SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING AN OCCUPANCY WITH AN INTERMITTENT OCCUPANCY SENSOR RESPONSE

Abstract

The system includes an occupant detection module configured to identify an occupied state when an occupant is seated in a vehicle seat and an unoccupied state when the vehicle seat is free of an occupant. The system also includes a seatbelt sensor configured to identify the time a seatbelt is fastened when a locking plate is initially attached to a fastener.A seatbelt occupancy status module is configured to identify the occupant state at the time of buckling up and after buckling up, regardless of whether the occupant detection module detects the occupied state at the time of buckling up and after buckling up or the unoccupied state at the time of buckling up and after buckling up, based on the assumption that the occupant detection module identifies the occupied state within a specified timeframe before the time of buckling up, and ignoring any unoccupied state generated by the occupant detection module while the seatbelt remains fastened.

Description

INTRODUCTIONThe information provided in this section is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Both the work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this section, and the aspects of the description that cannot otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.The present disclosure relates to a system and method for determining occupancy with intermittent seat occupancy sensor response before, during and after locking a seat belt assembly.Restraint systems are used in modern vehicles to restrain an occupant during use of the vehicle. Such systems may include one or more airbags disposed proximate each seating location of the vehicle and operating in conjunction with a seatbelt assembly dedicated for use with a particular seating location.Conventional seat belt assemblies typically include a seat belt webbing, tongue or latch plate, seat belt buckle, retractor, lower anchor, and seat belt guide loop or D-ring that receives the seat belt webbing and properly positions the seat belt webbing with respect to an occupant during use. The seat belt webbing is typically anchored to a vehicle structure at a first end by the lower anchor and extends upwardly from the vehicle structure toward a vehicle seat. The seat belt webbing continues to travel toward the guide loop or D-ring where the seat belt webbing is passed through the guide loop or D-ring before being taken up by the retractor. The retractor is typically mounted to a vehicle structure or a vehicle seat structure and permits the seatbelt to be deployed when an occupant applies a force to the seatbelt webbing to remove a desired length of the seatbelt webbing from the retractor. The seat belt webbing slidably receives the tongue or the lock plate along a length of the seat belt webbing. The tongue or latch plate may be selectively attached to the seat belt closure on an opposite side of the vehicle seat from the lower anchor to restrain an occupant in the vehicle seat during use. The seat belt retractor also serves to automatically retrieve / pull the seat belt webbing into the retractor when the tongue or latch plate is released from the seat belt buckle, thereby returning the seat belt webbing to a stowed condition.In operation, a user may sit in a vehicle seat and apply a force to the seat belt webbing and / or the tongue or the latch plate to remove a desired length of the seat belt webbing from the retractor. The retractor allows a length of the seat belt webbing to be removed from the retractor in response to the force applied to the seat belt webbing and / or the tongue or the latch plate, thereby increasing the effective length of the seat belt webbing between the retractor and the lower anchor. When a desired length of the seat belt webbing is reached, the occupant aligns the tongue or the locking plate with the seat belt buckle and inserts the tongue or the locking plate into the seat belt buckle, thereby fixing a relative position of the tongue or the locking plate and the seat belt buckle. At this point, when properly worn by the occupant, the seat belt webbing passes over an upper body of the occupant from the D-ring or retractor to the tongue or latch plate and passes from the tongue or latch plate over a lap of the occupant between the tongue or latch plate and the lower anchor. Further, when the tongue or the latch plate is attached to the seat belt buckle, the retractor restricts the discharge of the seat belt webbing and makes the seat belt webbing tightly fit against the occupant with very little effort to restrain the occupant in the vehicle seat during use.When the occupant desires to exit the vehicle seat, a force may be applied to a button of the seat belt buckle to disengage the tongue or latch plate from the seat belt buckle. At this point, the retractor automatically unwinds the seat belt webbing into the retractor, thereby decreasing an effective length of the seat belt webbing between the retractor and the lower anchor. When a predetermined length of the seat belt webbing is retracted into the retractor, the seat belt is returned to the stowed state.While conventional seat belt assemblies adequately restrain an occupant in a vehicle seat, determining whether an occupant is seated in the vehicle seat at the time of seat belt restraint is frequently challenging due to movement of an occupant at the time of seat belt restraint. For example, if an occupant is initially seated in a vehicle seat, a sensor associated with the seat may detect the presence of the occupant. However, after the initial force peak, when seating, the force level of an occupant on the seat decreases, which may cause the sensor to identify the seat as being unoccupied. Additionally, movement of the occupant away from a seating surface of the seat at the time of the seat buckling may cause the sensor to identify the seat as being unoccupied. While a remotely located sensor (i.e., a sensor not located in the seat) may be used to determine whether the seat is occupied, depending on the type of sensor, lighting conditions, and materials that obscure the vision of the occupant of a sensor, such a sensor may also be temporarily fruled when an occupant is present. Accordingly, a module monitoring the seat belt assembly may erroneously identify the seat as being unoccupied even though a tongue or latch plate is mounted in a buckle and an occupant is seated in the vehicle seat and is restrained by the seat belt.SUMMARYIn one configuration, a system includes an occupant detection module configured to identify a condition of a vehicle seat, wherein the occupant detection module identifies an occupied condition when an occupant is seated in the vehicle seat and identifies an unoccupied condition when the vehicle seat is free of an occupant. The system also includes a seatbelt seating sensor configured to, when a latch plate is attached to a seat belt buckle, detect a latched condition and, when the buckle is separated from a latch plate, detect an unbuckled condition, the seatbelt seating sensor identifying a time of the seatbelt seating at which the latch plate was originally attached to the buckle. A seat belt wearing state module is in communication with the seatbelt sensor and the occupant detection module, and is configured to identify the occupied state at the time of seatbelting or the unoccupied state at the time of seatbelting, regardless of whether the occupant detection module detects the occupied state at the time of seatbelting or detects the unoccupied state at the time of seatbelting, based on the occupant detection module identifying the occupied state before the time of seatbelting, at the time of seatbelting, and after seatbelting.The system may include one or more of the following optional features. For example, the seat belt wearing state module may be configured to detect the occupied state at the time of the seat