System and method for determining a sampling rate of occupancy data for a motor vehicle

Abstract

Method (100) for a motor vehicle (10), comprising: Determining (120) a speed (74) of the motor vehicle (10); Detecting (130) whether an interrupt condition (36) exists; characterized in that the method (100) is used to determine a sampling rate (S1, S2, S3) of occupancy data (22) and that the method (100) comprises: if the speed (74) is within a first speed range (R1) (140) and no interrupt condition (36) is detected (135), then selecting (170) a first sampling rate (S1) for sampling the occupancy data (22); and if the speed (74) is within a second speed range (R2) (160) which is higher than the first speed range (R1), and / or if the interrupt condition (36) is detected (135), then selecting (190) a second sampling rate (S2) for sampling the occupancy data (22), wherein the second sampling rate (S2) is faster than the first sampling rate (S1).

Description

Technical FieldThis disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for determining a sampling rate for sampling occupancy data for a motor vehicle.IntroductionSafety systems in motor vehicles may collect data about vehicle occupants (including the driver) as well as selected data about the vehicle itself relative to other vehicles or obstacles in the vicinity. This data can be used for various safety-relevant calculations on board the vehicle, e.g. for assessing the vigor of the driver, etc. However, the collection of such data and the execution of the calculations mentioned can mean an undesired calculation load for the components involved.DE 103 40 839 A1 describes an occupant detection system which determines the state of seat occupancy according to the occupancy of a vehicle seat and the size of the occupant, i.e. whether child or adult. The determined seat occupancy condition is supplied to an airbag ECU as seat occupancy condition data used for airbag deployment. The system detects a speed of the vehicle and compares it to a certain speed threshold. When the speed is equal to or lower than the threshold value, the seat occupancy condition is detected, and the detected or determined condition is stored in a storage area as seat occupancy condition data. When the speed is above the threshold value, the stored seat occupancy condition data is supplied to the airbag ECU.DE 10 2017 201 965 A1 describes a method for detecting a seat occupancy of seats in a motor vehicle. The method has at least the following steps: a) creating a checking sequence of the seats at least using a probability of occupancy of the seats, and b) sequentially checking the occupancy of the seats with the checking sequence created in step a).EP 0 881 132 A1 describes a method and a device for detecting seat occupancy in a motor vehicle, in which a seat occupancy sensor is triggered for a time interval only in predefined situations.WO 2015 / 118 127 A1 describes a method for generating a signal which represents an occupancy of a vehicle seat of a vehicle, having the steps: - detecting a signal of a sensor system for detecting a dynamic characteristic variable with respect to the vehicle seat; - evaluating the signal, in particular a profile of the signal; generating a seat occupancy signal depending on the evaluation of the signal, wherein the seat occupancy signal is suitable for indicating whether the vehicle seat is occupied by a person or an object.DE 102 41 993 B3 describes a device and a method for detecting an object or a person in the interior of a vehicle. In this case, an evaluation unit of the device brings about the fact that the device for detecting an object or a person in the interior of a vehicle, comprising an image detection unit and an evaluation unit for the image data transmitted by the image detection unit, is operated in a first operating mode when an acceleration threshold value is undershot as detected by the evaluation unit and in a second operating mode when the acceleration threshold value is exceeded as detected by the evaluation unit.DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONThe invention is defined by the claims.According to the invention, a method for determining a sampling rate of occupancy data for a motor vehicle comprises determining a speed of the motor vehicle and detecting whether an interruption condition exists. If the speed is within a first speed range and no interrupt condition is detected, a first sampling rate is selected for sampling the occupancy data. Alternatively, if the speed is within a second speed range that is higher than the first speed range, and / or if the interrupt condition is detected, a second sampling rate is selected for sampling the occupancy data, wherein the second sampling rate is faster than the first sampling rate.In this method, the occupancy data may include one or more of the following: a presence of a passenger