DE102017100239A1 - AUTONOMOUS SELECTION OF VEHICLE RESTRAINTS - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle system includes a base plate, a seat rotatably mounted on the base plate, a sensor, and a processor. The sensor is programmed to measure an angular displacement of the seat relative to the baseplate and to output a displacement signal representing the angular displacement. The processor is programmed to receive the displacement signal and insert at least one passive safety device based at least in part on the angular displacement represented by the displacement signal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application relates to US Serial no. No. 15 / 005,094, filed January 25, 2016 and entitled "Vehicle Seat Position Sensing" and US Serial no. 15 / 005,100, filed January 25, 2016 and entitled "Autonomous Vehicle Restraint Deployment," the contents of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Fully and partially autonomous vehicles reduce the workload of the driver. In some cases, the workload is reduced so much that the driver can participate in other activities, such as interacting with other inmates, watching videos, reading, and so on. Accordingly, the reduced workload may allow the driver to relax during autonomous operation of the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

1 illustrates an example vehicle interior having rotatable front and rear seats.

2 FIG. 10 illustrates an example vehicle interior having rotatable seats in the first and second rows and fixed seats in the third row. FIG.

3 FIG. 12 illustrates an example vehicle interior having rotatable seats in the first, second, and third rows. FIG.

4 illustrates components of an exemplary vehicle system for detecting an absolute angular displacement of a rotatable seat using a magnetoresistive sensor.

The 5A - 5B illustrate an exemplary schematic representation and a circuit diagram of the magnetoresistive sensor.

6 FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary vehicle system for detecting an absolute angular displacement of a rotatable seat using a Hall effect sensor. FIG.

7 FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary vehicle system for detecting an absolute angular displacement of a rotatable seat using a light emitter and a receiver. FIG.

The 8A - 8B illustrate an exemplary schematic and circuit diagram, respectively, for detecting the absolute angular displacement using the light emitter and the receiver.

9 FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram for a restraint agent control module. FIG.

10 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram for the dispatch handlers. 11 FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary logic flow for determining which passive restraint means to select based on the angular displacement of the rotatable seat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One way in which the driver is allowed to relax and interact with other occupants during autonomous operation of the vehicle is to allow some or all seats in the passenger compartment to turn. For example, the seats in the first row may rotate to allow the driver and the passenger to face each other. Alternatively, the seats in the first row may rotate to face the rear seats.

However, turning the seats can create problems with the vehicle's passive safety systems. For example, turning the seats may move an occupant away from one airbag but toward another. Therefore, the airbags and other passive safety systems can be controlled according to the orientation of the seats.

Detecting the orientation of the seats can also provide various challenges, especially as the seats rotate in more than two positions (i.e., a forward facing position and a rearward facing position). As mentioned above, the seats in the front row can be rotated 90 degrees to the center of the passenger compartment to face each other, or 180 degrees to face the rear seats. Some implementations may allow the seats to rotate through other angles, including a full 360 degree angular displacement. Accordingly, controlling the passive restraint means may be more complicated than simply determining whether a seat is facing forward or backward.

Finally, the direction of impact and the area of the vehicle on which an impact takes place, which is categorized as virtual zones, can further inform which restraint means should be used depending on the given special seating orientation.

An exemplary vehicle system that can detect seat alignment through 360 degree rotation includes a base plate, a seat rotatably mounted on the base plate, a magnet that generates a magnetic field, and a sensor. The sensor is programmed to measure an angular displacement of the seat relative to the base plate based at least in part on an orientation of the magnetic field generated by the magnet. Alternatively, the sensor may detect the angular displacement using a light emitter and a receiver instead of the magnet.

In some possible implementations, the sensor is programmed to output a displacement signal representing the angular displacement and a processor is programmed to receive the displacement signal and at least one passive safety device for use during a collision based at least in part on the angular displacement caused by the displacement signal is selected to select. In addition, the processor may further disable another passive safety device depending on the angular displacement.

