattern to determine if it approximates a known pattern indicative of an animate object or an inanimate object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for determining weight of an occupying item in a seat of a vehicle while the vehicle is moving, comprising:
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measuring the force applied to the seat at different consecutive times during a time period in which the occupying item is continuously in the seat; obtaining a function representative of forces which affect the weight of the occupying item during movement of the vehicle, the step of obtaining the function comprising arranging at least one accelerometer on the vehicle and deriving the function based in part on the effects on the seat caused by the load of a seatbelt associated with the seat when the seatbelt is in use; and determining the weight of the occupying item based on measured force applied to the seat and the function. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for classifying an occupying item in a seat in a vehicle, comprising:
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measuring the force applied to the seat by the occupying item at different times during a time period in which the occupying item is continuously in the seat; measuring a force that affects the weight of the occupying item during the time that the occupying item is in the seat; and identifying the existence of patterns in the consecutive measurements of the force applied to the seat during the time period and analyzing any identified pattern to determine if it approximates a known pattern indicative of an animate object or an inanimate object, the step of identifying the existence of patterns comprising the step of utilizing a pattern recognition algorithm to identify patterns in the measurements of the force applied to the seat during the time period and identifying the existence of patterns in the measurements of the force applied to the seat and the measured force. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An arrangement for classifying an occupying item in a seat in a vehicle, comprising:
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at least one force sensor arranged to measure the force applied to the seat at different times during a time period in which the occupying item is continuously in the seat; and a processor coupled to said at least one force sensor and receiving the force measurements from said at least one force sensor, said processor being arranged to analyze the force measurements from said at least one force sensor measured in the time period to determine whether the force measurements vary in a manner indicative of an animate object or an inanimate object.
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Specification