Restraint control system and method

Abstract

The vehicle restraint control system includes a position module configured to determine a position of a seat within a passenger compartment of the vehicle, and a restraint control module configured to, in response to detecting a vehicle crash, select which of the vehicle restraint means to activate based on the position of the seat, activate the selected vehicle restraint means, and not activate unselected ones of the restraint means.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This disclosure is a PCT International application of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 577,333, filed January 17, 2022. The entire disclosures of the above-referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to vehicle restraint control systems and methods, and more particularly, to systems and methods for controlling restraints in vehicles having variable seating configurations and / or orientations. [Background technology]

[0003] The information provided in this section is for purposes of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. The work of the presently named inventors, to the extent described in this section, as well as aspects of the description that may not qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are not admitted expressly or impliedly as prior art to the present disclosure.

[0004] Vehicles include occupant restraints configured to restrain vehicle occupants, such as for a vehicle crash. One type of restraint is a seat belt. Seat belt pretensioners may be actuated to tighten the seat belt under certain circumstances, such as in response to the detection of a crash.

[0005] Another type of restraint is an airbag. A vehicle may include a number of different types of airbags. One type of airbag is a passenger airbag. A passenger front airbag may be disposed, for example, behind the dashboard in front of the passenger seat. A driver front airbag may be disposed, for example, in the steering wheel. Other types of airbags include knee airbags, hip airbags, passenger-to-passenger airbags, roof rail (side curtain) airbags, side impact airbags, rear airbags, and other types of airbags. An inflation device may be actuated to inflate the airbag under several circumstances, such as in response to detection of a crash. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In one feature, a vehicle restraint control system includes a position module configured to determine a position of a seat within a passenger compartment of the vehicle and a restraint control module, the restraint control module configured to, in response to detecting a vehicle crash, select which of the vehicle restraints to activate based on the position of the seat, activate the selected restraints of the vehicle, and not activate unselected ones of the restraints.

[0007] In a further feature, the seat engages a pair of tracks on the passenger floor, the pair of tracks being oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

[0008] In a further feature, the position module is configured to determine a position of the seat based on an output from the sensor, the sensor being configured to generate an output based on movement of the seat along the pair of tracks.

[0009] In a further feature, the location module is configured to determine a seat location based on a signal strength indicator of a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted and received within the passenger compartment.

[0010] In a further feature, the position module is configured to determine a position of the seat based on one or more images of the passenger compartment captured using the one or more cameras.

[0011] In a further feature, the restraint control module is configured to select which vehicle restraints to activate further based on the location of the crash.

[0012] In a further feature, the restraint means includes at least an airbag and a seat belt pretensioner.

[0013] In a further feature, the restraint control module is configured to select which vehicle restraints to activate further based on the direction in which the seat is facing.

[0014] In a further feature, the restraint control module is configured to select which of the vehicle restraints to activate further based on the indicators of whether the respective seats are occupied or not.

[0015] In a further feature, the restraint control module is configured to select which of the vehicle's restraints to activate using a look-up table that associates seat position, seat orientation, seat occupancy, and crash location with the selected restraint.

[0016] In one aspect, a restraint control method for a vehicle includes determining a position of a seat within a passenger compartment of the vehicle, selecting which of the vehicle restraints to activate based on the position of the seat in response to detecting a vehicle crash, activating the selected restraints of the vehicle, and not activating unselected ones of the restraints.

[0017] In a further feature, the seat engages a pair of tracks on the passenger floor, the pair of tracks being oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

[0018] In a further feature, determining the position of the seat includes determining the position of the seat based on an output from a sensor, the sensor configured to generate an output based on movement of the seat along the pair of tracks.

[0019] In further features, determining the position of the seat includes determining the position of the seat based on a signal strength indicator of a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted and received within the passenger compartment.

[0020] In further features, determining the position of the seat includes determining the position of the seat based on one or more images of the passenger compartment captured using one or more cameras.