The illustrated elements may take many different forms and include multiple and / or alternative components and equipment. The illustrated example components are not intended to be limiting. In fact, additional or alternative components and / or implementations may be used. Unless specifically stated, the elements shown are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The 1 - 3 illustrate exemplary vehicle interiors 100 with different rotating seats 105 , As in 1 shown are the front seats 105A -B and the rear seats 105C -D individually rotatable. That is, one or both of the front seats 105A B can be rotated to face each other or the rear seats 105C -D to be facing. Furthermore, the rear seats 105C -D to be turned to face each other. 2 illustrates an exemplary vehicle interior 100 with rotating seats 105A -B in the first row, revolving seats 105C -D in the second row and tight seats 105E -F in the third row. Therefore, the seats can 105A -B in the first row and the seats 105C -D in the second row turn as described above, but the seats 105E -F in the third row can remain facing forward as shown. 3 illustrates an exemplary vehicle interior 100 with rotating seats 105A -B in the first row, revolving seats 105C -D in the second row and rotating seats 105E -F in the third row.

In the in the 1 - 3 Implementations shown can be the rotatable seats 105 individually rotated as a single unit. Every seat 105 for example, a seat part 110 and a seat back 115 include. The seat back 115 can with respect to the seat part 110 be firm, leaving the seat back 115 always in the same orientation with respect to the seat part 110 can stay, although the seat back 115 continue with respect to the seat part 110 can be adjusted. The seat 105 can also be a base plate 120 include, which can accommodate a rotating mechanism that controls the rotation of the seat 105 allows.

Each of the rotatable seats 105 can be turned into a special position. The seats 105 can be rotated individually in one direction with the clockwise or counterclockwise. The difference between a normal position (eg all seats 105 pointing forward) and the specific position may be referred to as an angular displacement.

The angular displacement may, for example, be associated with a quantity represented in degrees or radians. In one possible approach, the angular displacement may be zero degrees for a seat 105 pointing forward, 90 degrees for a seat 105 leading to a centerline of the vehicle interior 100 shows 180 degrees for a seat 105 pointing backwards, 270 degrees for a seat 105 coming from the centerline of the interior 100 away from the vehicle, etc. The angular displacement can be represented with any level of granularity. For example, the angular displacement may be exactly within one degree, within three degrees, within ten degrees, and so forth. The granularity of the angular displacement may be due to the structure of the mechanism for rotating the seats 105 as will be described in more detail below.

Any non-rotating seats 105 like the seats 105E -F in the third row of 2 , can be a different seat type than the rotating seats 105 be. For example, the in 2 represented seats 105E -F in the third row seat bench seats instead of bucket seats or single seats with armrests.

The vehicle interior 100 can be applied to any type of passenger or commercial vehicle such as a car, a truck, an off-road vehicle, a crossover vehicle, a vans, a vans, a taxi, a bus, etc. For some possible Approaches, the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle that can operate in an autonomous (eg driverless) mode, a semi-autonomous mode and / or a non-autonomous mode.

4 illustrates components of an example vehicle system 125 for detecting an absolute angular displacement of a rotatable seat 105 using eg a magnet 130 and a magnetoresistive sensor 135 , The rotatable seat 105 can be a base plate 120 and a seat part 110 , which rotates on the base plate 120 is arranged include. The seat part 100 can therefore be relative to the base plate 120 rotate. In other words, the base plate 120 remain stationary while the seat part 110 is turned.

The magnet 130 may include a permanent magnet that generates a magnetic field. The magnet 130 can on the seat part 110 or on the base plate 120 be arranged. The sensor 135 can be on another part of the seat part 110 or the base plate 120 or otherwise with distance from the magnet 130 and rotatable with respect to the magnet 130 be arranged. At the in 4 example shown is the magnet 130 on the seat part 110 arranged and the sensor 135 is at the base plate 120 arranged. Thus, the magnet can 130 with the seat part 110 turn while the base plate 120 and the sensor 135 stay stationary. Alternatively, the sensor 135 on the seat part 110 be arranged while the magnet 130 at the base plate 120 is arranged.

