Safety device for a vehicle

Abstract

Safety device (2) for a vehicle (1) having several vehicle seats (3_1...5_3) arranged in at least two rows (3,4,5) in an interior space, with several sensor modules (10,11,12) which are arranged / can be arranged in the interior space of the vehicle (1) to detect whether the vehicle seats (3_1...5_3) are occupied, wherein each row of seats (3,4,5) is assigned at least one non-contact sensor module (10,11,12), wherein the sensor modules (10,11,12) are arranged on an interior wall of the vehicle (1) facing the interior in order to detect the occupancy of the vehicle seats (3_1...5_3), characterized by the fact that at least one of the vehicle seats (3_1) is assigned a movement device (16) which is designed to move the vehicle seat (3_1) into a protective position when a threatened or actual collision of the vehicle (1) with an object is detected (page 5, lines 26 to 30) depending on the detected seat occupancy (original A6).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a safety device for a vehicle having a plurality of vehicle seats arranged in at least two rows of seats in an interior, with a plurality of sensor modules which are arranged / can be arranged in the interior of the vehicle to detect seat occupancy of the vehicle seats. State of the art

[0002] The provision of safety devices in vehicles to increase the protection of vehicle occupants or pedestrians is widespread. Systems for detecting pedestrian accidents are known that have two or more acceleration sensors and / or comprise a pressure hose-based system. These systems are then arranged, for example, in a vehicle bumper to detect the collision of the vehicle with an object in the vehicle's surroundings. To detect collisions on a vehicle's longitudinal side, pressure or acceleration sensors are used today. These are arranged on the B, C, or D pillar of the vehicle, in particular as an acceleration sensor, or in the vehicle door, in particular as a pressure sensor. To detect collisions with objects in the front area, acceleration sensors are used today. These are located, for example, in the central control unit and / or along a flexible cross member of the vehicle.The signals emitted by the sensors are further processed by algorithms of a control unit, in particular an airbag control unit, in order to decide on the triggering of the vehicle's restraint devices, such as airbag devices, belt tensioners or the like.

[0003] Furthermore, it is known to implement occupant detection, for which sensor modules are usually installed in the vehicle seats. These detect seat occupancy, for example, using mass estimation. Belt closure sensors also detect whether a vehicle occupant is belted or unbelted while driving. The goal of occupant detection is the targeted or selective activation of the vehicle's restraint systems in the event of an accident, so that the vehicle occupants are optimally protected. For example, a passenger airbag should not be deployed if a small child is sitting in a seat shell on the front passenger seat of the vehicle. However, this requires reliable detection of the small child in the front passenger seat.

[0004] A safety device with a plurality of load sensors, each arranged in the vehicle seat, is already known from published patent application DE 103 45 558 A1. Patent application DE 10 2008 044 903 B4 also discloses a safety device in which sensor modules are arranged in the vehicle seat to detect seat occupancy.

[0005] DE 10 2015 010 282 A1 discloses a seat occupancy detection system in a vehicle that uses an image capture unit. Detection of the occupancy status of a seat using an image capture device is also known from DE 102 38 222 A1. DE 40 23 109 A1 discloses a method for detecting seat position, in which sensors are arranged on, among other things, the dashboard, the sun visor, the rearview mirror, the roof surface, and / or the steering wheel to detect head movement and the respective (seat) position. Disclosure of the invention

[0006] The safety device according to the invention with the features of claim 1 has the advantage that occupancy of all vehicle seats is reliably ensured in a simple manner. In particular, the safety device according to the invention enables cost-effective detection of seat occupancy compared to known safety devices. According to the invention, at least one contactless sensor module is assigned to each row of seats, wherein the sensor modules are arranged on an inner wall of the vehicle facing the interior in order to detect the occupancy of the vehicle seats. Seat occupancy is thus determined without contact, so that expensive sensors in the vehicle seats themselves can be dispensed with. The contactless detection of seat occupancy also makes it possible to determine the type of seat occupancy, for example by image analysis.In particular, contactless seat occupancy detection can determine whether a person sitting in a vehicle seat is a small child or an adult. The vehicle's restraint systems or safety equipment can then be optimally controlled accordingly to ensure the best possible protection for the vehicle occupants.

