System and method for webbing payout

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9821761-B2
Application number	US-201514947581-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 20, 2015
Priority date	Nov 20, 2015
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

An image is received from an image sensor including an occupant's head and a webbing. A center line of the occupant is determined. A webbing payout length is determined based on the center line. A safety device is adjusted based at least in part on the webbing payout length.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising a computer including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the computer to:
receive an image including an occupant's head and a webbing from an image sensor;
determine a center line of the occupant;
determine a measurement region based on an intersection of the webbing and the center line of the occupant;
determine a webbing payout length based on the measurement region; and
adjust a safety device based at least in part on the webbing payout length.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the webbing includes markings indicating the webbing payout length, the instructions further including instructions to determine the webbing payout length by reading the markings.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the markings include infrared ink.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to determine the measurement region based on a pair of edges of the webbing and the center line.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the webbing includes markings written in infrared ink indicating the webbing payout length, and the instructions further include instructions to determine the webbing payout length based on the marking in the measurement region.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions to adjust the safety device include instructions to adjust a webbing payout rate based on the webbing payout length.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the center line is defined by a face of the occupant.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to classify the occupant into a classification based on the webbing payout length and to adjust the safety device based on the classification.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the classification includes at least one of empty, small adult, average adult, and obese adult.

10. A method, comprising:
receiving an image including an occupant's head and a webbing from an image sensor;
determining a center line of the occupant;
determining a measurement region based on an intersection of the webbing and the center line of the occupant;
determining a webbing payout length based on the measurement region; and
adjusting a safety device based at least in part on the webbing payout length.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the webbing includes markings indicating the webbing payout length, the method further comprising determining the webbing payout length by reading the markings.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the markings are written in infrared ink.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising determining the measurement region based on a pair of edges of the webbing and the center line.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the webbing includes markings written in infrared ink indicating the webbing payout length, and further comprising determining the webbing payout length based on the marking in the measurement region.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising adjusting a webbing payout rate based on the webbing payout length.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the center line is defined by a face of the occupant.

17. The method of claim 10 , further comprising classifying the occupant into a classification based on the webbing payout length and adjusting the safety device based on the classification.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the classification includes at least one of empty, small adult, average adult, and obese adult.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Le Jialiang
• Rao Manoharprasad K

Classifications

• B60R22/48 Primary

  Control systems, alarms, or interlock systems, for the correct application of the belt or harness · CPC title

• B60R2022/4808

  Sensing means arrangements therefor · CPC title

• B60R22/00 Primary

  Safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles (safety belts or body harnesses in general A62B35/00) · CPC title

• B60R21/01544 Primary

  detecting seat belt parameters, e.g. length, tension or height-adjustment · CPC title

• B60R21/01538

  for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays · CPC title