The sensor 135 can from the magnet 130 be located at a distance from the magnet 130 allows itself with respect to the sensor 135 while turning it to the sensor 135 continues to be made possible by the magnet 130 detected magnetic field. The sensor 135 can be a processor 140 include or communicate with it, which is programmed, the angular displacement ω of the seat part 110 based on the direction of the magnetic field to measure, indicating the orientation of the magnet 130 with respect to the sensor 135 is associated. For example, different orientations of the magnet 130 cause different currents through internal circuits of the sensor 135 flow. Based on the current flow through the sensor 135 can the sensor 135 be programmed, the orientation of the magnet 130 to determine. Because the magnet 130 with respect to the seat part 110 (or optionally the base plate 120 ), the orientation of the magnet can be fixed 130 directly with the angular displacement ω of the seat 105 in relationship. The processor 140 Therefore, it may include any number of electronic components programmed to receive electrical signals generated in accordance with the magnetic field and to determine the angular displacement in accordance with the generated signals.

Now with respect to the 5A - 5B in which the sensor 135 magnetoresistive elements includes or is implemented via the sensor 135 a plurality of resistors R1-R4 arranged in a Wheatstone bridge. The Wheatstone bridge can receive an input signal V _in and output two shift signals V _out-1 and V _out-2 . The displacement signals may be output according to the orientation of the magnetic field. For example, each resistor R1-R4 may be oriented so that the magnetic field acts differently on each one. As in 5A As shown, the resistors may be arranged in half-bridge pairs, with one half-bridge including resistors R1 and R3, while the other half-bridge includes resistors R2 and R4. The resistors in each half-bridge pair may be arranged in series with each other. The half-bridge pairs can each have a relatively constant total resistance. Furthermore, the resistances can be influenced by the direction of the magnetic field. For example, each of the resistors may be spin-valve resistors, and each pair may be for outputting a sine or cosine function based on the orientation of the magnet 130 with respect to the sensor 135 be arranged. Therefore, the outputs of the displacement signals V _out-1 and V _{out-2 may represent} the direction of the magnetic field, respectively, up to a 180 degree rotation of the seat 105 , Accordingly, the combination of both displacement signals may have a displacement value of a full 360 degree turn of the seat 105 with respect to the base plate 120 deliver.

The shift signals V _out-1 and V _out-2 may be processed by the processor 140 (please refer 4 ), in the sensor 135 integrated or in communication with it. The processor 140 can determine the angular displacement ω from the displacement signals V _out-1 and V _out-2 .

6 illustrates an exemplary vehicle system 125 for detecting an absolute angular displacement of a rotatable seat 105 using a magnet 130 and a sensor 135 which includes a Hall effect sensor. In this exemplary approach, the rotating mechanism includes a gear 145 at the seat 105 arranged and configured to move in accordance with the rotation of the seat 105 to turn. Alternatively, the gear can 145 at the base plate 120 be arranged, causing the gear 145 concerning the rotation of the seat 105 is stationary. The magnet 130 and the sensor 135 can relate to the gear 145 turn and vice versa. Therefore, the magnet 130 and the Hall effect sensor 135 at the base plate 120 be arranged when the gear 145 at the seat 105 is arranged. Alternatively, the magnet 130 and the Hall effect sensor 135 at the seat 105 be arranged when the gear 145 at the base plate 120 is arranged. In this way, the gear can 145 with respect to the magnet 130 and the sensor 135 rotate.

Although the magnet 130 and the sensor 135 from the gear 145 With a distance, these can get close enough to the gear 145 be located so that the sensor 135 determines how the gear 145 with that by the magnet 130 generated magnetic field interacts. The illustrated gear 145 includes several teeth 150 , Every tooth 150 can be from at least one other tooth 150 through a gap 155 be separated. The deepest part of the gap 155 (eg the section of the gap 155 , the furthest from the magnet 130 , from the sensor 135 or both is removed) can be considered a "dental reason 160 Be designated. When the gear 145 turns, act different sections of the gear 145 at the magnetic field. Sometimes the gap acts 155 at the magnetic field and at other times the tooth acts 150 at the magnetic field. In other words, the teeth can 150 change the strength of the magnetic field, resulting in the sensor 135 is detected when the gear 145 rotates. For example, the magnetic field strength may increase when a tooth 150 near the magnet 130 passes by and the magnetic field strength can decrease if the gap 155 near the magnet 130 passes. The gear 145 can be any number of teeth 150 include. More teeth 150 can more granularity in detecting the angular displacement of the gear 145 and thus the seat 105 enable. In other words, integrating more teeth 150 in the gear 145 allow a more accurate determination of the angular displacement.

