Ignition system to monitor and alert vehicle occupants

Abstract

A method and apparatus for monitoring and alerting a vehicle occupant for an ignition system is disclosed. An example vehicle includes a cabin, a touch screen in the cabin, an engine activated in response to the touch screen receiving a password, seats in the cabin, an occupancy sensor module that detects occupancy of the seats, and a warning controller. The warning controller starts a timer when it detects via the occupancy sensor module that an occupant has left the cabin and issues an alarm in response to the timer reaching a predetermined threshold.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to vehicle ignition systems, and more particularly to monitoring and alerting vehicle occupants regarding the ignition system. Background Art

[0002] Typically, a key is used to open the doors of a vehicle and activate the engine of the vehicle. Traditionally, a mechanical key has been used to open the doors of a vehicle and activate the engine of the vehicle. For example, a mechanical key is inserted into a keyhole and rotated to open the doors and / or activate the engine. Recently, key cards and phones have been used as keys to open the doors of a vehicle and activate the engine of a vehicle. For example, key cards and phones communicate wirelessly with the vehicle as keys to unlock the doors of the vehicle and / or activate the engine. Recently, some vehicles include a remote keyless entry and ignition system that utilizes a password to enable a user to unlock the doors of a vehicle and activate the engine of a vehicle without a key (e.g., a mechanical key, a key card, a phone as a key) carried by the user of the vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0003] The appended claims define the present application. This disclosure summarizes aspects of the embodiments and should not be used to limit the claims. Other embodiments are contemplated based on the techniques described herein, which will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after studying the following drawings and detailed description, and these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the present application.

[0004] An example embodiment for monitoring and alerting a vehicle occupant for an ignition system is shown. The example disclosed vehicle includes a vehicle cabin, a touch screen in the vehicle cabin, an engine activated in response to the touch screen receiving a password, seats in the vehicle cabin, an occupancy sensor module that detects seat occupancy, and a warning controller. The warning controller starts a timer when it detects via the occupancy sensor module that an occupant has left the vehicle cabin and issues an alarm in response to the timer reaching a predetermined threshold.

[0005] An example disclosed method includes receiving a password via an input device in a vehicle cabin and activating an engine via a processor in response to the input device receiving the password. The example disclosed method also includes detecting occupancy of a seat in the cabin via an occupancy sensor module. The example disclosed method also includes starting a timer via the processor when it is detected via the occupancy sensor module that an occupant has left the cabin. The example disclosed method also includes sounding an alarm in response to the timer reaching a predetermined threshold.

[0006] According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle, comprising:

[0007] car;

[0008] Touch screens in the cabin;

[0009] an engine activated in response to the touch screen receiving a code;

[0010] Seats in the carriage;

[0011] an occupancy sensor module that detects occupancy of the seat; and

[0012] Warning controller for:

[0013] starting a timer upon detecting, via an occupancy sensor module, that an occupant has left the vehicle cabin;

[0014] and

[0015] An alarm is sounded in response to the timer reaching a predetermined threshold.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in response to the touch screen receiving a re-entered password when the timer is activated, the alert controller deactivates the timer to prevent an alarm from being sounded.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, when the occupant has left the vehicle compartment, the touch screen receives a re-entered password from another occupant who knows the password.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the occupant who has left the vehicle compartment is an operator, and the other occupant who inputs the re-entered password is a passenger.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the warning controller disables the timer to prevent the alarm from being issued in response to the touch screen receiving another password corresponding to the deactivation timer.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the invention, the vehicle further comprises an override button, wherein the warning controller deactivates the timer to prevent the alarm from being sounded in response to the override button being pressed.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle further comprises a horn and a lighting device, wherein the alarm comprises at least one of an audio alarm and a visual alarm, wherein the warning controller issues at least one of the audio alarm via the horn and the visual alarm via the lighting device.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle further includes an ignition switch, an ignition switch sensor for monitoring the ignition switch, a transmission, and a transmission position sensor for monitoring the position of the transmission, wherein the warning controller detects whether the occupant has left the vehicle cabin in response to the ignition switch being activated and the transmission being in park or neutral.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the invention, wherein the seat comprises a driver seat and a passenger seat, one of the occupancy sensor modules monitors the driver seat and another of the occupancy sensor modules monitors the passenger seat.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the invention, one or more of the occupancy sensor modules comprises a seat belt sensor to detect whether an occupant is seated in one of the corresponding seats in the vehicle cabin.

[0025] According to one embodiment of the present invention, one or more of the occupancy sensor modules includes a door ajar sensor that monitors a door adjacent to a corresponding one of the seats to detect whether an occupant is located within the vehicle cabin.

[0026] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the warning controller detects that an occupant has left the vehicle compartment from one of the corresponding seats in response to determining that:

[0027] an occupant is not seated in one of the corresponding seats; and

[0028] The door adjacent to one of the corresponding seats is then opened for a predetermined period of time.

[0029] According to one embodiment of the present invention, one of the occupancy sensor modules includes at least one of a motion detection sensor, an infrared sensor, and a camera to detect whether an occupant is located in one of the corresponding seats in the vehicle compartment.

[0030] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle further comprises a keypad on the exterior of the vehicle cabin, the keypad receiving another code for unlocking and opening at least one of the vehicle doors.

[0031] According to the present invention, there is provided a method comprising:

[0032] receiving a password via an input device in a cabin of the vehicle;

[0033] activating the engine via the processor in response to the input device receiving the code;

[0034] detecting occupancy of a seat within the vehicle cabin via an occupancy sensor module;

[0035] upon detecting via the occupancy sensor module that an occupant has left the vehicle cabin, starting a timer via the processor; and

[0036] An alarm is issued in response to the timer reaching a predetermined threshold.

