Vehicle Seat Adjustment Restriction via Occupancy Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seat systems lack the ability to automatically restrict folding of second or third-row seats when passengers or objects are present, leading to potential safety hazards and inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a controller, camera, sensor, and display/audio system that uses image recognition and seatbelt sensors to determine the presence of objects or passengers, restricting seat adjustment capabilities to prevent folding when they are detected, and notifying occupants through visual and auditory cues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If remote seat folding is enabled for convenience, then ease of operation is improved, but safety risks increase when passengers or objects are present on the seat
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses cameras and sensors to continuously monitor the seat area and provides feedback to the control unit. When objects or passengers are detected on the seat, the system automatically prevents folding operations, creating a closed-loop safety mechanism that resolves the contradiction between ease of operation and safety risks
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cameras and sensors as intermediary detection devices between the remote control system and the seat folding mechanism. These intermediaries detect the presence of passengers or objects and mediate the folding operation by triggering warnings or preventing activation, thus resolving the safety concern while maintaining remote operation convenience
2Reliability
If seat folding is automatically restricted based on detection, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional sensors and cameras
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a multi-functional detection system where cameras and sensors serve multiple purposes: detecting passengers, detecting objects, monitoring seat area, and providing input for both warning and prevention modes. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized devices, thereby managing complexity while achieving comprehensive safety
Solution Approach 2:
The detection system is segmented into distinct functional components (cameras for visual detection, sensors for additional verification) that work together in a coordinated manner. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific detection task while the control unit integrates their inputs, managing overall system complexity through modular architecture
Data Source
AI summary
A system to limit adjustment capabilities of a vehicle seat, the system including: a controller; a camera located in a vehicle configured to record images of a visual content, where the visual content is at least a portion of the vehicle seat; the vehicle seat being capable of being remotely controlled to be adjusted between an upright arrangement and a folded arrangement; a sensor configured to produce an output when a seatbelt tongue is inserted into a corresponding seatbelt buckle; where executable instructions enable the controller to: operate the camera to record images of the visual content; determine whether an object exists in the visual content; determine whether the sensor has produced an output; and when at least one object exists in the visual content or the sensor has produced an output, limit the vehicle seat adjustment capabilities such that the vehicle seat is restricted to the upright arrangement.