belt buckling based on the occupant detection module identifying the occupied state in a time window that starts before the time of the seat belt buckling and ends at and includes the time of the seat belt buckling.In one configuration, the predetermined time frame may fall within an approximate time frame of two (2) to ten (10) seconds.The seat belt wearing state module may identify the occupied state at the time of the buckling regardless of whether the occupant detection module detects intermittent occupancy at the time of the buckling, based on the occupant detection module identifying the occupied state in a predetermined time frame before the time of the buckling, at a time during the buckling, or during a time frame after the buckling. The predetermined time frame may fall within an approximate time frame of two (2) to ten (10) seconds that starts before the time of the fasten and ends at and includes the time of the fasten.In one configuration, the occupant detection module may be in communication with at least one occupancy sensor configured to determine the presence of an occupant in the vehicle seat. The at least one occupancy sensor may include a pressure sensor and / or a weight sensor and / or a resistance sensor and / or a biometric sensor and / or a capacitive sensor disposed in the vehicle seat and a remote sensor including a camera and / or radar and / or LIDAR having a field of view comprising the vehicle seat. The seat belt wearing state module may store the state of the vehicle seat detected by an occupancy sensor for a continuous sliding time window of fixed duration before and including the time of the seat belt buckling.In another configuration, a system includes an occupant detection module configured to identify a condition of a vehicle seat, wherein the occupant detection module identifies an occupied condition when an occupant is seated in the vehicle seat and identifies an unoccupied condition when the vehicle seat is free of an occupant. The system additionally includes a seatbelt seating sensor configured to, when a latch plate is attached to a seat belt buckle, detect a latched condition and, when the buckle is separated from a latch plate, detect an unbuckled condition, the seatbelt seating sensor identifying a time of the seatbelt seating at which the latch plate was originally attached to the buckle. A seat belt wearing state module is in communication with the seatbelt sensor and the occupant detection module, and is configured to identify the occupied state at the time of seatbelting regardless of whether the occupant detection module detects the occupied state at the time of seatbelting or detects the unoccupied state at the time of seatbelting, based on the occupant detection module identifying the occupied state in a predetermined time frame before and including the time of seatbelting.The system may include one or more of the following optional features. For example, the seatbelt wearing state module may be configured to communicate occupancy of the vehicle seat at the time of the seatbelt to an internal user interface device and / or an external user interface device.In one configuration, the predetermined time frame may fall within an approximate time frame of two (2) to ten (10) seconds.The seat belt wearing state module may identify the occupied state at the time of the buckling regardless of whether the occupant detection module detects intermittent occupancy at the time of the buckling, based on the occupant detection module identifying the occupied state in the predetermined time frame before the time of the buckling, at a time during the buckling, or during a time frame after the buckling. The predetermined time frame may fall within an approximate time frame of two (2) to ten (10) seconds that starts before the time of the fasten and ends at and includes the time of the fasten.In one configuration, the occupant detection module may be in communication with at least one occupancy sensor configured to determine the presence of an occupant in the vehicle seat. The at least one sensor may include a pressure sensor and / or a weight sensor and / or a resistance sensor and / or a biometric sensor and / or a capacitive sensor disposed in the vehicle seat and a remote sensor including a camera and / or radar and / or LIDAR having a field of view comprising the vehicle seat. The seat belt wearing state module may store the state of the vehicle seat detected by an occupancy sensor for a continuous sliding time window of fixed duration before and including the time of the seat belt buckling.In yet another configuration, a system includes an occupant detection module configured to identify a condition of a vehicle seat, wherein the occupant detection module identifies an occupied condition when an occupant is seated in the vehicle seat and identifies an unoccupied condition when the vehicle seat is free of an occupant. The system also includes a seatbelt seating sensor configured to, when a latch plate is attached to a seat belt buckle, detect a latched condition and, when the buckle is separated from a latch plate, detect an unbuckled condition, the seatbelt seating sensor identifying a time of the seatbelt seating at which the latch plate was originally attached to the buckle. A seat belt wearing state module is in communication with the seatbelt sensor and the occupant detection module and is configured to identify the occupied state based on the occupied state determined upon the seatbelt being tightened after a closure event while the seat belt is remaining tightened regardless of whether the occupant detection module detects the occupied state after the closure event while the seat belt is remaining tightened or detects the unoccupied state after the closure event while the seat belt is remaining tightened.The system may include one or more of the following optional features. For example, the seatbelt wearing state module may identify the post-buckle occupied state when the seatbelt remains fastened if the occupant detection module detects a post-buckle unoccupied state while remaining fastened.In one configuration, the occupant detection module may be in communication with at least one occupancy sensor configured to determine the presence of an occupant in the vehicle seat. The at least one occupancy sensor may include a pressure sensor and / or a weight sensor and / or a resistance sensor and / or a biometric sensor and / or a capacitive sensor disposed in the vehicle seat and a remote sensor including a camera and / or radar and / or LIDAR having a field of view comprising the vehicle seat.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected configurations and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure; it shows: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a vehicle system according to the principles of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an example control system according to the principles of the present disclosure for use in conjunction with the vehicle system of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 is a front view of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat with a seat belt assembly unlocked; FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of a state of a buckle of the seat belt assembly of FIG. 3 and a state of an occupant detection device over time for the seated occupant shown in FIG. 3 ; FIG. 5 is a front view of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat during closure of a seat belt assembly; FIG. 6 is a graphical representation of a state of a buckle of the seat belt assembly of FIG. 5 and a state of an occupant detection device over time for the seated occupant shown in FIG. 5 ; FIG. 5A is a front view of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat after a seat belt assembly is tightened; FIG. 6A is a graphical representation of a state of a buckle of the seat belt assembly of FIG. 5A and a state of an occupant detection device over time for the seated occupant shown in FIG. 5A ; FIGS. 7-8 are flowcharts illustrating example methods for determining occupancy of a seat during a closure event; FIG. 9 is a graphical representation of occupant detection sensor output over time; and FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for setting a seat occupancy threshold based on continuous detection of an occupant in a seat for a predetermined period of time.In all drawings, corresponding reference numerals designate corresponding parts.