[0021] In a further feature, selecting which vehicle restraints to activate includes selecting which vehicle restraints to activate further based on a location of the crash.

[0022] In a further feature, the restraint means includes at least an airbag and a seat belt pretensioner.

[0023] In a further feature, selecting which vehicle restraints to activate includes selecting which vehicle restraints to activate further based on the direction the seat is facing.

[0024] In a further feature, selecting which of the vehicle restraint means to activate includes selecting which of the vehicle restraint means to activate further based on an indicator of whether the respective seats are occupied or not.

[0025] In a further feature, selecting which of the vehicle's restraint means to activate includes selecting which of the vehicle's restraint means to activate using a look-up table that associates seat position, seat orientation, seat occupancy, and crash location with the selected restraint means.

[0026] Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims, and the drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are intended for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary vehicle.

[0029] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a portion of a seat.

[0030] [Diagram 3] FIG.

[0031] [Figure 4] 1 is a functional block diagram of an example portion of a vehicle.

[0032] [Diagram 5] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for controlling deployment of a restraint.

[0033] [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an example seating arrangement and a right side impact.

[0034] [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an example seating arrangement and a right side impact.

[0035] [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an example seating arrangement and a right side impact.

[0036] [Figure 9] 1 illustrates an example seating arrangement and an offset frontal crash.

[0037] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates an example seating arrangement and rear impact;

[0038] [Figure 11] 1 includes an exemplary cross-sectional view of a track and a gear engaging with teeth within the track.

[0039] [Figure 12]Includes an example table of trigger / deployment indicators (yes / no) for each restraint (R1-RM) for different seat occupancy conditions, impact directions / locations, seat facing directions, and seat positions.

[0040] In the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to identify similar and / or identical elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0041] Vehicle restraints may be triggered / deployed / activated in response to the detection of a collision between the vehicle and another object. For example, airbags and seat tensioners may be triggered / deployed in response to the detection of a frontal vehicle collision.

[0042] However, some vehicles may include variable seating configurations. For example, a seat may be linearly movable back and forth within the passenger compartment of the vehicle along a track. Additionally, a vehicle seat may be removable from and addable to the vehicle. Additionally, a vehicle seat may be positionable (e.g., rotatable) in two or more different directions, such as toward the front of the vehicle, toward the rear of the vehicle, and positions between the front and rear.

[0043] The present application includes a restraint control module that selects which of one or more restraints to trigger / deploy / activate based on passenger compartment seat position, seat (facing) direction, impact side, and seat occupancy, which can improve occupant protection in the event of a crash, while also not unnecessarily deploying restraints when not needed, such as for a given seat position, occupancy, and / or seat orientation.

[0044] 1 is a top view of an example vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 may be a vehicle that includes an internal combustion engine, may be an electric vehicle that does not include an internal combustion engine but includes one or more electric motors, may be a hybrid vehicle that includes an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, or may be another suitable type of vehicle. Vehicle 100 may be an autonomous vehicle, a non-autonomous vehicle, or a semi-autonomous vehicle. Vehicle 100 may be a ride-share vehicle or a non-share vehicle.

[0045] Vehicle 100 includes one or more propulsion devices, such as at least one of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, that generate propulsive torque used to propel vehicle 100. The forward and backward directions of vehicle 100 are indicated by arrows 104 and 106. In vehicles that do not have designated front and rear portions, the front and rear (or rear portions) may be interchangeable and may be expressed relative to the motion of the vehicle.

[0046] The vehicle 100 includes a passenger compartment 108. The floor of the passenger compartment 108 has one or more pairs of tracks formed therein. For example, the vehicle 100 includes a first pair of tracks 112, a second pair of tracks 116, and a third pair of tracks 120. Although an example of three pairs of tracks is provided, the present application is also applicable to one pair of tracks, two pairs of tracks, and more than two pairs of tracks. The tracks of each pair of tracks are parallel. For example, the tracks 112 of the first pair of tracks are parallel.

