Emergency notification system

Abstract

To provide an emergency reporting system which can notify accurate information under various situations.SOLUTION: An emergency reporting system 10 comprises: a plurality of seating sensors 11 - 13 which are arranged at a left side seat 7, a center seat 8 and a right side seat 9 of a back seat 4, respectively and detect seating states or non-seating states of occupants; and determination means 20 which determines the number of occupants and seating positions of occupants based on the seating states or non-seating states detected by the respective seating sensors 11 - 13. The determination means 20 determines, when the seating states are respectively detected at the plurality of seats 7 - 9 and when detection periods of the seating states are overlapped, that occupants are seated at the respective seats 7 - 9 in which the detection periods are overlapped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an emergency call system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when seating information changes before and after an impact, a specific position is displayed and the movement and position information are sent to a reporting center (see, for example, Patent Document 1). There are also known systems that use seat sensor information before and after the accident to determine the severity of the accident by determining whether the occupant has been thrown out of the vehicle, and then issue an emergency call (see, for example, Patent Document 2). These systems calculate the position of the occupant and the severity of their injuries using seat sensor information before and after the accident, and then report the accident to a call center. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2020-17077 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2016-30481 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional emergency notification systems configured in this way simply calculate the number of rear seat occupants and their seating positions at the time of an accident based on the assumption that only seats with seating sensors that detected occupants before the accident were occupied. On the other hand, passengers in the rear seats may not only not be wearing seat belts, but may also be temporarily crouching away from the seating surface, or standing and moving between seats. If an accident occurs under these circumstances, it may not be possible to accurately report the number of passengers in the rear seats or their seating positions, leaving room for further improvement.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an emergency reporting system that can report accurate information even in various situations, such as when a person is temporarily crouching and away from the seat, or when the person is standing and moving around in the seat. The present application aims to improve the safety of emergency call systems in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and ultimately to further improve traffic safety and contribute to the development of sustainable transportation systems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the emergency call system of the present invention comprises at least two or more seats and a plurality of seating sensors installed in each seat to detect whether an occupant is seated or not. The emergency call system also comprises a determination means for determining the number of occupants and their seating positions based on the seating or not-seated state detected by each seating sensor. When seating states are detected in a plurality of seats and the detection periods for the seating states overlap, the determination means determines that there is an occupant seated in each of the seats whose detection periods overlap. At the same time, when an occupancy state is detected in a seat other than the seat in which the detection periods overlap, the determination of the number of occupants and the seating positions is corrected. , and is characterized by the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, an emergency notification system is provided that can report accurate information in various situations. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic top view of a vehicle illustrating a state in which a seating sensor and a buckle sensor are installed on each seat in an emergency call system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing a process for determining the number of occupants and their seating positions in the emergency notification system. [Figure 3] 10 is a time chart showing an example of seating determination, in which the ON / OFF states of the seating sensor indicate that one person is seated in the front passenger seat and three people are seated in the rear seats. [Figure 4] 10 is a time chart for Case 2 in which it is determined that there is one or more passengers in the rear seats when the buckle sensor is OFF. [Figure 5] This is a time chart for Case 3 in which it is determined that there are three passengers in the rear seats when the buckle sensor remains ON. [Figure 6] This is a time chart for Case 4, in which it is determined that there is one or more passengers in the rear seats when the buckle sensor is OFF and there is no overlap time in the seating sensor. [Figure 7] This is a time chart for Case 5, in which it is determined that an occupant is in the vehicle even if the seating sensor is OFF, when the buckle sensor remains ON. [Figure 8] This is a time chart for Case 6, in which if the buckle sensor remains ON and the ON seating sensors overlap, it is determined that two or more passengers are on board. [Figure 9] 10 is a time chart showing Case 7 in which the seating sensor determines that there is one occupant in the emergency call system having rear seats including a third row. [Figure 10] 10 is a time chart for Case 8 in which the seating sensor determines that there are two or more passengers in the rear seats, including the third row. [Figure 11] This is a time chart for Case 9 in which the seating sensor determines that there are three or more occupants in the rear seats, including the third row. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. The emergency call system 10 of the embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is provided with a front seat 3 and a rear seat 4, each consisting of one or more seats, in a row at the front and a row at the rear of the vehicle interior. Of these, the front seats 3 have a driver's seat 5 and a passenger seat 6. The rear seats 4 have a left seat 7, a center seat 8, and a right seat 9.