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONExemplary configurations will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example configurations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Specific details such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of configurations of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example configurations may be embodied in many different forms, and that the specific details and the example configurations are not to be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure.The terminology used herein is for describing particular exemplary configurations only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular articles "a", "an", and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises", "comprises", "including" and "having" are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of features, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more further features, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their execution in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of execution. Additional or alternative steps may be employed.When an element or layer is referred to as being "on," "engaging with," "connected to," "attached to," or "coupled to" another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaging with, connected to, attached to, or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly engaging with," "directly connected to," "directly attached to," or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there need be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a similar manner (e.g., "between" versus "directly between," "adjacent" versus "directly adjacent," etc.). As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.The terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and / or sections. These elements, components, regions, layers, and / or portions are not intended to be limited by these terms. These terms may be used only to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or portion from another region, layer, or portion. Terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or portion discussed below may be referred to as a second element, component, region, layer, or portion without departing from the teaching of the example configurations.In this application, including the definitions below, the term module may be replaced by the term circuit. The term module may refer to, be part of, or include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by a processor; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as those described above, as pertaining to a system on a chip.The term code as used above may include software, firmware, and / or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, and / or objects. The term shared processor includes a single processor that executes some or all of the code from multiple modules. The term group processor includes a processor that, in combination with additional processors, executes some or all of the code from multiple modules. The term shared memory includes a single memory that stores some or all of the code from multiple modules. The term group memory includes a memory that, in combination with additional memories, stores a portion or all of the code from one or more modules. The term memory may be a subset of the term computer readable medium. The term computer-readable medium includes non-transitory, electrical, and electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium and may therefore be considered tangible and non-transitory memory. Non-limiting examples of non-transitory memory include a tangible computer-readable medium including non-transitory memory, magnetic memory, and optical memory.The apparatuses and methods described in this application may be partially or fully implemented by one or more computer programs executed by one or more processors. The computer programs include processor-executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium. The computer programs may also contain and / or rely on stored data.A software application (i.e., software resource) may refer to computer software that causes a computing device to perform a task. In certain examples, a software application may be referred to as an "application," an "app," or a "program.". Example applications include, but are not limited to, system diagnostic applications, system management applications, system maintenance applications, word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, messaging applications, media streaming applications, social networking applications, and gaming applications.The non-transitory memory may be physical devices used to store programs (e.g., sequences of instructions) or data (e.g., program state information) on a transitory or persistent basis for use by a computing device. The non-transitory memory may be volatile and / or non-volatile addressable semiconductor memory. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, flash memory and read only memory (ROM) / programmable read only memory (PROM) / erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) / electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) (e.g., typically used for firmware such as boot programs). Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), phase change memory (PCM), and disks or tapes.These computer programs (also known as programs, software, software applications, or code) contain machine instructions for a programmable processor and may be implemented in a high level procedural and / or object oriented programming language and / or in assembly / machine language. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to a computer program product, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, an apparatus, and / or a device (e.g., magnetic disks, optical disks, memories, programmable logic devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term "machine readable signal" refers to a signal used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor.Various implementations of the systems and techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronics and / or optical circuitry, integrated circuitry, dedicated ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. These various implementations may include an implementation in one or more computer programs executable and / or interpretable in a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which may be special or general purpose and is coupled to receive data and instructions from and send data and instructions to a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device.The processes and logic flows described in this application text may be performed by one or more programmable processors, also referred to as data processing hardware, that execute one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating outputs. The processes and logic flows may also be performed by special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). Processors suitable for executing a computer program include, by way of example, both general purpose microprocessors and special purpose microprocessors and one or more processors of any type of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory and / or a read / write memory. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer also includes, or is operatively coupled to receive data from and / or transmit data to one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer does not need to have such devices. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media, and storage devices, including by way of example semiconductor storage devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic media, e.g., internal hard disks or removable media; magneto-optical media; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM media. The processor and memory may be supplemented by or incorporated into special purpose logic circuitry.To provide interaction with a user, one or more aspects of the disclosure may be implemented in a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube), an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, or a touch screen for displaying information to the user, and optionally a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or trackball, whereby the user may provide input to the computer. Other types of devices may also be used to provide interaction with a user; e.g., feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, audible feedback, or haptic feedback; and input may be received from the user in any form including audible, linguistic, or tactile input. Additionally, a computer may interact with a user by sending documents to and receiving documents from a device used by the user; e.g., by sending webpages to an Internet browser in a user's client device in response to requests received from the Internet browser.A system and method may use the output of a seat belt closure sensor and an occupant detection device including an occupancy sensor to determine whether an occupant is seated in a seat during a closure event. The system and method determine occupancy of an occupant to a seat if the seat belt closure sensor identifies a closure event and, at the same time, the occupancy sensor identifies an occupant as being seated in the seat.Additionally, the system and method may similarly determine occupancy of a seat with an occupant even if the occupancy sensor does not detect an occupant at the time of the seat belt. Namely, the system and method can determine occupancy even if the occupancy detection device does not detect occupancy at the time of the fasten-up, if the occupant detection device has detected occupancy for a predetermined period of time before the fasten-up. In this situation, the system and method take into account situations where an occupant is seated in a seat and temporarily moves away from a seat surface of the seat during the closing of a seat belt into a buckle. For example, if an occupant is seated in a vehicle seat, the system and method initially draw the seat as occupied based on information from the occupant detection device. As another example, if the occupant has a material object between the sensor and the occupant or has motion, the occupant could be obscured and not visible by the occupancy sensor, wherein the sensor cannot detect the occupant. If the occupant is hidden from view or is getting lost in an attempt to locate the closure at the time of seatbelting, moving away from an adjacent occupant, or moving away from the seat surface for some other reason, and the occupant detection device does not identify the seat more than occupied, the system and method still identify the seat as occupied at the time of seatbelting because the occupant is identified as seated in the seat in a predetermined amount of time prior to the closure of the seatbelt in the closure.Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle system 10 is provided and includes a passenger compartment 12 having a seat 14 and a seat belt assembly 16 disposed therein. The seat belt assembly 16 includes a seat belt webbing 18, a retractor 20, a seat belt buckle 22, a tongue or latch plate 24, and an anchor 26.In one configuration, the retractor 20 is physically mounted to a vehicle structure such as a B-pillar or a C-pillar (each not shown). The seat belt webbing 18 is accommodated in a body of the retractor 20, and is wound around a spool (not shown) of the retractor 20. Retractor 20 may include a seat belt extension sensor 28 that detects the length of a seat belt webbing 18 that is removed from and retracted into retractor 20. The seat belt retractor sensor 28 may be a Hall effect sensor or a rotary encoder that determines a number of rotations of a spool of the retractor 20 and thereby can detect the length of a seat belt webbing 18 that is removed from and / or retracted into the retractor 20. Alternatively, the seat belt retractor sensor 28 may be an optical sensor that can determine a speed of the spool of the retractor 20 and likewise determine the length of the seat belt webbing 18 that is removed from and / or retracted into the retractor 20. In addition, other types of digest detection technologies may be used.The anchor 26 may be attached to a vehicle structure or seat 14, such as a floor pan (not shown) of a vehicle or a mount of a seat to a floor pan (not shown). Therefore, the anchor 26 is fixed for movement with the passenger compartment 12. The anchor 26 may receive a first end of the seat belt webbing 18 to likewise fix the first end of the seat belt webbing 18 with respect to the passenger compartment 12. The end of the seat belt webbing 18 received by and attached to the vehicle by the anchor 26 is disposed at an end of the seat belt webbing 18 opposite the retractor 20.As described so far, the seat belt webbing 18 extends from the anchor 26 at one end of the seat belt webbing 18 to the retractor 20 at an opposite end of the seat belt webbing 18. The length of the seatbelt webbing 18 taken from the retractor 20 includes a body-oblique segment 30 and lap segment 32. As shown in FIG. 1, generally the body-oblique segment 30 extends over an upper body of an occupant, while the lap segment 32 extends over an occupant's lap from the seatbelt buckle 22 to the anchor 26. Accordingly, when a force is applied to the seat belt webbing 18 such that a length of the seat belt webbing 18 is removed from the retractor 20, the body oblique segment 30 and the lap segment 32 cooperate to define the length of the seat belt webbing 18 that passes over the vehicle occupant from the retractor 20 to the seat belt buckle 22 and from the seat belt buckle 22 to the anchor 26.While the seat belt assembly 16 is described and shown in drawings as a single retractor 20 used in connection with an anchor 26, the seat belt assembly 16 could include a second retractor instead of the anchor 26. In such a system, the body oblique segment 30 would be fully fed from the retractor 20 shown in Figure 1, while the lap segment 32 would be removed from the retractor replacing the anchor 26. If the seat belt assembly 16 includes a retractor instead of the anchor 26, the retractor 20 could include a seat belt extension sensor 28 in an identical manner as the seat belt extension sensor 28 associated with the retractor 20.The tongue or latch plate 24 includes a recess 34 and a protrusion 36 extending from the recess 34. The recess 34 slidably receives the seat belt webbing 18 to allow the tongue or latch plate 24 to move with respect to and along the seat belt webbing 18. The protrusion 36 extends from the recess 34 and is selectively received by the seat belt buckle 22.The seat belt buckle 22 is disposed on a side of the seat 14 opposite the anchor 26 and includes a recess 38 that selectively receives the protrusion 36 of the tongue or latch plate 24. The seat belt buckle 22 may be fixed for movement with the seat 14 or alternatively manufactured to be secured to the vehicle structure such as the floor panel of the vehicle. In operation, when an occupant applies a force to the seatbelt webbing 18 such that a length of the seatbelt webbing 18 is removed from the retractor 20, the tongue or latch plate 24 may be positioned with respect to the seatbelt buckle 22 such that its protrusion 36 faces and is received by the recess 38. When the protrusion 36 is sufficiently inserted into the seat belt