JP2019060608A - Occupant physique determination device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an occupant physique determination device capable of improving the determination accuracy.SOLUTION: An occupant physique determination device according to the embodiment includes an acquisition unit, a first determination unit, and a second determination unit. The acquisition unit acquires a detection result of a living body detection sensor which detects a living body in a vehicle compartment, and an image of the vehicle compartment captured by an imaging device. The first determination unit determines the presence or absence of an occupant in the vehicle compartment on the basis of the detection result of the living body detection sensor. The second determination unit determines the physique of the occupant on the basis of the image captured by the imaging device when the first determination unit determines that the occupant is present in the vehicle compartment.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  An embodiment of the present invention relates to an occupant physical determination device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a technique of imaging a passenger compartment, judging the physical constitution of a passenger from the obtained image by image recognition, and using it for expansion control of an air bag or the like.

JP 2007-198929 A

  The prior art described above has room for further improvement in terms of improving the determination accuracy.

  The occupant physical determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes, as an example, an acquisition unit that acquires a detection result of a biological detection sensor that detects a living body in a vehicle compartment and an image in the vehicle compartment captured by an imaging device. The first determination unit that determines the presence or absence of the occupant in the vehicle compartment based on the detection result of the living body detection sensor, and when the first determination unit determines that the occupant is present in the vehicle compartment, the physical size of the occupant And a second determination unit that determines based on the image.

  When determining the physical constitution of the occupant, by determining in advance whether it is a living body or an object other than a living body, the physical determination may be performed on an object other than a living body, for example, a luggage placed on a seat Can be prevented. Therefore, as one example, the determination accuracy of the physical constitution of the occupant can be improved.

  In the above-described occupant physical determination apparatus, as an example, the second determination unit determines the physical size of the occupant based on the ratio between the first portion and the second portion of the occupant.

  Therefore, as an example, by using the ratio, it becomes difficult to be influenced by the distance from the imaging device to the occupant, so that the determination accuracy of the physical constitution of the occupant can be improved.

  In the occupant physical determination device, as an example, the second determination unit determines the physical size of the occupant based on a ratio between the head width which is the first part and the shoulder width which is the second part.

  Therefore, as an example, by using the ratio of head width to shoulder width, as compared with the case of using other ratios such as the ratio of neck width to head height, for example, "children" and "adults" as the occupant's physique The determination accuracy in the case of determining which of the above can be improved.

  In the above-mentioned occupant physical determination device, as one example, the living body detection sensor is a capacitance type seating sensor provided on a seat in the vehicle compartment.

  Capacitance seating sensors are not limited to seats with independent seating surfaces (for example, the driver's seat and the front passenger seat), and to other types of seating where the seating surface is continuous with other seating (for example, back seating of bench seat type) The loading of is possible. Therefore, as an example, by using a capacitance type seating sensor as the living body detection sensor, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in designing the occupant physical determination device.

  In the occupant physical determination device, as one example, the seating sensor is provided for each of a plurality of seats in the vehicle compartment, and the imaging device captures an imaging range including the plurality of seats, and the second determination unit In the imaging range, the physical constitution of the occupant is determined based on an image in an area corresponding to a seat determined to be present by the first determination unit by the first determination unit.

  Thus, as one example, one imaging device can be used to determine the physique of the occupant of a plurality of seats.

FIG. 1 is a plan view, as viewed from above, of a vehicle compartment of a vehicle equipped with the occupant physical determination device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the ECU. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image captured by the imaging device. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the ECU. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the ECU. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the head width and the shoulder width. FIG. 8 is a histogram showing the difference in the distribution of head-to-shoulder width ratio between children and adults. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the ECU in the first modification. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the ECU in the second modification.

