Vehicle occupant classification systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11047729-B2
Application number	US-202016989546-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 10, 2020
Priority date	Jun 30, 2017
Publication date	Jun 29, 2021
Grant date	Jun 29, 2021

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to detect and/or classify a vehicle occupant, such as a passenger seated within the cockpit of a vehicle. An occupant classification system includes an occupant weight sensor, an occupant presence sensor, and a logic device configured to communicate with the occupant weight sensor and the occupant presence sensor. The logic device is configured to receive occupant weight sensor signals from the occupant weight sensor and occupant presence sensor signals from the occupant presence sensor, determine an estimated occupant weight and an occupant presence response based, at least in part, on the occupant weight sensor signals and the occupant presence sensor signals, and determine an occupant classification status corresponding to the passenger seat based, at least in part, on the estimated occupant weight and/or the occupant presence response.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a vehicle including a logic device coupled with the vehicle and configured to determine an occupant classification status based on input signals received from at least one of an occupant weight sensor or an occupant presence sensor, the at least one of the occupant weight sensor or the occupant presence sensor associated with a passenger seat in the vehicle, wherein the logic device is further configured to transmit at least the determined occupant classification status via a communication interface and to receive control commands associated with an element of the vehicle; and
a computing device, associated with a processor and memory, the computing device configured to execute computer executable instructions that cause the computing device to receive, via the communication interface, occupant classification status information about the vehicle transmitted from the logic device and determine at least one control command to be executed by a control component on the vehicle, wherein the computing device is further configured to transmit the determined at least one control command to the vehicle responsive to the receipt of the occupant classification status information.

2. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the logic device is configured to determine the occupant classification status based on the inputs signals received from the at least one of the occupant weight sensor or the occupant presence sensor.

3. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the communication interface includes a wide area network communication.

4. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the communication interface includes a local area network communication.

5. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the computing device corresponds to a server computing device.

6. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the computing device corresponds to a mobile computing device.

7. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one control command includes a control command to cause a display in an output device associated with the vehicle.

8. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to generate a display corresponding to the received occupant classification status information.

Assignees

• Tesla Inc

Inventors

• Aina Akin
• Baldwin Markell
• Aden Bronson
• Stuart Zach

Classifications

• B60R21/16

  Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags ({protective garments with automatically inflatable shock-absorbing means A41D13/018; } connection of valves to inflatable elastic bodies B60C29/00) · CPC title

• B60R21/01512

  Passenger detection systems · CPC title

• G01G19/4142

  for controlling activation of safety devices, e.g. airbag systems (electrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements in case of vehicle accidents B60R21/015) · CPC title

• B60N2210/40

  Force or pressure sensors · CPC title

• B60N2210/12

  Capacitive; Electric field · CPC title