Occupant detection system and method of determining occupant
AssigneeDenso Corporation
InventorsTsutomu Kamizono, Eiichi Nishio
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An occupant detection system for detecting an occupant on a seat of a vehicle includes an antenna electrode in a seat bottom of the seat, and an electronic unit connected to the antenna electrode and the vehicle. The electronic unit applies a load current to the antenna electrode so as to generate a weak electric field, and detects a potential current passing through the antenna electrode. The electronic unit detects an occupant based on an impedance and a phase difference, which are based on the load current and the potential current.
Claims9
An occupant detection system for detecting an occupant on a seat of a vehicle, the system comprising:
- an antenna electrode in a seat bottom of the seat;
- and
- an electronic unit connected to the antenna electrode and the vehicle, wherein
- the electronic unit applies a load current to the antenna electrode so as to generate a weak electric field, and detects a potential current passing through the antenna electrode, and
- the electronic unit detects an occupant based on a first impedance and a first phase difference, which are based on the load current and the potential current.
An occupant detection system for detecting an occupant on a seat of a vehicle, the system comprising:
- an antenna electrode in a seat bottom of the seat;
- and
- an electronic unit connected to the antenna electrode and the vehicle, wherein
- the electronic unit applies a load current to the antenna electrode so as to generate a weak electric field, and detects a potential current passing through the antenna electrode, and
- the electronic unit detects an occupant based on a conductance and a susceptance of a first admittance, which is based on the load current and the potential current.
A method of determining an occupant on a seat of a vehicle, the method comprising:
- applying a load current to an antenna electrode in the seat so as to generate a weak electric field, wherein the load current is varied by the occupant;
- detecting a potential current generated by the electric field, wherein the potential current is varied by the occupant;
- calculating at least one of a set of an impedance and a phase difference, and a conductance and a susceptance of an admittance, based on the load current and the potential current;
- and
- comparing the impedance and a threshold corresponding to the phase difference, or the susceptance and a threshold corresponding to the conductance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.