Techniques to optimize vehicular systems for occupant presence and condition

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11241934-B2
Application number	US-201816236142-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2018
Priority date	Dec 28, 2018
Publication date	Feb 8, 2022
Grant date	Feb 8, 2022

Abstract

Methods and apparatus relating to optimization of vehicular systems for occupant presence and condition are described. In one embodiment, logic circuitry detects presence and/or condition of one or more occupants of a vehicle based on sensor data. Memory (e.g., non-volatile memory) stores information corresponding to one or more functions of the vehicle. The logic circuitry transmits a request to the vehicle to cause an adjustment to the one or more functions of the vehicle. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
logic circuitry to detect presence or condition of one or more occupants of a vehicle based on sensor data; and
memory to store information corresponding to one or more functions of the vehicle,
wherein the logic circuitry is to transmit a request to the vehicle to cause an adjustment to the one or more functions of the vehicle based at least in part on the stored information, wherein the logic circuitry is coupled to a vehicle seat cover, wherein one or more sensors are coupled to the vehicle seat cover to generate the sensor data, wherein the one or more sensors are attached or embedded in a fabric of the vehicle seat cover, wherein the fabric is capable of changing color in response to contact with one or more chemicals or molecules linked to stress.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the logic circuitry is detachable from the vehicle seat cover.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle seat cover is capable of lying flat in a portion of the vehicle.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fabric is further capable of changing color in response to at least one of contact with moisture and excessive heat.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the logic circuitry is to detect presence and/or location of the one or more occupants based on a distribution of pressure exercised on a plurality of sensors, wherein the one or more sensors are to be located in a matrix format to generate the sensor data.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the stored information comprises Controller Area Network Bus (CANBUS) information corresponding to the one or more functions of the vehicle.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more functions comprise one or more of: a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), vent direction, fan direction, fan speed, seatbelt warning, interior lighting, or entertainment.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the logic circuitry is coupled to analog front end to receive signals from one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors are to generate the sensor data.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the logic circuitry is coupled to a wireless transceiver to wirelessly transmit the request to one or more components of the vehicle via a Controller Area Network Bus (CANBUS).

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a smart phone is to transmit the information to the logic circuitry.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the logic circuitry is coupled to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) to communicate data and/or charge a battery coupled to the logic circuitry.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors to generate the sensor data.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more of: a moisture sensor, a pressure sensor, a chemical or biomolecular sensor, or temperature sensor.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the pressure sensor comprises a flexible strain sensor or an ultrasensitive pressure sensor fabricated on a flexible substrate.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors are attached or embedded in a non-conductive spacer foam or spacer textile of the vehicle seat cover, the spacer foam or the spacer textile coupled between an electrode array and a back electrode of the vehicle seat cover.

16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more instructions that when executed on at least one processor configure the at least one processor to perform one or more operations to:
detect presence or condition of one or more occupants of a vehicle based on sensor data; and
store information corresponding to one or more functions of the vehicle in memory,
wherein the at least one processor is to transmit a request to the vehicle to cause an adjustment to the one or more functions of the vehicle based at least in part on the stored information, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a vehicle seat cover, wherein one or more sensors are coupled to the vehicle seat cover to generate the sensor data, wherein the one or more sensors are attached or embedded in a fabric of the vehicle seat cover, wherein the fabric is capable of changing color in response to contact with one or more chemicals or molecules linked to stress.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , further comprising one or more instructions that when executed on the at least one processor configure the at least one processor to perform one or more operations to cause detection of presence and/or location of the one or more occupants based on a distribution of pressure exercised on a plurality of sensors, wherein the one or more sensors are to be located in a matrix format to generate the sensor data.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , further comprising one or more instructions that when executed on the at least one processor configure the at least one processor to perform one or more operations to cause generation of an alarm or a notification to indicate that the one or more occupants remain in the vehicle after vehicle shut down.

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Credo Grace
• Alcaidinho Joelle
• Guibene Wael

Classifications

• B60N2210/30

  Temperature sensors · CPC title

• B60N2220/20

  using a deterministic algorithm · CPC title

• B60N2210/42

  Strain gauges · CPC title

• B60N2230/20

  Wireless data transmission · CPC title

• B60N2/0244

  with logic circuits · CPC title