(12) United States Patent
`Breed
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,746,078 B2
`Jun. 8, 2004
`
`US006746078B2
`
`(54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOVINGA
`HEADREST BASED ON ANTICIPATORY
`SENSING
`
`4,935,680 A
`4,995,639 A
`5,003,240 A
`5,006,771 A
`
`6/1990 Sugiyama ............ .. 364/424.05
`2/1991 Breed ....................... .. 280/735
`3/1991 Ikeda ........ ..
`364/424.05
`4/1991 OgasaWara ..
`318/568.1
`
`.
`
`-
`
`-
`
`(75) Inventor- 32W"; sc'Br'teedilliczgnst? Townshlp’
`Oms Oun y’
`.
`,
`,
`(73) AsslgneeZ Automotfve Technologle?
`Internatlonal, II1¢->DeI1V111@> NJ (Us)
`
`_
`(*) Nonce:
`
`_
`_
`_
`_
`SIlbJfICHO any dlsclalmer, the term of thls
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U_S_C_ 154(k)) by 0 days_
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 10/234,063
`(22) Filed:
`Sep. 3, 2002
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2003/0015898 A1 Jan. 23, 2003
`
`Related U-S- APPIiCZItiOII Data
`
`(63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 09/613,925, ?led on
`Jul. 11, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part of application
`On Dec. 17, 1997, HOW Pat. NO.
`
`’
`
`’
`
`'
`7
`
`""""""""""""""""
`‘ """"""""""""""" "
`
`(
`
`)
`
`‘
`
`’ 297 /216 3’
`‘
`/
`'
`_
`(58) Fleld 0f Search ....................... .. 297/216.12, 216.1,
`297/408> 410; 701/45
`
`/
`
`‘
`
`(56)
`
`_
`References Clted
`U'S PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`9/1966 King ------------------------ -- 180/272
`3,275,975 A
`8/1972 Matsuura ......... .. 297/216.12 X
`3,680,912 A
`2 12/
`Eng __' """""""""""" "
`297; 410
`4’645’233 A
`21987 Blrslgit'gl'm'
`4/424 05
`' '
`4’797’824 A
`1/1989 Sugiyama a ' ' '
`4,811,226 A
`3/1989 Shinohara ............ .. 364/424.05
`4,853,687 A
`8/1989 Isomura et al. ...... .. 364/424.05
`4,865,388 A
`9/1989 Nemoto .................... .. 297/403
`
`5,008,946 A
`
`4/1991 Ando . . . . . . . . . .
`
`5,071,160 A 12/1991 White et al. .............. .. 280/735
`5,074,583 A 12/1991 Fujita et al. .............. .. 280/735
`5,095,257 A
`3/1992 Ikeda et al. ..
`364/424.05
`5,151,944 A
`9/1992 Yamamura
`...... .. 381/151
`5,161,820 A 11/1992 Vollmer ........ ..
`.. 280/730.1
`
`. . . .. 180/167
`
`1/1993 Dellanno et al. ......... .. 297/397
`5,181,763 A
`4/1993 Reuber et al. ............ .. 280/753
`5,205,585 A
`_
`_
`(List continued on next page.)
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`GB
`WO
`
`2301906
`94/22693
`
`12/1996
`10/1994
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Viano, David C. & Gargan, Martin F., “Headrest Position
`During Normal Driving, Implication to Neck Injury in Rear
`Crashes”, Acad. Anal. And Prev., vol. 28, No. 6, pp. 665—674
`Elsevier Science, Ltd.
`_
`_
`P rlmary Exammer—Anthony D. Bar?eld
`Attorney)
`Or Firm_Brian Rolfe
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`System and method for moving a headrest against Which an
`occupant can rest his or her head in Which an anticipatory
`crash sensor detects an impending crash based on data
`Obtained prior to the Crash and a movement mechanism
`moves the headrest upon detection of an impending crash by
`the crash sensor. The crash sensor ma roduce an out ut
`y P
`P
`signal When an object external from the vehicle is approach
`ing the vehicle at a velocity above a design threshold
`velocity. The crash sensor may be any type of sensor
`designed to provide an assessment or determination of an
`impending impact prior to the impact, if,” from data
`obtained prior to the impact Thus, the crash sensor can be an
`ultrasonic sensor, an electromagnetic Wave sensor, a radar
`sensor, a noise radar sensor and a camera, a scanning laser
`radar and a P4551"e lnfrared Sens“
`
`61 Claims, 14 Drawing Sheets
`
`44111
`
`1
`
`Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, Petitioner - Ex. 1001
`
`

