Patent Application
20160379466
The invention relates to a system that warns a driver that a passenger remains in a rear seat of the vehicle.
Every year, an average of thirty-eight children die of heatstroke from being left in a vehicle, about half of which deaths are due to a caregiver forgetting about the child in the vehicle. Even though the number of children dying every year is relatively low, it is nevertheless a traumatic experience for the family.
Thus, there is a need for a driver warning system that would help prevent such deaths with little to no additional cost to the automotive OEM, since the hardware components are already present in most production vehicles.
An objective of the invention is to fulfill the need referred to above. In accordance with the principles of an embodiment, this objective is obtained by providing a warning system for a vehicle. The vehicle has an interior defining a driver seat area including a driver's seat, and a passenger area, behind the driver seat area, including at least one rear passenger seat. The system includes a control unit. At least one passenger detection sensor is associated with the control unit and is constructed and arranged to detect a presence of a passenger in at least one rear passenger seat. A driver status sensor, associated with the control unit, is constructed and arranged to indicate a driver's positional relationship with respect to the vehicle. A warning device is associated with the control unit such that when the passenger detection sensor indicates that a passenger is in at least one rear passenger seat and the driver status sensor indicates that the driver has left the vehicle, the control unit is constructed and arranged to activate the warning device.
In accordance with another aspect of an embodiment, a warning system is provided for a vehicle. The vehicle has an interior defining a driver seat area including a driver's seat, and a passenger area, behind the driver seat area, including at least one rear passenger seat. The system includes a control unit. A camera is constructed and arranged to obtain images of a passenger in the passenger area. A display is provided in the driver seat area and is associated with the control unit such that the control unit can control the display to show the images to the driver so that the driver can monitor the passenger without turning his or her eyes toward the passenger seat area in order to view the passenger.
In accordance with yet another aspect of an embodiment, a method warns a driver of a vehicle that a passenger is in a rear passenger seat of the vehicle. The method determines if the vehicle is stopped. If the vehicle is stopped, a driver status sensor determines whether the driver has left the vehicle. If the driver has left the vehicle, a passenger detection sensor determines if a passenger remains behind in the vehicle. If the passenger is determined to remain behind in the vehicle, a control unit activates a warning signal.
Other objects, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and the functions of the related elements of the structure, the combination of parts and economics of manufacture will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification.
The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:
With reference to
When it is determined that a passenger is in the passenger seat 18 and once a driver stops and leaves the vehicle 10, a warning is initiated. An ignition signal 40 can be received by the control unit 26 indicating that the vehicle is off. A driver status sensor obtains a signal regarding a positional relationship of the driver with respect to the vehicle 10 and sends this signal to the control unit 26 to initiate the warning. The driver status sensor can be, but is not limited to, a smart key fob 38 that transmits a signal to the control unit 26 in the conventional wireless manner. For example, the smart fob 38 can be monitored by the control unit 26 for proximity with respect to the vehicle 10 (indicating that the driver is walking away from the vehicle), or the fob 38 can be monitored by the control unit 26 to determine if the fob 38 was used to lock the doors of the vehicle 10. Alternatively, the driver status sensor can be a driver's seat weight sensor 39 that sends a signal to the control unit 26 indicating that the driver has left the driver's seat. The warning can consist of individual or combinations of signals from a warning device, such as activating the horn 42 of the vehicle 10, and/or flashing the vehicle lights 44. This warning should be sufficient to provide notice to the driver to return to the vehicle since a passenger remains in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle 10.
With reference to
Instead of warning the driver of a passenger only when the driver leaves the vehicle 10, the system 24 can monitor the passenger in the rear passenger seat 18 while the driver remains in the vehicle while operating the vehicle. Thus, the system 24 includes the interior camera 48 that is preferably mounted to headliner 60 facing the back seat area 16 to automatically detect the presence of passengers in the rear passenger seat(s) 18. The camera 48 can be wired or wireless and can communicate with the control unit 26 or can communicate directly with a display, such as the navigation system display 22. In the latter case, the navigation system can be considered to be the control unit 26 or an intermediary unit providing the camera status to the control unit 26. As shown in
This constant status of the passenger reminds the driver of the presence of the passenger so that the driver will be less likely to leave the passenger behind once the driver leaves the vehicle 10. In the event the driver happens to leave the vehicle without the passenger, the warning signal(s) noted above can be initiated based on the camera 48 detecting the presence of the passenger in the rear passenger seat 18 and based on the driver status sensor as discussed above.
The operations and algorithms described herein can be implemented as executable code within the control unit 26 having processor circuit 28 as described, or stored on a standalone computer or machine readable non-transitory tangible storage medium that are completed based on execution of the code by a processor circuit implemented using one or more integrated circuits. Example implementations of the disclosed circuits include hardware logic that is implemented in a logic array such as a programmable logic array (PLA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or by mask programming of integrated circuits such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Any of these circuits also can be implemented using a software-based executable resource that is executed by a corresponding internal processor circuit such as a microprocessor circuit (not shown) and implemented using one or more integrated circuits, where execution of executable code stored in an internal memory circuit causes the integrated circuit(s) implementing the processor circuit to store application state variables in processor memory, creating an executable application resource (e.g., an application instance) that performs the operations of the circuit as described herein. Hence, use of the term “circuit” in this specification refers to both a hardware-based circuit implemented using one or more integrated circuits and that includes logic for performing the described operations, or a software-based circuit that includes a processor circuit (implemented using one or more integrated circuits), the processor circuit including a reserved portion of processor memory for storage of application state data and application variables that are modified by execution of the executable code by a processor circuit. The memory circuit can be implemented, for example, using a non-volatile memory such as a programmable read only memory (PROM) or an EPROM, and/or a volatile memory such as a DRAM, etc.
The warning system 24 advantageously uses many components that are already conventionally supplied in most vehicles and thus is cost effective.
The foregoing preferred embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the structural and functional principles of the present invention, as well as illustrating the methods of employing the preferred embodiments and are subject to change without departing from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit of the following claims.
