KR101406431B1 - A passenger identification apparatus providing both direct voltage and alternate voltage by alternative switching - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a power supply circuit for a vehicle, comprising a first power supply for outputting an AC voltage, a second power supply for outputting a DC voltage of a predetermined magnitude, A first switch connected between the first power supply unit and the sensor unit, and a second switch connected between the second power supply unit and the sensor unit, wherein the first switch unit is connected between the first power supply unit and the sensor unit, And a second switch which is opened / closed alternately with the first switch.

Passenger sensor, seat heater, switch, clock generator

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle passenger identification device for supplying a direct current voltage and an alternating current voltage in accordance with alternating switching,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a passenger identifying device for a vehicle, and more particularly to a passenger identifying device for a vehicle that supplies a direct current voltage and an alternating voltage in accordance with alternate switching for a wire formed inside a seat.

In order to protect the life of passengers during a traffic accident, modern vehicles are generally equipped with a number of airbags or seat belt pretensioners, which are used to absorb the energy of the passengers emitted during crashes caused by an accident System.

It is clear that this protection system is most effective when fitted to the specific requirements of actual seat occupancy. This can be achieved, for example, as a function of the attitude of a passenger seated on the seat, such as the moment the airbag is deployed, the volume at which the airbag is inflated, This is why a microprocessor-controlled protection system with a mode must be constructed. In order to allow the control microprocessor to select the optimal operating mode for a given seat occupancy state, it is necessary to detect one or more parameters indicative of the occupied state characteristics of the seat and classify occupancy into one of several categories, , Each of which is associated with a particular mode of operation of the containment system.

Although the advantages of an airbag are largely perceived as related to passenger safety, there is a condition in which the deployment of the airbag is not required or the deployment of the airbag is hazardous or can pose a serious risk. For example, in order to reduce the repair cost of a vehicle, when the corresponding seat is not occupied, the airbag associated with the seat must not be operated. Further, if the auxiliary infant restraint sheet is present on the passenger seat, it can be indicated that the airbag should not be deployed.

In fact, for most supplementary infant restraint seats, such as a rear facing infant seat, which is mounted so as to see the back of the infant restraint seat, which is located opposite to the direction of travel of the vehicle, In addition, there is a risk that the infant is violently committed and causes serious injury. Occupancy parameters for this case should also be easily detected.

The detection of the occupation parameter can be accomplished, for example, by a seat occupancy sensor comprising a plurality of pressure sensors distributed along the surface of the seat. The pressure sensor includes pressure sensitive resistors, and the resistance of these pressure sensors is changed according to the pressure applied to the sensor. Thus, the resistance value of the individual pressure sensors indicates the pressure applied to each cell and thus can be related to the weight acting on the seat. The distribution of pressure values along the surface of the sheet may also be related to the size or shape of the person or object occupying the sheet.

However, part of the weight is supported by the legs of the passenger being supported on the floor of the vehicle, and the rest of the weight is supported by the backrest of the seat, so that the total weight of the passenger is not applied only to the surface of the seat. In addition, the ratio between the various parts varies considerably depending on the position of the passenger of the seat. Therefore, in certain critical seating positions, the pressure pattern generated by the passenger may not be sufficiently distinguished so as to be classified by use of the pressure pattern system.

Another approach to collecting the relevant parameters of seat occupancy is by sensing the capacitive coupling of the body to one or more electrodes disposed on the seat.

The measurement system includes at least one transmitting electrode and at least one receiving electrode capacitively coupled by a conductive body. The receiving electrode is coupled to an analysis circuit that senses capacitive coupling of the conductor and the transmitting antenna by comparing the measured signal to a reference signal. Various other systems have been disclosed having electrodes disposed at various locations in a passenger compartment in order to sense the presence and / or state of seat occupancy and to classify occupancy states into one of a plurality of classifications .

The present invention addresses this problem by providing a passenger identification device for a vehicle having a seat heater function by supplying a direct current voltage and an alternating voltage to the wires constituting the seat in accordance with the alternating switching.