[0010] The emergency notification system 10 includes seating sensors 11, 12, and 13 installed in the left seat 7, center seat 8, and right seat 9 of each rear seat 4, and a determination means 20 connecting each of the seating sensors 11, etc. Further, the driver's seat 5 and the passenger's seat 6 of the front seats 3 are provided with seating sensors 14 and 15, respectively. These seating sensors 11 to 15 are configured by pressure detection sensors etc. that are provided on the seat surface of each seat. When an occupant sits in each seat, the seating sensors 11 to 15 detect whether the occupant is seated or not based on the pressure or weight applied to the seat surface and output the result to the determination means 20.

[0011] The determination means 20 of the emergency notification system 10 determines the number of occupants and their seating positions based on the seated or unseated state detected by each of the seating sensors 11-15. In this embodiment, the seats determined by the determination means 20 are the left seat 7, center seat 8, and right seat 9 provided in the rear seat 4 among the front and rear seats provided in multiple rows in front and behind. This allows accurate information to be reported by occupants in the rear seats 4, who are more likely to move between seats compared to the front seats 3, even in various situations. For example, the determination means 20 of the embodiment uses different calculation logic to detect whether an occupant is seated in the front seat 3 and the rear seat 4. This makes it possible to report accurate seating information such as the exact number of occupants and their seating positions by narrowing it down to occupants in the rear seat 4, which is more likely to be involved in various situations.

[0012] The vehicle 1 is also provided with seat belts 16, 17, and 18 in the left seat 7, center seat 8, and right seat 9 of the rear seat 4, respectively. Each seat belt 16 has a buckle. Each buckle interconnects multiple components that make up the seat belt 16. When the buckle is in a connected state (ON), the seat belt 16 is in a fastened state that restrains a seated occupant. When the buckle is in a released state (OFF) where the connection is released, the seat belt 16 is not fastened, allowing the occupant to leave the seat and move between seats.

[0013] These buckles are each provided with a buckle sensor 21, 22, 23. The buckle sensors 21, 22, 23 detect the fastening state of the seat belt 16, etc. from the fastening / unfastening state (ON / OFF) of the buckle of each seat belt 16, etc. Furthermore, each buckle sensor 21, 22, 23 is connected to the determination means 20. The detected fastening / unfastening state (ON / OFF) of the buckle, which indicates the fastening state of each seat belt 16, is output to the determination means 20 as seat belt fastening information.

[0014] The determination means 20 is also equipped with a collision sensor 30 that detects a collision of the vehicle 1 and a communication means 50 provided in the car navigation system 40, which are connected to each other. The determination means 20 makes a determination based on the seating information and non-seating information of each seat during a predetermined period (hereinafter also referred to as the detection period) going back from the detection of the collision by the collision sensor 30. The communication means 50 is configured to be able to transmit an emergency call including seating information consisting of at least the number of occupants and their seating positions to a receiving facility (not shown) outside the vehicle, such as an emergency call service of an insurance company with which the vehicle is contracted.

[0015] Furthermore, the determination means 20 of the embodiment is connected to an imaging means 60 such as a camera and a collision prediction unit 70 that determines whether or not there will be a mutual collision. The collision prediction unit 70 determines the collision type, such as an offset collision or a collision with a pedestrian, by mutual collision determination based on the collision detection information from the collision sensor 30 and the image data information from the imaging means 60. Information on the determined collision type is sent to the determination means 20. The determining means 20 can adjust the injury value of the occupant calculated from the seating information obtained by the seating sensors 11-15 and the buckle sensors 21-23 according to the collision type determined by the collision prediction unit 70 to be a mutual collision.

[0016] Next, the processing procedure in the determination means 20 of the emergency notification system 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, while the vehicle 1 is traveling, the collision sensor 30 detects a collision such as an offset collision with another vehicle 101 ahead, and outputs the detection result to the determination means 20.

[0017] In step S1, the seating status of the occupants in the front and rear seats 3, 4 is detected within a predetermined period of time preceding the moment of the collision. Here, the predetermined period is the period from _minutes_ before the collision (_minutes is arbitrarily set, for example, 1 to 10 minutes) until the collision. The seating sensor 15 provided in the passenger seat 6 shown in Fig. 1 and the seating sensors 11 to 15 provided in the left seat 7, center seat 8, and right seat 9 (see Fig. 1) of the rear seat 4 each detect pressure caused by an occupant sitting on the seat. When pressure exceeding a predetermined value is detected, a seating signal indicating an ON state (hereinafter also referred to as a seated state) is sent from each seating sensor 11 to the determination means 20. When no pressure is detected, the sensor determines that the state is an OFF state (hereinafter also referred to as a non-seated state).

