SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A BELT EXTENSION

Abstract

System (100) comprising a computer including a processor and memory, wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the computer, for: Receiving an image including the head of an occupant and a seatbelt (135) from an image sensor (120); Determining a midline (140) of the occupant; Determining a measurement region (145) based on an intersection of the belt webbing (135) and the occupant's midline (140); Determining a webbing extension length based on the measurement region (145); and Setting a safety device (165), at least partially based on the extension length.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] Occupant detection and classification systems use various metrics to detect and classify vehicle occupants. The metrics can be measured or based on user input. Sometimes the metrics relate to the occupant's size. For example, an occupant detection system can distinguish the size of adult occupants based on seat belt webbing extension. Current occupant classification systems can determine the length of seat belt webbing extension based on indirect measurements, such as spindle diameter, webbing thickness, webbing on the spindle, film spool effect, etc. Current mechanisms for measuring seat belt webbing extension can be difficult, inefficient, and / or expensive to implement. DE 101 42 792 A1 discloses a method for determining the fastening status of a seat belt. Furthermore, DE 10 2008 004 523 B4 describes a device for non-invasive, dynamic measurement of a person's chest activity. Furthermore, DE 10 2008 047 045 A1 deals with a method for determining the belt extension length. In addition, WO 2005 / 044 637 A1 describes a device for determining the occupant position in a vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary system for determining webbing extension length. Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the system from Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of the system of Fig. 1, which shows an example image of a vehicle occupant. Fig. 4 is a view of the image of Fig. 3, which indicates a measurement region. Fig. 5 is a view of the measurement region of Fig. 4, which shows the belt extension length. Fig. 6 is an exemplary process for determining a seat belt webbing extension length. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0002] Directly measuring seat belt webbing extension can provide superior and / or more cost-effective occupant classification and can enable adjustment of safety devices to accommodate the occupant. For example, a seat belt webbing can be marked with infrared ink indicating extension length measurements. An image sensor can read the infrared markings, which are essentially invisible to the occupant, to determine an absolute extension length and classify the occupant accordingly. The image sensor can capture an image of the occupant and seat belt webbing, determine an occupant centerline based on the occupant's shoulders and / or the position of the head and eyes, determine a measurement region based on the seat belt webbing and occupant centerline, and read the infrared markings within the measurement region to determine the extension length. The image sensor can be installed in the vehicle for other occupant status applications, such as:E.g. for occupant distraction, workload estimation, estimation of the occupant's physiological status and / or fatigue detection.

[0003] Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 in a vehicle 101 for determining seat belt webbing extension. The vehicle 101 includes image sensors 120 and infrared light sources 125. The image sensor 120 may be disposed in front of the occupant in and / or on the instrument panel 120a, or in and / or on the center console 120b, or in and / or on a vehicle pillar 120c, or another suitable location in the vehicle 101 for capturing an image of the occupant. The image sensor 120 is provided to capture visible light and / or infrared light. The image sensor 120 may be a 3D camera, e.g., a time-of-flight camera, capable of capturing an image and measuring the distance of the image from the camera.An image sensor 120 may alternatively or additionally be a stereo camera, a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor enhanced with infrared sensors for measuring the distance of the image from the camera, a charge-coupled device (CCD), etc. The image sensor 120 captures data, e.g., an image, of the occupant.

[0004] The infrared light sources 125 generate light onto, for example, an occupant of the vehicle 101. The infrared light enables the image sensors 120 to detect objects and markings that are only visible in infrared light. The infrared light sources 125 can, for example, be arranged in and / or mounted on a dashboard of the vehicle 101.

[0005] Fig. 2 is a block diagram of system 100. System 100 includes a controller 110 communicatively coupled to image sensors 120, infrared light sources 125, and a restraint system 130 via a communication bus 105. System 100 may further include a safety device 165 communicatively coupled to controller 110 via bus 105. In another example, restraint system 130 and safety device 165 may comprise a single device of known type that is adjusted by controller 110. For example, restraint system 130 and an airbag installed in a steering wheel may comprise a single safety device 165 that can be adjusted based on seat belt webbing extension.As described below, the airbag may receive instructions from the controller 110 to adjust the airbag deployment characteristics based on the extension of the webbing 135, and the restraint 130 may receive instructions to adjust, for example, the seatbelt position and / or extension rate.

[0006] The bus 105, e.g., one or more known mechanisms for network communication in the vehicle 101, e.g., a known Controller Area Network bus (CAN bus) or the like of a known type, may be used to provide various types of communication to the controller 110, including data from the image sensors 120.

[0007] The controller 110 may include an electronic data processing device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions such that the processor is programmed to determine a belt webbing extension. For example, the controller 110 may be programmed to receive information from the image sensor 120 to adjust the restraint device 130 according to the belt webbing extension. The controller 110 may be further programmed to determine a classification of an occupant of the vehicle 101 based on the belt webbing extension and the seat position. The seat position may be determined in a known manner using seat position sensors that detect the fore-and-aft position of the seat and seatback angle sensors that detect the angle of the seatback. The controller 110 may be further programmed to tune one or more vehicle subsystems according to the classification.For example, controller 110 may be programmed to generate and output control signals that command the vehicle subsystems to adjust one or more settings according to the assigned classification. An example of such a subsystem of a vehicle 101 may include, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU) of known type. The ECU may control the restraint system 130 and / or the safety device 165 and / or may be a component of controller 110.