[0047] One or more seats 124 are coupled to the pair of trucks. Although an example number and arrangement of seats is shown in FIG. 1, the present application is also applicable to other numbers and arrangements of seats. The seats 124 may be removable and separable from the trucks so that seats may be added to or removed from the passenger compartment 108.

[0048] The tracks may be parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 100 and may be parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 100. The seats 124 are linearly movable along the pair of tracks to which they are coupled. The seats 124 may each include an electric motor configured to linearly move the seat along the pair of tracks to which the seats are coupled. For example, the tracks may include teeth and the electric motor of the seat may drive a gear that engages with the teeth of the track to linearly move the seat. The seats 124 may also be positionable to face one, two, or three or more different directions. For example, the seats 124 may be positionable to face the direction 104 and may be positionable to face the direction 106. The seats 124 may also be positionable to face other directions. FIG. 11 includes an example cross-sectional view of the track 112 and a gear 1104 that engages with teeth 1108 of the track 112. Although an example gear and track system is provided, the present application is also applicable to other types of gear systems, such as worm gears.

[0049] 2 is a functional block diagram of a portion of the seats 124. Each of the seats 124 may include the same components.

[0050] The seat 124 includes a seat belt 204 configured to belt a passenger into the seat 124. A pretensioner 208 may be included to tighten the seat belt 204 when triggered by a restraints control module 212. The seat 124 may include one or more airbags 216, such as a seat belt airbag, one or more seat side (e.g., curtain) airbags, hip airbags, occupant-to-occupant airbags, and / or one or more other suitable types of airbags. The seat 124 may also include one or more other restraints 220.

[0051] The restraint control module 212 selectively activates / triggers the pretensioners 208, the deployment of the airbags 216, and other restraints 220 (collectively referred to as "restraints"). The restraint control module 212 may activate / trigger one or more of the restraints of the seat 124 in response to commands from a communication module 224 and / or based on measurements from one or more sensors, such as one or more accelerometers. The communication module 224 communicates with other modules of the vehicle, as described further below. The restraint control module 212 may selectively activate / trigger one or more of the restraints of the seat 124 even when communication with one or more other modules of the vehicle 100 is lost.

[0052] The seat 124 includes a radio frequency (RF) module 228. The RF module 228 includes an RF receiver and may include an RF transmitter. In various implementations, the RF module 228 may include an RF transceiver. The RF module 228 receives RF signals via one or more antennas, such as the antenna 232. The RF module 228 may determine a signal strength indicator (value), such as a relative signal strength indicator (RSSI), based on characteristics of the received RF signals. The signal strength indicator of the received RF signal and a unique identifier of the RF transmitter that transmitted the received signal may be communicated to one or more modules, as described further below.

[0053] The signal strength indicators of the multiple RF signals received from the multiple different RF transmitters may be used to determine the position of the seat 124 within the passenger compartment 108. Additionally or alternatively, the position of the seat 124 may be determined based on one or more other types of data. For example, a position sensor (e.g., a variable reluctance or Hall effect sensor) may determine the linear position of the seat 124 based on the rotation of a gear driven by the electric motor of the seat 124. The position sensor may increase or decrease the linear position of the seat 124 based on the rotation of a gear coupled to the track of the seat, for example. The position of the seat 124 may be determined based on the linear position of the seat 124 on the pair of tracks and predetermined position information of the pair of tracks. Additionally or alternatively, one or more cameras may be used to capture images of the passenger compartment 104, and the position of the seat 124 may be determined based on the position of the seat 124 in the image, for example, using a look-up table and / or an equation. Additionally or alternatively, an encoder may be provided along each track, and the output of the encoder may be used to determine the position of the seat. The seat may also include a mass sensor that measures a mass present on the seat. The restraint control module may determine whether the seat is occupied based on an image captured using a camera (e.g., the seat includes an object having a human shape), using a mass measured by the mass sensor (e.g., the mass is greater than a predetermined mass), or in another suitable manner. In various implementations, seat belt buckling may be detected using an image from a camera, using an image from a seat belt sensor, or in another suitable manner. The restraint control module may control actuation / deployment of airbags and / or restraints based on whether the seat belt is fastened around the occupant of the seat.

