Sensor system and method for determining the position of vehicle occupants in vehicles
AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsGünter Dömens, Peter Mengel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In order to trigger an airbag in a differentiated way, the position of a vehicle occupant is determined in a way that is as immune to interference as possible. This is achieved by a distance measurement in which the seatbelt that is in contact with the vehicle occupant serves as an active reference position. The distance between the seatbelt and known points within the vehicle permits the position of the seatbelt and the vehicle occupant to be determined. The distance measurement is performed using magnetic field transmitter units and receiver units. The transmitter unit is preferably integrated into the belt.
Claims24
A sensor system for determining a position of an occupant in a vehicle, comprising:
- a configuration including at least one elongated electrical conductor for generating at least one magnetic field that decreases in a direction transverse to said at least one electrical conductor;
- at least one magnetic field sensor for detecting a strength of the at least one magnetic field in order to determine a distance between said at least one magnetic field sensor and said at least one elongated electrical conductor;
- a seatbelt having a portion configured to lie against a chest region of a vehicle occupant, said portion of said seatbelt including one of said at least one elongated electrical conductor and said at least one magnetic field sensor;
- the other one of said at least one elongated electrical conductor and said at least one magnetic field sensor being configured at at least one predetermined point in a vehicle such that a position of the vehicle occupant can be determined from a detectable relative position of said seatbelt.
A method for determining information regarding an occupant in a vehicle, which comprises:
- providing a configuration including at least one elongated electrical conductor for generating at least one magnetic field that decreases in a direction transverse to the at least one electrical conductor;
- providing at least one magnetic field sensor;
- providing a seatbelt having a portion configured to lie against a chest region of a vehicle occupant;
- configuring one of the at least one elongated electrical conductor and the at least one magnetic field sensor in the portion of the seatbelt;
- configuring the other one of the at least one elongated electrical conductor and the at least one magnetic field sensor in at least one predetermined point in a vehicle;
- detecting a strength of the at least one magnetic field to determine a distance between the at least one magnetic field sensor and the at least one elongated electrical conductor;
- and
- determining a position of the vehicle occupant from the distance between the at least one magnetic field sensor and the at least one elongated electrical conductor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.