[0018] In this embodiment, the calculation logic for the front seat 3 is set to be different from the calculation logic for the rear seat 4. Therefore, in case 1 (see Figure 3), when the seating sensor 15 of the passenger seat 6 detects the seated state of an occupant (see t1) within the judgment time, the judgment means 20 determines that there is one occupant on board, independently of the rear seat 4. Then, it is also possible to calculate the injury value of the occupant seated in the passenger seat 6 of the front seat 3 based on the determination by the determination means 20. At this time, when the seated state is no longer detected (see t2), the possibility of movement between seats is low in the front seat 3. Therefore, it is determined that the hips are off the ground, and the determination that there is one occupant on board is maintained.

[0019] In step S2, the determining means 20 detects a seating signal from any one of the seating sensors 11 to 13 provided in the rear seat 4 and determines whether or not a seat is occupied from the seating signal. If there is a seating signal (YES in step S2), the process proceeds to step S4. If there is no seating signal (NO in all seats in step S2), the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the determination means 20 determines that there are no occupants in the rear seats 4, and determines that there are no occupants in the rear seats 4 for which a fault value needs to be calculated.

[0020] In step S4, it is determined whether there are multiple seats with seating signals in the rear seats 4. If there are multiple seats (Yes in step S4), the process proceeds to step S6. If there are not multiple seats with seating signals in the rear seats 4 (No in step S4), the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the determination means 20 determines that there is an occupant in only one detected rear seat, and determines that there is an occupant in the seat where occupancy was detected.

[0021] In step S6, it is determined whether the detection periods of the seated state overlap. If the detection periods of the seated state overlap between any two seats (Yes in step S6), the process proceeds to step S10, which will be described later. For example, in Case 1 shown in Figure 3, the seating state of the left seat and the seating state of the center seat overlap during detection period t3, so it is determined that there is an occupant in both the left seat and the center seat. In addition, the seating state of the right seat and the seating state of the center seat overlap during detection period t4. Therefore, it is determined that there is an occupant in each of the right seat and the center seat (Yes in step S6), and the process proceeds to step S10 in either situation.

[0022] Then, the period of the seated state of the right seat does not overlap during detection period t3. Furthermore, the period of the seated state of the left seat does not overlap during detection period t4. Therefore, the seats that do not overlap, i.e., seats other than the overlapping seats, are determined to be in an occupied state (Yes in step S10), and the process proceeds to step S11.

[0023] Steps S10 to S11 are processes for correcting the determination of seating information when there is an occupant in a seat other than the overlapping seats. In step S10, the determination means 20 determines whether or not there is a case where an occupancy state has been detected in a seat other than each of the seats whose detection periods overlap.

[0024] For example, in Case 1 shown in Figure 3, the detection periods t3 during which seating is detected in two seats (the left seat and the center seat) overlap. Therefore, the answer in step S6 of Figure 2 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S10. Then, during the detection periods t3, the period during which seating is detected in the right seat does not overlap (No in step S10). Therefore, in step S9, it is determined that there is an occupant seated in each seat, and the number of occupants is determined to be two in the two seats, the left seat and the center seat.

[0025] However, an occupant state in the right seat is detected after the end of detection period t3, during a period that does not overlap with detection period t3. Therefore, in step S10, an occupant state is detected in a seat (right seat) other than the seats (left seat and center seat) that overlap detection period t3 (Yes in step S10). As a result, the process proceeds to step S11, and the determination is revised to indicate that there is one occupant in the right seat in addition to the two occupants in the two seats (right seat and center seat) during overlapping detection period t4.

[0026] Furthermore, during detection period t4, the periods during which two seats (the right seat and the center seat) are detected as occupied overlap. Therefore, the answer to step S6 in FIG. 2 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S10. During detection period t4, the period during which the left seat is occupied does not overlap (No to step S10). Therefore, in step S9, it is determined that there is an occupant in each seat, and if this continues, it is determined that there are two occupants in the two seats, the right seat and the center seat.

[0027] However, the seating state of the left seat is detected during a period that does not overlap with detection period t4, for example, before period t3. Therefore, in step S10, an occupancy state is detected in a seat (left seat) other than the seats (right seat and center seat) that overlap with detection period t3 (Yes in step S10). As a result, the process proceeds to step S11, where the determination is revised to determine that there are two or more occupants in addition to the two occupants in the two seats (left seat and center seat) during the overlapping detection period t3. In this way, the determination means 20 determines that there is a high possibility that occupants were already seated when the detection periods do not overlap, in addition to the number of seats where occupancy has been detected due to overlapping detection periods, and corrects the determination when there are more occupants than the number of overlapping seats. This allows the determination means 20 to correct the number of occupants to X or more and determine the number and seating positions of occupants more accurately.

