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Apparatus for detecting occupant's posture
| Details |
Inventors: Tanaka, Hideyuki; Sano, Yasukazu; Tanigawa, Taichi;
Assignee: Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (JP)
Primary Examiner: Jasmin; Lynda
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Rossi & Associates
An apparatus for determining an occupant's posture is provided which includes a sensor having at least one pair of linear photosensor arrays each comprising a plurality of photosensor elements, for forming an image of an occupant, a distance measurement processor that derives distance distributions in fields of view monitored by the linear photosensor arrays, from the image of the occupant formed by the sensor, and an occupant discrimination processor that compares patterns of the distance distributions with model patterns of distance distributions preliminarily stored in the processor, so as to determine the presence and posture of the occupant. The linear fields of view are set to extend in a substantially horizontal direction with respect to the occupant, and the occupant discrimination processor first examines at least one of symmetry of the distance distribution pattern in each field of view, concave or convex shape of the pattern, degree of similarity in variations in the distance distribution patterns between adjacent fields of view, and a distribution of distances measured at a particular position of the fields of view, and then determines the posture of the occupant by comparing the patterns of the distance distributions actually measured, with a group of model patterns that is selected in advance depending upon the result of the examination. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce the processing time required for determining the presence and posture of an occupant, in particular, processing time required for pattern matching.
To accomplish the above object, there is provided according to the first aspect of the present invention an apparatus for determining an occupant's posture, comprising: a sensor having at least one pair of linear photosensor arrays each comprising a plurality of photosensor elements, the sensor forming an image of an occupant; a distance measurement processor that derives a distance distribution in each of at least one linear field of view that is monitored by the at least one pair of linear photosensor arrays, from the image of the occupant formed by the sensor; and an occupant discrimination processor that compares a pattern of the distance distribution with a plurality of model patterns of distance distributions that are preliminarily stored in the occupant discrimination processor, so as to determine the presence and posture of the occupant; wherein the above-indicated at least one linear field of view is set to extend in a substantially horizontal direction with respect to the occupant, the occupant discrimination processor checking if the pattern of the distance distribution in each of the at least one linear field of view has symmetry in a lateral direction, and then determining the posture of the occupant by comparing the pattern of the distance distribution with a group of the model patterns of distance distributions that is preliminarily selected depending upon whether the pattern of the distance distribution has symmetry or not.
In the apparatus as described above, the symmetry of the pattern of the distance distribution may be determined by laterally inverting the pattern of the distance distribution in each of the at least one linear field of view with respect to a central portion thereof, obtaining differences in distances at corresponding positions of the pattern of the distance distribution before inverted and the pattern of the distance distribution after inverted within the each of the at least one linear field of view, and determining whether each of the differences is not greater than a predetermined value, or whether an integral value of the differences is not greater than a predetermined value
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