buckle 22 via the recess 38, a locking mechanism (not shown) of the seat belt buckle 22 engages the protrusion 36 of the tongue or the lock plate 24, thereby fixing the tongue or the lock plate 24 to the seat belt buckle 22.When a user applies a force to the seatbelt webbing 18 to remove a length of the seatbelt webbing 18 from the retractor 20, the tongue or latch plate 24 may be moved along and relative to the seatbelt webbing 18 via the notch 34. When the protrusion 36 of the tongue or latch plate 24 is secured in the recess 38 of the seat belt buckle 22, the retractor 20 may apply a force to the seat belt webbing 18 to pull a length of the seat belt webbing 18 back into the retractor 20. In this regard, the retractor 20 ensures that the seat belt webbing 18 is properly and firmly fitted to a lap and upper body of the occupant during use.At this point, lengths of the body oblique segment 30 and the lap segment 32 of the seat belt webbing 18 are generally defined. As can be appreciated, a relative position between the tongue or latch plate 24 and the seat belt webbing 18 will vary based on the size of the occupant seated in the seat 14 and the position of the seat 14 in the vehicle. For example, if a larger occupant sits 14, as compared to, e.g., a smaller occupant requiring a shorter length of seat belt webbing 18, a larger length of webbing 18 must be removed from retractor 20 to accommodate the larger occupant. Accordingly, the tongue or latch plate 24 is positioned at a different location along the seat belt webbing 18 for different vehicle occupants, as the length of the seat belt webbing 18 that must be removed from the retractor 20 varies based on the occupant's size. Likewise, a longer length of seat belt webbing 18 may be removed from retractor 20 for a person in a fully forward seating position than for that person if he were seated in a rearward seating position.Regardless of the size of the occupant seated in the seat 14, the position of the seat 14, and the length of the seatbelt webbing 18 removed from the retractor 20, engagement of the protrusion 36 of the tongue or latch plate 24 with the seatbelt buckle 22 may be detected by a seatbelt sensor 40 associated with the seatbelt buckle 22. The seat belt buckle sensor 24 detects the presence of the protrusion 36 disposed in the seat belt buckle 22, and thus generates a signal indicative of the presence of the protrusion 36 in the seat belt buckle 22. Detection of the protrusion 36 in the seat belt buckle 22 allows the seat belt buckle sensor 40 to identify when the tongue or latch plate 24 is securely engaged with the locking mechanism of the seat belt buckle 22.When an occupant sits in the seat 14 and removes a portion of the seat belt webbing 18 from the retractor 20 a sufficient distance toward the seat belt buckle 22, the protrusion 36 of the tongue or latch plate 24 is received in the recess 38. When the protrusion 36 is sufficiently inserted into the seat belt buckle 22, the seat belt buckle sensor 40 may detect the presence of the protrusion 36 and generate a signal indicating that the protrusion 36 is engaged with the locking mechanism of the seat belt buckle 22.With continued reference to FIG. 1, the vehicle system 10 further includes an occupant detection device (ODD) 42, a remote sensor 44 such as a camera or other sensor, and an internal user interface device (UID) 46. The ODD 42 may include a weight cushion (not shown) disposed in a seat bottom 48 of the seat 14. The weight cushion is positioned relative to the seat surface 48 such that when an occupant is seated in the seat 14, the weight cushion can detect the presence of the seated occupant. While the seat bottom 48 is described as including a weight cushion to detect the presence of an occupant, the seat bottom 48 may additionally or alternatively include one or more pressure sensors, ohmmeters, capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, electric field proximity sensors, biometric sensors, and / or other types of sensors that may detect the presence of an occupant seated on the seat bottom 48.The remote sensor 44 may be positioned within the passenger compartment 12 such that the remote sensor 44 has a field of view that captures the seat 14. Accordingly, the remote sensor 44 may be used to detect the presence of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat 14. Additionally or alternatively, the remote sensor 44 may be used to determine whether the seatbelt webbing 18 is removed from the retractor 20, and may be further used to determine and / or verify the length of the seatbelt webbing 18 removed from the retractor 20. The foregoing information detected by the remote sensor 44 may be used in conjunction with the data provided by the ODD 42 to verify the presence of a vehicle occupant seated in the seat 14. Various types of remote sensors such as a camera, radar, or LIDAR may be used.The internal UID 46 may be disposed in the passenger compartment 12 and may include a display 50. The display 50 may be used to communicate information related to the use of the seatbelt assembly 16 to occupants in the passenger compartment 12. Namely, the internal UID 46 may display information on the display 50 about whether an occupant is seated in the seat 14, whether the seat belt is closed, and / or whether the seat belt assembly 16 is properly positioned with respect to the occupant. Additionally, the internal UID 46 may control an acoustic communication system 47 and / or a haptic communication system 49, which may be used to communicate information to an occupant of the passenger compartment 12, whether an occupant is seated in the seat 14, whether the seatbelt is closed, and / or whether the seatbelt assembly 16 is properly positioned with respect to the occupant.With continued reference to FIG. 1, outputs from the one or more seat belt extension sensors 28, the seat belt seating sensor 40, the ODD 42, and the remote sensor 44 are provided to a body control module (BCM) 52. Accordingly, the BCM 52 receives data from the one or more seat belt extension sensors 28 related to the length of the seat belt webbing 18 taken from the retractor 20, from the seat belt sensor 40, whether the protrusion 36 of the tongue or latch plate 24 is securely attached to the locking mechanism of the seat belt buckle 22, from the ODD 42 related to whether an occupant is seated in the seat 14, and from the remote sensor 44 related to the presence of an occupant in the vehicle seat 14, and / or the length of a seat belt webbing 18 taken from the retractor 20. As mentioned above, the seat belt assembly 16 is described and shown below as a single retractor 20 associated with the seat 14. However, the anchor 26 could be replaced with an additional retractor 20 and an associated seat belt extension sensor 28. If the seat belt assembly 16 includes a retractor 20 instead of the anchor 26, the length of the seat belt webbing 18 taken from the lower retractor 20 - detected by the associated seat belt extension sensor 28 - is fed corresponding to the BCM 52 for use by the BCM 52 in determining whether the seat belt assembly 16 is in proper use.The output from the seat belt extension sensor 28 is identified in FIG. 1 on the communication line RS1. The output from the seat belt sensor 42 to the BCM 52 is identified on the communication line BS. The output of the ODD 42 is identified by the communication line ODD, while the output from the remote sensor 44 is identified on the communication line C. Finally, if the seat belt assembly 16 includes a second retractor 20 in place of the anchor 26 and an associated seat belt extension sensor 28, the output from the seat belt extension sensor 28 associated with the lower retractor 20 is shown as running on the communication line RS2. As will be described in more detail below, the various sensor inputs RS 1, RS 2, BS, ODD, C are received by the BCM 52 for use by the BCM 52 in monitoring and diagnosing use of the seatbelt assembly 