Vehicle occupant discrimination system and method
US6252240A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 24, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 26, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 24, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01G19/4142
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An occupant discrimination system incorporates a position sensor for measuring the distance from a fixed structure within the vehicle to a first surface of an occupant or object on a vehicle seat, and a seat weight sensor for measuring the weight of the occupant or object. The position sensor generates a plurality of signal components that are combined with the weight and vehicle speed related measurements so as to form a signal space, from which a plurality of measures are calculated. A plurality of seat occupancy scenarios are defined and the likelihood of each seat occupancy scenario is functionally related to the plurality of measures. For a given measure state, the likelihood of each of the seat occupancy scenarios is calculated, and the most likely scenario is used to govern the control of a safety restraint system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.