[0037] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises deactivating the timer to prevent the alarm from being issued in response to the input device receiving a re-entry of the password while the timer is activated.

[0038] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises receiving a re-entry of a password from a passenger when the driver leaves the cabin of the vehicle.

[0039] According to one embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises deactivating the timer to prevent the alarm from being sounded in response to receiving input via the override button when the timer is activated.

[0040] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises detecting whether the occupant has left the vehicle compartment in response to:

[0041] detecting, via an ignition switch sensor, that an ignition switch is activated; and

[0042] The transmission position sensor detects whether the transmission is in park or neutral.

[0043] According to one embodiment of the present invention, detecting that the occupant has left the vehicle compartment comprises:

[0044] Determining that an occupant is not seated in one of the seats; and

[0045] A door of one of the adjacent seats is subsequently detected to be open for a predetermined period of time via a door ajar sensor of a corresponding one of the occupancy sensor modules. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the embodiments shown in the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and related elements may be omitted, or in some cases the proportions may have been exaggerated to emphasize and clearly illustrate the novel features described herein. In addition, as is known in the art, system components may be arranged differently. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals represent corresponding parts throughout the several views.

[0047] Figure 1 depicts a side view of an example vehicle according to the teachings herein;

[0048] Figure 2 Depicted Figure 1 A top view of a vehicle;

[0049] Figure 3 Depicted Figure 1 the compartment of a vehicle;

[0050] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A block diagram of an occupancy sensing module of a vehicle;

[0051] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A block diagram of the electronic components of a vehicle;

[0052] Figure 6 According to the teachings of this article, it is used to monitor and remind the ignition system Figure 1 Flowchart of the occupants of a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] While the present invention may be embodied in various forms, some exemplary and non-limiting embodiments are shown in the drawings and will be described below, it being understood that this disclosure is to be considered as an example of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

[0054] Generally, a key is used to open a vehicle door and activate a vehicle engine. Traditionally, a mechanical key has been used to open a vehicle door and activate a vehicle engine. For example, a mechanical key is inserted into a keyhole and rotated to open a vehicle door and / or activate an engine. Recently, a key fob and a phone have been used as a key to open a vehicle door and activate a vehicle engine. For example, a key fob and a phone wirelessly communicate with a vehicle as a key to unlock a vehicle door and / or activate an engine.

[0055] Recently, some vehicles include keyless entry and ignition systems that utilize a code to enable a user to unlock the vehicle doors and activate the vehicle's engine without a key (e.g., a mechanical key, a key fob, a phone as a key) carried by the user of the vehicle. In some cases utilizing keyless entry and ignition systems, the vehicle's engine may potentially remain activated after the user leaves the vehicle. In such cases, since the keyless entry and ignition system does not use a key, the keyless entry and ignition system cannot shut down the vehicle based on removing the key from the vehicle.

[0056] Example apparatus and methods disclosed herein include an FEI system that monitors vehicle occupants, detects whether one or more occupants have exited the vehicle, and then issues a warning when the occupants exit the vehicle to alert those previous occupants that the vehicle remains activated when a vehicle start code has not been re-entered and an override button has not been pressed.

[0057] As used herein, "keyless entry and ignition system" and "FEI system" refer to a vehicle system that enables a user to unlock and / or open the vehicle's doors to enter the vehicle's cabin and activate the vehicle's engine without a key (e.g., a mechanical key, a key fob, a phone as a key, and / or other device carried by the user). The example FEI system unlocks and / or opens the vehicle's doors and activates the vehicle's engine when the user enters a corresponding password (e.g., a vehicle entry password, a vehicle start password) via the vehicle's input device. As used herein, a "mechanical key" refers to a key that is inserted into a keyhole and rotated to open the vehicle's doors and / or activate vehicle components. As used herein, a "key fob" refers to an electronic device that wirelessly communicates with a vehicle to unlock the vehicle's doors, open the vehicle's doors, and / or activate the vehicle's engine. As used herein, "phone as key" refers to a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone, a wearable device, a smart watch, a tablet, etc.) that includes hardware and / or software to function as a key fob.

[0058] The system of the example disclosed herein includes occupancy sensing modules for monitoring occupied positions within a vehicle cabin. Each occupancy sensing module includes a sensor for detecting when an occupant of the vehicle leaves the vehicle cabin from the occupied position. In some examinations, the occupancy sensing module includes a seat belt switch and a door ajar sensor, and determines that the occupant has left the vehicle when the seat belt latch is unlatched and an adjacent door corresponding to the door ajar sensor remains open for a period of time associated with the occupant leaving the vehicle.

[0059] The warning controller of the system of the example disclosed herein starts a timer upon determining that an occupant has left the vehicle and sounds an alarm (e.g., via a horn and / or lighting) if the timer reaches a threshold. Before the timer reaches the threshold, the occupant leaving the vehicle compartment and / or another occupant remaining in the vehicle compartment can enter a re-entry of a password, enter another password corresponding to a deactivated alarm, and / or press an override button to prevent the warning controller from sounding an alarm. That is, the occupant can re-enter a password, enter another password corresponding to a deactivated alarm, and / or press an override button to prevent the alarm from sounding when the ignition intention remains activated. For example, the system enables re-entry of a password and / or pressing an override button to prevent the alarm from sounding when the passenger who entered the vehicle compartment without a password and / or activated the ignition has left the vehicle compartment.