16.Referring specifically to FIG. 2, the body control module 52 is shown including a seat belt wearing state module 54, an occupant detection module 56, and a UID control module 58. As shown, the seat belt wearing state module 54 is in communication with the seat belt extension sensor 28 and the seat belt seating sensor 40. the seat belt wearing state module 54 receives information from the seat belt extension sensor 28 regarding the length of the seat belt webbing 18 taken out of the retractor 20 via the communication line RS 1 and possibly RS 2, and receives information about whether the tongue or the lock plate 24 is engaged with the locking mechanism of the seat belt buckle 22 from the seat belt extension sensor 40 via the communication line BS.The occupant detection module 56 is in communication with the seat belt wearing state module 54 and receives information from the ODD 44 and the remote sensor 44. the occupant detection module 56 receives information from the ODD 42 via the communication line ODD about whether the ODD 42 detects the presence of an occupant seated in the seat 14. The remote sensor 44 may provide information regarding whether an occupant is detected to be seated in the seat 14 and / or regarding the length of the seatbelt webbing 18 taken from the retractor 20 to the occupant detection module 56 via the communication line C.As described in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 7-10, the seat belt wearing state module 54 monitors the state of the seat belt assembly 16 and may be used, in particular, to determine whether an occupant is seated in the seat 14 during closure of the tongue or latch plate 24 in the seat belt buckle 22.The seat belt wearing state module 54 is in communication with the UID control module 58 to provide information to the UID control module 58 regarding the state of the seat belt assembly 16. For example, the seat belt wearing state module 54 may provide information to the UID control module 58 that an occupant is seated in the seat 14 and further that the occupant is properly seatbelted. Additionally, the seat belt wearing state module 54 may determine that the tongue or latch plate 24 is properly attached to the seat belt buckle 22, but no occupant is present in the seat 14. In this situation, the seat belt wearing state module 54 could determine that an object is tightened in the seat 14, the seat belt is closed over an empty seat 14, or that a tongue or latch plate 24 is locked from an adjacent seat 14 in a defective latch 22. The seatbelt wearing state module 54 may communicate the foregoing information to the UID control module 58 for communication through the internal UID 46 on the display 50 and / or the acoustic communication system 47 and / or the haptic communication system 49. Additionally or alternatively, information may be sent directly from the UID control module 58 to an external UID 60 and / or a satellite communication network 62.The information regarding the state of the seat belt assembly 16 may be displayed on the external UID 60. For example, the external UID 60 may be a smartphone or tablet associated with the owner or one or more occupants of a vehicle. Information regarding the seatbelt assembly 16 may be displayed by the external UID 60 on such a smartphone or tablet. Finally, the UID control module 58 may communicate information from the seat belt wearing state module 54 regarding the state of the seat belt assembly 16 to the satellite communication network 62, which may be in communication with one or both of the internal UID 46 and the external UID 60. As with the direct communication between the UID control module 58 and the internal UID 46 and the external UID 60, the satellite communication network 62 may provide information from the UID control module 58 about the state of the seatbelt assembly 16 to one or both of the internal UID 46 and the external UID 60.Referring specifically to FIG. 3, an occupant is shown seated in the seat 14 and the seat belt assembly 16 is shown in a stowed condition. As shown in FIG. 4, the condition of the occupant and the condition of the seat belt assembly 16 over time are recorded by the seat belt wearing condition module 54. Specifically, the seat 14 is identified as occupied in line 66 based on information received from the occupant detection module 56. The information from the occupant detection module 56 may include information from the ODD 42 and / or the remote sensor 44. The condition of the seat belt assembly 16 is identified by line 68 based on information from the seat belt buckle sensor 40. Specifically, the tongue or latch plate 24 is disengaged from the buckle 22, and therefore the seat belt buckle sensor 40 communicates the state of the buckle 22 (i.e., unlocked) to the seat belt wearing state module 54.At this point, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 may communicate the occupancy (i.e., seat 14 is occupied) and the state of the seatbelt assembly 16 (i.e., unlocked) to the UID control module 58, which in turn communicates the previous information to the internal UID 46 and / or the external UID 60 and / or the satellite communication network 62 for communication (i.e., via the display 50, the audible message transmission system 47, and / or the haptic message transmission system 49) to the one or more vehicle occupants. As described below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the foregoing situation identifies a situation where an occupant is seated in the seat 14 but is not restrained (i.e., unbuckled).Referring to FIG. 5, an occupant is shown seated in the seat 14 and in the process of inserting the tongue or latch plate 24 into the seat belt buckle 22. As shown in FIG. 6, the seat 14 is identified as initially unoccupied by the occupant detection module 56 on line 70 based on information received from the ODD 42 and / or the remote sensor 44. When the occupant is seated in the seat 14, the occupant detection module 56 identifies the seat 14 as being occupied on line 72. However, as shown in FIG. 5, if the occupant moves toward the retractor 20 in an attempt to facilitate insertion of the tongue or latch plate 24 into the closure 22, the occupant detection module 56 identifies the seat 14 on line 74 in FIG. 6 as being unoccupied. It should be noted that alternatively, the occupant could tilt over the closure 22 to view the closure 22 or depress from the floor at the time of the seat-back and slide up the seat back, which would correspondingly cause the ODD 42 on line 74 in FIG. 6 to identify the seat 14 as being unoccupied. The occupant detection module 56 identifies the seat 14 as being unoccupied due to the occupant's weight being displaced at least in part from the ODD 42 that no longer detects the occupant's presence in the seat 14. When the occupant properly engages the tongue or latch plate 24 with the latch 22 and returns to a position similar to the position shown in FIG. 3, the ODD 42 again detects the presence of the occupant in the seat 14 on line 76 in FIG. 6.With continued reference to FIG. 6, the occupant on line 78 is shown unbuckled when initially seated in seat 14. When the occupant sufficiently inserts the tongue or latch plate 24 into the buckle 22, the seat belt check sensor 40 detects the presence of the tongue or latch plate 24 and sends a signal to the seat belt wearing state module 54 that the seat belt is in the fastened state. The fastened condition is identified in Figure 6 by line 80.As shown in FIG. 6, at the time of the restraint, the ODD 42 has not detected the presence of the occupant in the seat 14. Namely, on line 82, the moment at which the seat belt was closed, the presence of the occupant in the seat 14 was not detected by the ODD 42. However, as shown in FIG. 5, at the time of the seat 14 buckling but at the point where the occupant was no longer detected by the ODD 42, the occupant was sufficiently lifted from the ODD 42.A variant of the state shown in FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. 