  Hereinafter, a mode (hereinafter, referred to as “embodiment”) for carrying out the occupant physical determination device according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the passenger | crew physique determination apparatus which concerns on this application is not limited by this embodiment. Moreover, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same site | part in the following each embodiment, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

[1. Configuration of Vehicle 1]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the inside of a vehicle compartment of a vehicle 1 on which the occupant physical determination device according to the embodiment is mounted, viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of seats 2 are provided in the cabin of the vehicle 1. Specifically, a driver's seat 2a and a passenger seat 2b are provided on the front side of the vehicle interior, and a plurality of rear seats 2c to 2e are provided on the rear side.

  The plurality of rear seats 2c to 2e are so-called bench seat type rear seats whose seat surfaces are continuous with each other. Among the plurality of rear seats 2c-2e, the rear seat 2c is provided behind the driver's seat 2a, the rear seat 2d is provided behind the passenger seat 2b, and the rear seat 2e is provided with the rear seat 2c and the rear seat 2d. Provided between

  The occupant physical determination device according to the embodiment determines the physical constitution of the occupant sitting on these seats 2a to 2e. Specifically, the occupant size determination device according to the embodiment determines which of a “child”, an “adult” and a “large adult” as an occupant's physique.

  As a technique for determining the physical constitution of a passenger, there is known a technology of imaging a vehicle interior and determining the physical constitution of the passenger by image recognition from the obtained image. However, when the physical constitution of the occupant is determined only by image recognition, objects other than the occupant on the seat may not be erroneously recognized as the occupant, and the physical constitution may be determined for the objects other than the occupant. For example, if the luggage placed on the seat has a shape close to a person such as a doll, or if a seat cover on which a picture of a person is printed is attached to the seat 2, or When there is a person who looks into the subject, there is a possibility that these objects are misrecognized as a passenger.

  Therefore, in the occupant physical determination device according to the embodiment, after determining the presence or absence of a living body using a biological detection sensor, the determination of the physical configuration of the occupant using an imaging device is performed. In this way, when determining the physical constitution of the occupant, it is possible to prevent in advance determination of the physical constitution on an object other than the living body by determining whether it is a living body or an object other than the living body. Because of this, it is possible to suppress an erroneous determination of the physical constitution of the occupant. Thus, it is possible to improve the determination accuracy of the physical constitution of the occupant.

  In the present embodiment, a capacitive seating sensor 3 is used as a living body detection sensor. The seating sensor 3 is a noncontact sensor that detects a living body from a change in capacitance. Specifically, when the living body approaches or separates from the seating sensor 3, the capacitance generated between the electrode of the seating sensor 3 and the living body changes. The seating sensor 3 converts this change in capacitance into an electrical signal and outputs it.

  The seating sensor 3 is provided to each seat 2. Specifically, a seating sensor 3a is provided on the driver's seat 2a, a seating sensor 3b is provided on the passenger seat, and seating sensors 3c to 3e are provided on the rear seats 2c to 2e, respectively.

  Since the seating sensor 3 has a thin and flexible seat shape, it can be easily embedded inside the seating surface. Thus, for example, unlike load sensors where mountable seats are limited to seats of the type having independent seating surfaces such as driver's seat 2a and passenger seat 2b, other seats such as rear seats 2c-2e It can be easily attached to bench seat type seat where seat and seat are continuous. The seating sensor 3 can be provided, for example, between the seat cushion of the seat 2 and the seat cover, and can detect a living body on the seat 2 through the seat cover.

  Further, since the capacitance type seating sensor 3 is less expensive than the load sensor, the occupant physical determination device can be configured more inexpensively.

  An imaging device 4 is provided on the front side of the vehicle interior. The imaging device 4 incorporates an imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor (CIS), and an image captured by the imaging device is transmitted to an electronic control unit (ECU) 10 (see FIG. 2). Output.

  The imaging device 4 captures an image of the passenger compartment. Specifically, the imaging device 4 has an orientation, an angle of view, and an angle of view so that all the seats 2 in the vehicle compartment can be imaged, that is, all the occupants seated in all the seats 2 in the vehicle compartment can be imaged. The installation position etc. are decided. Preferably, the imaging device 4 is installed, for example, around the rearview mirror.