[0060] Go to the attached picture, Figure 11 is a side view of an example vehicle 100 according to the teachings herein. The vehicle 100 may be a standard gasoline powered vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, and / or any other type of motor vehicle. The vehicle 100 includes components related to mobility, such as a powertrain having an engine, a transmission, a suspension, a drive shaft, and / or wheels, etc. The vehicle 100 may be non-autonomous, semi-autonomous (e.g., some programmed motoring functions are controlled by the vehicle 100), or autonomous (e.g., motoring functions are controlled by the vehicle 100 without direct driver input).

[0061] In the illustrated example, vehicle 100 includes doors 102, keypad 104, and windows 106. In addition, the vehicle includes a keyless entry and ignition (FEI) system that allows a user (e.g., Figure 3 Crew 302, Figure 3 occupant 304) unlocks the vehicle door 102 and / or starts the ignition engine without using a mechanical key, key fob, and / or phone as a key (e.g., Figure 2 In the example shown, the FEI system includes a keypad 104 located on an exterior surface of the vehicle door 102.

[0062] The keypad 104 is located in the vehicle compartment (e.g. Figure 2 The keypad 104 is a keypad that allows the user of the vehicle 100 to unlock the door 102 and / or enter the cabin of the vehicle 100 without using a mechanical key, a key card, and / or a phone as a key. In the example shown, the keypad 104 includes buttons for receiving a password from the user to unlock and / or open the door of the vehicle 100 (e.g., the door 102). For example, the buttons of the keypad 104 are labeled with characters (e.g., numeric characters, alphabetic characters, alphanumeric characters) to enable the user to identify each button. In some examples, the first button of the keypad 104 may be labeled "1-2", the second button may be labeled "3-4", the third button may be labeled "5-6", the fourth button may be labeled "7-8", and the fifth button may be labeled "9-0" to enable the user to enter a numeric password.

[0063] Although Figure 1The keypad 104 is depicted on a door 102 of the vehicle, but the keypad 104 may be located at any other location along an exterior surface of the vehicle 100 (e.g., another door, on the hood, along a pillar, on a windshield, etc.). Alternatively, the keypad 104 may be a virtual keypad projected onto a window 106 of the vehicle 100. Furthermore, in some examples, the vehicle 100 may include multiple keypads that are located and / or presented at different locations along an exterior surface of the vehicle 100. For example, the keypad 104 may be located on the door 102 on the passenger side of the vehicle 100, and another keypad may be located on the driver side door of the vehicle 100.

[0064] Figure 2 A top view of the vehicle 100 is depicted. Figure 2 As shown, the vehicle 100 includes a cabin 202 in which front seats 204 (eg, a first front seat, an operator seat, a driver seat), front seats 206 (eg, a second front seat, a passenger seat), and rear seats 208 of the vehicle 100 are located.

[0065] like Figure 2 As shown, the vehicle 100 also includes an engine 210, a transmission 212, an ignition switch 214, and a shift lever 216. The engine 210 includes an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, and / or any other power source that propels the movement of the vehicle 100. The ignition switch 214 is used by the user of the vehicle 100 to operate the engine 210, the battery, and / or the electronic accessories of the vehicle 100. For example, the ignition switch 108 includes an on position in which the engine 210 is activated, an off position in which the engine 210 is deactivated, a start position in which the engine 210 is activated, and / or an accessory position in which the electronic accessories are activated. In addition, the transmission 212 is a mechanism that includes a gearbox to transmit power from the engine 210 to the wheels of the vehicle 100. The shift lever 110 is used by the user of the vehicle 100 to switch between gears (e.g., neutral, reverse, first gear, second gear, etc.) of the transmission 212 and / or between modes (e.g., parking, reverse, neutral, driving).

[0066] In addition, the vehicle 100 of the illustrated example includes a touch screen 218 and a speaker 220 located within the vehicle cabin 202. The touch screen 218 of the vehicle 100 provides the vehicle 100 and the occupants of the vehicle 100 (e.g., Figure 3 Crew 302, Figure 3The touch screen 218 is an interface between the occupant 304 of the vehicle 100. For example, the touch screen 218 is a resistive touch screen, a capacitive touch screen, and / or any other type of touch screen that enables an occupant of the vehicle 100 to enter a password (e.g., a numeric and / or alphanumeric code, a pattern, etc.) and / or a biometric to activate or turn on the engine 210 of the vehicle 100 and / or press an override button (e.g., a digital button) to deactivate the timer. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle 100 includes other input devices (e.g., a control knob, an instrument panel, an audio input device such as a cabin microphone, a button, etc.) that enable the occupant to enter a password to activate the engine 210 and / or override the timer. In addition, the speaker 220 is located in the vehicle cabin 202 and emits audio signals to the occupant for information, guidance, and / or entertainment purposes.

[0067] like Figure 2 As shown, the vehicle 100 includes interior lights 222, exterior lights 224, and a horn 226. The interior lights 222 include one or more lights (e.g., ceiling lights, floor lights, instrument lights, etc.) that emit light within the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100. The exterior lights 224 include one or more lights (e.g., headlights, taillights, etc.) of the vehicle 100 that emit light from the outside of the vehicle 100. The horn 226 is a sound-emitting device that emits an audio signal directed to the surrounding area of ​​the vehicle 100. Typically, an operator (e.g., a driver) utilizes the horn to indicate that the vehicle 100 is approaching and / or to call attention to danger. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle 100 includes other sound-emitting devices that emit audio signals directed to the surrounding area of ​​the vehicle 100.

