Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Vdo Automotive Ag

Ludwig Ertl

Thorsten Köhler

Dirk Zittlau

Thorsten K&ouml;hler

Horst Belau

Gregory Baratoff

Martin Pellkofer

Stephan Voltz

Reinhard Rösl

Andre Rieder

Markus Christl

An assistance system for motor vehicles has at least one monitoring unit monitoring a space external to a vehicle, in particular in a direction of travel of the motor vehicle, with a warning zone being defined in the monitored external space on each side of a lane. The warning zone is delimited by an earliest warning line and a latest warning line encompassing the respective lane marking or, as the case may be, boundary. An evaluation unit receives the data transmitted by the monitoring unit and generates a warning signal for an acoustic, visual and/or haptic warning and/or a steering intervention if the evaluation unit detects that a defined warning threshold lying within the warning zone is exceeded. The warning signal is issued only as a function of further planned driver-adaptive conditions.

Assistance system for motor vehicles

The invention relates to a method for detecting the position of an object within the interior or a vehicle equipped with a door (). The inventive method is characterized by recording a sequence of images by means of a camera () and calculating the actual position of the object by electronically evaluating the images of the sequence of images, and generating a differential image by comparing an actual recorded image with a previously stored image. The position of the object is calculated on the basis of the differential image. To achieve this, the camera () records images of the door (). The images of the door () are evaluated and the open state of the door () is established on the basis of the differential image between the closed state and the opened state.

Method and device for optically detecting the open state of a vehicle door

The invention relates to a device () and method for detection of an object or a person in the interior of a motor vehicle. The device () is operated by means of an analytical unit (), such that the device (), for detecting an object or a person in the interior of a motor vehicle, comprising a image recording unit () and an analytical unit () for the image data transmitted from the image recording unit (), is operated in a first operating mode while an acceleration threshold value is not determined to be exceeded by the analytical unit () and in a second operation mode while the acceleration threshold value is determined to be exceeded by the analytical unit ().

Device and method for detection of an object or a person in the interior of a motor vehicle

In optical image processing methods for determining the occupation of a vehicle seat, it is advantageous to know the position of the vehicle seat (), even in the case when said seat is occupied. The above is achieved, whereby the side surface of the backrest (), facing the camera () is part of a boundary plane. A section (T, B), between a separating plane, cutting vertically through the vehicle seat and the boundary plane (B) is at least partly not covered by a seat occupant in the direction of the camera. By means of an image processing method the position of the seat may be determined.

Method and device for detecting an object in a vehicle in particular for occupant protection systems

The invention relates to a system for determining whether the interior of a vehicle is occupied. The inventive device comprises image acquisition means () for acquiring images of an area of the vehicle interior, an image acquisition data generation unit () for generating image acquisition data in which every image point of a three-dimensional surface image is presented as a vector in an acquisition coordinate system of the image acquisition means, and a conversion unit () that converts the image acquisition data to vehicle image data. Said vehicle image data describe every image point as a vector in a coordinate system that is specific of the vehicle.

Method and device for determining whether the interior of a vehicle is occupied

The invention relates to a method for determining the current position (A, B, C, D) of a head () of an occupant () in the passenger compartment () of a motor vehicle (), said head moving toward an automatic dynamic disabling zone () in front of an airbag module (). To this end, the invention makes use of the idea that the best position for a measurement with regard thereto is the point in space where the ideal direction of movement () of the head () is perpendicular to an ideal line of sight () of the camera (. The measurement is then preferably carried out when the geometric center () of the head () crosses this point. In a preferred embodiment, the calculation of the actual movement vector of the head () is taken as a basis, said head being preferably perpendicular in a current line of sight () of the camera (). The invention advantageously increases the potential for protecting an occupant () in a motor vehicle (). It is thus suited, in particular, for use in occupant protection systems of modern motor vehicles ().

Method for determining the current position of the heads of vehicle occupants

The invention relates to a system for monitoring the interior of a vehicle, wherein changes occurring in the occupancy of a seat, e.g. with a person P, a child seat K, an empty seat L, or an occupancy in another occupancy category, are effected in a computer unit by means of transitional probabilities which are externally specified to the monitoring system and which reflect the rapid speed at which a change in occupancy is taken into account by said monitoring system. As a result, an associated airbag or another safety device is activated or de-activated accordingly.

System for monitoring the interior of a vehicle

Within a given area, the position of the head of the front seat passenger in a vehicle is determined by producing a differential image, in which only the contour of the moving object appears, from two frames that are recorded one after the other by a video camera. The contours of the differential images are used to calculate the position.

Method and device for determining the position of an object within a given area

In the interior of a vehicle markings ( ) are positioned on vehicle elements ( ) that are detected by a stereo camera ( ). Said markings are configured as reflectors or as light emitters. The stereo camera ( ) detects brightness differences between the respective marking and the immediate surroundings of the marking and detects the position of the marking. An evaluation unit ( ) mounted downstream of the stereo camera ( ) calculates the surface structure of the respective vehicle element on the basis of the predetermined dimensions of the vehicle elements.

Growing community of inventors

Wuppertal, Germany

Ludwig Ertl