Patent Application
20180326908
This document relates generally to the motor vehicle equipment field and, more particularly, to an adaptive apparatus and method for monitoring a baby in a rear facing baby or child seat.
Operators of motor vehicles around the world put their babies under two years of age in rear facing child or baby seats due to government regulation and for the baby's own safety. When the baby is oriented in this manner in a child or baby safety seat positioned in the rear seat of a motor vehicle, it is not possible for a driver in the front row of seating to observe the baby's face to monitor the baby's emotions, reactions and current condition.
This document relates to a new and improved adaptive apparatus and method allowing a driver of a motor vehicle to easily observe the face of a rear facing baby in a rear seat of the motor vehicle and monitor the condition of that baby using a mirror. Advantageously, the mirror may be remotely oriented to ensure a desired visual field for monitoring the baby.
In accordance with the purposes and benefits described herein, an apparatus is provided for monitoring a baby in a rear facing baby seat. That apparatus comprises a headrest, a mirror carried on the headrest and a control module. The control module is configured to adjust position or orientation of the mirror about a first axis and a second axis so as to allow an operator to better visually monitor the face of the baby in a rear facing baby seat.
The control module may include a first drive mechanism to adjust the mirror about the first axis. Further, the control module may include a second drive mechanism to adjust the mirror about the second axis.
Still further, the control module may include a controller. In addition, the control module may include an input device remote from the headrest so that, for example, the individual operator may adjust the position of the mirror from the driver's seat of the motor vehicle. That input device may be an actuator button. In other embodiments, that input device may be a voice processor. In some embodiments, the control module may be configured for a wireless communication between the remote input device and the controller.
In some embodiments, the apparatus may include a cover on the headrest. That cover may be displaceable between a home position covering the mirror and a use position exposing the mirror for viewing. In such an embodiment the control module may be configured to displace the cover between the home position and the use position. Further, the control module may include a cover actuator for physically displacing the cover between the home position and the use position.
In accordance with an additional aspect, a method is provided for monitoring a baby held in a rearward facing baby or child seat such as one secured in a rear seat of a motor vehicle. That method comprises the steps of locating a mirror in a headrest on the rear seat and configuring a control module to adjust orientation of the mirror in order to provide a useful viewing angle of the baby.
The method may further include the step of locating an input device of the control module within reach of a motor vehicle driver whereby the motor vehicle driver may remotely adjust the orientation of the mirror from a seated position in a driver's seat of the motor vehicle.
The method may also include the step of configuring the control module for adjusting the orientation of the mirror in response to voice command.
In accordance with yet another aspect, a method is provided of monitoring a baby in a rearward facing child seat secured in a rear seat of a motor vehicle. That method comprises remotely adjusting, by control module, the orientation of a mirror in a rear seat headrest from a driver's seat of the motor vehicle. Further, that method may include the step of using voice command to remotely adjust the mirror. Alternatively, or in addition the method may include the step of using an input device remote from the mirror to remotely adjust the mirror.
The method may also include the step of flipping, by the control module, the headrest from a home position wherein the mirror faces rearward away from the baby to a deployed position wherein the mirror faces forward toward the baby. In some embodiments the method may include the step of opening a cover on the headrest, by the control module, in order to uncover the mirror for viewing.
In the following description, there are shown and described several preferred embodiments of the adaptive apparatus and method for monitoring a baby in a rear facing baby or child safety seat. As it should be realized, the apparatus and method are capable of other, different embodiments and their several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the apparatus and method as set forth and described in the following claims. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
The accompanying drawing figures incorporated herein and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the apparatus and method and together with the description serve to explain certain principles thereof.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the apparatus and method, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing figures.
Reference is now made to
More specifically, the control module 16 includes a first drive mechanism 18 to adjust the mirror 14 about the first axis A1. In addition, the control module 16 includes a second drive mechanism 20 to adjust the position of the mirror 14 about the second axis A2. The first and second drive mechanisms 18, 20 are of a type known in the art such as utilized to remotely control the position of a side mirror of a motor vehicle.
As further illustrated in
The control module 16 also includes an input device 24 that may be remote from the headrest 12. As illustrated in
As illustrated in one possible embodiment in
Reference is now made to
Yet another embodiment of the apparatus is illustrated in
Consistent with the above description, a method is provided for monitoring a baby held in a rear facing child seat secured in a rear seat of a motor vehicle. That method may be described as comprising the steps of locating a mirror 14 in a headrest 12 on the rear seat 34 and configuring a control module 16 to adjust the orientation of the mirror in order to provide a viewing angle of the baby.
Further, the method may include the step of locating an input device 24 of the control module 16 within reach of a motor vehicle driver whereby the motor vehicle driver may remotely adjust the orientation of the mirror from a driver's seat of the motor vehicle. In some embodiments, the method may include configuring the control module 16 for adjusting the orientation of the mirror 14 in response to voice command via a voice processor 32. Still further, a method of monitoring a baby in a rearward facing child seat secured in a rear seat of a motor vehicle may comprise remotely adjusting, by control module 16 the orientation of the mirror 14 from a driver's seat in the motor vehicle. That method may include using voice command to remotely adjust the mirror via operation of a voice processor 32. Alternatively, the method may include using an input device 24 remote from the mirror 14 to remotely adjust the mirror.
Still further, as illustrated in
Still further, as illustrated in
The foregoing has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, the input device may comprise a cell phone operating an app configured to communicate with the control module 16 and position or orient the mirror 14 for viewing the baby. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.