[0028] Meanwhile, in steps S7 to S9, in addition to determining whether the seat belt 16 etc. is fastened, the seating state is determined by the determination means 20. That is, if the detection periods of the seating state do not overlap in any of the seats (No in step S6), the determination means 20 proceeds to step S7. In step S7, the seating state is detected in multiple rear seats 4, and the determination means 20 determines whether or not one or more seat belts 16 to 18 are fastened among the rear seats 4 whose seating state detection periods do not overlap. The determining means 20 determines the fastening state of the seat belts 16 to 18 based on fastening information (ON, OFF) from the buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23.

[0029] As a result, if any one or more of the seat belts 16 to 18 of the rear seats 4 are not fastened (No in step S7), the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the determining means 20 determines that the seat belts 16 and the like are not fastened in all of the rear seats 4 where the detection periods do not overlap, and that there is a possibility that the same person has moved. Then, the determination means 20 determines that X or more occupants are seated, which is the number of seats for which the seating state has been detected.

[0030] For example, in case 2 shown in Fig. 4, the buckle sensor 21 etc. at the source seat detects whether the seat belt 16 etc. is fastened or not fastened based on the buckle connection status. The fastening information detected by each buckle sensor 21 is sent to the determination means 20. In case 2, the seat belts 16, etc. are detected as not fastened (OFF) in the left seat 11, the center seat 12, and the right seat 13. Therefore, the determination means 20 determines that the detection periods for each seat do not overlap and that the occupants are not fastening the seat belts 16, etc. (No in step S7), and proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the determination means 20 corrects the determination that there is a possibility that the occupant moved with their hips raised during the period t5, and that there is a possibility that the same person moved. Then, in case 2 shown in Figure 4, it is determined that one or more occupants are present, and a determination is made to calculate the obstacle value for the right seat.

[0031] On the other hand, if the seat belts 16 to 18 of one or more of the rear seats 4 are fastened (Yes in step S7), the determination means 20 advances the process to step S9. In step S9, if the seating detection periods do not overlap and the seat belts 16 etc. are fastened for the seats where the seating states are detected, it is determined that there is an occupant seated in each seat, and the determination means 20 determines that X number of occupants are seated.

[0032] For example, as in case 3 shown in Fig. 5, there is a case where the wearing information of the buckle sensor 21 or the like is in the fastened state (ON) at the seat from which the vehicle is moved. If the determination means 20 determines that the detection periods of the seated state do not overlap and that the occupant is fastening the seat belt 16 or the like (Yes in step S7), the process proceeds to step S9. As a result, in Case 3 shown in Figure 5, the periods during which seating is detected do not overlap, so there is a possibility that the occupant is moving with their hips raised during period t6. However, because the seat belt 16 of the center seat remains fastened, it cannot be assumed that they are moving. Therefore, in step S9, the determination means 20 determines that there are three occupants, assuming that there is an occupant seated in each seat. This adds the occupant in the right seat to the calculation of the fatality and serious injury rates for each of the three seats. Therefore, the emergency notification system 10 can further transmit accurate seating information to the outside of the vehicle, enabling prompt and appropriate rescue in the event of a collision.

[0033] 6, there may be a case where the fastening information of the buckle sensor 21 or the like is in the unfastened state (OFF) at the seat from which the vehicle is moved. The determination means 20 determines that the detection periods do not overlap and that the occupant is not fastening the seat belt 16 or the like (No in step S7), and proceeds to step S8. 6, there is a high possibility that the same occupant has lifted his hips and moved to the right seat during period t7, resulting in a single occupant. Therefore, the fatality and serious injury rate is calculated for the right seat after the occupant has moved. Therefore, in Case 4, the seating information is narrowed down by the determining means 20, and rescue can be carried out quickly and appropriately in the event of a collision based on accurate seating information.