[0054] 3 is another top view of the vehicle 100. A number of RF modules 304 may selectively transmit RF signals and their respective unique identifiers within the passenger compartment 108, such as when prompted by a location module 308. The RF modules 304 may be located, for example, on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle 100. The RF modules 304 each transmit RF signals via one or more antennas.

[0055] An RF module of the seat 124, such as RF module 304, determines a signal strength indicator based on the respective received signal from RF module 228. The RF module of the seat 124 communicates the signal strength indicator and the respective received unique identifier to the location module 308. The location module 308 may determine a location of the RF module 304 based on the respective unique identifier. The location module 308 may determine a (current) location of the seat 124 within the passenger compartment 108 based on the signal strength indicator of the RF module 304 and the location of the RF module 304, for example using triangulation.

[0056] Additionally or alternatively, the position module 308 may determine the position of the seat 124 based on measurements from a position sensor of the seat 124. Additionally or alternatively, the position module 308 may determine the position of the seat 124 based on images of the passenger compartment 108 captured using one or more cameras 312. For example, the position module 308 may use an object detection algorithm to detect the seat 124 in images captured using the cameras. The position module 308 may determine the position of the seat 124 within the passenger compartment 108 based on, for example, the number of pixels of the image occupied by the seat 124 and the pixel location of the seat 124 within the image.

[0057] 4 is a functional block diagram of an example portion of a vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 includes one or more sensors 404 that indicate when a collision between the vehicle 100 and an object occurs. The sensors 404 may be, for example, accelerometers or another suitable type of collision sensor. In various implementations, the vehicle 100 may include a sensor configured to indicate when a frontal collision of the vehicle 100 occurs, a sensor configured to indicate when a rear-end collision of the vehicle 100 occurs, a sensor configured to indicate when a left-side collision of the vehicle 100 occurs, and a sensor configured to indicate when a right-side collision of the vehicle 100 occurs. The vehicle 100 may include one or more other sensors that indicate when one or more other collisions occur.

[0058] The vehicle 100 includes one or more airbags, such as a left airbag 412, a right airbag 416, a front airbag 420, and a rear airbag 424. Although exemplary airbags are shown, the vehicle 100 may additionally include one or more other airbags. In various implementations, the vehicle 100 may include multiple left airbags, multiple right airbags, multiple front airbags, and / or multiple rear airbags. The vehicle 100 may also include one or more other restraints 428. Although exemplary airbags and restraints are provided, the present application is also applicable to other configurations of airbags and / or restraints. Also, one or more airbags and / or one or more restraints may be included in one, more than one, or each seat, as described above.

[0059] The restraint control module 408 selectively and individually activates / triggers the deployment of airbags and other restraints 428. The restraint control module 408 also selectively and individually commands the restraint control module 212 to activate / trigger the restraints of the seat 124. As described above, the restraint control module 212 of the seat 124 may selectively activate / trigger one or more of the restraints of the seat 124, respectively, even if communication with the restraint control module 408 is lost in response to detecting a crash.

[0060] When a crash occurs, the restraint control module 408 and the restraint control module 212 determine which restraints in the seat 124 (e.g., FIG. 2) and the vehicle (e.g., FIG. 4) should be triggered / deployed based on the position of the seat 124 and the location of the crash, respectively. The restraint control module and the restraint control module 212 trigger / deploy the determined restraints. The restraint control module 408 may determine which restraints to trigger / deploy using a look-up table that relates the crash direction, the seat position, the seat occupancy, and seat orientations in which the restraints should be deployed and seat orientations in which the restraints should not be deployed. The seat orientation may be determined by the restraint control module, for example, using images from a camera and / or a seat orientation (e.g., rotational position) sensor.