in the motor vehicle, a location of the passenger in the motor vehicle, a weight of the passenger in the motor vehicle, a presence of a connected device indicating the presence of the passenger in the motor vehicle, an extension of the passenger in the motor vehicle, and a proximity of the passenger to a point of interest in the motor vehicle. Additionally, the interrupt condition may include one or more of the following conditions: a gear selection status change indicator, a sensor display for changing passenger weight, a door opening indicator, a seatbelt unbuckling indicator, a vehicle approach indicator, a collision warning indicator, a strong braking indicator, a strong acceleration indicator, a strong cornering indicator, a strong steering indicator, a lane keeping assist warning indicator, a lane changing indicator, a sudden course changing indicator, a driver biometric sensing indicator, and a distraction element warning.The first sampling rate and the second sampling rate may be the respective rate at which a controller onboard the motor vehicle samples occupancy data from one or more sensors onboard the motor vehicle. The method may further comprise sampling the occupancy data at the selected first sampling rate or second sampling rate and may even comprise repeating the steps of determining, identifying, selecting and sampling for a plurality of cycles.The method may further include selecting a third sampling rate for sampling the occupancy data if the speed is within a third speed range that is higher than the first speed range and lower than the second speed range. In this arrangement, the third sampling rate may be faster than the first sampling rate and slower than the second sampling rate. This arrangement may further comprise sampling the occupancy data at the selected first, second or third sampling rate, and may even comprise repeating the steps of determining, detecting, selecting and sampling for a plurality of cycles.A primary electronic control unit (ECU) may be configured to sample the occupancy data. The method may further include transmitting a portion of a computational requirement of the primary ECU associated with the sampling to one or more secondary ECUs configured to sample the occupancy data when the second sampling rate is selected for sampling the occupancy data and the computational requirement of the primary ECU exceeds a predetermined threshold.According to another embodiment, a method for determining a sampling rate of occupancy data for a motor vehicle comprises: (i) determining a speed of the motor vehicle; (ii) detecting whether an interruption condition exists; (iii) if the speed is within a low speed range and no interruption condition is detected, then selecting a low sampling rate for sampling the occupancy data; (iv) if the speed is within a medium speed range that is higher than the low speed range and no interruption condition is detected, then selecting a medium sampling rate for sampling the occupancy data, wherein the medium sampling rate is faster than the low sampling rate; (v) if the speed is within a high speed range that is higher than the medium speed range, and / or if the interrupt condition is detected, then selecting a high sampling rate for sampling the occupancy data, wherein the high sampling rate is faster than the medium sampling rate; (vi) sampling the occupancy data at the selected low, medium or high sampling rate; and (vii) repeating the steps of determining, detecting, selecting and sampling for a plurality of cycles.In this embodiment, the occupancy data may include one or more of the following: a presence of a passenger in the motor vehicle, a location of the passenger in the motor vehicle, a weight of the passenger in the motor vehicle, a presence of a connected device indicating the presence of the passenger in the motor vehicle, an extension of the passenger in the motor vehicle, and a proximity of the passenger to a point of interest in the motor vehicle. Additionally, the interrupt condition may include one or more of the following conditions: a gear selection status change indicator, a sensor display for changing passenger weight, a door opening indicator, a seatbelt unbuckling indicator, a vehicle approach indicator, a collision warning indicator, a strong braking indicator, a strong acceleration indicator, a strong cornering indicator, a strong steering indicator, a lane keeping assist warning indicator, a lane changing indicator, a sudden course changing indicator, a driver biometric sensing indicator, and a distraction element warning.The low, medium, and high sampling rates may be respective rates at which a controller onboard the motor vehicle samples occupancy data from one or more sensors onboard the motor vehicle. A primary ECU may be configured to sample the occupancy data, and the method may further comprise transmitting a portion of a