[0068] The vehicle 100 of the illustrated example also includes one or more occupancy sensor modules 228. For example, the vehicle 100 includes an occupancy sensor module 228a (e.g., a first occupied seat module), an occupancy sensor module 228b (e.g., a second occupied seat module), an occupancy sensor module 228c (e.g., a third occupied seat module), and an occupancy sensor module 228d (e.g., a fourth occupied seat module). The occupancy sensor module 228a detects an occupant (e.g., Figure 3 When an occupant 302 of a vehicle is located in a front seat 204 (e.g., an operator seat, a driver seat), the occupancy sensor module 228b detects that the occupant (e.g., Figure 3The occupant 304 of the vehicle 100 is located in the front seat 206 (e.g., a passenger seat), the occupant sensor module 228c detects when the occupant is located in the driver's side position of the rear seat 208 (e.g., a passenger seat), and the occupant sensor module 228d detects when the occupant is located in the passenger side position of the rear seat 208 (e.g., a passenger seat). In other examples, the cabin 202 may include more or fewer occupancy sensor modules 228 to monitor more or fewer seats of the vehicle 100. In some examples, the vehicle 100 includes only one of the occupancy sensor modules 228 for the front seat 204 (e.g., a driver's seat, an operator's seat) and / or the front seat 206 (e.g., a front passenger seat).

[0069] Additionally, the vehicle 100 includes a warning controller 230 that issues a warning or alarm when an occupant leaves the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100 without receiving input from an operator via the ignition switch 214 to deactivate or shut down the engine 210 of the vehicle 100 .

[0070] In operation, an occupant of the vehicle 100 enters the cabin 202 once the occupant enters the vehicle entry code via the keypad 104 accessible from the exterior of the vehicle 100. Once the vehicle entry code is entered, the occupant (e.g., driver and / or operator, passenger) enters the vehicle start code via the touch screen 218 to activate the engine 210 of the vehicle 100. The occupant may then actuate the ignition switch 214 to deactivate the engine 210 of the vehicle 100.

[0071] In addition, when the engine 210 is activated, the occupancy sensor module 228 detects whether the front seat 204, the front seat 206, and / or the rear seat 208 are occupied by an occupant. The warning controller 230 also monitors the ignition switch 214 and the transmission 212. For example, upon recognizing that the ignition switch 214 is held in the on position and the transmission 212 is held in the park gear or the neutral gear, the warning controller 230 monitors the occupancy sensor module 228 and the corresponding door adjacent to the occupancy sensor module 228 to determine whether the occupant has left the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100. For example, the alarm controller 230 responds to the occupancy sensor module 228a (e.g., via Figure 2 The seat belt sensor 402 of the vehicle body detects that the previously existing occupant is no longer in the front seat 204, and the warning controller 230 determines that the door adjacent to the occupancy sensor module 228a is opened corresponding to a predetermined time period for the occupant to leave the vehicle interior 202 to determine that the occupant (e.g., the driver and / or operator) has left the vehicle interior 202 from the front seat 204.

[0072] When the occupant is detected to have left the cabin 202 while the engine 210 remains activated, the warning controller 230 starts a timer. If the timer reaches a predetermined threshold, the warning controller 230 issues an alarm to warn the occupant that the engine 210 remains activated. In some examples, the warning controller 230 issues an audio alarm via the horn 226 and / or other external audio sources of the vehicle 100. Additionally or alternatively, the warning controller 230 issues a visual alarm via the interior lights 222 and / or the exterior lights 224 of the vehicle 100.

[0073] In addition, the warning controller 230 enables an occupant to preemptively stop the alarm from being sounded. That is, the warning controller 230 deactivates the timer to prevent the alarm from being sounded in response to the occupant entering a re-entry vehicle start-up code via the touch screen 218, entering another code corresponding to the deactivation of the timer via the touch screen 218, and / or providing an input via an override button (e.g., a mechanical button, a digital button presented via the touch screen 218) when the timer counts to its predetermined threshold. For example, if an occupant (e.g., a driver and / or an operator) leaves the vehicle cabin 202 from the front seat 204 while the engine 210 remains activated, the occupant can return to the vehicle cabin to enter a re-entry vehicle start-up code via the touch screen 218, to enter another code corresponding to the deactivation of the timer via the touch screen 218, and / or press the override button. Additionally or alternatively, another occupant (e.g., a passenger) who has already remained in the vehicle cabin 202 can prevent the alarm from being sounded by pressing the override button, re-entering the vehicle start-up code (if the occupant who has already remained in the vehicle cabin 202 knows the vehicle start-up code), and / or entering another code corresponding to the deactivation of the timer.

[0074] Figure 3 A portion of the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100 is depicted when an occupant 302 and another occupant 304 are located within the cabin 202. The occupant 302 (e.g., a driver and / or operator of the vehicle 100) is seated at the front seat 204 within the cabin 202, and an occupant (e.g., a passenger of the vehicle 100) is seated at the front seat 206 within the cabin 202. Additionally, an occupancy sensor module 228a detects the presence of the occupant 302 at the front seat 204, and an occupancy sensor module 228b detects the presence of the occupant 304 at the front seat 206.