The sensor 135 For example, shift signals representing the magnetic field strength may be to a processor, for example 140 Output programmed, the angular displacement of the gear 145 , and thus the seat 105 , based on the changes in the strength of the magnetic field caused by the rotation of the gear 145 is determined to determine. The sensor 135 or the processor 140 can be programmed to determine if the gear 145 rotates by monitoring the changes in the strength of the magnetic field. Furthermore, the sensor 135 or the processor 140 if the sensor 135 or the processor 140 the starting position of the gear 145 (For example, an angular displacement of zero degrees for a forward facing seat 105 ), the angular displacement based on eg the number of teeth 150 in the gear 145 and how often the strength of the magnetic field has changed, determine what the number of teeth 150 at the magnet 130 and at the sensor 135 have passed as the gearwheel 145 turned, can represent. Furthermore, the sensor 135 or the processor 140 be programmed, the direction of rotation of the gear 145 by monitoring the power supply of the DC motors used to rotate the seats. The seat occupants may control the seat rotational direction and position using a DC motor control system. The DC motor travel direction may be reversed by reversing the power supply between a positive and a negative voltage, for example by pressing a switch. Thus, the seat movement direction can be detected by monitoring the power supply of the DC motor in real time (ie, detecting a positive voltage may indicate rotation in one direction, and detecting a negative voltage may indicate rotation in the other direction).

7 illustrates an exemplary vehicle system 125 for detecting an absolute angular displacement of a rotatable seat 105 using a light emitter 165 and a light-receiving sensor 135 (hereinafter referred to as a "recipient 170 " referred to as).

The light emitter 165 can include any device that can transmit light. For example, the light emitter 165 Eg include a light emitting diode (LED). The light emitter 165 can remain stationary while the gear 145 rotates. That means that the light emitter 165 maybe not with the gear 145 rotates. The light emitter 165 Can be positioned to light on or between teeth 150 of the gear 145 projected. Thus, the rotation of the gear can 145 cause the teeth 150 that through the light emitter 165 periodically block emitted light. The gaps 155 of the gear 145 However, they can allow light to reach the receiver 170 is allowed through.

The recipient 170 may include any device that receives the light from the light emitter 165 and output a shift signal according to the received light. For example, the shift signal may indicate whether light is currently being transmitted by the receiver 170 is received and may indicate the amount of the received light (brightness) or the like. The recipient 170 can that from the light emitter 165 receive emitted light when, for example, the teeth 150 of the gear 145 do not block the light. During the rotation of the gear 145 can the receiver 170 therefore that through the light emitter 165 received light periodically received. The Shift signal can be sent to a processor 140 be issued.

The processor 140 can process the displacement signal to the angular displacement of the gear 145 to determine. That is, the processor 140 can determine from the displacement signal how many times a tooth 150 between the light emitter 165 and the receiver 170 has gone as a tooth 150 that's the light from the light emitter 165 blocked by the receiver 170 can change the output shift signal. The processor 140 may be programmed to determine that certain changes in the displacement signal indicate that a tooth 150 between the light emitter 165 and the receiver 170 has gone. The processor 140 can count how many times the teeth 150 between the light emitter 165 and the receiver 170 run, which can indicate how much the gear 145 has turned. The number of teeth 150 between the light emitter 165 and the receiver 170 can therefore be used to determine the angular displacement of the gear 145 and thus the seat 105 be used.

