Vehicle Occupant Detection via Sensor Correlation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle technologies fail to effectively alert drivers or manufacturers when a child or person is left in a car, leading to heat-related deaths, as they lack the ability to correlate sensor data to initiate preventive alerts.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle safety alert system utilizing airbag, seatbelt, and occupant classification sensors, along with an electronic control unit, to initiate alerts and safety actions such as opening windows or sounding the horn when certain conditions are met, including the presence of a child in the vehicle and rising internal temperatures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard car technology collects sensor data without correlation, then data collection is simple, but preventive alerting capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple existing sensor systems (airbag sensors, seatbelt sensors, temperature sensors, occupancy sensors) into a unified alerting system. The ECU correlates data from these previously separate systems to detect when a child is left in the vehicle, combining functions that were previously independent to create a new preventive capability without adding major new hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes existing sensors multi-functional by using them for both their original purposes and for child safety detection. For example, airbag sensors and seatbelt sensors continue to serve crash safety functions while also providing data for child presence detection, allowing one system to perform multiple functions and avoid additional dedicated sensors
2Object-affected harmful factors
If no manufacturer implements child detection solution, then manufacturing cost is low, but child safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection and alerting before heat exposure becomes fatal. By continuously monitoring sensor data and alerting the driver before critical temperature levels are reached, the system prevents the harmful effect rather than responding after damage occurs, addressing the safety concern proactively
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the vehicle's existing infrastructure (ECU, sensors, communication systems) to provide the child safety function, allowing the vehicle to monitor and alert about child presence using its own built-in resources rather than requiring external monitoring equipment or complex additional systems
Data Source
AI summary
A system for indicating occupant presence within a vehicle is disclosed. The system includes a driver's seat that has a plurality of sensors, a passenger's seat that has a plurality of sensors, and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is operatively associated with and in communication with the sensors. The electronic control unit initiates an alert in the form of, for example, a car alarm and/or message and is capable of performing other safety actions based upon predetermined conditions being met that are based on information received from the sensors in the driver's seat and the passenger's seat.