5A. In Fig. 5A, a person being tightened sits in the seat 14 and inclines sideways. The resulting occupancy detection by the ODD 42 is similar to that shown in FIG. 6, except that the occupant is detected as being tightened and the output by the ODD 42 fluctuates between showing the seat 14 as being occupied and unoccupied. The fluctuation in the detection of occupancy by the ODD 42 is caused by the person leaning or pressing off the seat surface 48 while being tightened, thereby causing the ODD 42 to detect intermittent occupancy of the seat 14. FIG. 6A shows the resulting graph over time, wherein the occupant is detected as being fasten and while being fastened, the ODD 42 detects intermittent occupancy. Intermittent occupancy may also be achieved by displacing a portion of the weight of an occupant onto an armrest or adjacent seating surfaces.Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a system and method for use by the seat belt wearing state module 54 in properly identifying occupancy of a seat 14 by a person at the time of the seat-down and after the seat-down are provided even if the occupant detection module 56 does not detect presence of the occupant in the seat 14 when the seat belt is closed.The seat belt wearing state module 54 starts in a detection mode at 84 (FIG. 7 ). The detection mode may be initiated when a door (not shown) of the vehicle system 10 is opened, a remote interior sensor such as the remote sensor 44 detects something in the passenger compartment 12, the vehicle is started, a drive start button (not shown) is pressed, a vehicle door is closed, or the vehicle is placed in a drive mode. At this point, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 may first determine whether the seatbelt is closed at 86. As discussed above, the seat belt wearing state module 54 may determine whether the seat belt is closed based on information received from the seat belt sensor 40. If the seat belt is not closed at 86, the seat belt wearing state module 54 may determine whether an occupant is seated in the seat 14 at 88. If an occupant is seated in the seat 14 at 88, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines that the seat 14 is occupied at 90, and further that the seat belt is not worn. A message would then be communicated by the UID control module 58.If the seat 14 is not occupied at 88, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines at 92 that the seat 14 is unoccupied and further that the seat belt is not worn. Regardless of whether the seat 14 is occupied or unoccupied following 90, 92, the seat belt wearing state module 54 will determine whether the system is still in the detection mode at 94. If so, the seat belt wearing state module 54 will return to 86. If no, the seat belt wearing state module 54 will stop at 96.Referring back to 86, if the seatbelt wearing state module 54 determines that the seatbelt is closed, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 determines whether occupancy is detected at 98 at the time of the seatbelt buckling (FIG. 8 ). If occupancy is detected at the time of the seatbelt being tightened, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 determines whether occupancy is not detected during the tightened state at 100 and determines that the seat 14 is occupied and the seatbelt is being worn at 102 regardless of whether occupancy is not detected. In this way, if intermittent occupancy detection occurs after a person wears a seat belt and the ODD 42 does not detect the occupant for a period of time, the occupancy state does not change and remains detected as occupancy. This approach uses the observation as a basis that it is difficult for a person to leave a seat belt that is closed without unbuckling the seat belt, whereas intermittent occupancy detection may occur with a frequency level for some smaller persons or persons with objects between themselves and a remote occupancy sensor while the seat belt is closed around them.If it is determined at 102 that the seat 14 is occupied and the seat belt is worn, the seat belt wearing state module 54 continues to monitor the seat belt sensor 40 to determine at 104 whether the seat belt is not engaged. If the seatbelt is not engaged at 104, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 returns to 88 (FIG. 7 ). If the seatbelt is closed at 104, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 determines whether the system is still in the detection mode at 106, and returns to 100 (FIG. 8 ) if yes. If the system is no longer in the detection mode, the seat belt wearing state module 54 stops at 108.Referring again to 98, if the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines that the seat 14 is unoccupied at the time of the seat-back, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines whether occupancy has been detected during a pre-seat-back period at 110. The time period is defined by a pre-buckle duration threshold and is approximately equal to a duration range between two (2) and ten (10) seconds in one example. If the seatbelt wearing state module 54 determines that an occupant was present in the seat 14 within the pre-buckle duration threshold between two (2) and ten (10) seconds prior to seat belt closing based on information from the occupant detection module 56, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 continues to 100. At this point, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines whether or not occupancy is detected during the fastened state at 100 and ultimately determines that the seat 14 is occupied and the seat belt is closed at 102 regardless of the detected occupancy state at 100. The pre-buckle duration threshold may be a calibrateable or fixed threshold in software logic of the seatbelt wearing state module 54.While the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines at 110 whether occupancy was detected during a pre-seat belt buckle period, the seat belt wearing state module 54 could also determine occupancy by monitoring whether the seat 14 is occupied after the seat buckle. For example, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 may determine that the seat 14 was unoccupied at the time of the seatbelt unbuckling, if the occupancy sensor determines that the seat 14 is unoccupied within the pre-seatbelt duration threshold between two (2) and ten (10) seconds before and including the time the tongue or latch plate 24 is attached to the closure 22. Based on the foregoing, a time window including the time of the seatbelt buckling may be monitored by the seatbelt wearing state module 54 to determine whether the seat 14 was occupied after the time of the seatbelt buckling using a post-duration threshold between 1⁄4 of a second and ten (10) seconds. Using this time duration threshold, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 determines that the seat 14 was occupied after the time of the seat-back if an occupancy is detected for a time period that exceeds the time duration threshold following the locking event. Additionally, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines that the seat 14 was unoccupied after the time of the seat-back when no occupancy is detected that is within or longer than the post-period threshold. The post-time threshold could be a calibrateable or fixed threshold in the software logic of the wear state module 54, or could be logic that requires a certain number of sensor samples from a collection of a certain size of sensor samples to output the same detection state. For example, it could be determined that an occupancy state change has occurred if four (4) of the last five (5) samples in a moving window of samples return the same output.If the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines at 110 that occupancy has not been detected during a pre-seat belt buckle period, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines at 112 that the seat 14 is