Vehicle Seat Occupant Detection Using Dynamic Load Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing occupant detection methods struggle to accurately determine the physical build of occupants, particularly distinguishing between tall and short individuals with similar weights, which affects airbag inflation control and other vehicle control systems.
Innovation Solution
An occupant detection method that involves detecting the load applied to a vehicle seat, identifying a local maximum load when an occupant is seated, setting a standard load value, and estimating body height based on the difference between the local maximum and standard load, with stricter deviation detection conditions for higher load differences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If weight-based estimation is used to determine occupant physical build, then the detection process is simple, but the estimation accuracy is insufficient for distinguishing tall and short individuals with similar weights
Solution Approach 1:
The detection process is segmented into multiple stages: initial weight-based detection using existing sensors, followed by dynamic load analysis during seating transition. This segmentation allows the system to use simple weight thresholds for basic detection while adding complex dynamic analysis only when needed for accurate body height estimation, thereby resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary weight-based estimation using existing seat load sensors before conducting more sophisticated dynamic load analysis. This preliminary action allows the system to quickly identify occupants and then apply more complex analysis only when necessary to distinguish between tall and short individuals with similar weights, improving accuracy without requiring continuous complex processing.
2Measurement precision
If dynamic load analysis during seating transition is used to estimate body height, then the estimation accuracy improves, but the detection time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system monitors seat load dynamically during the seating transition period, analyzing load changes at specific intervals as the occupant settles into the seat. This periodic action during the natural seating process allows the system to capture necessary dynamic load data for body height estimation without requiring additional time beyond the normal seating transition, thus improving accuracy while minimizing detection time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system rapidly analyzes the dynamic load transition curve during the brief seating moment, extracting body height information from the characteristic load changes that occur during the quick seating action. By rushing through the analysis during this transient period rather than requiring prolonged observation, the system achieves accurate body height estimation without significant time penalty.
3Measurement precision
If strict determination conditions are applied for deviation detection, then the detection accuracy improves, but the false positive rate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The determination conditions for seating state deviation are made dynamic rather than fixed. The system adjusts the strictness of deviation thresholds based on the occupant's body height estimation and the specific context of the seating event. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to apply stricter conditions when appropriate to improve accuracy while relaxing conditions in other cases to reduce false positives, thereby resolving the contradiction between detection accuracy and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the determination parameters (thresholds, tolerances, and criteria) based on the analyzed seating pattern and occupant characteristics. By adapting these parameters dynamically according to the specific situation, the system can maintain high detection accuracy while avoiding excessive false positives, as the determination conditions are optimized for each specific case rather than applying uniform strict criteria universally.
Data Source
AI summary
An occupant detection method includes detecting a load applied to a seat for a vehicle, detecting that an occupant is seated at the seat, holding a local maximum of the load which is detected when the occupant becomes seated, setting a standard value of the load in a state in which the occupant is seated at the seat, and estimating a body height of the occupant on the basis of a comparison between the local maximum of the load and the standard value of the load, wherein when the body height of the occupant is estimated, the larger a difference between the local maximum of the load and the standard value of the load is, the higher body height of the occupant is estimated.