computational requirement of the primary ECU associated with the sampling to one or more secondary ECUs configured to sample the occupancy data when the high sampling rate is selected for sampling the occupancy data and the computational requirement exceeds a predetermined threshold.According to yet another embodiment, a system for determining a sampling rate of occupancy data for a motor vehicle comprises: (i) a speed determination module configured to determine a speed of the motor vehicle; (ii) an interrupt condition detection module configured to detect whether an interrupt condition exists and set an interrupt condition flag when the interrupt condition is detected; (iii) a primary sampling module configured to sample the occupancy data at a first sampling rate and at a second sampling rate faster than the first sampling rate; and (iv) a workload control module configured to receive the speed from the speed determination module and the interrupt condition flag from the interrupt condition detection module. The workload control module is further configured to cause the primary sampling module to sample the occupancy data at the first sampling rate when the speed is within a first speed range and no interrupt condition flag is set, and cause the primary sampling module to sample the occupancy data at the second sampling rate when the speed is within a second speed range that is higher than the first speed range and / or when the interrupt condition flag is set.In this system, the occupancy data may include one or more of the following: a presence of a passenger in the motor vehicle, a location of the passenger in the motor vehicle, a weight of the passenger in the motor vehicle, a presence of a connected device indicating the presence of the passenger in the motor vehicle, an extension of the passenger in the motor vehicle, and a proximity of the passenger to a point of interest in the motor vehicle. Additionally, the interrupt condition may include one or more of the following conditions: a gear selection status change indicator, a sensor display for changing passenger weight, a door opening indicator, a seatbelt unbuckling indicator, a vehicle approach indicator, a collision warning indicator, a strong braking indicator, a strong acceleration indicator, a strong cornering indicator, a strong steering indicator, a lane keeping assist warning indicator, a lane changing indicator, a sudden course changing indicator, a driver biometric sensing indicator, and a distraction element warning.The first sampling rate and the second sampling rate may be the respective rate at which the primary sampling module samples occupancy data from one or more sensors onboard the motor vehicle. The system may further comprise one or more secondary sampling modules configured to sample the occupancy data, wherein the workload control module may be further configured to cause a portion of a computational requirement of the primary sampling module associated with the sampling to be transmitted to the one or more secondary sampling modules when the second sampling rate is selected for sampling the occupancy data and the computational requirement exceeds a predetermined threshold.The above features and advantages, as well as other features and advantages of the present teachings, will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of some of the best modes and other embodiments for carrying out the present teachings as defined in the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.Brief Description of the DrawingsFIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of the method of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing various kinds of occupancy data. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of the method of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing various kinds of interrupt conditions. FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of a motor vehicle showing various sensors and points of interest associated with the vehicle and system of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the system of the present disclosure.Detailed DescriptionReferring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, a system 20 and method 100 for determining a sampling rate of occupancy data 22 for a motor vehicle 10 is shown and described herein.FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the method 100, while FIG. 5 shows a schematic top view of a representative motor vehicle 10 having various sensors 16 and points of interest 13 associated with the vehicle 10 and the system 20, and FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the system 20 and its various components.In FIG. 5, the vehicle 10 is shown to have an interior 12 (also referred to as a passenger compartment) and an exterior 14 that surrounds the vehicle 10 externally. The vehicle 10 is also shown as having three separate