[0007] According to a preferred development of the invention, each row of seats is assigned at least two sensor modules, which are arranged on opposite interior walls of the vehicle. This allows each row of seats to be detected from two sides in order to determine the occupancy of the vehicle seats. This enables, in particular, three-dimensional detection of the seat row occupancy, which also simplifies the determination of the type of seat occupancy. The interior walls on which the sensor modules are arranged are formed, in particular, by the side walls, the A-, D-, C-, or D-pillars, and / or the doors of the vehicle.

[0008] Preferably, the sensor modules each have at least one radar, laser, ultrasonic, or camera sensor. The sensor modules can also be equipped with different sensors, so that one sensor module, for example, has a radar sensor and another sensor module, which is particularly assigned to the same row of seats, has a laser or camera sensor. Using these sensors, seat occupancy detection is possible in a cost-effective manner. The requirements for the respective sensors are, for example, not as high as those for sensors used to detect the surroundings of the motor vehicle, such as in systems for distance warning to objects driving ahead. This means that more cost-effective radar, laser, or camera sensors can also be used to monitor the interior. These sensors require less installation space and can therefore be easily integrated into the respective sensor module.

[0009] It is particularly preferred that the sensor modules be designed as airbag sensor modules or are each integrated into an airbag device. The sensor modules thus also have, in particular, means for detecting an impact or collision with an object in the vehicle's surroundings. As already mentioned at the beginning, such airbag sensor modules are now used in vehicles anyway. By further developing the sensor modules, as described above, using cost-effective radar, laser, ultrasonic, or camera sensors to monitor the vehicle's interior, the airbag sensor modules can be inexpensively expanded to include the desired function. Since the sensor modules do not require any special installation space, they can also be easily integrated into the existing airbag sensor modules. It is important that the sensor modules face the vehicle's interior in order to be able to detect it.This means that the sensor of the sensor module for seat occupancy detection faces the interior, while the sensor of the airbag sensor module for collision monitoring is specifically assigned to the outer wall of the vehicle.

[0010] Furthermore, it is preferably provided that the sensor modules each have at least one impact sensor, in particular an acceleration sensor or pressure sensor, as a means for detecting collisions. Thus, each sensor module has an impact sensor and a sensor for determining seat occupancy. By providing the sensor and the impact sensor, the sensor module is thus expanded to include an airbag sensor module.

[0011] Furthermore, it is preferably provided that at least one of the vehicle seats is assigned a movement device that is designed to move the vehicle seat into a protective position upon detection of an impact with an object, depending on the detected seat occupancy. Even though autonomous vehicles are not yet approved or available on the market, current developments indicate that autonomous vehicles will be offered and driven on the roads in the future. These have the advantage that the occupant, previously responsible for the driver, no longer has to perform a monitoring function and can therefore, for example, turn away from the dashboard for extended periods.This requires vehicle manufacturers to meet new needs, such as the variable orientation of vehicle seats, for example, allowing the driver's seat to be rotated 180°, allowing the driver to communicate more easily with other vehicle occupants. However, this variability has the disadvantage that existing restraint systems cannot simply be reused. In particular, airbag systems integrated into the vehicle wall must then be able to adapt to the driver's new seating position, or a sufficient number of airbag systems would have to be provided to provide optimal safety for the occupants in the event of a collision, regardless of the vehicle seat's position.The advantageous movement device provides for the movement of the vehicle seat itself in order to relocate the person in the vehicle seat to an optimal or optimized position for the activation of the restraint system in the event of a collision. This allows, for example, a person in the vehicle seat to be moved before the collision into a position in which the restraint system can optimally act on the person. This is particularly advantageous if the vehicle's environmental sensors can predict a collision with an object in the surrounding area.

[0012] Furthermore, it is preferably provided that at least one additional sensor module is arranged on a roof lining or on a center tunnel of the vehicle, facing the interior. The additional sensor module improves the monitoring of the interior and, in particular, increases the accuracy of person detection.

[0013] Furthermore, it is preferably provided that at least one control unit is provided that is specifically designed to evaluate the data provided by the sensor modules to determine seat occupancy and to control the movement device based on the evaluation. The control unit thus determines the seat occupancy based on the data provided by the sensor modules and, in the event of an impending or occurring collision, controls the restraint devices and, in particular, the movement device based on the evaluation, as already described above.

[0014] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. The only Figure a vehicle with an advantageous safety device in a simplified plan view.

