Compartment sensing system

An apparatus for controlling a light source in a compartment comprising:

• a latch, mounted on the compartment, for generating a latch signal indicative of latch position;
• a pyroelectric sensor, mounted on a surface of the compartment, said pyroelectric sensor responsive to sensing a temperature of an object in the compartment and generating a signal indicative of a movement of at least one of a person and an animal in the compartment;
• a light source, mounted on a surface of the compartment, for emitting light energy when actuated;
• and
• a controller, coupled to the latch, the sensor and the light source, for receiving said signal from the sensor and the latch signal from the latch,
• wherein the controller generates a control signal as a function of said signal and the latch signal, and the control signal actuates the light source.

A method for controlling the status of a compartment latch of a vehicle comprising:

• sensing at least one of motion and temperature;
• generating a signal indicative of a movement of at least one of a person and an animal in the compartment;
• transmitting said signal to a controller;
• generating a control signal in accordance with said signal;
• and
• actuating a latch in response to the control signal.

An apparatus for controlling the status of a compartment latch of a vehicle comprising:

• means for sensing responsive to sensing of at least one of motion and temperature;
• means for generating a signal indicative of a movement of at least one of a person and an animal in the compartment;
• and
• means for controlling the status of the compartment latch in accordance with said signal.

A vehicle cargo compartment control system for controlling an actuatable latch disposed on a cargo compartment of a vehicle, comprising:

• a sensor, disposed in the cargo compartment, capable of sensing responsive to sensing of at least one of motion and temperature and generating a sensor signal indicative of a movement of at least one of a person and an animal in the cargo compartment;
• and
• a controller, coupled to the sensor and the actuatable latch of the cargo compartment, capable of receiving the sensor signal,
• wherein the controller determines whether the sensor signal exceeds a predetermined threshold, and actuates the latch of the cargo compartment when the sensor signal exceeds the predetermined threshold.

A latch release system for actuating a trunk latch of a vehicle and the vehicle having a passenger compartment and a trunk compartment, the latch release system comprising:

• a sensor, mounted in the interior of the trunk compartment, said sensor responsive to sensing of at least one of motion and temperature and generating an output signal indicative of at least one of a person and an animal in the trunk compartment;
• an indicator, mounted in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, adapted to illuminate;
• and
• a controller, mounted on the vehicle and coupled to the sensor and the indicator, that receives the output signal from the sensor, and compares the magnitude and quantity of the output signals received from the sensor to a predetermined magnitude and a predetermined time period to establish an alarm condition,
• wherein the controller actuates the latch when an alarm condition has been established, and
• wherein the controller illuminates the indicator when an alarm condition has been established.

A system for sensing an occupant in a vehicle compartment comprising:

• a primary sensor, mounted in the compartment, for sensing responsive to sensing at least one of motion and temperature, the primary sensor adapted to generate an output signal indicative of at least one of a person or animal in the compartment;
• and
• a controller, coupled to the primary sensor, for receiving the output signal from the primary sensor and generating a control signal based on the output signal,
• wherein the control signal is transmitted to one or more destinations, the destinations depending on the status of the vehicle.

A system for sensing an occupant in a vehicle compartment comprising:

• a primary sensor, mounted in the compartment, for sensing responsive to sensing at least one of motion and temperature, the primary sensor adapted to generate a primary output signal indicative of at least one of a person or animal in the compartment;
• one or more secondary sensors coupled to the primary sensor for generating a secondary output signal in response to receiving the primary output signal;
• and
• a controller, coupled to the secondary sensor, for receiving the secondary output signal from the secondary sensor and generating a control signal based on the secondary output signal,
• wherein the control signal is transmitted to one or more destinations, the destinations depending on a state of the vehicle.

A compartment sensing system for sensing an occupant in a trunk compartment of an automobile comprising:

• a sensor, disposed in the trunk compartment, for sensing responsive to sensing at least one of motion and temperature and generating a sensor signal indicative of at least one of a person or animal in the compartment;
• a controller, coupled to the sensor, for receiving the sensor signal and generating a control signal in response to the sensor signal;
• and
• an actuatable handle, for releasing a trunk lid, having an illumination device mounted within the handle, the illumination device coupled to the controller and upon receiving the control signal, illuminates.