[0034] Furthermore, for example, the detection period for the seating state of the left seat and the detection period for the seating state of the right seat do not overlap, as in Case 5 shown in Fig. 7. Also, except for the case where the fastening information of the buckle sensor 21, etc., in the seat from which the movement originates remains in the fastened state (ON), in the flowchart of Fig. 2, the detection periods do not overlap in step S6 (No in step S6) and the seat belt 16, etc., in the left seat is not fastened (No in step S7), and the process proceeds to step S8. This means that there is a possibility that the same passenger in the left seat has moved to the right seat, and it is determined that there are X or more passengers, in this case, two or more passengers. Therefore, it is determined that the two occupants in the left and right seats were alternately lifting their hips, and the fatality and serious injury rates are calculated for the two occupants in the left and right seats.

[0035] 8, the period for detecting the seating state of the left seat and the period for detecting the seating state of the center seat overlap in period t8. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, if the determination in step S6 is Yes, there is a possibility that two people are in the vehicle, and the determination means 20 proceeds to step S10.

[0036] In step S10, the determination means 20 detects an occupied state in the right seat other than the overlapping left seat and center seat. After the end of period t8, the center seat becomes unoccupied, and after a certain period t9, an occupied state is detected in the right seat. Therefore, although there is a possibility that an occupant was seated in the right seat from the beginning, the determination means 20 determines that the occupant has moved from the center seat to the right seat. If an occupant state in the right seat is detected in step S10 (Yes in step S10), the process proceeds to step S11. If the buckle sensor 22 of the center seat remains in the fastened state (ON), the passenger cannot move to the right seat. This means that the passenger has been seated in the right seat from the beginning, and there is a possibility that three passengers are in the vehicle. In step S11, the determination that there are two or more occupants is corrected to the number of overlapping seats, in this case two or more occupants. As a result, it is determined that there are two or more occupants, including three occupants, and calculations are performed to increase the fatality and serious injury rates for the right and left seats with priority. Therefore, the emergency notification system 10 can further transmit emergency information including accurate seating information to a receiving facility such as a notification center outside the vehicle, thereby enabling prompt and appropriate rescue in the event of a collision based on the accurate seating information.

[0037] 9 to 11, the front and rear seats 3, 4 are configured as three rows of seats. Among these, the rear seat 4 is provided with a second-row rear seat (2nd seat) 4a and a third-row rear seat (3rd seat) 4b. The second row rear seats (second seats) 4a of the rear seats 4 are provided with a left seat 7 equipped with a seating sensor 11 and a right seat 9 equipped with a seating sensor 13, respectively. Furthermore, the third-row rear seat (3rd seat) 4b of the rear seats 4 is provided with a left seat equipped with a seating sensor 31, a center seat equipped with a seating sensor 32, and a seating sensor 33. Each of the seating sensors 31 to 33 is connected to the determination means 20 shown in FIG. 1 and configured to send a seating signal indicating the seating state to the determination means 20.

[0038] For example, Case 7 shown in Figure 9 is a case where none of the seats have seat belts 16 fastened or equipped with buckle sensors 21. There is a possibility that an occupant has moved to the left seat of the third-row rear seat 4b among the seats 4, and there is a possibility that three occupants are in the vehicle. Therefore, the determination means 20 determines that one or more occupants are in the vehicle and calculates the fatality and serious injury rate for the left seat of the third-row rear seat 4b. Therefore, the emergency call system 10 can provide prompt and appropriate assistance in the event of a collision based on accurate seating information.

[0039] 10 shows a case where none of the seats have the seat belts 16 fastened or are equipped with the buckle sensors 21. Since the detection periods t10 for the seating states of the occupants of any of the second-row rear seats 4a and the occupant in the right seat of the third-row rear seat 4b overlap (Yes in step S6), the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, an occupancy state is detected in a seat other than the seats where the detection periods t10 overlap (Yes in step S10). Therefore, the process proceeds to step S11, where the determination means 20 determines that there are X or more occupants (here, two).

[0040] 11, for example, the seating states of three seats are detected during the detection period t11 (Yes in step S10). Therefore, the process proceeds to step S11, and the determination means 20 determines that there are X or more occupants (three in this case). In this way, the determining means 20 determines that one or more passengers are on board and calculates the fatality and serious injury rate for the left seat of the third-row rear seat 4b. Therefore, the emergency call system 10 transmits accurate seating information to the outside of the vehicle, and based on this seating information, rescue can be carried out quickly and appropriately in the event of a collision.