The 8A - 8B illustrate an exemplary schematic representation and a circuit diagram of the vehicle system 125 for detecting the absolute angular displacement using the light emitter 165 and the recipient 170 , Regarding 8A the schematic diagram shows the light emitter 165 , the gear 145 and the receiver 170 , As shown, the receiver 170 an amplifier 175 , a limiter 180 , a bandpass filter 185 , a demodulator 190 , an integrator 195 and a comparator 200 include. The amplifier 175 For example, it may include one or more transistors that pass through the light emitter 165 detect generated light and output amplified signals representing the detected light. The through the amplifier 175 output signals can become the limiter 180 be transmitted. The limiter 180 may include any number of circuit components that pass all signals at certain power levels unaltered while attenuating the power level of signals greater than a predetermined value. The limiter 180 can therefore change or unmodified versions of the amplifier 175 output signal to the bandpass filter 185 output. The bandpass filter 185 may include any number of circuit components that pass signals in a predetermined frequency range. Thus, the bandpass filter 185 output the signal if the signal from the limiter 180 is in the predetermined frequency range. If the signal from the limiter 180 is outside the predetermined frequency range, gives the bandpass filter 185 might not mind. The demodulator 190 can do that through the bandpass filter 185 output signal and receive data from a modulated carrier wave from the bandpass filter 185 is received, extract. The output of the demodulator 190 can become the integrator 195 be handed over. The integrator 195 may include any number of circuit components that output a time integral of the input. In the example of 8A can be the output of the integrator 195 the time integral of the demodulator 190 be output signal. In some cases, the integrator 195 act as a low pass filter collecting a value up to a certain threshold or limit. The output of the integrator 195 can to the comparator 200 which may contain any number of circuit components, including the output of the integrator 195 compare with a predetermined value. The predetermined value may be associated with an increment indicating whether the gearwheel 145 moves (for example, whether the amount of light received indicates that a tooth 150 between the light emitter 165 and the receiver 170 has gone). The output of the comparator 200 Therefore, the movement of the gear can 145 according to any number of movement increments (ie, 1 degree, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, etc.). The output of the comparator 200 may be the shift signal to the processor 140 is handed over.

8B illustrates an exemplary circuit diagram with the light emitter 165 , the recipient 170 and two resistors 205 , The light emitter 165 and the receiver 170 are shown as diodes. One of the resistances 205A can with the light emitter 165 be connected in series and the other resistor 205B can with the receiver 170 be connected in series. The resistors 205 Therefore, the current through the light emitter 165 , the receiver 170 or stabilize both. In addition, the resistors 205 have the same or different resistance values.

9 FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram for a restraint agent control module. FIG 210 in the vehicle with swivel seats 105 can be integrated. As shown, the retention agent control module 210 Receive signals through the passive safety sensors 215 , various seating position sensors 220 and active safety sensors 225 be issued. The passive safety sensors 215 may include driver's sides (ie left (LH)) front accelerometers, front passenger's sides (ie right (RH)) front accelerometers, LH side accelerometers, and RH side accelerometers. The seat position sensors 220 may include the sensors discussed above, which output signals representing the angular displacement of the seats 105 represent. The active ones safety sensors 225 For example, a front camera, a rear camera, a RADAR sensor, a LIDAR sensor, etc. may be included. The active safety sensors 225 can send signals to an impact early detection processor 230 That's programmed to make certain decisions about an impending impact based on the ones through the active safety sensors 225 to make output signals. The impact detected by the impact detection processor 230 The decisions taken may include information about the potential impact angle, the impact object, the impact severity, and others.

The passive safety sensors 215 and the seat position sensors 220 can send signals to the restraint means control module 210 output. The signals passing through the passive safety sensors 215 may output a confirmation of a collision mode representing a virtual zone, an area of the vehicle involved in an impact and an impact angle. The virtual zone may also be referred to as a "crash zone". In some possible approaches, the impact angle signal represents the angle with respect to the vehicle with which a collision occurred. The seat position sensors 220 may output respective angular displacement signals indicative of the angular displacement of the respective seat 105 represent. The retention agent control module 210 can be a processor 140 which receives and processes the collision mode signal, which may represent the virtual zone and the crash angle, and the seat angle displacement signals to determine which restraint means to select for use during a collision. That is, the restraint means control module 210 may include certain restraint means based on the angular displacement of one or more seats 105 , the crash angle, the virtual zone, etc., and insert one or more of the selected restraint means during the collision and in some cases after the crash angle and the virtual zone have been confirmed.

