Vehicle passenger accident prevention system and control method for the same

A control method for a vehicle passenger accident prevention system, the vehicle passenger accident prevention system including:

• a vehicle operation status measurement unit having a passenger count sensor which detects a passenger when the passenger enters or leaves a vehicle and outputs a corresponding output signal, a sitting detecting sensor that detects whether a passenger is seated in a seat and outputs a corresponding signal, a belt wearing detecting sensor that detects whether a seat belt is buckled and outputs a corresponding signal, a vehicle speed sensor that measures a vehicle speed and outputs a corresponding signal, a distance sensor that measures a distance to a front vehicle and outputs a corresponding signal, and an optical camera that captures an image around the vehicle and outputs a corresponding signal, and a driving unit to drive the vehicle, a braking unit to brake the vehicle, a forward collision avoidance assist (FCA) system that controls an operation of the driving unit and the braking unit, and a controller that detects a seated state of a passenger in the vehicle or a wearing state of a seat belt according to the output signals of the vehicle operation status measurement unit, the control method comprising:
• determining, by the controller, the seated state of a passenger in the vehicle by subtracting a number of seated passengers detected by the sitting detecting sensor from a number of passengers detected by the passenger count sensor;
• determining, by the controller, the wearing state of the seat belt of the corresponding seat according to the output signals of the sitting detecting sensor and the belt wearing detecting sensor;
• determining, by the controller, an operation condition of the FCA system based on whether a collision is expected according to the output signals of the vehicle speed sensor, the distance sensor and the optical camera;
• performing, by the controller, an FCA system normal mode to operate the FCA system normally when the controller determines the operation condition of the FCA system and there is no standing passenger in the vehicle, and there is no unbuckled passenger in the vehicle;
• performing, by the controller, an FCA system preemptive operation mode by applying a predetermined preemptive collision duration that is larger than a predetermined collision duration in the FCA system normal mode and applying a predetermined preemptive vehicle deceleration rate that is smaller than a predetermined vehicle deceleration rate in the FCA system normal mode when the controller determines that the operation condition of the FCA system is satisfied, and that there is a standing passenger in the vehicle or there is an unbuckled passenger in the vehicle;
• and
• performing, by the controller, an inter-vehicle distance preemptive operation mode to operate an advanced smart cruise control (ASCC) system in advance before the operation of the FCA system when the controller determines that the operation state corresponds to the operation condition of the FCA system according to the output signals of the vehicle operation status measurement unit, that there is a standing passenger in the vehicle or there is an unbuckled passenger according to the output signals of the vehicle operation status measurement unit, and that the operation state corresponds to a predetermined inter-vehicle distance preemptive operation condition according to the output signals of the vehicle operation status measurement unit.