[0008] The memory of controller 110 may be of any known type, such as hard disk drives, solid-state drives, servers, or any volatile or non-volatile media. The memory may store data sent over bus 105.

[0009] The restraint device 130 may, for example, be a seat belt with a webbing 135. The restraint device 130 may receive instructions from the controller 110 to make an adjustment based on the extension of the webbing 135, e.g., a extension rate of the webbing 135 and / or a position of the webbing 135 by adjusting a D-ring position, etc. The position of the webbing 135 may, for example, be the height of the webbing 135 in a vertical direction measured from a floor of the vehicle 101, a surface of a seat of the vehicle 101, etc., a position of the webbing 135 in a direction along a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, i.e., towards the front or rear of the vehicle 101, a position of the webbing 135 in a lateral direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and / or rotation of the webbing 135, e.g., B.the orientation of the D-ring, through which the belt webbing 135 can be wound in a known manner relative to the longitudinal, lateral, and / or vertical axis (possibly also referred to as X, Y, and Z axes, e.g., in a Cartesian coordinate system of known type). In one example, the controller 110 can send an instruction to the restraint device 130 to adjust the height of the belt webbing 135 based on the seat belt extension length. The restraint system 130 can further be adjusted based on an occupant classification, e.g., in terms of age, gender, weight, etc.

[0010] The safety device 165 may be, for example, an anti-submarining seat cushion and / or a seat pan with adjustable stiffness, a steering column with adjustable fracture stiffness, a knee bolster with adjustable stiffness for controlling occupant kinematics and for lower extremity protection in frontal collisions, and / or another bolster, another airbag, etc. The safety device 165 may include an airbag housed in a steering wheel. The airbag may receive instructions from the controller 110 to adjust the airbag deployment characteristics based on the extension and position of the belt webbing 135. The airbag deployment characteristics may be further adjusted based on the occupant classification.The controller 110 can send instructions to adjust the safety device 165 based on the occupant classification, where the occupant classification is based on the extension of the belt webbing 135 and the seating position. The response characteristics of the restraint system 130 and the safety device 165 can be adjusted to the classification, i.e., empty, a small adult, an average adult, or an obese adult, using known occupant protection system adjustment techniques, e.g., computer simulations, component, sled, and vehicle testing.

[0011] Fig. 3 illustrates an example image of an occupant of the vehicle 101 captured by the image sensor 120. Here, the image sensor 120 is located in the dashboard and captures an image of the occupant of the vehicle 101. The image may include the face, shoulders, and torso of the occupant of the vehicle 101, including the webbing 135 of the restraint system 130. The controller 110 may determine an extension length of the webbing 135 based on the image captured by the image sensor 120. Based on the extension length of the webbing 135 and the seating position, the controller 110 may classify the occupant of the vehicle 101 and adjust the restraint system 130 and / or the safety device 165. For example, the controller 110 may, e.g., B. in a known manner, adjust the seat belt height, ie, the D-ring position, and / or the webbing extension of the restraint system 130 based on the classification.

[0012] Fig. 4 illustrates the identification of an occupant centerline 140 and a measurement region 145 on the webbing 135. The measurement region 145 provides a measurement of the extension length of the webbing 135. The measurement region 145 may be located at an intersection of the centerline 140 and the webbing 135. The occupant centerline 140 is a vertical line passing substantially through a midpoint between outer edges of the occupant's shoulders and / or the occupant's eyes when the occupant is facing forward. The controller 110 may be programmed to identify the centerline 140 using known image processing techniques.

[0013] Fig. 5 illustrates the measurement region 145. The webbing 135 has two edges 150, which the controller 110 can be programmed to identify from the image using known techniques. Based on the edges 150 and the centerline 140, the controller 110 can determine a webbing centerline 155 using known techniques. The webbing centerline 155 is a horizontal line that intersects the centerline 140 at the midpoint between the edges 150 of the webbing 135, typically determined using known image processing techniques. The measurement region 145 is defined around this intersection of the centerline 140 and the webbing centerline 155. The measurement region 145 can, for example, be a square with two-inch sides, with the region 145 having a center at the intersection of the centerline 140 and the webbing centerline 155.

[0014] The webbing 135 may have markings 160 that indicate an extended length of the webbing 135. The markings 160 may be numbers, for example, written with ink that is only visible in infrared light. Using the infrared light from the infrared light sources 125, the image sensor 120 can capture the markings 160 written with ink into the image, while the occupant of the vehicle 101 does not see the markings 160. The controller 110 can determine the extended length of the webbing 135 by reading the marking 160 in the measurement region 145. The measurement region 145 can be selected such that only a single marking 160 is allowed, which indicates the extended length of the webbing 135. If there are multiple markings 160 within the measurement region 145, the controller 110 can, for example, For example, use an arithmetic mean of the 160 marks, a maximum of the 160 marks, a minimum of the 160 marks, etc. to determine the extension length.