The retention agent control module 210 For example, it may receive a seat angle shift signal indicating that the driver's seat 105 is in a rearward facing position and that a full frontal impact has occurred. In response, the retention agent control module may 210 however, some restraint means, such as the driver's head restraining means, for use during a collision select others, eg, the front driver's airbag, the front driver's head airbag, the driver's knee pad, etc. during the same collision (ie, do not deploy). In this way, appropriate airbags based on the orientation of the seats 105 and the collision mode if an impact occurs.

10 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram for the dispatch handlers 235 , Every rotation sensor 135 can send angle shift signals to the handler 235 spend that with each seat 105 associated safety restraint means 250 are associated. Furthermore, the active and passive safety sensors 225 . 215 Signals to an impact detection module 240 and an impact classification module 245 output. The impact detection module 240 can detect the signals passing through the active and passive safety sensors 215 output to determine a virtual zone associated with the impact. That is, the vehicle can, as in 11 represented, are divided into virtual zones, each representing a different area of the vehicle. The impact detection module 240 can detect and confirm an impact and can be based on the outputs of the active and passive safety sensors 225 . 215 determine which virtual zones are involved in the impact. The impact classification module 245 may include the impact as a full frontal impact, a left frontal impact, a right frontal oblique impact, a driver side impact, a passenger side impact or a right rear oblique impact, etc. (as in FIG 11 shown) based on the signals generated by the active and passive safety sensors 215 be issued classify.

Both the impact detection module 240 as well as the impact classification module 245 can send command signals to the appropriate handlers 235 to provide the appropriate restraint means 250 depending on the type of impact to select and / or use. Furthermore, the handlers 235 the angle displacement signals output by the respective rotation sensors, when determined, determine which restraint means 250 should be selected or used or both. Thus, the selection and use of restraint means may 250 on the virtual zone involved in a collision, the impact angle, the orientation (eg angular displacement) of one or more seats 105 or different combinations of these or other factors.

11 FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary logic flow for determining which passive restraint means 250 based on the angular displacement of the rotatable seat 105 should be selected or deactivated. The seat rotation sensors 135 can change a seat angle to one or more of the use handlers 235 provide. As discussed above, the use can a restraint means at least partially on the virtual zone involved in a collision, the impact angle and the angular displacement of one or more seats 105 based. The impact detection module 240 and the impact classification module 245 For example, the virtual zone in which an impact has occurred and the impact angle and a signal representing the virtual zone and the impact angle (eg, the collision mode signal) may determine to one or more of the handlers 235 output. In response, the handlers can 235 a look-up table for a virtual zone, an impact angle and an angular displacement of the seats 105 query and the same or a different look-up table after selecting the appropriate restraint means 250 Interrogate. If the appropriate restraint means 250 are selected, the use handler 235 the selected restraint means 250 deploy.

When in 11 As shown, the impact takes place from the right-frontal oblique direction. The impact classification module 245 can send the signal to every handler 235 which indicates a right frontal oblique collision. The one with the driver's seat 105 associated handlers 235A can the orientation of the driver's seat 105 from the angular displacement signal, by one with the driver's seat 105A associated rotation sensor 135 is output. The dealer 235A For example, the look-up table may query for the virtual zone associated with the orientation identified by the angular displacement signal for the selection and deployment of safety restraint means. In the example of 11 can the handler 235A for the driver's seat 105A based on the angular displacement of the driver's seat 105A , the impact angle and the virtual zone determine that one of the suitable restraint means 250 Inserting the console airbag includes. In the example of 11 can the handler 235B for the passenger seat 105B the orientation of the passenger seat 105B based on the angular displacement signal transmitted through the passenger seat 105B associated rotation sensor 135 is output. In this example, the handler 235B the passenger head restraint, the side passenger airbag, and the front passenger airbag based on the passenger seat angular displacement 105B , the impact angle and the virtual zone associated with this seat. These restraint means 250 can be used in the detection of the impact.