  Any type of camera can be employed as the imaging device 4. For example, a monocular camera, a stereo camera, a visible light camera, an infrared camera, or a TOF distance image camera can be adopted as the imaging device 4. Among these, the infrared camera is effective in that it is difficult to fly out even when the outside of the vehicle is bright, and that the occupant can be caught to some extent even when the vehicle interior is dark.

[2. Configuration of control system 100]
The vehicle 1 is provided with a control system 100 including an occupant physical determination device. The configuration of the control system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system 100 according to the embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control system 100 includes a plurality of seating sensors 3, an imaging device 4, a plurality of seat belt sensors 5, a warning device 6, a plurality of airbag devices 7, an ECU 10, and an in-vehicle network. And 20. The ECU 10 is an example of an occupant physical determination device. The occupant physical determination device may be configured to include a plurality of seating sensors 3 and an imaging device 4 in addition to the ECU 10.

  The plurality of seat belt sensors 5 and the plurality of airbag devices 7 are provided corresponding to each of the plurality of seats 2. The seat belt sensor 5 detects the mounting state of the seat belt of the seat 2. The airbag device 7 protects the occupant seated on the seat 2 from impact by deploying the airbag at the time of a collision of the vehicle 1 or the like. The warning device 6 is configured to include, for example, a warning light, a speaker, and the like, and notifies the occupant of the fact that the seat belt is not attached by light or sound.

  The seating sensor 3, the seat belt sensor 5, the air bag device 7, the warning device 6, and the ECU 10 are electrically connected via the in-vehicle network 20. In-vehicle network 20 is configured, for example, as a CAN (Controller Area Network). Further, the imaging device 4 is connected to the ECU 10 through an output line such as, for example, a National Television System Committee (NTSC) cable.

  The ECU 10 can obtain detection results of the seating sensor 3 and the seat belt sensor 5 via the in-vehicle network 20. Further, the ECU 10 can acquire an image of the inside of the vehicle compartment from the imaging device 4 through the output line.

  The ECU 10 can realize various control functions of the vehicle 1 in addition to the function as the occupant physical determination device. For example, the ECU 10 can control the air bag device 7 and the warning device 6 by transmitting a control signal via the in-vehicle network 20. In addition, the ECU 10 can execute control of a brake system or control of a steering system.

  The ECU 10 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a solid state drive (SSD) 12, a read only memory (ROM) 13, and a random access memory (RAM) 14. The CPU 11 realizes a function as an occupant physical determination device by executing a program installed and stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the ROM 13 or the like. The RAM 14 temporarily stores various data used in the operation of the CPU 11. The SSD 12 is a rewritable non-volatile storage device, and can store data even when the power of the ECU 10 is turned off. The CPU 11, the ROM 13, the RAM 14 and the like can be integrated in the same package. Further, the ECU 10 may be configured to use another logical operation processor such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or a logic circuit instead of the CPU 11. Moreover, it may replace with SSD12 and HDD (Hard Disk Drive) may be provided, and SSD12 or HDD may be provided separately from ECU10.

[3. Functional configuration of ECU 10]
Next, the functional configuration of the ECU 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the ECU 10. As shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ECU 10 includes an acquisition unit 31, a first determination unit 32, a warning control unit 33, a second determination unit 34, and an airbag control unit 35. The acquisition unit 31, the first determination unit 32, the warning control unit 33, the second determination unit 34, and the air bag control unit 35 are realized by the CPU 11 executing a program stored in the ROM 13. Note that these configurations may be realized by a hardware circuit.

  The acquisition unit 31 acquires detection results of the plurality of seating sensors 3 via the in-vehicle network 20, and passes the acquired results to the first determination unit 32. In addition, the acquisition unit 31 acquires the image in the vehicle compartment captured by the imaging device 4 through the output line and passes the acquired image to the second determination unit 34.