seats 17, i.e., two front seats each configured for one passenger 18 and a single rear seat bank 17 configured for three passengers 18. (Note that each of the passengers 18 is shown as a dotted circle, which may also represent the "seat surface" on which a passenger 18 may sit. Further, it should be noted that the term "passenger" as used herein may also include the driver of the vehicle 10). Each of the seats 17 includes one or more sensors 16 or intermediary devices for sensing various occupancy data 22, such as the presence 24 (or absence) of one or more passengers 18 on the seats 17.Additional sensors 16 may be located at one or more points 13 of interest within the interior / cabin 12, e.g., on the steering wheel, dashboard, rearview mirror, side mirrors, front, rear, and sides of the interior, brake pedal, accelerator pedal, etc. The sensors 16 may also be located on the exterior of the vehicle 10 to detect or detect various occupancy data 22 (e.g., the spatial position of one or more passengers 18 in the interior cabin 12) and / or various exterior environmental data (e.g., the vicinity of nearby vehicles). Each sensor 16 configured to acquire occupancy data 22 may be physically located at a point of interest 13 within the interior cabin 12, or the sensor 16 may be physically located at a different location than a point of interest 13, but may be arranged and oriented to acquire occupancy data 22 at one or more points of interest 13.FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment of the method 100 according to the present disclosure. The method 100 begins with block 110 (e.g., a "START" block) and continues with the next block. In block 120, a speed 74 of the vehicle 10 is determined. In block 130, a determination or inquiry is made as to whether an interruption condition 36 exists, which can be detected by one or more of the sensors 16. An interrupt condition 36 is understood here to mean any predetermined type of condition which interrupts the "normal" direction of the process flow and causes the process flow to be redirected in another direction. For example, at block 135, a query is made as to whether an interrupt condition 36 has been detected; if not, the process flow follows the "N" branch (no), but if an interrupt condition 36 has been detected, the process flow is redirected to follow the "Y" branch (yes) to block 190.If no interrupt condition 36 is detected, the process flow continues to block 140 where it is detected or queried whether the vehicle speed 74 is within a first or "low" speed range S 1. If the vehicle speed 74 is within the first / low speed range S 1 the process flow along the "Y" branch of block 140 continues to block 170 where a first or "low" sampling rate R 1 is selected for sampling the occupancy data 22. If the vehicle speed 74 is not within the first / low speed range S 1, then the process flow proceeds along the "N" branch from block 140 to block 160.At block 160, a determination or inquiry is made as to whether the vehicle speed 74 is within a second or "high" speed range S 2 that is higher than the first / low speed range S 1. If the vehicle speed 74 is within the second / high speed range S 2 then the process flow proceeds along the "Y" branch from block 160 to block 190 where a second sampling rate R 2 is selected for sampling the occupancy data 22, the second sampling rate R 2 being faster than the first sampling rate R 1.The respective ranges of the first and second speed ranges R 1, R 2 can be selected arbitrarily. For example, the first / low speed range R 1 may be a vehicle speed 74 of 0 mph (miles per hour) to 39,999 mph, and the second / high speed range R 2 may be a vehicle speed 74 of 40 mph or more. (Note that in this type of example, where the second / high speed range R 2 is immediately above the first / low range R 1 the block 160 may be omitted. This is because any forward speed 74 of the vehicle that is outside the exemplary range of 0 to 39,999 mph of the first / low speed range R 1 would automatically be within the second / high speed range R 2 of 40 mph or higher). Similarly, the first and second sampling rates S 1, S 2 may be arbitrarily chosen. For example, the first / low sampling rate S 1 can take place once every five seconds and the second / high sampling rate S 2 can take place once every 20 milliseconds.FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of various types of occupancy data 22. this data 22 relates to one or more occupants or passengers 18 within the vehicle 10, including the driver of the vehicle 10; the occupancy data 22 may include one or more of the following: (i) the presence 24 (or absence) of one or more passengers 18 within the vehicle 10 (e.g., on each seat); (ii) the exact spatial position of each passenger 18 within the vehicle 10 (relative to an arbitrarily selected frame of reference within the vehicle 10); (iii) the