Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-08
2002-03-12
Lieu, Julie (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S561000, C340S425500, C340S573100, C340S573700, C180S271000, C280S728100, C280S730100, C280S730200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06356194
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an occupant detecting system for-detecting the presence or absence and the physique or attitude of an occupant sitting on a seat of an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
An air bag device and a seat belt device for holding back an occupant sitting on a passenger's seat upon a collision of a vehicle are designed on the basis of the physique of an adult. The air bag device and the seat belt device do not necessarily function effectively for a small child in some cases. For this reason, when a child is sitting on the passenger's seat, it is desirable that a warning is given to move the child to a rear seat, or the sudden deployment of an air bag is suppressed. Therefore, an occupant detecting system has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 52129127, which is designed to detect the presence or absence and the physique of an occupant sitting on a passenger's seat by providing a plurality of switches which are operated depending on the weight of the occupant sitting on the passenger's seat.
The above conventional occupant detecting system is adapted to detect the presence or absence of the occupant by a switch provided in a seat cushion and to detect the physique of the occupant, i.e., whether an adult or a child, by a switch provided in a seat back and a switch provided in a head rest. However, the above conventional occupant detecting system suffers from a problem that a detection error is liable to be produced due to a variation in hardness of a seat skin member caused by a variation in temperature, a variation in sitting attitude of an occupant, a variation in reclining angle of the seat back and the like, because each of the switches is operated depending on the weight of the occupant.
A side air bag device is conventionally known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.6-64491, which is adapted to be deployed along an inner surface of a door from a side of a seat back upon a collision of a vehicle to protect a side of an occupant.
The above side air bag device suffers from a problem that when a child sitting on a passenger's seat has fallen asleep to lean toward a door, the head of the child having a short sitting height covers the front of the side air bag device accommodated in a side of a seat back and hence, a side air bag cannot be deployed effectively. Therefore, it can be conceived that the physique and attitude of an occupant sitting on the passenger's seat is detected by an imaging means, such as a camera, and when a child is in a sleeping attitude in which he or she is leaning against the door, the operation of the side air bag device is prohibited.
In this case, however, there is encountered a problem that an expensive camera is required for the detection of the occupant by the imaging means and for this reason, the cost is not only increased, but also the precise detection is difficult because it is governed by the reclining angle of the seat back and the brightness within a vehicle compartment.
It can be also conceived that a sheet-shaped antenna electrode is embedded between a pad of the seat back and a trim cover covering the surface of the pad for detecting the sitting attitude and physique of an occupant sitting on the passenger's seat, and when a child is in a sleeping attitude in which he or she is leaning against the door, the operation of the side air bag device is prohibited. In this case, if the antenna electrode is attached directly to the surface of the pad of the seat back, the antenna electrode can be mounted at a correct position to avoid a reduction in detection accuracy by previously integrally formed irregularities serving as a mark indicating the mounted position of the antenna electrode, when the pad is molded. In fact, however, a sheet-shaped wadding is adhered to the surface of the pad to improve the touch of the seat upon sitting of an occupant, and the antenna electrode is superposed on, and adhered to, the surface of the wadding. Moreover, the wadding is made by cutting a ready-made sheet having a large area into a predetermined size and for this reason, the provision of the irregularities as the mark indicating the mounted position of the antenna electrode is undesirable, because it is a factor for an increase in cost.
When the sheet-shaped antenna electrode is embedded in the seat back, there is a possibility that the cushion property of the seat back may be injured by the antenna electrode, thereby giving an uncomfortable feeling to an occupant sitting on the seat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above and it is a first object of the present invention to provide an occupant detecting system capable of reliably detecting the presence or absence and the physique of an occupant sitting on a seat of an automobile.
It is a second object of the present invention to ensure that the operation of the side air bag device is reliably prohibited, when an occupant sitting on a seat is in a sleeping attitude in which he or she is leaning against a door.
It is a third object of the present invention to ensure that, when an antenna electrode is fixed to the surface of a pad of the seat through a wadding, the antenna electrode can be positioned easily and reliably without provision of a special mark.
To achieve the above first object, according to a first aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided an occupant detecting system comprising a plurality of electrode fabrics embedded in a seat back of a seat in an automobile, an electric field generating means for generating an electric field around the electrode fabrics, a human body approach detecting means for detecting the approach of a human body of the electrode fabrics based on electric current flowing from the electric field generating means to each of the electrode fabrics, and a determining means for determining the presence or absence, and the physique, of an occupant sitting on the seat by comparing a combined pattern of those outputs from the human body approach detecting means which correspond to the electrode fabrics with a previously stored pattern.
With the above arrangement, when the occupant sits on the seat, the human body having a high dielectric constant as compared with that of air approaches the plurality of electrode fabrics embedded in the seat back and hence, electric current flowing from the electric field generating means to each of the electrode fabrics is increased. When the electric current flowing to the electric fabrics is increased, the human body approach detecting means detects the approach of the human body to the electric fabrics based on such electric current. The determining means compares the combined pattern of the outputs from the human body approach detecting means with the previously stored patterns, determines whether the occupant is sitting on the seat and determines the physique of the occupant sitting on the seat.
Since the presence and absence and the physique of the occupant sitting on the seat are determined based on the approach of the human body, which is a dielectric to the plurality of electrode fabrics, it is possible to carry out the precise determination irrespective of a variation in hardness of a seat skin member caused by a variation in temperature, a variation in sitting attitude of the occupant, a variation in reclining angle of the seat back, and the like.
To achieve the second object, according to a second aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided an occupant detecting system comprising an electric fabric embedded in a side of a seat back of a seat in an automobile, an electric field generating means for generating an electric field around the electrode fabric, a human body approach detecting means for detecting the approach of a human body to the electrode fabric based on electric current flowing from the electric field generating means to the electrode fabric, and a determ
Fukui Tsutomu
Inoh Takashi
Isonaga Kazutomo
Koyota Nobuhiro
Armstrong Westerman & Hattori, LLP
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Lieu Julie
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