  The first determination unit 32 performs a first determination process of determining the presence or absence of the occupant in the vehicle compartment based on the detection result of the seating sensor 3. The first determination process is performed for each seat 2. That is, based on the detection result of the seating sensor 3a, the first determination unit 32 determines the presence or absence of an occupant seated on the driver's seat 2a provided with the seating sensor 3a. Further, the first determination unit 32 determines the presence or absence of an occupant seated in the front passenger seat 2b provided with the seating sensor 3b based on the detection result of the seating sensor 3b. The first determination unit 32 also determines the presence or absence of an occupant seated on the rear seats 2c to 2e based on the detection results of the seating sensors 3c to 3e.

  The first determination unit 32 passes the determination result of the first determination process to the warning control unit 33, the second determination unit 34, and the airbag control unit 35.

  The warning control unit 33 performs warning control processing for controlling the warning device 6 based on the detection result of the seat belt sensor 5. Specifically, when the seat belt sensor 5 detects that the seat belt is not attached, the warning control unit 33 controls the warning device 6 to light that the seat belt is not attached. Sounds alert the occupants.

  The warning control unit 33 switches on / off of the seat belt warning mode for performing warning control processing according to the determination result of the first determination unit 32. Specifically, the warning control unit 33 turns on the seat belt warning mode when it is determined by the first determination unit 32 that an occupant is present. On the other hand, when it is determined that the occupant is not present, the warning control unit 33 turns off the seat belt warning mode.

  The warning control unit 33 determines on / off of the seat belt warning mode for each seat 2. That is, for example, when it is determined by the first determination unit 32 that the occupant is seated on the driver's seat 2a and the rear seat 2c among the seats 2a to 2e, the seat belt warning mode for the driver's seat 2a and the rear seat 2c And the seat belt warning mode is turned off for the other seats 2b, 2d and 2e.

  The second determination unit 34 performs a second determination process of determining the physical constitution of the occupant based on the image captured by the imaging device 4. The specific method of the second determination process will be described later.

  The second determination unit 34 performs the second determination process for each seat 2. FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of an image captured by the imaging device 4.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of determination areas Ra to Re used in the second determination process are set in the image captured by the imaging device 4. Specifically, the plurality of determination areas Ra to Re correspond to the respective seats 2a to 2e, and are positions including the upper body including the head and both shoulders of the occupant seated in the corresponding seats 2a to 2e. And set to size. The positions and sizes of the determination regions Ra to Re may be set in advance, or may be set by the second determination unit 34 by image recognition.

  The second determination unit 34 performs the second determination process when it is determined that the occupant is present. For example, if it is determined by the first determination unit 32 that the occupant is seated on the driver's seat 2a and the rear seat 2c among the seats 2a to 2e, the second determination unit 34 determines the determination area corresponding to the driver's seat 2a A second determination process using Ra and a second determination process using a determination area Rc corresponding to the determination area Rc corresponding to the rear seat 2c are performed. On the other hand, the second determination unit 34 does not perform the second determination process on the seats 2b, 2d, and 2e that are not determined to have an occupant.

  As described above, in the control system 100 according to the embodiment, the seating sensors 3a to 3e are provided in the respective seats 2a to 2e in the vehicle compartment, and the imaging device 4 captures an imaging range including the seats 2a to 2e. In addition, the second determination unit 34 is included in the determination areas Ra to Re corresponding to the seats 2a to 2e determined to have an occupant based on the detection results of the seating sensors 3a to 3e in the imaging range of the imaging device 4. It was decided to determine the physical constitution of the occupant based on the image. For this reason, the physical constitution of the occupant seated in the plurality of seats 2a to 2e can be determined by one imaging device 4.

  The airbag control unit 35 individually controls the deployment of the plurality of airbag devices 7. Specifically, based on the determination result of the first determination unit 32, the airbag control unit 35 switches on / off of airbag deployment control for controlling the deployment of the airbag. Specifically, the airbag control unit 35 turns on the airbag deployment control when it is determined by the first determination unit 32 that an occupant is present. On the other hand, the airbag control unit 35 turns off the airbag deployment control when it is determined that no occupant is present.