weight 28 of each passenger 18 within the vehicle 10; (iv) the presence 29 of one or more connected devices 19 (e.g., cell phones, smart watches, etc.) indicating the presence 24 of a passenger 18 in the vehicle 10; (v) the extent 30 (e.g., side-to-side width, front-to-rear depth, height, and / or other dimensional, geometric, or volumetric dimensions) of each passenger 18 within the vehicle 10; (vi) the proximity 32 (e.g., near or far) of each passenger 18 to one or more points of interest 13 within the vehicle 10; and (vii) all other passenger / occupancy data 34 (e.g., heartbeat / heart rate of each passenger, infrared signature, face detection points, etc.).FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of various types of interrupt conditions 36. the interrupt condition 36 may include one or more of the following: a gear selection status change indicator 38, a passenger weight change sensor indicator 40, a door open indicator 42, a buckle indicator 44, a vehicle approach indicator 46, a collision warning indicator 48, a strong braking indicator 50, a strong acceleration indicator 52, a strong cornering indicator 54, a strong steering indicator 56, a lane keeping assist warning indicator 58, a lane change indicator 60, a sudden course change indicator 62, a driver biometric data capture indicator 64, These interrupt conditions 36 or indicators may be audible (e.g., bell tones, beeps, etc., generated by a piezo transducer or audible via the vehicle speakers), visual (e.g., lights or icons appearing on a screen or instrument panel), and / or vibration warnings. Additionally or alternatively, the interrupt conditions or indicators may be flags set or switched in memory or registers and / or triggers or state changes of mechanical elements that are mechanically set or triggered.Referring again to FIG. 1, the method 100 may further include sampling the occupancy data 22 at the selected first sampling rate S 1 or second sampling rate S 2. For example, if the vehicle speed 74 is within the first / low speed range R 1 then in block 170 the first / low sampling rate S 1 is selected and in block 175 the occupancy data 22 may be sampled at the first / low sampling rate S 1 for example by using one or more sensors 16. If the vehicle speed 74 is within the second / high speed range R 2 and / or an interruption condition 36 has been detected, in block 190 the second / high sampling rate S 2 is selected and in block 195 the occupancy data 22 may be sampled at the second / high sampling rate S 2.The method 100 may further include repeating the determining step (block 120), the detecting step (block 130), the selecting steps (blocks 170 and 190), and the sampling steps (blocks 175 and 195) along with the steps in the blocks 135, 140, and 160 for a plurality of cycles. This is illustrated by the horizontal flow lines running to the right from blocks 175 and 195, each of which flows directly or indirectly vertically upward to block 220, which is an optional step of waiting or delaying for a predetermined dwell time, and then flows horizontally to the left back to block 120, whereupon the process flow cycle may be repeated.The first and second sampling rates R 1, R 2 may be the respective rates at which a controller onboard the vehicle 10 samples the occupancy data 22 from one or more sensors 16 onboard the vehicle 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the controller may be a primary electronic control unit (ECU) 70 configured to sample occupancy data 22. The method 100 may further include transmitting a portion of the computational requirement of the primary ECU 70 associated with the sampling to one or more secondary ECUs 82 configured to sample the occupancy data 22 when the second / high sampling rate R 2 is selected for sampling the occupancy data 22 and when the computational requirement of the primary ECU 70 exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 90% of the maximum computational capacity of the primary ECU). This is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, where a detection or interrogation is carried out in block 200 as to whether the use of the primary ECU has exceeded the predefined threshold value. If the threshold has been exceeded, the process flow along the "Y" branch leads to block 210 where a portion of the primary ECU's computational demand is transferred to one or more secondary ECUs 82. If, however, the threshold has not been exceeded, the process flow leads via the "N" branch to optional block 220.The method 100 may further include selecting a third sampling rate S 3 for sampling the occupancy data 22 when the speed 74 is within a third or "medium" speed range R 3 that is higher than the first / low speed range R 1 and lower than the second / high speed range R 2. In this arrangement, the third / middle sampling rate S 3 may be faster than the first / low sampling rate S 1 and slower than the second / high sampling rate S 2. This arrangement may further include sampling the occupancy data 22 at the selected first, second or third sampling rate S 1, S 2, S 3 and may further include repeating the determining, detecting, selecting and sampling steps 120, 130, 170, 180, 190, 175, 185, 195 (as well as the steps in blocks 135, 140, 150 and 160) for a plurality of cycles.FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of another embodiment of the method 100. