Vehicle Seat Grounding for Low-Latency Occupant Position Sensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current sensing systems within vehicles face challenges in accurately determining the movement and position of passengers and objects due to limitations in signal discrimination and processing latency, particularly in vehicle environments.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a sensing system that utilizes grounding portions in conjunction with capacitive sensors and orthogonal signaling techniques, such as frequency-division multiplexing and code-division multiplexing, to enhance the detection and processing of movement and position data, allowing for the creation of heat maps and low-latency event detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If grounding portions are added to the sensing system, then signal discrimination and measurement precision are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The grounding portions serve as intermediary elements that mediate between the capacitive sensors and the signal processing system. By providing dedicated grounding paths and reference potentials, these portions enable better signal discrimination without requiring fundamental changes to the sensor architecture, thus improving measurement precision while controlling complexity increases.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention modifies electrical parameters of the sensing system by introducing grounding portions that alter the reference potential and signal impedance characteristics. This enables improved signal discrimination through parameter optimization rather than through architectural complexity, allowing the system to achieve better measurement precision with controlled complexity.
2Measurement precision
If orthogonal signaling techniques are implemented, then position and movement detection accuracy is improved, but processing latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing system employs periodic orthogonal signaling where multiple sensing channels are activated in alternating time periods. This periodic multiplexing allows accurate position and movement detection through orthogonal signal separation while managing processing latency by systematically cycling through channels rather than requiring simultaneous processing of all channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary signal separation and processing during the transmission phase by utilizing orthogonal signal characteristics. This preliminary action enables the receiver to begin decoding position and movement information as signals are being transmitted, reducing overall processing latency while maintaining detection accuracy.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple transmitting and receiving antennas are used for comprehensive sensing, then coverage and detection capability are improved, but device complexity and signal processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna system is segmented into multiple transmitting and receiving elements that operate semi-independently. Each antenna pair can process signals with minimal cross-interference, allowing the system to achieve comprehensive detection coverage while managing complexity through modular segmentation rather than requiring a monolithic complex processing system.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmitting and receiving antennas are designed with multi-functionality, where each antenna can serve both transmission and reception roles depending on the operational phase. This universality reduces the total number of components needed while maintaining comprehensive detection capability, thereby improving versatility without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables precise determination of occupant and object movement and position with low latency, improving signal discrimination and allowing for enhanced vehicle environment monitoring, including biometric data collection and vehicle system adjustments.
Implementation Method 1
a sensing system that utilizes grounding portions in conjunction with capacitive sensors
Implementation Method 2
a grounding portion located proximate to at least one of the plurality of receiving antennas or at least one of the plurality of transmitting antennas, the grounding portion adapted to enhance determination of the measurements of the transmitted signals received
Implementation Method 3
orthogonal signaling techniques, such as frequency-division multiplexing and code-division multiplexing
Implementation Method 4
each transmitting antenna adapted to transmit a signal that is orthogonal to each other signal transmitted during an integration period
Data Source
AI summary
A sensing system determines movement and position of passengers and objects within a vehicle. In particular, the determination of the position and movement of body parts can be enhanced by providing features that provide a source of ground for the system. The sensing system is able to transmit a plurality of signals during a transmission period and use the sensed signals during a frame in order to create different heat maps that represent movement and position of person during an integration period. By taking advantage of grounding sources, the system is able to better determine the position and movement of a person or object.