[0041] As described above, the emergency call system 10 of this embodiment includes at least two or more front and rear seats 3, 4, etc. The emergency call system 10 also includes a plurality of seating sensors 11-13 installed in the left seat 7, center seat 8, and right seat 9 of the rear seat 4, respectively, to detect whether occupants are seated or not. The emergency call system 10 also includes a determination means 20 that determines the number of occupants and their seating positions based on the seating or not-seated states detected by the seating sensors 11-13. When seating states are detected in a plurality of seats and the detection periods for the seating states overlap, the determination means 20 determines that there are occupants seated in the seats 7, etc., whose detection periods overlap.

[0042] The emergency notification system 10 configured in this manner can notify accurate information in a variety of situations. More specifically, as shown in Case 1 in Fig. 3, when seating sensors 11, 12, and 13 of multiple seats detect seating states and the seating state detection periods t3 and t4 overlap, the determination means 20 determines that there are occupants seated in each of the overlapping seats. This allows for a more accurate determination of the number of occupants than simply determining that there are occupants only in seats where seating sensors 11, 12, and 13 detected occupants before the accident. For example, situations are assumed in which a passenger temporarily crouches down and moves away from the seating surface, or stands up and moves between seats. In such situations, if a determination is made based solely on the detection signal detected by the seating sensors 11, 12, and 13 provided for each seat, as in the past, the seat would be judged to be vacant and empty, with no passenger present, simply because the passenger is away from the seating surface. This has led to an underestimation of the number of passengers.

[0043] There are also known detection devices that retain information on seating detected between ignition on and off, which indicates the time from starting to stopping a power source such as an engine. If an occupant moves between ignition on and off, such detection devices may overestimate the actual number of occupants by assuming that one occupant before and after the movement is two. If such erroneous determinations occur, an accurate emergency call cannot be made.

[0044] In contrast, in the emergency notification system of the present invention, if the detection periods of multiple seats overlap (Yes in step S6) and seating is detected only in the overlapping seats in step S10 (No in step S10), the judgment means 20 determines that an occupant is seated in each seat (step S9). Therefore, even in a situation where an occupant temporarily crouches down and leaves the seat or stands up from the seat and moves between seats, the determining means determines that the occupant is seated without moving between seats for seats where the detection periods overlap. In this way, seating information including the accurate number of occupants and their seating positions can be reported in various situations. The emergency notification system 10 of the present invention allows appropriate responses to be made to occupants, thereby improving safety and ultimately further improving traffic safety, thereby contributing to the development of a sustainable transportation system.

[0045] The seat determined by the determining means 20 is the rear seat 4 among the seats provided in a plurality of rows in front and behind. The passengers in the rear seats 4, who are more likely to move between seats than the passengers in the front seats 3, can report accurate information even in various situations. In more detail, for example, different calculation logic is used to detect whether an occupant is seated in the rear seat 4 and the front seat 3. This makes it possible to narrow down the information to occupants in the rear seat 4, who are more likely to be in various situations, and to report accurate seating information such as the exact number of occupants and which seats they are seated in.

[0046] In step S10, if an occupancy state is detected in a seat other than the seats whose detection periods overlap, the determination means 20 corrects the determination of the number of occupants and the seating positions. If there is a seat in which an occupant has been detected other than the seats whose detection periods overlap (Yes in step S10), the determination means 20 determines that there is a possibility that an occupant has already been seated in a seat whose detection periods do not overlap. Therefore, the determination means 20 adds the number of seats whose detection periods did not overlap to the number of seats whose detection periods were detected as overlapping in step S11, and corrects the determination based on the number of occupants and seating positions that is equal to or greater than the number of seats detected as overlapping.

[0047] For example, if there is a seat such as right seat 9, which was detected as occupied later than two seats whose detection periods overlap, such as left seat 7 and center seat 8 shown in Figure 3, there is a possibility that an occupant who has already lifted their hips is in right seat 9. Therefore, the occupant in right seat 9 is included, and the determination is corrected to three occupants. It should be noted that if one of the seats detected as overlapping, for example, the left seat 7, becomes vacant after being overlapped, it is possible that the occupant may have moved to the right seat 9. In this case, it may be determined that the number of occupants is two. Therefore, accurate seating information can be reported by limiting the detection period to two or more people whose detection periods overlap, so as to include two or three people.

[0048] 3, during the period in which it is determined that the detection periods of the left seat 7 and the center seat 8 overlap, no occupant is detected in the right seat 9. However, after the overlapping detection period of the left seat 7 and the center seat 8, an occupant is detected in the right seat 9. Therefore, it is determined that there are more occupants than the number of seats that overlapped at one time, and the determination means 20 can correct the determination of the number of occupants to three.