[0061] 12 includes an example table of trigger / deployment indicators (yes / no) for each restraint (R1-RM) for different seat occupancy conditions, crash directions / locations, seat facing directions, and seat positions. The restraint control module may use an example table similar to that of FIG. 12 to determine whether to deploy / trigger each restraint. For example, the restraint control module may deploy / trigger each restraint that has a "yes" in at least one of the tables.

[0062] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of controlling deployment of restraints. Control begins at 504 where the position module 308 determines the position of the seat 124 within the passenger compartment 108. The position module 308 also determines the direction in which the seat 124 is facing. For example, the position module 308 triggers the RF module 304 to output RF signals and their unique identifiers at different times (e.g., in a predetermined order). The RF module 228 of the seat 124 determines a signal strength indicator for each received RF signal and transmits the signal strength indicator and the unique identifier. The position module 308 determines the position of each seat 124 based on the signal strength indicators of the RF signals respectively received from the RF module 304 and the position of the RF module 304, using triangulation or the like. Additionally or alternatively, the position module 308 may determine the position of each seat 124 based on an image of the passenger compartment 108 and / or the position of each seat 124 measured by a position sensor.

[0063] At 508, the restraint control module 408 and / or the restraint control module 212 may determine whether a collision between the vehicle 100 and one or more objects has occurred, and if so, the direction of the collision (e.g., front, rear, right side, left side, etc.). If 508 is true, control proceeds to 516. If 508 is false, the restraint control module and / or the restraint control module 212 may determine not to deploy restraints at 512, and control may return to 504.

[0064] At 516, the restraint control module 408 and / or the restraint control module 212 selects which restraints to trigger / deploy (and which restraints not to trigger / deploy) based on the crash, the crash direction, and the position of the seat 124. At 520, the restraint control module 408 and / or the restraint control module 212 triggers / deploys the selected restraints. Although control is shown as finished, control may return to 504.

[0065] FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example seating arrangement and side (right side) crash. In this example, all seats face forward. In the example of FIG. 6, based on seat orientation, crash direction, seat occupancy, etc., the restraint control module 408 may trigger / deploy right side curtain airbags in all rows, pretensioners in all seats, and seat side airbags in the seats on the right-most side of the vehicle (where the crash occurred). In various implementations, the restraint control module 408 may not deploy restraints in unoccupied seats.

[0066] FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example seating arrangement and a side (right side) crash. In the example of FIG. 7, the circled seat is rotated to face rearward. This differs from FIG. 6, where all seats face forward. In the example of FIG. 7, based on the seat orientation, crash direction, seat occupancy, etc., the restraint control module 408 may trigger / deploy the right side curtain airbags of all rows, pretensioners of all seats, and seat side airbags of the seat on the right-most side of the vehicle (where the crash occurred). In various implementations, the restraint control module 408 may not deploy restraints for unoccupied seats. In the example of FIG. 7, the circled seat faces rearward, so its left seat side airbag may be deployed. The restraint control module 408 may determine which restraints to trigger / deploy based on the direction the seat is facing.

[0067] FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example seating arrangement and a side (right side) crash. In the example of FIG. 8, based on seat orientation, crash direction, seat occupancy, etc., the restraint control module 408 may trigger / deploy right side curtain airbags in all rows, pretensioners in all seats, and seat side airbags in the seat at the right-most side of the vehicle (where the crash occurred). In various implementations, the restraint control module 408 may not deploy restraints in unoccupied seats. The restraint control module 408 may deploy occupant-to-occupant airbags, circled in FIG. 8, to minimize or prevent one occupant from colliding with another occupant in response to a crash. The occupant-to-occupant airbags, circled, may be disposed between the seats and deployed between adjacent seats with occupants present.

[0068] 9 is a diagram of an example seating arrangement and offset frontal crash. In the example of FIG. 9, the restraint control module 408 may trigger / deploy frontal airbags, pretensioners for all seats based on seat orientation, crash direction, seat occupancy, etc. Seat side airbags may also be triggered / deployed. In various implementations, the restraint control module 408 may not deploy restraints for unoccupied seats.