[0075] In the example shown, the occupant 302 or the occupant 304 enters a password (e.g., a first password) to start the engine 210 via the FEI system. The engine 210 is deactivated via the FEI system in response to the occupant 302 or the occupant 304 actuating the ignition switch 214 (e.g., actuating to the off position). Otherwise, if the occupant sensor module 228a and / or the occupant sensor module 228b detects that the occupant 302 and / or the occupant 304 have left the cabin 202, respectively, while the engine remains activated, the warning controller 230 starts a timer to sound an alarm. For example, the warning controller 230 monitors whether the occupant 302 and / or the occupant 304 have left the cabin 202 when it is recognized that the ignition switch 214 is activated (e.g., in the on position) and the transmission 212 is in the parking gear or the neutral gear.

[0076] If the occupant 302 (e.g., the driver and / or operator of the vehicle 100) has left the vehicle 100 and knows the password, the occupant 302 can return to the vehicle 100 to re-enter the password (e.g., the first password) via the touch screen 218, enter another password corresponding to the deactivation timer via the touch screen 218, and / or actuate the override button to cause the warning controller 230 to deactivate the timer while the timer is counting. If the occupant 302 has left the vehicle 100, the occupant 304 can press the override button, re-enter the password via the touch screen 218 (if the occupant 304 knows the password), and / or enter another password corresponding to the deactivation timer to cause the warning controller 230 to deactivate the timer. Similarly, if the occupant 304 has left the vehicle 100 and knows the password, the occupant 304 can return to the vehicle 100 to press the override button, re-enter the password via the touch screen 218, and / or enter another password corresponding to the deactivation timer to cause the warning controller 230 to deactivate the timer while the timer is counting. If the occupant 304 has left the vehicle 100, the occupant 302 may press the override button, re-enter the password via the touch screen 218 (if the occupant 302 knows the password), and / or enter another password corresponding to the deactivation timer to cause the warning controller 230 to deactivate the timer. Otherwise, if the timer reaches a predetermined threshold, the warning controller 230 sounds an alarm to warn the occupant 302 and / or occupant 304 that the engine 210 is still activated.

[0077] Figure 4 is a block diagram of an example occupancy sensing module 400 that includes sensors for monitoring the presence of occupants (e.g., occupants 302, occupants 304) at locations (e.g., front seat 204, front seat 206, driver-side location of rear seat 208, passenger-side location of rear seat 208) within the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100. For example, the occupancy sensing module 400 represents one or more occupancy sensor modules 228 (e.g., Figure 2In other examples, the occupancy sensing module 400 and / or one or more occupancy sensor modules 228 may include a set of different sensors for monitoring the presence of occupants at the vehicle location.

[0078] In the illustrated example, the occupancy sensing module 400 includes a seat belt sensor 402, a door ajar sensor 404, a camera 406, an infrared sensor 408, and a motion detection sensor 410. For example, the seat belt sensor 402 (e.g., a Hall effect sensor) detects whether a seat belt at a vehicle location corresponding to the occupancy sensing module 400 is buckled or unfastened. The door ajar sensor 404 detects whether a door (e.g., door 102) adjacent to the vehicle location corresponding to the occupancy sensing module 400 is in an open position or a closed position. The camera 406 collects images and / or video of the vehicle location corresponding to the occupancy sensing module 400 to enable identification (e.g., via the alert controller 230) of whether an occupant is present at the vehicle location. The infrared sensor 408 monitors infrared radiation at the vehicle location corresponding to the occupancy sensing module 400 to enable identification (e.g., via the alert controller 230) of whether an occupant is present at the vehicle location. In addition, a motion detection sensor 410 (e.g., a microwave sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc.) detects whether there is motion at a vehicle location corresponding to the occupancy sensing module 400 so that it can be identified (e.g., via the warning controller 230) whether there is an occupant at the vehicle location.

[0079] The occupancy sensing module 400 of the illustrated example is configured to detect the presence of an occupant at a corresponding vehicle location in response to the seat belt sensor 402 detecting that the corresponding seat belt is fastened, the image and / or video captured by the camera 406 indicating that the occupant is present at the vehicle location, the infrared sensor 408 detecting the presence of the occupant at the vehicle location, the motion detection sensor 410 detecting motion at the vehicle location, and / or any combination thereof. The occupancy sensing module 400 of the illustrated example is also configured to subsequently detect that the occupant has left the corresponding vehicle location in response to the seat belt sensor 402 detecting that the corresponding seat belt is unfastened, the door ajar sensor 404 detecting that the door has been opened for at least a predetermined period of time corresponding to the occupant leaving the vehicle 100, the image and / or video captured by the camera 406 indicating that the occupant is not present at the vehicle location, the infrared sensor 408 not detecting the presence of the occupant at the vehicle location, the motion detection sensor 410 not detecting motion at the vehicle location, and / or any combination thereof.

[0080] Figure 5is a block diagram of electronic components 500 of vehicle 100. In the example shown, electronic components 500 include an onboard computing platform 502, an infotainment head unit 504, speakers 226, lighting 506, sensors 508, an electronic control unit (ECU) 510, and a vehicle data bus 512.

[0081] The onboard computing platform 502 includes a microcontroller unit, a controller or a processor 514 and a memory 516. In some examples, the processor 514 of the onboard computing platform 502 is configured to include the warning controller 230. Alternatively, in some examples, the warning controller 230 is incorporated into another electronic control unit (ECU) having its own processor 514 and memory 516. The processor 514 can be any suitable processing device or a group of processing devices, such as but not limited to a microprocessor, a microcontroller-based platform, an integrated circuit, one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The memory 516 can be a volatile memory (e.g., a RAM including non-volatile RAM (random access memory), magnetic RAM, ferroelectric RAM, etc.), a non-volatile memory (e.g., a disk memory, a flash memory, an EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), a non-volatile solid-state memory based on a memristor, etc.), an unchangeable memory (e.g., an EPROM), a read-only memory, and / or a high-capacity storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive, a solid-state drive, etc.). In some examples, memory 516 includes multiple types of memory, particularly volatile memory and non-volatile memory.