  The airbag control unit 35 determines on / off of airbag deployment control for each seat 2. That is, for example, when the first determination unit 32 determines that the occupant is seated on the driver's seat 2a and the rear seat 2c among the plurality of seats 2a to 2e, the airbag for the driver's seat 2a and the rear seat 2c The deployment control is turned on, and the airbag deployment control is turned off for the other seats 2b, 2d, 2e.

  Further, the airbag control unit 35 switches the deployment mode of the airbag device 7 based on the determination result of the second determination unit 34 for the seat 2 in which the airbag deployment control is in the on state. For example, when the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is a child, the airbag control unit 35 switches the deployment mode of the airbag apparatus 7 to an airbag weak deployment mode that deploys weaker than normal. . Thus, the safety of the air bag can be enhanced by deploying the air bag with the strength according to the physical constitution of the occupant.

[4. Specific operation of ECU 10]
Next, the specific operation of the ECU 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the process executed by the ECU 10. The process shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is performed for each of the seats 2a to 2e.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first determination unit 32 determines whether the output of the seating sensor 3 exceeds the occupant determination threshold (step S101). The occupant determination threshold is stored in advance in, for example, a storage unit such as the SSD 12.

  In step S101, when the output of the seating sensor 3 exceeds the occupant determination threshold (Yes in step S101), the first determination unit 32 determines that an occupant is present in the corresponding seat 2 (step S102). Then, the warning control unit 33 turns on the seat belt warning mode for the corresponding seat 2 (step S103), and the airbag control unit 35 turns on airbag deployment control for the corresponding seat 2 (step S104).

  On the other hand, when the output of the seating sensor 3 does not exceed the occupant determination threshold in step S101 (step S101, No), the first determination unit 32 determines that there is no occupant in the corresponding seat 2 (step S105) . Then, the warning control unit 33 turns off the seat belt warning mode for the corresponding seat 2 (step S106), and the air bag control unit 35 turns off airbag deployment control for the corresponding seat 2 (step S107).

  When the process of step S104 or step S107 is finished, the ECU 10 returns the process to step S101 and repeats the process of steps S101 to S107.

  As described above, in the ECU 10 according to the embodiment, when an object other than the living body exists on the seat 2 by determining the presence or absence of the living body on the seat 2 using the capacitance type seating sensor 3, the living body It is possible to prevent other objects from being erroneously determined as occupants. Therefore, the seat belt warning mode can be turned on and off accurately, and the air bag expansion control can be turned on and off with high precision. For example, although no occupant is present on the seat 2, the seat belt is not attached. It can be made difficult to cause a situation such as being notified.

  In this case, although the airbag deployment control is turned on or off after the seat belt warning mode is turned on or off, the ECU 10 warns the seat belt after the airbag deployment control is turned on or off. The mode may be turned on or off, or these may be done simultaneously.

  Subsequently, the process shown in FIG. 6 will be described. The process shown in FIG. 6 is performed when the air bag deployment control is on, that is, for the seat 2 determined to have an occupant.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the second determination unit 34 first detects the head and shoulders of the occupant from the corresponding determination area Ra to Re among the determination areas Ra to Re by image recognition (step S201). Subsequently, the second determination unit 34 calculates a head width-shoulder width ratio, which is a ratio of the head width and the shoulder width, based on the detection results of the head and both shoulders (step S202).

  Subsequently, the second determination unit 34 determines whether the calculated head width-shoulder width ratio is less than the child threshold (step S203). Then, if the head width-shoulder width ratio is less than the child threshold (Yes at step S203), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is a child (step S204), and the airbag control unit 35 determines that the airbag The air bag weak expansion mode is turned on as the expansion mode of the device 7 (step S205).

  On the other hand, if the head width-shoulder width ratio is not less than the child threshold in step S203 (step S203, No), the second determination unit 34 determines whether the head width-shoulder width ratio is less than the large pattern threshold (step S203) S206). The large game threshold is a threshold having a value larger than the child threshold. The child threshold and the large threshold are stored in advance in a storage unit such as, for example, the SSD 12.