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, in which a first / low speed range R 1 and a sampling rate S 1 and a second / high speed range R 2 and a sampling rate S 2 are shown, except that the embodiment of FIG. 3 also includes a third / medium speed range R 3 and a sampling rate S 3. Here, the third / middle speed range R 3 is higher than the first / low speed range R 1 and lower than the second / high speed range R 2, and the third / middle sampling rate S 3 is faster than the first / low sampling rate S 1 and slower than the second / high sampling rate S 2. For example, the first / low speed range R 1 may be a vehicle speed 74 of 0 mph to 34.999 mph, the third / medium speed range R 3 may be 35 mph to 54.999 mph, and the second / high speed range R 2 may be a vehicle speed 74 of 55 mph or more. (Note that in this type of example, where the second / high speed range R 2 is immediately above the third / middle range R 3 block 160 may be omitted.). Similarly, the first / low sampling rate S 1 may be once every five seconds, the third / medium sampling rate S 3 may be once every second, and the second / high sampling rate S 2 may be once every 20 milliseconds.In FIG. 3, the method 100 for determining a sampling rate of occupancy data 22 for a motor vehicle 10 begins in block 110 and comprises the following steps: (i) in block 120, determining a speed 74 of the motor vehicle 10; (ii) in block 130, detecting whether an interruption condition 36 exists; (iii) in block 135, if an interruption condition 36 is detected, then the process flow goes to block 190, but if no interruption condition 36 is detected, then the process flow goes to block 140; (iv) if in block 140, the speed 74 is within a first / low speed range R 1 and no interruption condition 36 is detected, then in block 170, a first / low sampling rate S 1 is selected for sampling the occupancy data 22; (v) if, in block 150, the speed 74 is within a third / middle speed range R 3 that is higher than the first speed range R 1 and lower than the second speed range R 2 (and no interrupt condition 36 is detected), then in block 180, selecting a third / middle sampling rate S 3 for sampling the occupancy data 22, wherein the third sampling rate S 3 is faster than the first sampling rate S 1 and slower than the second sampling rate; (vi) if, in block 160, the speed 74 is within a second / high speed range R 2 that is higher than the third / medium speed range R 3 and / or if an interrupt condition 36 is detected, then in block 190 selecting a second / high sampling rate S 2 for sampling the occupancy data 22, the second / high sampling rate S 2 being faster than the third / medium sampling rate S 1 (vii) in blocks 175, 185 and 195, sampling the occupancy data 22 at the selected first / low, third / medium or second / high sampling rate S 1, S 2, S 3; (viii) repeating the determining, detecting, selecting and scanning steps 120, 130, 170, 175, 180, 185, 190, 195 (along with the steps associated with blocks 135, 140, 150 and 160) for a plurality of cycles.In this embodiment, occupancy data 22 may include one or more of the following: a presence 24 of a passenger 18 in the motor vehicle 10, a location 26 of the passenger 18 in the motor vehicle 10, a weight 28 of the passenger 18 in the motor vehicle 10, a presence 29 of one or more connected devices 19 in the motor vehicle 10 indicating the presence 24 of a passenger 18 in the vehicle 10, an extension 30 of the passenger 18 in the motor vehicle 10, and a proximity 32 of the passenger 18 to a point of interest 13 in the motor vehicle 10. Additionally, the interrupt condition 36 may include one or more of the following: a change gear selection status indicator 38, a change sensor indicator of the passenger weight 40, an open door indicator 42, a unbuckling indicator 44, a near vehicle indicator 46, A collision warning display 48, a strong braking display 50, a strong acceleration display 52, a strong cornering display 54, a strong steering display 56, a lane keeping assistant warning display 58, a lane changing display 60, a sudden course changing display 62, a driver biometric data acquisition display 64, and a distraction element warning display 66.The first / low, third / medium, and second / high sampling rates S 1, S 2, S 3 may be respective rates at which a controller onboard the motor vehicle 10 samples occupancy data 22 from one