[0015] The figure shows a simplified plan view of a vehicle 1 having an advantageous safety device 2. The vehicle 1 is designed as a motor vehicle having three rows of seats 3, 4, 5, wherein the first row of seats 3, which is at the front when driving forward, has two vehicle seats 3_1 and 3_2, and the rows of seats 4 and 5 located behind it each have three vehicle seats 4_1 to 4_3 and 5_1 to 5_3, respectively. The outer vehicle seats 3_1, 3_3, 4_1, 4_3 and 5_1 and 5_3 are each assigned airbag devices 6, which can be triggered in the event of a collision of the motor vehicle in order to protect the vehicle occupants from injury. The arrangement and position of the airbag devices 6 are shown merely by way of example in the figure. However, the airbag devices 6 are expediently arranged in each side wall of the vehicle 1 in order to protect the occupants as side airbags.

[0016] The safety device 2 advantageously has further restraint means for protecting the vehicle occupants, such as belt tensioners, in particular also on the middle seats 4_2 and 5_2, which further increase the protection for the vehicle occupants.

[0017] The safety device 2 further comprises impact sensors 7 or collision sensors, which are arranged, for example, on a longitudinal side of the vehicle or in the bumper of the vehicle 1 in order to detect a collision of the vehicle 1 with an object in the surroundings. For this purpose, the impact sensors 7 are assigned to the exterior of the vehicle 1. The impact sensors 7 can be acceleration sensors, which are arranged in particular in the B-, C-, or D-pillar of the vehicle, or pressure sensors, which are arranged in one or more vehicle doors of the vehicle 1. The impact sensors 7 integrated in the bumpers 7 are designed in particular as acceleration sensors or pressure hose-based sensors, which detect a collision with pedestrians.

[0018] Furthermore, the safety device 1 has an environment sensor system 8, which in particular optically detects the environment of the motor vehicle in order to detect impending collisions before the collision occurs.

[0019] A control unit 9 evaluates the data of the impact sensors 7 and the environment sensors 8 in order to decide on the triggering of the restraint devices located in the vehicle 1, in particular the airbag devices 6 and the aforementioned belt tensioners.

[0020] The safety device 2 further comprises a plurality of sensor modules 10, 11, and 12, of which the sensor modules 10 and 11 are arranged on an interior wall of the vehicle 1 facing the interior of the vehicle 1. The sensor module 10 is assigned to seat row 4, and the sensor module 11 is assigned to seat row 5. The additional sensor module 12 is arranged on the roof lining centrally in the front area of ​​the interior and is oriented toward the front seat row 3.

[0021] Each sensor module 10, 11, 12 has a non-contact sensor 13, 14, or 15, which is designed in particular as a radar sensor, ultrasonic sensor, camera sensor, or laser sensor and scans the interior of the vehicle 1. The sensors 13 and 14 are each arranged with one of the sensors 7 in a common housing and together with these form the respective sensor module 11 or 10. The sensor 15 is optionally arranged in a housing together with a camera module of the environment sensor system 8 and can therefore also represent an integrated sensor. The sensor modules 10 and 11 represent, in particular, airbag sensor modules that are expanded to include the function of the additional sensor 13 or 14.

[0022] The sensor modules 10, 11, 12 are thus used, on the one hand, for collision monitoring, and, on the other hand, for monitoring the interior and, in particular, for detecting the seat occupancy of the vehicle seat rows 3, 4, and 5. The number, position, and location of the vehicle occupants in the interior of the vehicle 1 are determined by means of the respective sensors 13, 14, and 15. The sensors mentioned here are not fully-fledged radar, ultrasonic, laser, or camera sensors, such as those used for vehicle-to-vehicle distance control, but rather scaled-down versions of these sensors that are suitable for integration into the peripheral airbag sensor modules 10, 11, 12. The sensors require only a small sensor range of a few meters, since they only have to detect the interior of the vehicle, and can therefore be dimensioned accordingly small.The occupant detection is preferably carried out two- or three-dimensionally by means of the sensor modules 10, 11 and 12. From the occupant detection or the detection of the seat occupancy, in a second step the control unit 9 determines the current position of the occupants and their location.

[0023] This offers the advantage that seat occupancy can be carried out even more reliably and precisely than before. Restraint devices of vehicle 1, such as airbags or belt tensioners, can be triggered even more precisely, thereby increasing road safety for the occupants of vehicle 1.