[0069] 10 is a diagram of an example seating arrangement and rear-side crash. In the example of FIG. 10, the restraint control module 408 may trigger / deploy pretensioners for all seats based on seat orientation, crash direction, seat occupancy, etc. The restraint control module 408 may not trigger / deploy airbags. In various implementations, the restraint control module 408 may not deploy restraints for unoccupied seats.

[0070] The foregoing description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms. Thus, while the present disclosure includes specific examples, other modifications will become apparent upon review of the drawings, specification, and the following claims, and the true scope of the present disclosure should not be so limited. It should be understood that one or more steps in a method may be performed in a different order (or simultaneously) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Furthermore, although each of the embodiments is described above as having specific features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented in and / or combined with any feature of any of the other embodiments, even if the combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and substitution of one or more embodiments for one another remains within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0071] Spatial and functional relationships between elements (e.g., between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms including "connected," "engaged," "coupled," "adjacent," "next to," "on top of," "above," "below," and "disposed." Unless expressly described as "direct," when a relationship between a first element and a second element is described in the disclosure above, the relationship may be a direct relationship where no other intervening elements exist between the first element and the second element, but may also be an indirect relationship where one or more intervening elements exist (spatially or functionally) between the first element and the second element. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be interpreted to mean a logic using a non-exclusive logical OR (A OR B OR C), and not to mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C."

[0072] In the diagrams, the direction of the arrows, as indicated by the arrowhead, generally indicates the flow of information (such as data or instructions) that is important to the illustration. For example, an arrow may point from element A to element B where element A and element B exchange various information, but information sent from element A to element B is relevant to the diagram. This unidirectional arrow does not imply that other information is not sent from element B to element A. Additionally, with respect to information sent from element A to element B, element B may send element A a request for the information or an acknowledgment of receipt.

[0073] In this application, including the definitions below, the term "module" or "controller" may be substituted for the term "circuitry." 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 combinatorial logic circuit, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code, a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor circuit, other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality, or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system on a chip.

[0074] A module may include one or more interface circuits. In some embodiments, the interface circuit may include a wired or wireless interface that connects to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or a combination thereof. The functionality of any given module of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiple modules that are connected via interface circuits. For example, multiple modules may allow for load balancing. In further embodiments, a server (also known as remote or cloud) module may perform some functions on behalf of a client module.

[0075] The term code as used above may include software, firmware, and / or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, data structures, and / or objects. The term shared processor circuit encompasses a single processor circuit that executes some or all code from multiple modules. The term group processor circuit encompasses a processor circuit that executes some or all code from one or more modules in combination with additional processor circuits. References to multiple processor circuits encompass multiple processor circuits on separate dies, multiple processor circuits on a single die, multiple cores of a single processor circuit, multiple threads of a single processor circuit, or combinations of the above. The term shared memory circuit encompasses a single memory circuit that stores some or all code from multiple modules. The term group memory circuit encompasses a memory circuit that stores some or all code from one or more modules in combination with additional memory.

[0076] The term memory circuit is a subset of the term computer-readable medium. The term computer-readable medium as used herein does not encompass transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (such as on a carrier wave). Thus, the term computer-readable medium may be considered to be tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of non-transitory tangible computer-readable media are non-volatile memory circuits (such as flash memory circuits, erasable programmable read-only memory circuits, or masked read-only memory circuits), volatile memory circuits (such as static random access memory circuits or dynamic random access memory circuits), magnetic storage media (such as analog or digital magnetic tape or hard disk drives), and optical storage media (such as CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs).

[0077] The apparatus and methods described in this application may be implemented in part or in whole by a special-purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to perform one or more specific functions embodied in a computer program. The above-described functional blocks, flow diagram components, and other elements function as software specifications, which may be converted into a computer program by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

[0078] A computer program includes processor-executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium. A computer program may also include or depend on stored data. A computer program may include a basic input / output system (BIOS) that interacts with the hardware of a special-purpose computer, device drivers that interact with specific devices of a special-purpose computer, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, and the like.