[0082] The memory 516 is a computer-readable medium on which one or more sets of instructions, such as software for operating the methods of the present disclosure, may be embedded. These instructions may embody one or more methods or logic described herein. For example, the instructions may reside completely or at least partially within any one or more of the memory 516, the computer-readable medium, and / or the processor 514 during execution of the instructions.

[0083] The terms "non-transitory computer-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" include a single medium or multiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers storing one or more sets of instructions. In addition, the terms "non-transitory computer-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" include any tangible medium that can store, encode, or carry a set of instructions executed by a processor or cause a system to perform any one or more methods or operations disclosed herein. As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" is expressly defined to include any type of computer-readable storage device and / or storage disk and excludes propagating signals.

[0084] The infotainment head unit 504 provides an interface between the vehicle 100 and a user. The infotainment head unit 504 includes digital and / or analog interfaces (e.g., input devices and output devices) to receive input from a user and display information to the user. Input devices include, for example, override buttons, control knobs, instrument panels, digital cameras for image capture and / or visual command recognition, touch screens, audio input devices (e.g., cabin microphones), buttons, or touch pads. Output devices may include instrument cluster outputs (e.g., dials, lighting devices), actuators, touch screens 218, and / or other displays (e.g., heads-up displays, center console displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, flat panel displays, solid-state displays, etc.), and / or speakers 220. In the example shown, the infotainment head unit 504 includes an interface for an infotainment system (such as Ford's and MyFord The main unit 504 includes hardware (eg, a processor or controller, memory, storage device, etc.) and software (eg, an operating system, etc.). In addition, the main unit 504 displays the infotainment system on the touch screen 218, for example.

[0085] The lighting devices 506 of the vehicle 100 in the illustrated example include interior lighting devices 222 (e.g., dome lights) and exterior lighting devices 224 (e.g., headlights, taillights, etc.) located within the cabin 202. For example, the lighting devices 506 are activated to issue an alarm indicating that an occupant (e.g., occupant 302, occupant 304) has left the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100.

[0086] Sensors 508 are disposed in and around the vehicle 100 to monitor characteristics of the vehicle 100 and / or the environment in which the vehicle 100 is located. One or more sensors 508 may be installed to measure characteristics of the external surroundings of the vehicle 100. Additionally or alternatively, one or more sensors 508 may be installed inside the cabin of the vehicle 100 or in the body of the vehicle 100 (e.g., engine compartment, wheel well, etc.) to measure characteristics of the interior of the vehicle 100. For example, the sensors 508 include accelerometers, odometers, tachometers, pitch and yaw sensors, wheel speed sensors, microphones, tire pressure sensors, biometric sensors, and / or any other suitable type of sensor.

[0087] In the illustrated example, the sensors 508 include an occupancy sensor module 228a, an occupancy sensor module 228b, an occupancy sensor module 228c, an occupancy sensor module 228d, an ignition switch sensor 518, and a transmission position sensor 520. For example, each of the occupancy sensor module 228a, the occupancy sensor module 228b, the occupancy sensor module 228c, and the occupancy sensor module 228d includes a seat belt sensor (e.g., Figure 4 seat belt sensor 402), a door ajar sensor (e.g., Figure 4 a door ajar sensor 404), a camera (e.g., Figure 4 camera 406), infrared sensor (e.g., Figure 4 infrared sensor 408), motion detection sensor (e.g., Figure 4 The ignition switch sensor 518 detects the position of the ignition switch 214 (e.g., on position, off position, start position, accessory position), and the transmission position sensor 520 detects the position of the shift lever 110 (e.g., in park, in reverse, in forward, etc.).

[0088] ECU 510 monitors and controls the subsystems of vehicle 100. For example, ECU 510 is a discrete electronic device group that includes its own circuits (e.g., integrated circuits, microprocessors, memory, storage devices, etc.) and firmware, sensors, actuators, and / or mounting hardware. ECU 510 communicates and exchanges information via a vehicle data bus (e.g., vehicle data bus 512). In addition, ECU 510 can transmit characteristics (e.g., the state of ECU 510, sensor readings, control states, errors and diagnostic codes, etc.) to each other and / or receive requests from each other. For example, vehicle 100 can have seventy or more ECUs 510 located at various locations around vehicle 100 and communicatively connected via vehicle data bus 512.

[0089] In the illustrated example, the ECU 510 includes a transmission control unit 522, an engine control unit 524, and a body control module 526. The transmission control unit 522 controls the operation of the transmission 212 (e.g., an automatic transmission) of the vehicle 100, and the engine control unit 524 controls the operation of the engine 210 of the vehicle 100. In addition, the body control module 526 controls one or more subsystems in the entire vehicle 100, such as power windows, power locks, anti-theft systems, power mirrors, etc. For example, the body control module 526 includes circuits that drive one or more of relays (e.g., to control windshield fluid, etc.), brushed direct current (DC) motors (e.g., to control power seats, power locks, power windows, wipers, etc.), stepper motors, LEDs, etc.

