Apparatus for estimating bodily injury level of vehicle occupant

• US 9,235,687 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2014
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Wanami, Shingo
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Williams, Kelly D
• Application Number:
  US14/150,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20140195169A1
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/00 Measuring acceleration; Measuring deceleration; Measuring shock, i.e. sudden change of acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/60 for the operation of medical equipment or devices
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for estimating level of bodily injury of occupants at an accident of a vehicle. The apparatus has an occupancy detecting block which determines occupied seat. The apparatus has a deformation estimating block which estimates a deformation amount which is reduction of space around the seat. The apparatus has a bodily injury estimating block which estimates bodily injury level based on the occupied seat and estimated deformation amount.

Claims

1. An apparatus for estimating a level of bodily injury of occupants at an accident of a vehicle, comprising:

an occupancy detecting block which determines at least one occupied seat from a plurality of seats in the vehicle;

a plurality of acceleration sensors, at least one acceleration sensor disposed on portions around each of the plurality of seats, respectively, the portions defining occupant spaces corresponding to the plurality of seats, respectively, the plurality of acceleration sensors including a plurality of occupied seat acceleration sensors, at least one occupied seat acceleration sensor disposed on portions around each of the occupied seats and a plurality of non-occupied seat acceleration sensors, at least one non-occupied seat acceleration sensor disposed on portions around each of the non-occupied seats;

a deformation estimating block which estimates a deformation amount of a vehicle body corresponding to the occupant space of the occupied seats based on a detection result of the occupied seat acceleration sensors; and

a bodily injury estimating block which estimates the level of bodily injury of occupants based on the result of the occupancy detecting block and the estimated result of the deformation estimating block;

wherein

the plurality of seats includes a first seat and a second seat, and wherein

the plurality of acceleration sensors comprises;

a first group of acceleration sensors disposed around the occupant space of the first seat, the first group of acceleration sensors including a first acceleration sensor and a common acceleration sensor; and

a second group of acceleration sensors disposed around the occupant space of the second seat, the second group of acceleration sensors including a second acceleration sensor and the common acceleration sensor, and wherein

the deformation estimating block, when the first seat is the occupied seat, estimates the deformation amount of the vehicle body corresponding to the occupant space of the first seat based on the detection result of the first group of acceleration sensors, and when the second seat is the occupied seat, estimates the deformation amount of the vehicle body corresponding to the occupant space of the second seat based on the detection result of the second group of acceleration sensors;

the first seat is a driver seat, and the second seat is a passenger seat, and wherein

the first group of acceleration sensors includes;

a driver side acceleration sensor disposed on a member directly next to the driver seat; and

a driver front acceleration sensor disposed on a front side of the driver seat, wherein one of the driver side acceleration sensor or the driver front acceleration sensor is the first acceleration sensor, and wherein

the second group of acceleration sensors includes;

a passenger side acceleration sensor disposed on a member directly next to the passenger seat; and

a passenger front acceleration sensor disposed on a front side of the passenger seat, wherein one of the passenger side acceleration sensor or the passenger front acceleration sensor is the second acceleration sensor, and wherein

the common acceleration sensor is disposed on a center of the vehicle.

2. The apparatus for estimating level of bodily injury claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a wireless communication device which reports accident information including the estimated result of the bodily injury level to a predetermined entity when the bodily injury estimating block estimates the bodily injury level.

3. The apparatus for estimating level of bodily injury claimed in claim 1, wherein the occupancy detecting block detects whether a corresponding one of seat belts disposed on the seats is used or not.

4. The apparatus for estimating level of bodily injury claimed in claim 1, wherein the occupancy detecting block detects whether a child restraint seat is installed in a corresponding one of the seats or not.

5. The apparatus for estimating level of body injury claimed in claim 1, wherein the deformation estimating block estimates a reduced amount of the occupant space.

6. The apparatus for estimating level of body injury claimed in claim 1, wherein the deformation estimating block estimates reduced amounts of the occupant spaces, and wherein the deformation estimating block determines whether there is at least one of the occupant spaces where the reduced amount exceeds an emergency threshold or not.

7. The apparatus for estimating level of body injury claimed in claim 6, wherein the deformation estimating block estimates the reduced amount of the occupant space by calculating a double integral of the detection result of the acceleration sensors.

8. The apparatus for estimating level of bodily injury claimed in claim 1, wherein

the deformation estimating block, in estimating the deformation amount of the vehicle body corresponding to the occupant space of the occupied seat, only uses the detection result of the occupied seat acceleration sensors, and doesn'"'"'t use the detection result of the non-occupied seat acceleration sensors.