In this way, only the restraint means 250 after an impact associated with the impact area, the impact angle and the seat rotational displacement. Thus, the handler 235 avoid using a restraint device that serves no purpose or otherwise is not useful during a collision.

In general, the data processing systems described and / or facilities, any of a number of computer operating systems used to, including, among other versions and / or variants of the Ford Sync ^® application, the middleware AppLink / Smart Device Link, Microsoft Automotive ^® -Betriebssystems, Microsoft ^Windows® operating system, the Unix operating system (eg, the ^Solaris® operating system distributed by the Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, California, USA) of the AIX UNIX operating system, which is operated by International Business Machines in Armonk, New York, USA, of the Linux operating system, the Mac OSX and iOS operating systems distributed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, USA; BlackBerry OS, sold by Blackberry, Ltd .; , in Waterloo, Canada, and the Android operating system developed by Google, Inc. and the Open Handset Alliance, or the QNX ^® CAR infotainment platform offered by QNX Software Systems. Examples of data processing devices include, but are not limited to, an in-vehicle vehicle computer, a computer workstation, a server, a desktop, a notebook, a laptop or handheld computer, or any other data processing system and / or any other computing device.

Data processing devices generally include computer-executable instructions, which instructions may be executable by one or more computing devices, such as those listed above. Computer-executable instructions may be compiled or interpreted by computer programs constructed using a variety of programming languages and / or technologies, including, but not limited to, Java ^™ , C, C ++, Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, etc. alone or in combination These applications may be compiled and executed on a virtual machine, such as the Java Virtual Machine, the Dalvik Virtual Machine, or the like. Generally, a processor (eg, a microprocessor) receives instructions from, for example, a memory, a computer-readable medium, etc., and executes these instructions, thereby performing one or more processes, including one or more of the processes described herein. Such instructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of computer-readable media.

A computer readable medium (also referred to as a processor readable medium) includes any nonvolatile (eg, tangible) medium involved in providing data (eg, instructions) read by a computer (eg, from a processor of a computer) can be. Such a medium can take many forms including, but not limited to, nonvolatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magnetic media and other persistent storage. For example, volatile media may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which is typically a main memory. Such instructions may be transmitted by one or more transmission media, including coaxial cables, copper wire, and optical fibers, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled to a processor of a computer. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, a DVD, any other optical media, punched cards, paper tape, any other physical Medium with hole patterns, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a flash EEPROM, any other memory chip or any other memory cartridge or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Databases, data containers, or other data stores described herein may include various types of mechanisms for storing and retrieving various types of data as well as accessing them, including a hierarchical database, a file set in a file system, an application database in a proprietary format, Each such data store is generally included in a computing device employing a computer operating system, such as one of those mentioned above, and accessed by means of a network in any one or more of a variety of methods. A file system may be accessible by a computer operating system and may include files stored in various formats. An RDBMS generally employs Structured Query Language (SQL), in addition to a language for creating, storing, manipulating, and executing stored procedures, such as the PL / SQL language mentioned above.

In some examples, system elements may be implemented as computer-readable instructions (e.g., software) on one or more data processing devices (e.g., servers, personal computers, etc.) and stored on computer-readable media (e.g., disks, memory, etc.) associated therewith. A computer program product may include such computer readable media stored instructions for performing the functions described herein.

With respect to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc. described herein, it should be understood that although the steps of such processes, etc., have been described as occurring in accordance with a particular ordered sequence, such processes are performed in a different order than described herein could be exercised. Further, it should be understood that certain steps could be performed concurrently, that further steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating particular embodiments and should in no way be construed as limiting the claims.

Accordingly, it should be understood that the above description is not intended to be limiting but illustrative. Many other embodiments and applications than the cited examples would appear upon reading the above description. The scope of protection should not be determined with reference to the above description, but rather with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which these claims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the presently discussed technologies and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In summary, it is understood that the application can be modified and modified.