[0090] The vehicle data bus 512 communicatively connects the speaker 226, the vehicle computing platform 502, the infotainment head unit 504, the lighting device 506, the sensor 508, and the ECU 510. In some examples, the vehicle data bus 512 includes one or more data buses. The vehicle data bus 512 can be implemented according to the controller area network (CAN) bus protocol defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 11898-1, the media-oriented system transport (MOST) bus protocol, the CAN flexible data (CAN-FD) bus protocol (ISO 11898-7) and / or the K-line bus protocol (ISO 9141 and ISO 14230-1) and / or the Ethernet bus protocol IEEE802.3 (since 2002), etc.

[0091] Figure 6 is a flow chart of an example method 600 for monitoring and alerting an occupant of a vehicle regarding an ignition system in accordance with the teachings herein. Figure 6 The flowchart represents a memory (such as Figure 5 516) and includes machine-readable instructions for one or more programs that are executed by a processor (such as Figure 5 When executed by the processor 514, the vehicle 100 implements Figure 2 and 5 The example of warning controller 230. Although reference Figure 6 The flowchart shown in describes an example procedure, but many other methods of implementing the example warning controller 230 may be used instead. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be rearranged, changed, eliminated, and / or combined to perform the method 600. In addition, because the method 600 is combined with Figures 1 to 5 The components are disclosed, so some functions of these components will not be described in detail below.

[0092] First, at box 602, the warning controller 230 determines whether the touch screen 218 and / or another input device of the vehicle 100 has received a password (e.g., a vehicle start password, a first password) to start the vehicle 100 by activating the engine 210. In response to the warning controller 230 determining that the touch screen 218 and / or other input device has not received a password for starting the vehicle 100, the method 600 returns to box 602. Otherwise, in response to the warning controller 230 determining that the touch screen 218 and / or other input device has received a password for starting the vehicle 100, the method 600 proceeds to box 604.

[0093] At box 604, the warning controller 230 activates the ignition of the engine 210 to start the vehicle 100. At box 606, the warning controller 230 identifies the seat position (e.g., front seat 204, front seat 206, driver's side seat of the rear seat 208, passenger side seat of the rear seat 208) within the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100. At box 608, the warning controller 230 collects data from one of the occupancy sensor modules 228 (e.g., occupancy sensor module 228a, occupancy sensor module 228b, occupancy sensor module 228c, occupancy sensor module 228d) corresponding to the identified seat position. For example, the data includes data collected by the seat belt sensor 402, the door ajar sensor 404, the camera 406, the infrared sensor 408, the motion detection sensor 410, and / or any other sensor that detects the presence of an occupant. At block 610, the alert controller 230 determines whether an occupant (e.g., occupant 302, occupant 304) is in the identified seat position based on data collected from the corresponding occupancy sensor module. At block 612, the alert controller 230 determines whether there is another seat position within the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100 to identify. In response to the alert controller 230 determining that there is another seat position, the method 600 returns to block 606. Otherwise, in response to the alert controller 230 determining that there is not another seat position, the method 600 proceeds to block 614.

[0094] At box 614, the warning controller 230 (e.g., via the transmission position sensor 520) determines whether the transmission 212 of the vehicle 100 is in park or neutral when the ignition switch 214 of the vehicle 100 is held in the on position. In response to the warning controller 230 determining that the transmission 212 is not in park or neutral, the method 600 returns to box 614. Otherwise, in response to the warning controller 230 determining that the transmission 212 is in park or neutral, the method 600 proceeds to box 616. At box 616, the warning controller 230 again collects data from those of the occupancy sensor modules 228 that correspond to the seat positions that the warning controller 230 identified as being occupied by the occupant at box 610.

[0095] At block 618, the warning controller 230 determines whether one or more occupants located at the seat positions corresponding to the occupancy sensor modules 228 have left the cabin 202 of the vehicle 100. For example, the warning controller 230 determines via one of the corresponding occupancy sensor modules 228 that the occupant has left the cabin 202 from the seat position. For example, in response to the seat belt sensor 402 detecting that the corresponding seat belt is unfastened, the door ajar sensor 404 detecting that the corresponding door has been opened for at least a predetermined period of time, the image and / or video captured by the camera 406 indicating that the occupant is not present at the seat position, the infrared sensor 408 not detecting the presence of the occupant at the seat position, the motion detection sensor 410 not detecting motion at the seat position, and / or any combination thereof, the corresponding one of the occupant sensor modules 228 detects that the occupant has left the cabin 202. In response to the warning controller 230 determining that the occupant has not left the cabin 202, the method 600 returns to block 614. Otherwise, in response to the warning controller 230 determining that one or more occupants have left the cabin 202, the method 600 proceeds to block 620.

[0096] At box 620, the warning controller 230 starts the timer. At box 622, the warning controller 230 determines whether the touch screen 218 and / or other input device has received a re-entry of a password, the touch screen 218 and / or other input device has received an input corresponding to another password to deactivate the timer, and / or the override button has received an input while the timer is counting. In some examples, the occupant who left the car 202 returns to the car to provide input, re-enter the password, and / or enter another password corresponding to the deactivation timer via the override button. In other examples, another occupant who remains in the car 202 provides input, re-enters the password, and / or enters another password corresponding to the deactivation timer (if the other occupant already knows the password) via the override button. In response to the warning controller 230 determining that the password and / or other timer deactivation input has been received, the method 600 returns to box 606. Otherwise, in response to the warning controller 230 determining that the password and / or other timer deactivation input has not been received, the method 600 proceeds to box 624.