[0049] In addition, in case 1 shown in Figure 3, the period t4 in which the detection periods for the right seat 9 and the center seat 8 overlap is later than the period t3 in which the detection periods for the left seat 7 and the center seat 8 overlap, and the detection periods for all three seats overlap, so there is no triple overlap.

[0050] For this reason, the left seat 7 is no longer in an occupied state during the period t4 when the detection periods for the right seat 9 and the center seat 8 overlap. When the detection periods t4 for the seating states of the right seat 9 and the center seat 8 overlap in this way, the determination means 20 may determine in step S10 in FIG. 2 that the occupant in the left seat 7 "has been detected to be in an occupied state in a seat other than the seat for which the detection periods overlap." Then, in step S11, the determination means 20 first determines that there are occupants in two or more seats that overlap, the right seat 9 and the center seat 8. Then, in addition to the occupants in the two seats, the right seat 9 and the center seat 8, there is an occupant in the left seat, so the determination means 20 can correct the determination of the number of occupants to three.

[0051] In this way, the emergency notification system 10 of the embodiment determines that there are occupants in more seats than the number of seats whose seating states are detected overlappingly by the determination means 20. This makes it possible to correct the determination to include seats that are outside the overlapping detection periods in the determination of the number of occupants, in addition to the number of seats whose seating state detection periods overlap. Therefore, the emergency notification system 10 can report more accurate information on the number of occupants and their seating positions.

[0052] The emergency call system 10 further includes seat belts 16 to 18 installed in the left seat 7, the center seat 8, and the right seat 9, respectively. The emergency call system 10 also includes buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23 that detect whether or not each of the seat belts 16 to 18 is fastened and use the detected fastening information as fastening information. If there is a seat whose detection period does not overlap with any other seat among the seats where the seating sensor 31 or the like has detected the occupant sitting, the determination means 20 detects the wearing state of the buckle sensor 21 or the like for the non-overlapping seat. Then, the determination means 20 corrects the determination of the number of occupants and their seating positions based on the detected wearing information.

[0053] There may be a situation where the seating sensors 11, 12, and 13 detect that an occupant is seated on a seat whose detection period does not overlap with any other seats (NO in step S6). In this situation, the determining means 20 corrects the determination of the number of occupants and their seating positions for the seats that do not overlap based on the wearing information detected by the buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23 (step S7). For example, even if no passenger is seated at any of the buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23, the buckle may be detected as fastened. In this case, the buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23 alone are unlikely to provide accurate seating information.

[0054] In contrast to this, in the present invention, the determination of the number of occupants and seating information is corrected based on the fastening information from the buckle sensors 21, 22, 23 provided on the seats where the seating sensors 11, 12, 13 have detected seating. This allows the accuracy of the determination to be further improved by taking into account the state of the seat buckle sensor 21 and the like based on the corrected number of occupants and seating information.

[0055] In addition, when the buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23 detect that an occupant is fastened even though the occupant is not seated, the buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23 may be excluded as a case where no occupant is seated. This allows accurate reporting of seating information by combining the buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23 with the seating sensors 11, 12, and 13, even in a situation where the buckle sensors 21, 22, and 23 alone would erroneously determine that an occupant is present.

[0056] If the seat belts of one or more seats whose detection periods do not overlap are not fastened based on fastening information from the buckle sensor 21, etc. (NO in step S7), the judgment means 20 determines that the same person has moved (step S8).

[0057] For example, there may be cases where one or more buckle sensors 21, 22, 23 detect a seat in which the seat belt is not fastened (unfastened state) (NO in step S7). In this case, it is determined that the occupant is the same person and that this occupant may have moved (step S8). This determination allows the emergency notification system 10 to report more accurate seating information on the number of occupants.

[0058] The determination means 20 may determine that one of the seat belts is fastened based on the fastening information from the buckle sensors 21, 22, 23 among the seats whose detection periods do not overlap (yes in step S7). In this case, it determines that there is an occupant seated in each seat (step S9).

[0059] If the detection periods of occupied seats do not overlap (NO in step S4) and the seat belts of those seats are fastened, it can be accurately determined that one occupant is continuously sitting in that seat.

[0060] The vehicle has front seats 3 and rear seats 4. The rear seats 4 of the three-row seat configurations of cases 7 and 9 shown in Figures 9 to 11 respectively have a second-row rear seat (2nd seat) 4a with one or more seats, and a third-row rear seat (3rd seat) 4b with one or more seats. More specifically, the second-row rear seat 4a has a left seat equipped with a seating sensor 11 and a right seat equipped with a seating sensor 13. The third-row rear seat 4b has a left seat equipped with a seating sensor 31, a center seat equipped with a seating sensor 32, and a right seat equipped with a seating sensor 33.