A passenger identifying device for a vehicle as a means for solving the above problems includes a first power source for outputting an AC voltage, a second power source for outputting a DC voltage of a predetermined size, A sensor unit in which a capacitance between the vehicle body and the vehicle body changes according to a permittivity of a passenger seated on the seat by a voltage component and heat is generated by a DC voltage component of the second power supply unit, And a second switch connected between the second power supply unit and the sensor unit and opened / closed alternately with the first switch.

The control unit may further include a first clock generator for generating a clock signal for the switching cycle of the first switch and a second clock generator for generating a clock signal for the switching cycle of the second switch.

Generating a passenger information on presence / absence and type of passengers based on the measurement result of the amount of change in capacitance of the sensor, and generating a control signal for controlling the first switch and the second switch to be opened / closed alternately And may further include a control unit.

The first switch and the second switch may be implemented as a single switch so that one state is a closed state of the first switch and the other state is a closed state of the second switch.

The passenger information may be transmitted to the airbag control unit through the CAN communication terminal.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the passenger sensor device and the wire for the seat heater can be integrally constituted by one sensor.

Further, by eliminating the case where the DC voltage supplied to the seat heater and the AC voltage supplied to the passenger sensor are supplied at the same time, the configuration of the shield sensor mounted on the conventional sensor can be omitted.

In addition, when the change amount of the capacitance is checked for the passenger classification in the passenger sensor, the effect of the electric field generation by the DC voltage provided by the seat heater can be prevented, thereby improving the sensor performance.

Referring to the drawings, embodiments of the present invention relating to a passenger identifying device for a vehicle having a seat heater function by supplying a DC voltage and an AC voltage in accordance with alternating switching to wires constituted inside the seat will be described.

1A and 1B show a configuration diagram of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle that simultaneously implements a seat heating function and a passenger identifying function for one wire according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a power supply system for a sensor unit of a passenger identifying apparatus for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows the operation of the passenger identifying apparatus for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

1A and 1B, a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a passenger sensor control unit 100, a seat heater control unit 110, a sensor unit 120 composed of wires mounted inside the seat 130, ≪ / RTI > 1B shows an example in which the passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110 are connected to different sides of the sensor unit 120. In Fig. 1B, the passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110 are connected to the same side of the sensor unit 120. FIG.

2, power is supplied from the passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110 to the sensor unit 120, and power is supplied to the sensor unit 120 in an alternating manner do. Referring to FIG. 2, the passenger sensor control unit 100 operates to supply power during time T1, and the seat heater control unit 110 supplies power during time T2. As a result, the passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110 can supply power to the sensor unit 120 at different times.

According to the present embodiment, not only the passenger sensor function and the seat heater function can be provided through the single wire in the seat, but also the passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110 can control the sensor unit 120 As the power supply is alternately supplied, it is possible to prevent the influence of the electric field generated by the power supply from each other. Particularly, the passenger sensor control unit 100 supplies AC voltage for passenger detection, and the seat heater control unit 110 can supply the DC voltage as it is.

Referring to FIG. 3, in step S300, the capacitance between the vehicle body and the vehicle body is changed according to the permittivity of the passenger sitting on the seat by the AC voltage component of the sensor unit 120 according to the supply of the AC voltage from the passenger sensor control unit 100 . Then, in step S310, the change amount of the electrostatic capacity is measured to determine whether or not the passenger is seated, and the type of passenger is determined, and passenger information is generated based on the determination. If the sensor output is less than or equal to the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S320 to determine the class 1, and if the sensor output is greater than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S330 And class 2 is determined.

According to the present embodiment, for example, the class 1 may be in the CRS mounting state or the seat may be in an empty state, and the class 2 may indicate a state in which an adult or the like is seated on the seat. Accordingly, if the process proceeds to step S330, the process proceeds to step S340 where the sheet heater control unit 110 supplies power to the sensor unit 120 to perform a seat heater function. At this time, the passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110 may alternately supply power to the sensor unit 120 according to the present embodiment.