[0079] A computer program may include (i) text that is parsed, such as hypertext markup language (HTML), extensible markup language (XML), or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON); (ii) assembly code; (iii) object code generated from source code by a compiler; (iv) source code that is executed by an interpreter; or (v) source code that is compiled and executed by a just-in-time compiler. By way of example only, the source code may be written using syntax from languages ​​including: C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Java, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, Javascript, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language Fifth Edition), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Flash, Visual Basic, Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK, and Python.

Claims

1. A vehicle restraint control system, comprising: a position module configured to determine a position of a seat within a passenger compartment of the vehicle; a restraint control module, the restraint control module responding to detection of a crash of the vehicle: selecting which of the vehicle's restraints to activate based on the position of the seat; activating the selected restraining means of the vehicle; a restraint control system configured to not activate non-selected ones of the restraint means.

2. 2. The restraint control system of claim 1, wherein the seat engages a pair of tracks on a passenger floor, the pair of tracks being oriented parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

3. 3. The restraint control system of claim 2, wherein the position module is configured to determine the position of the seat based on an output from a sensor, the sensor configured to generate the output based on movement of the seat along the pair of tracks.

4. The restraint control system of claim 1 , wherein the position module is configured to determine the position of the seat based on a signal strength indicator of a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted and received within the passenger compartment.

5. The restraint control system of claim 1 , wherein the position module is configured to determine the position of the seat based on one or more images of the passenger compartment captured using one or more cameras.

6. 2. The restraint control system of claim 1, wherein the restraint control module is configured to select which restraints of the vehicle to activate further based on a location of the crash.

7. 2. The restraint control system of claim 1, wherein the restraining means includes at least an airbag and a seatbelt pretensioner.

8. The restraint control system of claim 1 , wherein the restraint control module is configured to select which restraint of the vehicle to activate further based on the direction in which the seat is facing.

9. 2. The restraint control system of claim 1, wherein the restraint control module is configured to select which of the vehicle restraints to activate further based on an indicator of whether each of the seats is occupied or not.

10. 2. The restraint control system of claim 1, wherein the restraint control module is configured to select which of the restraints of the vehicle to activate using a look-up table that associates seat position, seat orientation, seat occupancy, and crash location with the selected restraint.

11. 1. A method of restraint control for a vehicle, comprising: determining a seat location within a passenger compartment of the vehicle; in response to detecting a collision of the vehicle; selecting which of the vehicle restraints to activate based on the position of the seat; and activating the selected restraining means of the vehicle; and not activating non-selected ones of the restraint means.

12. 12. The method of restraint control of claim 11, wherein the seat engages a pair of tracks on a passenger floor, the pair of tracks being oriented parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

13. 13. The method of restraint control of claim 12, wherein determining the position of the seat includes determining the position of the seat based on an output from a sensor, the sensor configured to generate the output based on movement of the seat along the pair of tracks.

14. 12. The method of restraint control of claim 11, wherein determining the position of the seat includes determining the position of the seat based on a signal strength indicator of a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted and received within the passenger compartment.

15. 12. The method of restraint control of claim 11, wherein determining the position of the seat includes determining the position of the seat based on one or more images of the passenger compartment captured using one or more cameras.

16. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting which of the vehicle restraints to activate includes selecting which of the vehicle restraints to activate further based on a location of the crash.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the restraining means includes at least an airbag and a seatbelt pretensioner.

18. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting which of the vehicle restraints to activate includes selecting which of the vehicle restraints to activate further based on a direction in which the seat is facing.

19. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting which of the vehicle restraint means to activate includes selecting which of the vehicle restraint means to activate further based on an indicator of whether each of the seats is occupied or not.

20. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting which restraint means of the vehicle to activate includes selecting which restraint means of the vehicle to activate using a lookup table that associates seat position, seat orientation, seat occupancy, and crash location with the selected restraint means.

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