Helmet detection of a motorcycle driver
AssigneeContinental Automotive Technologies GmbH
InventorsVinaykumar Shileen, Sudeep Kumar Gaurkar, Praveen Srinivasa, Kishan Vinjamuri, Nithin Y P
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Abstract
A sensor system for a single-track vehicle, including at least one sensor element positioned for detecting the surface of a driver's head and/or face of that vehicle, an electronic control unit to process the data of the sensor element and to calculate and/or decide, if the driver is wearing a helmet. The electronic control unit is connected to at least one vehicle system, which is controlled by the electronic control unit.
Claims14
A sensor system for a single-track vehicle, comprising at least one ultrasonic sensor element positioned for detecting the surface of a driver's head and/or face of that vehicle, an electronic control unit to process the data of the at least one ultrasonic sensor element and to calculate and/or decide, if the driver is wearing a helmet, wherein the electronic control unit is connected to at least one vehicle system, which is controlled by the electronic control unit, wherein the electronic control unit is designed to calculate a reflection coefficient of a sensor signal of the at least one ultrasonic sensor element to decide, as a first criterion, if the driver is wearing a helmet, wherein the reflection coefficient is calculated dependent on a quotient of an acoustic impedance of the driver's head and/or face surface and an acoustic impedance of a medium of a transmission environment, and wherein the electronic control unit is designed to provide, if the electronic control unit decides that the driver is not wearing a helmet, at least one of:
- at least one of a control or actuation to disable the ignition of the vehicle, as a vehicle system;
- at least one of an acoustic or visual warning to the driver;
- or a limiting of the speed of the vehicle.
A method for detecting a helmet of a driver of a single-track vehicle, using a sensor system for the single-track vehicle comprising at least one ultrasonic sensor element positioned for detecting the surface of a driver's head and/or face of that vehicle, an electronic control unit to process the data of the at least one ultrasonic sensor element and to calculate and/or decide, if the driver is wearing a helmet, wherein the electronic control unit is connected to at least one vehicle system, which is controlled by the electronic control unit, wherein the electronic control unit is designed to calculate a reflection coefficient of a sensor signal of the at least one ultrasonic sensor element to decide, as a first criterion, if the driver is wearing a helmet, wherein the reflection coefficient is calculated dependent on a quotient of an acoustic impedance of the driver's head and/or face surface and an acoustic impedance of a medium of a transmission environment, wherein after at least one of a steering lock of the vehicle is unlocked or the ignition is activated, the at least one ultrasonic sensor element detects the surface of at least one of the driver's head or face, wherein the electronic control unit afterwards processes the data of the at least one ultrasonic sensor element and decides, if the driver is wearing a helmet, wherein if the driver is wearing no helmet, at least one of i) the ignition will be disabled, ii) the ignition will not be enabled, iii) an acoustic warning will be provided to the driver, and iv) a visual warning will be provided to the driver.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.