Vehicle occupant sensing system

A vehicle occupant sensing system comprising:

• a laser array mounted to a vehicle structure for generating a first beam directed toward a first occupant zone, a second beam directed toward a second occupant zone, and a third beam directed toward a third occupant zone;
• a first sensor assembly for receiving reflection beams resulting from said first beam hitting a first portion of an occupant located in said first zone, said first sensor assembly generating a first signal proportionally representing said first portion of the occupant present in said first zone;
• a second sensor assembly for receiving reflection beams resulting from said second beam hitting a second portion of the occupant located in said second zone, said second sensor assembly generating a second signal proportionally representing said second portion of the occupant present in said second zone;
• a third sensor assembly for receiving reflection beams resulting from said third beam hitting a third portion of the occupant located in said third zone, said third sensor assembly generating a third signal proportionally representing said third portion of the occupant present in said third zone wherein said laser array and said first, second, and third sensor assemblies are mounted within a common housing;
• and
• a central processor for receiving said first, second, and third signals and combining said signals to determine the position of the occupant within the vehicle.

A vehicle occupant sensing system comprising:

• a housing mounted to a vehicle structure;
• a laser array mounted within said housing for generating a first beam directed toward an upper zone, a second beam directed toward a middle zone, and a third beam directed toward a lower zone;
• a first sensor assembly for receiving reflection beams from said upper zone, said first sensor assembly generating a first signal proportionally representing a first portion of an occupant present in said upper zone;
• a second sensor assembly for receiving reflection beams from said middle zone, said second sensor assembly generating a second signal proportionally representing a second portion of the occupant present in said middle zone;
• a third sensor assembly for receiving reflection beams from said lower zone, said third sensor assembly generating a third signal proportionally representing a third portion of the occupant present in said lower zone wherein said first, second, and third sensor assemblies are mounted within said housing;
• a central processor for receiving said first, second, and third signals and combining said signals to generate a control signal representative of the position of the occupant within the vehicle
• an airbag system for receiving said control signal such that deployment of an airbag is varied depending on the position of the occupant within the vehicle.

A method for sensing an occupant position within a vehicle comprising the steps of:

• generating a first laser beam from a first position in the vehicle toward a first zone;
• generating a second laser beam from the first position toward a second zone;
• generating a third laser beam from the first position toward a third zone;
• receiving a reflection from the first laser beam when the first laser beam strikes a portion of an occupant in the first zone;
• generating a first signal representing a first proportional amount of the occupant in the first zone;
• receiving a reflection from the second laser beam when the second laser beam strikes a portion of an occupant in the second zone;
• generating a second signal representing a second proportional amount of the occupant in the second zone;
• receiving a reflection from the third laser beam when the third laser beam strikes a portion of an occupant in the third zone;
• generating a third signal representing a third proportional amount of the occupant in the third zone;
• and
• combining the first, second, and third signals to determine occupant position within the vehicle.