All terms used in the claims are intended to retain their ordinary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art in the technologies described herein unless an explicit indication to the contrary is given herein. In particular, the use of the singular items such as "a", "an", "an", "the", "the", "the", etc., is to be construed as indicating one or more of the elements shown, unless expressly stated otherwise indicates an opposite restriction.

The abstract is provided to enable the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it should not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, it can be seen in the foregoing Detailed Description that various features are grouped in various embodiments for the purpose of clarity of disclosure. This approach of the disclosure is not to be construed as an intention to interpret that the claimed embodiments require more features than expressly set forth in each claim. Rather, the subject invention lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment, as the following claims reflect. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as an independently claimed subject matter.

Claims (18)

A vehicle system comprising: a base plate; a seat rotatably disposed on the base plate; a sensor programmed to measure an angular displacement of the seat relative to the base plate and to output a displacement signal representing the angular displacement; and a processor programmed to receive the shift signal and select at least one passive safety device based at least in part on the angular displacement represented by the shift signal. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to receive a collision mode signal and insert the at least one passive safety device selected according to the displacement signal, wherein the at least one passive safety device is deployed according to the collision mode signal. The vehicle system of claim 2, wherein the impact angle signal and a virtual zone in which an impact occurs represent a collision mode of a host vehicle involved in a collision. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to associate the angular displacement represented by the displacement signal with a virtual zone. The vehicle system of claim 4, wherein the processor is programmed to select at least one passive safety device based at least in part on the virtual zone associated with the angular displacement represented by the displacement signal and a collision mode signal. The vehicle system of claim 5, wherein activating at least one passive security device at least partially based on the virtual zone includes querying a lookup table for the virtual zone.  A vehicle system comprising: a base plate; a seat rotatably disposed on the base plate; a sensor programmed to measure an angular displacement of the seat relative to the base plate and to output a displacement signal representing the angular displacement; and a processor programmed to receive the displacement signal and select at least one passive safety device based at least in part on the angular displacement represented by the displacement signal, the processor being programmed, a collision mode signal representing an impact angle, and a virtual zone to receive an area of a host vehicle involved in a collision, wherein the at least one passive security device is selected and deployed according to the virtual zone, the impact angle and the displacement signal. The vehicle system of claim 7, wherein the processor is programmed to associate the angular displacement represented by the displacement signal with a virtual zone. The vehicle system of claim 8, wherein the virtual zone is associated with the at least one passive safety device. The vehicle system of claim 8, wherein the processor is programmed to include at least one passive safety device based at least in part on the impact angle and the virtual zones, representing an area of a host vehicle involved in a collision and associated with the angular displacement represented by the displacement signal to select. The vehicle system of claim 10, wherein activating the at least one passive safety device includes, at least in part, based on the virtual zone, querying a lookup table for the virtual zone. The vehicle system of claim 11, wherein deploying the at least one passive safety device queries the lookup table for the virtual zone associated with the Displacement signal and the collision mode signal is associated includes. The vehicle system of claim 11, wherein the at least one passive safety device is selected and deployed based at least in part on querying the lookup table for the virtual zone. A vehicle system comprising: a base plate; a seat rotatably disposed on the base plate; a sensor programmed to measure an angular displacement of the seat relative to the base plate and to output a displacement signal representative of the angular displacement; and a processor programmed to receive the displacement signal, to associate the angular displacement represented by the displacement signal with one of a plurality of virtual zones, and to select at least one of a plurality of passive safety devices associated with the virtual zone associated with the angular displacement. The vehicle system of claim 14, wherein the processor is programmed to receive a collision mode signal and employ the at least one passive safety device associated with the collision mode. The vehicle system of claim 15, wherein the impact angle signal and the virtual zone in which an impact occurs represent a collision mode of a host vehicle involved in a collision. The vehicle system of claim 14, wherein the processor is programmed to associate the angular displacement represented by the displacement signal with the virtual zone by querying a look-up table. The vehicle system of claim 14, wherein the processor is programmed to select the at least one passive safety device by querying a look-up table.

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