[0097] At block 624, the warning controller 230 determines whether the timer has reached a predetermined threshold (e.g., a first threshold, a user-configurable threshold). In response to the warning controller 230 determining that the threshold has not been reached, the method 600 returns to block 622. Otherwise, in response to the warning controller 230 determining that the threshold has been reached, the method 600 proceeds to block 626, where the warning controller 230 issues an alarm to alert previous occupants of the vehicle 100 that the vehicle 100 remains activated. In some examples, the warning controller 230 issues an audio alarm via a horn 226 and / or other sound-emitting device of the vehicle 100. In other examples, the warning controller 230 issues a visual alarm via the interior lights 222 and / or exterior lights 224 of the vehicle 100.

[0098] At block 626, the alert controller 230 determines whether the touch screen 218 and / or other input device of the vehicle 100 has received a password and / or another input corresponding to deactivating the alert after and / or while the alert is being issued. For example, the alert controller 230 determines whether a password has been re-entered, another password has been entered, and / or an override button has been pressed within another predetermined threshold (e.g., a second threshold, another user-configurable threshold) after the alert controller 230 began issuing the alert. The second predetermined threshold enables the occupant and / or previous occupant to enter a re-entry password, enter another password corresponding to deactivating the alert, and / or provide input through an override button, for example, after the alert controller 230 has issued an alert to deactivate the alert and / or maintain activation of the vehicle 100. In response to the alert controller 230 determining that a password and / or other alert deactivation input has been received, the method 600 returns to block 606. Otherwise, in response to the warning controller 230 determining that the passcode and / or other alarm deactivation input has not been received, the method continues to box 630 where the warning controller 230 deactivates the engine 210 to prevent the vehicle 100 from operating when the occupant is not present.

[0099] In the present application, the use of antonymous conjunctions is intended to include conjunctions. The use of definite or indefinite articles is not intended to indicate cardinality. In particular, reference to "the" or "a" and "an" articles is also intended to indicate one of a possible plurality of such articles. Further, the conjunction "or" can be used to convey simultaneous features rather than mutually exclusive substitutions. In other words, the conjunction "or" should be understood to include "and / or". The terms "includes", "including" and "include" are inclusive and have the same scope as "comprises", "comprising" and "comprise", respectively. In addition, as used herein, the terms "module" and "unit" refer to hardware having circuits that provide communication, control and / or monitoring capabilities, usually combined with sensors. "Module" and "unit" can also include firmware executed on the circuit.

[0100] The above-described embodiments, particularly any "preferred" embodiments, are possible examples of implementation and are presented only for a clear understanding of the principles of the present invention. Many changes and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and principles of the technology described herein. All modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising: car; A touch screen in the vehicle compartment; an engine activated in response to the touch screen receiving a code; seats in the compartment; an occupancy sensor module to detect occupancy of the seat; and Warning controller for: starting a timer when the ignition switch is detected, via the ignition switch sensor, that the ignition switch is activated and the occupancy sensor module detects that the occupant has left the vehicle cabin; and In response to the touch screen receiving a re-entered password while the timer is activated, the warning controller deactivates the timer to prevent an alarm from being sounded; An alarm is issued in response to the timer reaching a predetermined threshold.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the touch screen receives the password re-entered from another occupant who knows the password when the occupant has left the vehicle compartment.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the occupant who has left the vehicle compartment is an operator, and the other occupant who inputs the re-entered password is a passenger. 4 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the warning controller disables the timer to prevent the alarm from being sounded in response to the touch screen receiving another code corresponding to disabling the timer. 5 . The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising an override button, wherein the warning controller deactivates the timer to prevent the alarm from being sounded in response to the override button being pressed.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a horn and a lighting device, wherein the alarm comprises at least one of an audio alarm and a visual alarm, wherein the warning controller issues at least one of the audio alarm via the horn and the visual alarm via the lighting device.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the seats include a driver seat and a passenger seat, one of the occupancy sensor modules monitoring the driver seat and another of the occupancy sensor modules monitoring the passenger seat.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein one or more of the occupancy sensor modules include a seat belt sensor to detect whether the occupant is seated in a corresponding one of the seats within the vehicle cabin.

9. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein one or more of the occupancy sensor modules includes a door ajar sensor that monitors a door adjacent a corresponding one of the seats to detect whether the occupant is within the vehicle cabin.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein one of the occupancy sensor modules includes at least one of a motion detection sensor, an infrared sensor, and a camera to detect whether the occupant is located in a corresponding one of the seats within the vehicle compartment.

11. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a keypad on the exterior of the vehicle cabin, the keypad receiving another code for at least one of unlocking and opening a vehicle door.

12. A vehicle ignition system monitoring method, comprising: receiving a password via an input device in a cabin of the vehicle; activating, via a processor, an engine in response to the input device receiving the code; detecting occupancy of a seat within the vehicle compartment via an occupancy sensor module; starting a timer via the processor when detecting via the ignition switch sensor that an ignition switch is activated and the occupancy sensor module detects that an occupant has left the vehicle cabin; and in response to the input device receiving a re-entered password while the timer is activated, deactivating the timer to prevent an alarm from being sounded; An alarm is issued in response to the timer reaching a predetermined threshold.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising detecting whether the occupant has left the vehicle compartment in response to: detecting, via an ignition switch sensor, that an ignition switch is activated; and The transmission position sensor detects whether the transmission is in park or neutral.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein detecting that the occupant has left the vehicle compartment comprises: determining that the occupant is not seated in one of the seats; and A subsequent opening of a door adjacent to one of the seats for a predetermined period of time is detected via a door ajar sensor of a corresponding one of the occupancy sensor modules.

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