  If the head width-shoulder width ratio is less than the large pattern threshold (Yes at Step S206), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is an adult (Step S207), and the airbag control unit 35 determines that the airbag device 7 is installed. The in-airbag expansion mode is turned on as the expansion mode (step S208).

  On the other hand, if the head width-shoulder width ratio is not less than the large pattern threshold in step S206 (step S206, No), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is a large adult (step S209), and the airbag control unit 35 turns on the strong airbag expansion mode as the expansion mode of the airbag device 7 (step S210).

  When the processes of steps S205, S208, and S210 are completed, the second determination unit 34 returns the process to step S201 and repeats the processes of steps S201 to S210. When the airbag deployment control is switched off during the process of FIG. 6, that is, when no occupant is present on the seat 2, the ECU 10 may interrupt the process of FIG.

  Here, the head width-shoulder width ratio will be described. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the head width and the shoulder width. As shown in FIG. 7, the head width Wh refers to the length of the head in the left-right direction, and the shoulder width Ws is the length from one shoulder to the other. The head width-shoulder width ratio is shoulder width Ws / head width Wh.

  FIG. 8 is a histogram showing the difference in the distribution of head-to-shoulder width ratio between children and adults. In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis indicates the head width-shoulder width ratio, and the vertical axis indicates the frequency. Further, in FIG. 8, the distribution of the head width-shoulder width ratio of the child is shown in white, and the distribution of the head width-shoulder width ratio of the adult is shown by hatching. Here, less than primary school children are defined as children, and more than primary school children are defined as adults.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the distribution of children of the head-to-shoulder ratio and the distribution of adults hardly overlap. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish children and adults with high accuracy by using the head width-shoulder width ratio.

  As a method of discriminating between a child and an adult, for example, it may be considered to use only the head width or the shoulder width. In this case, although the absolute values of the head width and the shoulder width are compared with the threshold, the absolute values of the head width and the shoulder width change depending on the distance from the imaging device 4 to the occupant. There is a possibility that the judgment result may be different between the case of being deeply seated and the case of being shallowly seated. On the other hand, the second determination processing is performed using the ratio of the first portion to the second portion of the human body as in the head width-shoulder width ratio, and thus the influence of the distance from the imaging device 4 to the occupant is obtained. This makes it difficult to improve the determination accuracy of the second determination process.

  The second determination unit 34 may perform the second determination process using a ratio other than the head width-shoulder width ratio. For example, the second determination unit 34 may perform the second determination process using the ratio between the head length and the shoulder width, which is the length in the depth direction of the head, or the neck that is the length in the left and right direction of the neck The second determination process may be performed using the ratio of the width to the head width. Similarly, the second determination unit 34 may perform the second determination process using the ratio of head height to shoulder width, which is the length in the vertical direction of the head, or the ratio of neck width to head length. The second determination process may be performed using this. Among these, the head-to-shoulder ratio is the highest for children and adults.

  As described above, the ECU 10 (an example of the occupant physical determination device) according to the embodiment includes the acquisition unit 31, the first determination unit 32, and the second determination unit 34. The acquisition unit 31 acquires a detection result of the seating sensor 3 as a living body detection sensor that detects a living body in the vehicle compartment, and an image of the inside of the vehicle cabin captured by the imaging device 4. The first determination unit 32 determines the presence or absence of the occupant in the vehicle compartment based on the detection result of the seating sensor 3. When it is determined by the first determination unit 32 that the occupant is present in the vehicle compartment, the second determination unit 34 determines the physical constitution of the occupant based on the image captured by the imaging device 4.

  Thus, when determining the physical constitution of the occupant, it is possible to determine in advance whether the object is a living body or an object other than a living body. It is possible to prevent the determination from being performed. Therefore, according to the ECU 10 according to the embodiment, the determination accuracy of the physical size of the occupant can be improved.