or more sensors 16 onboard the motor vehicle 10. A primary ECU 70 may be configured to sample occupancy data 22, and the method 100 may further include, at block 200, detecting or querying whether usage of the primary ECU has exceeded a predetermined calculation threshold. If the threshold has been exceeded, the process flow passes to block 210 where a portion of a computational requirement of the primary ECU 70 associated with the sampling is transmitted to one or more secondary ECUs 82 configured to sample the occupancy data 22 when the second / high sampling rate S 2 is selected to sample the occupancy data 22 and the computational requirement exceeds the predetermined threshold. However, if the threshold has not been exceeded, the process flow passes to optional block 220.FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the system 20 for determining a sampling rate of occupancy data 22 for a motor vehicle 10, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the system 20 includes: (i) a speed determination module 72 configured to determine a forward speed 74 of the motor vehicle 10; (ii) an interrupt condition detection module 76 configured to detect whether an interrupt condition 36 exists and set an interrupt condition flag 78 when the interrupt condition 36 is detected; (iii) a primary sampling module 70 configured to sample the occupancy data 22 at a first sampling rate S 1 and at a second sampling rate S 2 faster than the first sampling rate S 1; (iv) a workload control module 80 configured to receive the speed 74 from the speed determination module 72 and the interrupt condition flag 78 from the interrupt condition detection module 76. The workload control module 80 is further configured to cause the primary sampling module 70 to sample the occupancy data 22 at the first sampling rate S 1 when the speed 74 is within a first speed range R 1 and no interrupt condition flag 78 is set, and cause the primary sampling module 70 to sample the occupancy data at the second sampling rate S 2 when the speed 74 is within a second speed range S 2 that is higher than the first speed range S 1 and / or when the interrupt condition flag 78 is set.In this system 20, occupancy data 22 may include one or more of the following: a presence 24 of a passenger 18 in the motor vehicle 10, a position 26 of the passenger 18 in the motor vehicle 10, a weight 28 of the passenger 18 in the motor vehicle 10, a presence 29 of one or more connected devices 19 in the motor vehicle 10 indicating the presence 24 of a passenger 18 in the vehicle 10, an extension 30 of the passenger 18 in the motor vehicle 10, and a proximity 32 of the passenger 18 to a point of interest 13 in the motor vehicle 10. Additionally, the interrupt condition 36 may include one or more of the following: a change gear selection status indication 38, a change passenger weight sensor indication 40, an open door indication 42, a unbuckling indication 44, a vehicle approach indication 46, A collision warning display 48, a strong braking display 50, a strong acceleration display 52, a strong cornering display 54, a strong steering display 56, a lane keeping assistant warning display 58, a lane changing display 60, a sudden course changing display 62, a driver biometric data acquisition display 64, and a distraction element warning display 66.In the system 20, the first and second sampling rates S 1, S 2 may be the respective rates at which the primary sampling module 70 samples occupancy data 22 from one or more sensors or intermediary devices 16 onboard the motor vehicle 10. The system 20 may further include one or more secondary sampling modules 82 configured to sample the occupancy data 22, wherein the workload control module 80 may be further configured to cause a portion of a computational requirement of the primary sampling module 70 associated with the sampling to be transmitted to the one or more secondary sampling modules 82 when the second sampling rate S 2 is selected for sampling the occupancy data 22 and the computational requirement exceeds a predetermined threshold. It should be noted that this optional forwarding of a portion of the computational requirement of the primary sampling module to the secondary sampling module(s) 82 is illustrated in dashed lines. Further, it should be appreciated that this redirected portion of the computational requirement may include the secondary sensing module(s) 82(s) that (s) directly captures (captures) occupancy data 22 from one or more sensors 16 and / or receives (receives) occupancy data 22 from the primary sensing module 70.While the system 20 has been described above as using first and second speed ranges R 1, R 2 and first and second sampling rates S 1, S 2 similar to the method 100 shown in FIG. 1, the system 20 may also use a third speed range R 3 and a third sampling rate S 3 similar to the method 100 shown in FIG. 3.