Therefore, in the passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110, the power supplied to the sensor electrode for passenger identification and the wire used as the seat heater wire is supplied as shown in FIG. The passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110 always operate / determine the passenger sensor control unit 100. During the time that the seat heater is operated, the passenger sensor control unit 100 holds passenger information that has been determined before, When the new passenger information is generated by supplying power to the wire according to the operation of the controller 100, Update the results.

FIG. 4 shows an internal configuration diagram of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 shows a switch operation of the passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4, the passenger sensor control unit 100 of the passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to the present embodiment includes a first power supply unit 40 for outputting an AC voltage, a second power supply unit 40 for connecting the first power supply unit 40 and the sensor unit, And a first clock generator (41) for generating a clock signal for the switching cycle of the switch (400) and the first switch (400). The seat heater control unit 110 includes a second power supply unit 44 for outputting a DC voltage of a predetermined magnitude, a second switch 410 and a second switch 410 connected between the second power supply unit 44 and the sensor unit, And a second clock generator (45) for generating a clock signal for the switching cycle of the switching element.

The first clock generator 41 and the second clock generator 45 according to the present embodiment operate to supply power from the passenger sensor control unit 100 during the time T1 as shown in Figure 2 and to the seat heater control unit 110 ≪ / RTI > to provide power at the < RTI ID = 0.0 > That is, while the first clock generator 41 outputs "1", the second clock generator 45 outputs "0". On the contrary, while the first clock generator 41 outputs "0" The second clock generator 45 generates a clock so that "1" is output.

5, when the first switch 400 of the passenger sensor control unit 100 is in a closed state, the second switch 410 of the seat heater control unit 110 is opened and the passenger sensor control unit 100 The second switch 410 of the seat heater control unit 110 is in the closed state. As a result, the AC voltage and the DC voltage can be alternately supplied to the sensor unit.

Fig. 6 shows an internal configuration diagram of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6, the passenger identifying device for a vehicle includes a first switch 400 and a second switch 410 included in the passenger sensor control unit 100 and the seat heater control unit 110, And a switch control unit 600 for generating a control signal for controlling the control unit 600. The switch control unit 600 according to the present embodiment generates a control signal for controlling the first switch 400 and the second switch 410 to be opened or closed alternately according to the passenger information.

2, the switch control unit 600 operates to supply power to the passenger sensor control unit 100 during the period T1 and to supply power to the seat heater control unit 110 during the period T2, Will occur. In other words, if a closing control signal is generated for the first switch 400, an open control signal is generated for the second switch 410 in the same time zone. On the contrary, if the open control signal is generated for the first switch 400 And generates a closing control signal for the second switch 410 in the same time zone.

5, when the first switch 400 of the passenger sensor control unit 100 is in a closed state, the second switch 410 of the seat heater control unit 110 is opened and the passenger sensor control unit 100 The second switch 410 of the seat heater control unit 110 is in the closed state. As a result, the AC voltage and the DC voltage can be alternately supplied to the sensor unit.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an internal configuration of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention. 9 is a view showing a switch operation state of the passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the passenger identifying device for a vehicle includes a switch unit 700 in which the first switch and the second switch are implemented as a single switch. According to the passenger information, the switch unit 700 according to the present embodiment is set to the closed state (A state) of the first switch so that the first switch 400 and the second switch 410 are alternately opened and closed And the other state is configured to be the closed state (state B) of the second switch.

In the switch unit 700 according to the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9, the passenger sensor control unit 100 operates to supply power during T1, and the seat heater control unit 110 performs switching operation during T2 to supply power . In other words, as shown in FIG. 8, if the switch operation is determined in step S800 so as to perform the functions of the first switch 400 and the second switch 410 together, the process proceeds to step S810, DC power is supplied. In the case of the B state, the flow advances to step S820 to supply AC power for the passenger sensor.