  Further, according to the ECU 10 according to the embodiment, since it is not necessary to determine whether the object is a living body or an object other than a living body, that is, an occupant or a package other than the occupant, it is not necessary to perform image recognition. Can be reduced.

  Further, in the control system 100 according to the embodiment, not only the seat 2 (the driver's seat 2a and the passenger seat 2b) having independent seating surfaces, but other types of seatings and seating surfaces continue (seats 2c to 2e). The capacitive seating sensor 3 that can be mounted on the. For this reason, the freedom degree of design of a passenger | crew physique determination apparatus can be raised.

[5. Modification of Specific Operation of ECU 10]
In the embodiment described above, the physical constitution of the occupant is determined based on the ratio between the first part and the second part of the occupant, but the determination method of the physical constitution of the occupant is not limited to the above example. So, below, the modification of the judgment method of a passenger's physique is explained.

  First, a first modification will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing executed by the ECU 10 in the first modification.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the second determination unit 34 detects the head of the occupant by image recognition from among the determination regions Ra to Re corresponding to the determination regions Ra to Re (step S301). Then, the second determination unit 34 calculates the height position of the head in the determination regions Ra to Re (hereinafter referred to as “head height”) (step S302).

  Subsequently, the second determination unit 34 determines whether the calculated head height is less than the child threshold (step S303). When the head height is less than the child threshold (Yes at step S303), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is a child (step S304), and the airbag control unit 35 determines that the airbag apparatus The air bag weak expansion mode is turned on as the expansion mode 7 (step S305).

  On the other hand, when the head height is not less than the child threshold in step S303 (step S303, No), the second determination unit 34 determines whether the head height is less than the large pattern threshold (step S306). . Then, if the head height is less than the large pattern threshold (Yes at step S306), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is an adult (step S307), and the airbag control unit 35 determines that the airbag apparatus The in-airbag expansion mode is turned on as the expansion mode of 7 (step S308).

  On the other hand, when the head height is not less than the large threshold in step S306 (step S306, No), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is a large adult (step S309), and the airbag control unit 35 As a deployment mode of the airbag device 7, the airbag strong deployment mode is turned on (step S310).

  When the processes of steps S305, S308, and S310 are finished, the second determination unit 34 returns the process to step S301 and repeats the processes of steps S301 to S310.

  Thus, the second determination unit 34 may determine the physical constitution of the occupant based on the height position of the head of the occupant.

  Subsequently, a second modification will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the ECU 10 in the second modification.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the second determination unit 34 detects the upper body of the occupant by image recognition from among the determination regions Ra to Re corresponding to the determination regions Ra to Re (step S401). Then, the second determination unit 34 calculates the area of the detected upper body (step S402).

  Subsequently, the second determination unit 34 determines whether the calculated upper body area is smaller than the child threshold (step S403). Then, when the area of the upper body is less than the child threshold (Yes at step S403), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is a child (step S404). The air bag weak expansion mode is turned on as the expansion mode (step S405).

  On the other hand, if the area of the upper body is not less than the child threshold in step S403 (step S403, No), the second determination unit 34 determines whether the area of the upper body is less than the large pattern threshold (step S406). Then, when the area of the upper body is less than the large pattern threshold (Yes at step S406), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is an adult (step S407), and the airbag control unit 35 determines that the airbag device 7 is installed. The in-airbag expansion mode is turned on as the expansion mode (step S408).

  On the other hand, when the area of the upper body is not less than the large pattern threshold in step S406 (step S406, No), the second determination unit 34 determines that the occupant is a large adult (step S409). The air bag strong expansion mode is turned on as the air bag device 7 expansion mode (step S410).

  When the processes of steps S405, S408, and S410 are finished, the second determination unit 34 returns the process to step S401, and repeats the processes of steps S401 to S410.

  Thus, the second determination unit 34 may determine the physical size of the occupant based on the area of the upper body of the occupant.

[6. Other Embodiments]
The number, arrangement, shape, and the like of the seats 2 provided in the vehicle compartment are not limited to the examples described above. For example, in the embodiment described above, the case where the vehicle 1 is a so-called two-row seat car has been described as an example, but the vehicle 1 may be a three-row seat car.

