Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
Patent
1998-07-20
2000-02-22
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
701 47, 280734, 280735, B60R 2132
Patent
active
060291052
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention is directed to methods and apparatus for recording and monitoring of partial spaces and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus particularly adapted for determining seat occupancy in a motor vehicle and, based on the seat occupancy determination, activating or deactivating one or more accessory units of the motor vehicle such as, for example, seat belts and air bags.
One such switching device is taught in DE 38 02 159 A1, whereat the device releases or eliminates an activation of at least one accessory unit allocated in a motor vehicle to an adjustable seat, such as, for example, one or several passenger restraining elements of a passenger restraining system, a seat heating unit, etc. With respect to unoccupied seats of vehicles, it is possible, according to the above device to eliminate the activation of the accessory units. To that end, a vehicle seat position is recorded relative to the vehicle and the position of the seat elements relative to each other are similarly recorded. An ultrasound sensor including a transmitter and receiver is used to record the distance of a single seat location relative to the transducer. Measuring of distances are performed on the basis of an impulse-echo transit time method.
One disadvantage of the above-noted device, however, is that such switching devices do not distinguish between objects located or disposed upon the seat, such as, for example, a distinction between passengers and infant car seats containing a child disposed upon the seat. In addition, the actual distance measuring used to perform the evaluation is usually too imprecise and is generally dependent upon prior registration of seat distances or seat positions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention overcomes the above-noted drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art switching devices monitor partial spaces in motor vehicles. The methods and apparatus of the present invention enable monitoring of partial spaces, specifically seats in motor vehicles, in a less complicated and more detailed mode, whereby, moreover, the evaluation device for interpreting the reflected signals also yields much better data with respect to passenger contours than the above-noted prior art system.
In accordance with the subject invention, there is provided a method and apparatus for recording and monitoring of a partial space, particularly for determining seat occupancy in a motor vehicle and, based upon said seat occupancy determination, to perform activation and/or switching of accessory units within the motor vehicle. An ultrasound signal is beamed into the partial space by a sensing device with a transmitter and receiver, the reflected or return beam signal being passed to an evaluation device whereat the reflected ultrasound signal is evaluated to thereupon determine the activation and/or switching of various motor vehicle accessory units. The sensing unit includes several transmitters and several receivers so that a sound field is generated within the partial space creating reflected or return signals. The return signals are recorded by an evaluation device with respect to distance and/or with respect to the signal contour determined by the amplitudes thereof and are thereafter evaluated in the evaluation device with respect to an object contour in the partial space.
It is an advantage of the present invention that, based on the fact that registration and monitoring of partial spaces is performed with the utilization of a sensing device having several ultrasound transmitters and receivers, such as, for example, arrays of ultrasound sensors or multi-element sensors, to also draw conclusions, in a simplified fashion, with respect to the object shape or object contour sensed in the partial spaces and, further, to ascertain whether a person or an infant car seat with a child is present on a motor vehicle seat.
It is a further advantage of the invention that activation or switching of accessory devices, such as, for example, air bags, are controlled with respect
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Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Donnelly Arthur D
TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
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