[0061] Similar to the rear seat 4 having only the second-row rear seat 4a, even if there are second-row and third-row rear seats 4a and 4b, accurate seating information for the rear seat 4 can be obtained, improving the accuracy of emergency calls.

[0062] The emergency notification system 10 further includes a collision sensor 30 that detects a collision of the vehicle 1, and a communication means 50 that can transmit an emergency notification including seating information consisting of at least the number of occupants and their seating positions to a receiving device outside the vehicle. The determination means 20 makes a determination based on the seating information and non-seating information of each seat within a predetermined period prior to the detection of the collision by the collision sensor 30.

[0063] In the emergency notification system 10, when the vehicle 1 collides, the communication means 50 transmits an emergency notification including accurate seating information. Therefore, the notification center that receives the emergency notification can use the accurate seating information to provide prompt and appropriate assistance in the event of a collision.

[0064] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. The above-described embodiments are provided as examples to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the configurations described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to delete part of the configuration of each embodiment, or to add or replace other configurations. Possible modifications of the above-described embodiments include, for example, the following.

[0065] In the embodiment, the emergency notification system 10 includes a buckle sensor 21 that detects the fastening state of the seat belt 16, etc. However, this is not particularly limited. For example, the determination means 20 may determine the number of occupants and their seating positions using only the seating information detected by the seating sensor 11, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 3. Front seats 4. Rear seats 10 Emergency notification system 11~15, 31~33 Seat sensor 20 Judgment means

Claims

1. A plurality of seats, at least two in number; a plurality of seating sensors installed in each of the seats to detect whether an occupant is seated or not; a determination means for determining the number of occupants and the seating positions of the occupants based on the seating state or non-seating state detected by each of the seating sensors, The emergency call system is characterized in that, when seating states are detected in the plurality of seats and the seating state detection periods overlap, the determination means determines that there is an occupant seated in each of the seats where the detection periods overlap, and when seating states are detected in seats other than the seats where the detection periods overlap, the determination of the number of occupants and their seating positions is corrected.

2. 2. The emergency call system according to claim 1, wherein the seat determined by the determining means is a rear seat among a plurality of rows of seats provided in front and behind each other.

3. A plurality of seats, at least two in number; a plurality of seating sensors installed in each of the seats to detect whether an occupant is seated or not; a determination means for determining the number of occupants and their seating positions based on the seating state or non-seating state detected by each of the seating sensors; a seat belt provided on each of the seats; a buckle sensor that detects whether each seat belt is fastened and outputs the detected fastening information; When seating states are detected in the plurality of seats and the detection periods of the seating states overlap, the determination means determines that there is an occupant seated in each of the seats where the detection periods overlap, and when there is a seat where an occupant has been detected by the seating sensor but whose detection period does not overlap with any of the other seats, the determination means modifies the determination of the number of occupants and seating positions for the seats that do not overlap based on the wearing information detected by the buckle sensor.

4. The emergency call system according to claim 3, characterized in that the determination means determines that the same person has moved when the seat belt of at least one of the seats in which the detection periods do not overlap is in an unfastened state based on the fastening information of the buckle sensor.

5. 5. The emergency call system according to claim 3, wherein the determination means determines that there is an occupant seated in each of the seats whose detection periods do not overlap if the seat belt of any of the seats is in a fastened state according to the fastening information of the buckle sensor.

6. 4. The emergency call system according to claim 1, wherein the seats include front seats and rear seats, and the rear seats include a second-row rear seat having one or more of the seats and a third-row rear seat having one or more of the seats.

7. A plurality of seats, at least two in number; a plurality of seating sensors installed in each of the seats to detect whether an occupant is seated or not; a determination means for determining the number of occupants and their seating positions based on the seating state or non-seating state detected by each of the seating sensors; a collision sensor that detects a vehicle collision; a communication means capable of transmitting an emergency call including seating information consisting of at least the number of occupants and their seating positions to a receiving device outside the vehicle; Equipped with The emergency call system is characterized in that, when an occupancy state is detected in the multiple seats and the detection periods of the occupancy states overlap, the determination means determines that there is an occupant seated in each of the seats where the detection periods overlap, and makes the determination based on the occupancy information and non-occupancy information of each seat within a predetermined period prior to the detection of the collision by the collision sensor.

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