[0015] Fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary process 200 for adjusting the restraint system 130 and / or the safety device 165 based on the extension of the webbing 135. The process 200 begins at a block 205, where the image sensor 120 captures an image of the occupant of the vehicle 101. The image includes both visible images and images displayed in infrared light from the infrared light sources 125.

[0016] Next, at a block 210, the controller 110 determines whether the occupant of the vehicle 101 is facing forward. The centerline 140 may be determined based on the occupant's face, and the face must be facing forward. The controller 110 determines whether the occupant is facing forward using known image processing techniques. If the occupant is facing forward, the process 200 continues at a block 215. Otherwise, the process 200 returns to block 205 to acquire another image.

[0017] At block 215, the controller 110 determines the centerline 140 based on the image of the occupant's face and shoulders. For example, the centerline 140 may be as shown in Fig. 4, the center line 140 may be the line substantially halfway between the occupant's shoulders. Center line 140 is typically determined using known image processing techniques.

[0018] Next, at a block 220, the controller 110 determines the webbing centerline 155. As described above, the webbing centerline 155 is typically determined using known image processing techniques based on the edges 150 of the webbing 135.

[0019] Next, at a block 225, the controller 110 determines the measurement region 145 at the intersection of the centerline 140 and the webbing centerline 155. The measurement region 145 is predetermined and may, for example, be a square with two-inch sides.

[0020] Next, at a block 230, the controller 110 reads the markings 160 in the measurement region 145 to determine the extended length of the webbing 135. The markings 160, visible by the infrared light from the infrared light sources 125, are detected by the image sensor 120 and identified by the controller 110.

[0021] Next, at a block 235, the controller 110 adjusts the safety device 165 and / or the restraint 130 based on the extension length of the webbing 135, and the process 200 ends. Based on the extension length and seating position, the occupant may be assigned a classification, such as empty, short adult, average adult, or obese adult. Based on the classification, the controller 110 may adjust the safety device 165 and / or the restraint 130 to accommodate the occupant's size.

Claims

[1] A system (100) comprising a computer including a processor and a memory, the memory storing computer-executable instructions for: Receiving an image including an occupant's head and a belt webbing (135) from an image sensor (120); Determining a centerline (140) of the occupant; Determining a measurement region (145) based on an intersection of the belt webbing (135) and the occupant's centerline (140); Determining a belt extension length based on the measurement region (145); and Adjusting a safety device (165) based at least in part on the extension length. [2] The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the webbing (135) includes markings (160) indicating the webbing extension length, the instructions further including instructions for determining the webbing extension length by reading the markings (160). [3] The system (100) of claim 2, wherein the markings (160) comprise infrared ink. [4] The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include instructions for determining a measurement region (145) defined by a pair of edges (150) of the webbing (135) and the centerline (140). [5] The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the webbing (135) includes markings (160) written in infrared ink indicating the webbing extension length, and the instructions further include instructions for determining the webbing extension length based on the marking (160) in the measurement region (145). [6] The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the instructions for adjusting the safety device (165) include instructions for adjusting a webbing extension rate based on the webbing extension length. [7] The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the centerline (140) is defined by a face of the occupant. [8] The system (100) of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include instructions for classifying the occupant into a classification based on the belt webbing extension length and for adjusting the safety device (165) based on the classification. [9] The system (100) of claim 8, wherein the classification includes empty and / or small adult and / or average adult and / or obese adult. [10] Procedure comprising: Receiving an image including an occupant's head and a belt webbing (135) from an image sensor (120); Determining a centerline (140) of the occupant; Determining a measurement region (145) based on an intersection of the belt webbing (135) and the occupant's centerline (140); Determining a belt extension length based on the measurement region (145); and Adjusting a safety device (165) based at least in part on the webbing extension length. [11] The method of claim 10, wherein the webbing (135) includes markings (160) indicating the webbing extension length, the method further comprising determining the webbing extension length by reading the markings (160). [12] The method of claim 11, wherein the markings (160) are written in infrared ink. [13] The method of claim 10, further comprising determining a measurement region (145) defined by a pair of edges (150) of the webbing (135) and the centerline (140). [14] The method of claim 10, wherein the webbing (135) includes markings (160) written in infrared ink indicating the webbing extension length, and further comprising determining the webbing extension length based on the marking (160) in the measurement region (145). [15] The method of claim 10, further comprising adjusting a webbing extension rate based on the webbing extension length. [16] The method of claim 10, wherein the centerline (140) is defined by a face of the occupant. [17] The method of claim 10, further comprising classifying the occupant into a classification based on the belt webbing extension length and adjusting the safety device (165) based on the classification. [18] The method of claim 17, wherein the classification includes empty and / or small adult and / or average adult and / or obese adult.

Images