[0024] If the vehicle 1 is also designed as an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, i.e., one that can, for example, travel a predetermined distance autonomously or semi-autonomously, at least one of the vehicle seats 3_1 to 5_3 has a movement device 16, shown in the figure as an example for the driver's seat, which can adjust the driver's seat from a driver's position to a passenger position rotated by 180°. Preferably, the movement device 16 can be controlled by the control unit 9 in order to quickly move the driver's seat 3_1, in the event of an impending collision, into a position in which the person in the driver's seat is protected as well as possible. Precise knowledge of the position and location at the time of travel is therefore of great advantage. The advantageous safety device 2 allows the position to be detected and, if necessary, adjusted in a timely manner using the movement device 16.By means of the safety device 2, it is also possible, for example, to check the plausibility of an occupant detection device optionally installed in the vehicle 1, which, for example, has occupancy sensors in the vehicle seats.

[0025] With the aid of the advantageous safety system 2, it is also possible to determine the position and location of the vehicle occupants before, during, and after an accident. This makes it easy to reconstruct the course of an accident, for example, to determine why certain occupants sustained certain injuries. Furthermore, using the safety device 2, it is possible to determine the location and position of the vehicle occupants after an accident, for example, if the last position and location of the occupants before a crash was stored. This is particularly advantageous if the occupants are trapped in the vehicle and must be freed from the vehicle by emergency services.The safety device 2, in particular the control unit 9, advantageously has a radio interface, in particular in the form of a vehicle-to-X communication interface, via which rescue workers can read the stored information about the location and position of the occupants. Furthermore, it is conceivable to transmit the forces acting on the occupants during the accident to the rescue workers via the communication interface, so that an assessment of the occupants' injuries can be carried out while approaching the accident site and, if necessary, any necessary treatment measures can be prepared.

[0026] Furthermore, the use of the security device 2 in government vehicles is also conceivable in order to monitor the location and position of persons in custody, in particular, during transport. With the help of intelligent algorithms, possible escape attempts by the persons can be proactively detected and prevented. While in the present exemplary embodiment the sensor modules 10, 11 are arranged on only one side wall of the vehicle 1, according to a further exemplary embodiment it is provided that corresponding sensor modules are also arranged on the opposite side wall of the vehicle facing the interior in order to detect the respective seat rows 4 and 5 from the other side as well, whereby the seat occupancy can be determined even more precisely. It is also possible to cover vehicle areas that were previously not covered by an existing occupant detection system.It is also conceivable to arrange another sensor module on the center tunnel of the vehicle, for example between rows 3 and 4 or 4 and 5, whose non-contact sensor is directed upwards in order to determine or verify seat occupancy.

Claims

[1] Safety device (2) for a vehicle (1) having a plurality of vehicle seats (3_1...5_3) arranged in at least two rows of seats (3, 4, 5) in an interior, with a plurality of sensor modules (10, 11, 12) which are arranged / can be arranged in the interior of the vehicle (1) for detecting seat occupancy of the vehicle seats (3_1...5_3), wherein each row of seats (3, 4, 5) is assigned at least one contact-free sensor module (10, 11, 12), wherein the sensor modules (10, 11, 12) are arranged on an inner wall of the vehicle (1) facing the interior in order to detect the seat occupancy of the vehicle seats (3_1...5_3), characterized by , that at least one of the vehicle seats (3_1) is assigned a movement device (16) which is designed to move the vehicle seat (3_1) into a protective position upon detection of an impending or occurring (page 5, lines 26 to 30) collision of the vehicle (1) with an object depending on the detected seat occupancy (original A6). [2] Safety device according to claim 1, characterized by that each row of seats (3,4,5) is assigned at least two sensor modules (10,11,12) which are arranged on opposite inner walls of the vehicle (1). [3] Safety device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the sensor modules (10,11,12) each have at least one radar, laser, ultrasonic or camera sensor (13,14,15). [4] Safety device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the sensor modules (10,11,12) are designed as airbag sensor modules or are each integrated into an airbag device. [5] Safety device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the sensor modules (10, 11, 12) each have at least one impact sensor (7), in particular an acceleration sensor or pressure sensor. [6] Safety device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one further sensor module (12) is arranged on a roof liner or on a center tunnel of the vehicle (1) facing the interior. [7] Safety device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by at least one control unit (9) which is specially designed to evaluate the data provided by the sensor modules (10, 11, 12) to determine the seat occupancy and to control restraint means and / or the movement device (16) depending on the evaluation.

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