unoccupied at the time of the seat buckle. The seatbelt wearing state module 54 then determines whether occupancy is detected while the seatbelt is closed at 114. If so, at 116, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines that the seat 14 is occupied and the seat belt is likely to be improperly worn. Following a determination at 116 that the seat belt could be improperly worn, the seat belt wearing state module 54 may warn one or more vehicle occupants via the UID control module 58 that an occupant is seated in a seat 14 and is likely not properly seatbelted.If no occupancy is detected at 114, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines at 118 that the seat 14 is unoccupied. For example, the seat belt could be closed over an empty seat 14, or an object (no occupant) could be located in the seat 14 and not detected as an occupant by the occupancy sensor. If the seat 14 is determined to be occupied at 116 or unoccupied at 118, the seat belt wearing state module 54 monitors whether the seat belt is not engaged at 120. If so, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 returns to 88 (FIG. 7 ) to determine whether occupancy is detected. If no, at 122, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 determines whether the system is in the detection mode. If so, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 returns to 114 to determine whether occupancy is detected during the fastened state. If no, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 stops at 124.Referring specifically to FIGS. 9 and 10, the seat belt wearing state module 54 may decrease a seat sensor occupancy threshold for occupancy detection to a smaller amount when occupancy has been continuously detected for a selected period of time. Lowering the seat occupancy threshold reduces the likelihood that the occupancy sensor fails to detect an occupant seated in the seat 14 if the occupant moves or otherwise moves from the position shown in FIG. 3 as shown in FIG. 5, such that the occupancy sensor has difficulty in determining whether the occupant is present.In decreasing the seat sensor threshold, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 may determine whether occupancy is continuously detected for a predetermined period of time in any step in the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8 where occupancy is detected. FIG. 10 schematically illustrates that the seatbelt wearing state module 54 may evaluate occupancy detection at any point in the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8 at 126. At 128, the seat belt wearing state module 54 determines whether occupancy is continuously detected for a period of time. If so, the seatbelt wearing state module 54 sets the seat occupancy threshold to a lesser magnitude at 130, and then returns to monitoring locations, wherein occupancy is monitored, at 132 in the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8. If occupancy is not continuously detected at 128, the seat belt wearing state module 54 returns to monitoring locations, where occupancy is monitored, in the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8, but refers to a higher seat occupancy threshold. In all cases for all sensors, the method may selectively consider multiple sensor samples to determine a state change. For example, the method may determine that a state change occurs if four (4) of the last five (5) samples output the same new state, and may determine that no state change occurred if less than four (4) of the last five (5) samples output the same new state.The foregoing system and method provide the seat belt wearing state module 54 with the capability to detect occupancy during states in which the occupancy sensor does not detect the presence of an occupant in a seat 14 when an occupant is actually seated in the seat 14. The seat belt wearing state module 54 may decrypt intermittent signals from the occupancy sensor caused by a obscuring or occupant movement (FIG. 5 ) prior to buckling, during buckling, or after buckling to properly determine the presence of an occupant in the seat 14.Several implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it is to be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, further implementations are within the scope of the following claims.The foregoing description has been provided by way of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular configuration are generally not limited to that particular configuration, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected configuration, even if not specifically shown or described. They can also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such variations are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

A system comprising: an occupant detection module configured to identify a condition of a vehicle seat, wherein the occupant detection module identifies an occupied condition when an occupant is seated in the vehicle seat and identifies an unoccupied condition when the vehicle seat is free of an occupant; a seatbelt sensor configured to detect a tightened condition when a latch plate is attached to a buckle of a seatbelt and to detect an unfastened condition when the buckle is separated from a latch plate, wherein the seatbelt sensor identifies a time of tightening when the latch plate was originally attached to the buckle; A seat belt wearing state module in communication with the seatbelt sensor and the occupant detection module and configured to identify the occupied state at the time of seatbelting regardless of whether the occupant detection module detects the occupied state at the time of seatbelting or detects the unoccupied state at the time of seatbelting, based on the occupant detection module identifying the occupied state before the time of seatbelting, at the time of seatbelting, and after seatbelting.The system of claim 1, wherein the seatbelt wearing state module is configured to detect the occupied state at the time of the seatbelt unbuckling based on the occupant detection module identifying the occupied state in a time window starting before the time of the seatbelt unbuckling and ending at and including the time of the seatbelt unbuckling.The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined time frame falls within an approximate time frame of two (2) to ten (10) seconds.The system of claim 1, wherein the seatbelt wearing state module identifies the occupied state at the time of the seatbelt regardless of whether the occupant detection module detects intermittent occupancy at the time of the seatbelt, based on the occupant detection module identifying the occupied state in a predetermined time frame before the time of the seatbelt, at a time during the seatbelt, or during a time frame after the seatbelt.The system of claim 4, wherein the predetermined time frame falls within an approximate time frame of two (2) to ten (10) seconds that starts before the time of the fasten and ends at and includes the time of the fasten.The system of claim 1, wherein the occupant detection module is in communication with at least one occupancy sensor configured to determine the presence of an occupant in the vehicle seat.The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one occupancy sensor includes a pressure sensor and / or a weight sensor and / or a resistance sensor and / or a biometric sensor and / or a capacitive sensor disposed in the vehicle seat.The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one sensor includes a remote sensor including a camera and / or a radar and / or a LIDAR having a field of view comprising the vehicle seat.The system of claim 1, wherein the seat belt wearing state module stores the state of the vehicle seat detected by an occupancy sensor for a continuous sliding time window of fixed duration before and including the time of the seat belt buckling.A vehicle comprising the system of claim 1.

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