  In the embodiment described above, the vehicle 1 has the bench seat type rear seats 2c to 2e as an example, but the rear seats 2c to 2e are the same as the driver's seat 2a and the passenger seat 2b. The seat may be of a type having a separate seating surface.

  Further, vehicle 1 may be, for example, an automobile having an internal combustion engine such as an engine as a drive source, or an electric automobile or a fuel cell automobile having an electric motor such as a motor as a drive source. The hybrid vehicle may be a hybrid vehicle having both of the driving sources. The vehicle 1 can carry various transmissions, and can carry various devices necessary for driving an internal combustion engine and a motor. The system, the number, the layout, and the like of devices related to the driving of the wheels in the vehicle 1 can be set variously.

  In the embodiment described above, the seating sensors 3a to 3e are provided for all the seats 2a to 2e provided in the vehicle compartment, but the seating sensor 3 is necessarily provided for all the seats 2 You do not need For example, the seating sensor 3 may be provided only in the rear seats 2c to 2e, or may be provided only in the driver's seat 2a.

  Moreover, although embodiment mentioned above demonstrated the example in the case of using an electrostatic capacitance sensor as a biological body detection sensor, a biological body detection sensor is not limited to an electrostatic capacitance sensor. For example, a far-infrared sensor, a motion sensor, a Doppler sensor or the like may be used as a living body detection sensor. The far-infrared sensor is a sensor that detects far-infrared radiation emitted by a living body, and the motion sensor is a sensor that detects the movement of an object by detecting an acceleration, an inclination, or the like of the object. In addition, the Doppler sensor is a sensor that irradiates radio waves to an object and detects the movement of the object by comparing the frequency of the reflected radio waves with the frequency of the irradiated radio waves.

  Moreover, it may replace with the seating sensor 3 and may use a load sensor, and may use the seating sensor 3 and a load sensor together.

  In the embodiment described above, an example of determining which of “child”, “adult” and “large adult” is determined as the physical constitution of the occupant has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. 34 may determine, for example, which of “children” and “adults” the occupant's physique.

  As mentioned above, although the embodiment of the present invention was illustrated, the above-mentioned embodiment and modification are an example to the last, and limiting the scope of the invention is not intended. The above embodiment and modifications can be implemented in other various forms, and various omissions, replacements, combinations, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, the configurations and shapes of the embodiments and the modifications may be partially replaced and implemented.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 2 ... seat, 3 ... seating sensor, 4 ... imaging device, 5 ... seat belt sensor, 6 ... warning device, 7 ... airbag device, 10 ... ECU, 20 ... network in a car, 31 ... acquisition part, 32 ... first determination unit, 33 ... warning control unit, 34 ... second determination unit, 35 ... airbag control unit, 100 ... control system.

Claims (5)

An acquisition unit that acquires a detection result of a biological detection sensor that detects a living body in a vehicle compartment and an image of the vehicle interior captured by an imaging device;
A first determination unit that determines the presence or absence of an occupant in the vehicle compartment based on the detection result of the living body detection sensor;
And a second determination unit that determines the physical configuration of the occupant based on the image when it is determined that the occupant is present in the vehicle compartment by the first determination unit. The second determination unit is
The occupant physical determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physical constitution of the occupant is determined based on a ratio of the first part to the second part in the occupant. The second determination unit is
The occupant physical determination apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the physical constitution of the occupant is determined based on a ratio of a head width which is the first part and a shoulder width which is the second part. The living body detection sensor
The occupant physical determination apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is a capacitance type seating sensor provided on a seat in the vehicle interior. The seating sensor is
Provided in each of a plurality of seats in the vehicle interior,
The imaging device is
Imaging an imaging range including the plurality of seats;
The second determination unit is
The occupant physical determination apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the physical configuration of the occupant is determined based on an image in an area corresponding to a seat determined to be present by the first determination unit in the imaging range.

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