5, when the first switch 400 of the passenger sensor control unit 100 is in the closed state (state A), the second switch 410 of the seat heater control unit 110 is in an open state, The second switch 410 of the seat heater control unit 110 is in the closed state when the first switch 400 of the sensor control unit 100 is in the open state (state B). As a result, the AC voltage and the DC voltage can be alternately supplied to the sensor unit.

In the above-described embodiments, the electrostatic capacity between the sensor unit and the vehicle body changes according to the permittivity of the passenger sitting on the seat by the AC voltage component of the first power supply unit 40, and the change amount is checked to generate passenger information It will be possible. Further, heat may be generated by the DC voltage component of the second power supply unit 44, which is additionally supplied in an alternating manner without overlapping with the AC voltage, so that it can function as a seat heater.

The passenger sensor control unit 100 and / or the seat heater control unit 110 may further include temperature sensors 42 and 46 to sense heat generated in the seat heater, It may be possible to control to maintain the temperature level. The passenger sensor control unit 100 and / or the seat heater control unit 110 further include CAN communication stages 43 and 47 to transmit passenger information generated by the sensor unit or the control unit, temperature information generated by the temperature sensor, To an airbag control unit or the like.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. You will understand.

1A and 1B show a configuration diagram of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle that simultaneously implements a seat heating function and a passenger identifying function for one wire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of supplying power to a sensor unit of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an internal configuration diagram of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

 5 shows a switch operation of the passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 shows an internal configuration diagram of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 shows an internal configuration diagram of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a view showing a switch operating state of a passenger identifying device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE SYMBOLS

100: passenger sensor control unit 110: seat heater control unit

120: sensor part 130: seat part

40: first power supply unit 41: first clock generator

42: first temperature sensor 43: first CAN communication terminal

44: second power supply unit 45: second clock generator

46: second temperature sensor 47: second CAN communication terminal

400: first switch 410: second switch

600: switch control section 700: switch section

Claims (6)

A first power supply for outputting an AC voltage; A second power supply for outputting a DC voltage of a predetermined magnitude; A capacitance between the vehicle body and the vehicle body is changed according to a permittivity of a passenger seated on the seat by the AC voltage component of the first power source part and heat is generated by the DC voltage component of the second power source part A sensor unit; A first switch connected between the first power supply unit and the sensor unit; A second switch connected between the second power supply unit and the sensor unit and opened / closed alternately with the first switch; A first clock generator for generating a clock signal for the switching cycle of the first switch; And And a second clock generator for generating a clock signal for the switching cycle of the second switch, Passenger identification device for vehicles. delete The method according to claim 1, Generating a passenger information on presence / absence and type of passengers based on the measurement result of the amount of change in capacitance of the sensor, and generating a control signal for controlling the first switch and the second switch to be opened / closed alternately Further comprising a control unit for controlling the vehicle passenger. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the first switch and the second switch are implemented as one switch such that one state is the closed state of the first switch and the other state is the closed state of the second switch. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the passenger information is transmitted to the airbag control unit via the CAN communication terminal. A first power supply for outputting an AC voltage; A second power supply for outputting a DC voltage of a predetermined magnitude; A capacitance between the vehicle body and the vehicle body is changed according to a permittivity of a passenger seated on the seat by the AC voltage component of the first power source part and heat is generated by the DC voltage component of the second power source part A sensor unit; A first switch connected between the first power supply unit and the sensor unit; A second switch connected between the second power supply unit and the sensor unit; And And a control unit for generating passenger information on presence / absence and kind of passengers based on the measurement result of the change amount of the capacitance of the sensor, and controlling the first switch and the second switch to be opened / closed alternately, The control unit may include: a first clock generator for generating a clock signal for an open / close cycle of the first switch; And a second clock generator for generating a clock signal for the switching cycle of the second switch, Passenger identification device for vehicles.

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