Claims

A method (100) for a motor vehicle (10), comprising: determining (120) a speed (74) of the motor vehicle (10); detecting (130) whether an interruption condition (36) is present; characterized in that the method (100) is for determining a sampling rate (S 1, S 2, S 3) of occupancy data (22), and that the method (100) comprises: if the speed (74) is within a first speed range (R 1) (140) and no interruption condition (36) is detected (135), then selecting (170) a first sampling rate (S 1) for sampling the occupancy data (22); and if the speed (74) is within a second speed range (R 2) (160) that is higher than the first speed range (R 1), and / or if the interrupt condition (36) is detected (135), then selecting (190) a second sampling rate (S 2) for sampling the occupancy data (22), wherein the second sampling rate (S 2) is faster than the first sampling rate (S 1).The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the occupancy data (22) comprises one or more of: a presence (24) of a passenger (18) in the motor vehicle (10); a location (26) of the passenger (18) in the motor vehicle (10); a weight (28) of the passenger (18) in the motor vehicle (10); a presence (29) of a connected device (19) indicative of the presence (24) of the passenger (18) in the motor vehicle (10); an extension (30) of the passenger (18) within the motor vehicle (10); and a proximity (32) of the passenger (18) to a point of interest (13) within the motor vehicle (10).The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the interrupt condition (36) is one or more of: a gear selection status change indicator (38); a sensor indicator for changing the passenger weight (40); an opening indicator for the doors (42); a unbuckling indicator (44); a vehicle approach indicator (46); a collision warning indicator (48); a strong braking indicator (50); a strong acceleration indicator (52); a strong cornering indicator (54); a strong steering indicator (56); a lane keeping assist indicator (58); a lane change indicator (60); a sudden course change indicator (62); a driver biometric data capture indicator (64); and an indicator for warning of a deflection element (66).The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the first sampling rate (S 1) and the second sampling rate (S 2) are the respective rates at which a controller (70, 82) onboard the motor vehicle (10) samples the occupancy data (22) from one or more sensors (16) onboard the motor vehicle (10).The method (100) of claim 1, further comprising: sampling (175, 195) the occupancy data (22) at the selected first sampling rate (S 1) or second sampling rate (S 2).The method (100) of claim 5, further comprising: repeating the steps (120, 130, 170, 190, 175, 195) of determining (120), detecting (130), selecting (170, 190), and sampling (175, 195) for a plurality of cycles.The method (100) of claim 1, further comprising: if the speed (74) is within (150) a third speed range (R 3) that is higher than the first speed range (R 1) and lower than the second speed range (R 2) then selecting (180) a third sampling rate (S 3) for sampling the occupancy data (22), wherein the third sampling rate (S 3) is faster than the first sampling rate (S 1) and slower than the second sampling rate (S 2).The method (100) of claim 7, further comprising: sampling (175, 195, 185) the occupancy data (22) at the selected first sampling rate (S 1), second sampling rate (S 2) or third sampling rate (S 3).The method (100) of claim 8, further comprising: repeating the steps of determining (120), detecting (130), selecting (170, 190, 180), and sampling (175, 195, 185) for a plurality of cycles.The method (100) of claim 1, wherein a primary electronic control unit (70), ECU (70), is configured to sample the occupancy data (22), the method (100) further comprising: if the second sampling rate (S 2) is selected to sample the occupancy data (22) and a computational requirement of the primary ECU (70) associated with the sampling exceeds a predetermined threshold, then transmitting (210) a portion of the computational requirement to one or more secondary ECUs (82) configured to sample the occupancy data (22).

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