`

`US 6,746,078 B2
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,290,091 A
`3/1994 Dellanno et a1. ......... .. 297/408
`27322732 2 $133: gentry eFal- -
`gig/1(3);
`3
`3
`/
`Pranam‘
`/
`5,378,043 A
`1/1995 Vlano et a1. ..
`297/408
`5,484,189 A
`1/1996 Patterson
`297/410
`5,580,124 A 12/1996 Dellanno
`297/216.12
`5,694,320 A 12/1997 Breed ...... ..
`. 364/424.05
`5,748,473 A
`5/1998 Breed et a1.
`........ .. 701/45
`57697489 A
`6/1998 De.11ann°
`297/216'14
`5,795,019 A
`8/1998 Wleclawskl
`. 297/216.12
`5,822,707 A 10/1998 Breed et a1. ..
`........ .. 701/49
`
`297/216.13
`5,833,312 A 11/1998 LenZ ....... ..
`297/216.1
`5,836,647 A 11/1998 Turman ..
`280/730.2
`5,911,433 A
`6/1999 Swann
`5,927,804 A
`7/1999 Cuevas ................ .. 297/216.12
`
`5,961,182 A 10/1999 Dellanno ............. .. 297/216.12
`6,017,086 A
`1/2000 Meyer et a1. ..
`.. 297/216.12
`6,022,074 A
`2/2000 Swedenklef ~~~~~~~~~ " 29701614
`6,042,145 A
`3/2000 Mitschelen et a1. ....... .. 280/735
`6,082,817 A
`7/2000 Muller ................ .. 297/216.12
`
`. . . .. 701/45
`6,088,640 A
`7/2000 Breed . . . . . .
`. 297/391
`6,158,812 A 12/2000 Bonke
`.
`6,199,900 B1
`3/2001 Zelgler ..................... .. 280/735
`6 213 548 B1 * 42001 V W b h
`3
`3
`/
`eta; Yns erg 6
`6,331,014 B1
`12/2001 Breed .......... ..
`6,352,285 B1 * 3/2002 Schulte e161. .
`6,478,373 B1 * 11/2002 Hake e161.
`1
`6607242 B2 * 82003 E d t
`3
`3
`/
`“a a e a' """" "
`
`297/216 12
`280/730.1
`.. 297/216.12
`297/216.12
`297 21612
`/
`'
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`2
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`US. Patent
`
`Jun. 8,2004
`Jun. 8, 2004
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`US. Patent
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`900
`
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`5: .5
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`

`

`US 6,746,078 B2
`
`1
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOVING A
`HEADREST BASED ON ANTICIPATORY
`SENSING
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is a continuation-in-part of US. patent
`application Ser. No. 09/613,925 ?led Jul. 11, 2000 still
`pending, Which in turn is a continuation-in-part of US.
`patent application Ser. No. 08/992,525, ?led Dec. 17, 1997,
`now US. Pat. No. 6,088,640.
`This application is related to US. Pat. No. 5,694,320
`issued Dec. 2, 1997 and US. Pat. No. 6,331,014 issued Dec.
`18, 2001, on the grounds that it includes common subject
`matter.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates generally to systems and methods
`for moving a headrest of a vehicular seat to protect an
`occupant in a crash and more particularly, to systems and
`methods for moving a headrest based on anticipatory sens
`ing of a crash to protect the occupant in the crash.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Approximately 100,000 rear impacts per year result in
`Whiplash injuries to the vehicle occupants. Most of these
`injuries could be prevented if the headrest Were properly
`positioned behind the head of the occupant and if it had the
`correct contour to properly support the head and neck of the
`occupant. Whiplash injuries are the most expensive auto
`mobile accident injury even though these injuries are usually
`are not life threatening and are usually classi?ed as minor.
`A good discussion of the causes of Whiplash injuries in
`motor vehicle accidents can be found in Dellanno et al, US.
`Pat. Nos. 5,181,763 and 5,290,091, and Dellanno, US. Pat.
`Nos. 5,580,124, 5,769,489 and 5,961,182, Which are incor
`porated herein by reference, as Well as many other technical
`papers. These patents discuss a novel automatic adjustable
`headrest to minimiZe such injuries. HoWever, these patents
`assume that the headrest is properly positioned relative to
`the head of the occupant. A survey has shoWn that as many
`as 95% of automobiles do not have the headrest properly
`positioned. These patents also assume that all occupants
`have approximately the same contour of the neck and head.
`Observations of humans, on the other hand, shoW that
`signi?cant differences occur Where the back of some peo
`ple’s heads is almost in the same plane as the that of their
`neck and shoulders, While other people have substantially
`the opposite case, that is, their neck extends signi?cantly
`forWard of their head back and shoulders
`One proposed attempt at solving the problem Where the
`headrest is not properly positioned uses a conventional crash
`sensor Which senses the crash after impact and a headrest
`composed of tWo portions, a ?xed portion and a movable
`portion. During a rear impact, a sensor senses the crash and
`pyrotechnically deploys a portion of the headrest toWard the
`occupant. This system has the folloWing potential problems:
`1) An occupant can get a Whiplash injury in fairly loW
`velocity rear impacts; thus, either the system Will not
`protect occupants in such accidents or there Will be a
`large number of loW velocity deployments With the
`resulting signi?cant repair expense.
`2) If the portion of the headrest Which is propelled toWard
`the occupant has signi?cant mass, that is if it is other
`than an airbag type device, there is a risk that it Will
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`injure the occupant. This is especially true if the system
`has no method of sensing and adjusting for the position
`of the occupant.
`3) If the system does not also have a system Which
`pre-positions the headrest to the proximity of the occu
`pant’s head, it Will also not be affective When the
`occupant’s head is forWard due to pre-crash braking,
`for example, or for different siZed occupants.
`A variation of this approach uses an airbag positioned in
`the headrest Which is activated by a rear impact crash sensor
`This system suffers the same problems as the pyrotechni
`cally deployed headrest portion. Unless the headrest is
`pre-positioned, there is a risk for the out-of-position occu
`pant.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,312 to LenZ describes several meth
`ods for protecting an occupant from Whiplash injuries using
`the motion of the occupant loading the seat back to stretch
`a canvas or deploy an airbag using ?uid contained Within a
`bag inside the seat back In the latter case, the airbag deploys
`out of the top of the seat back and betWeen the occupant’s
`head and the headrest. The system is based on the proposed
`fact that “[F]irstly the loWer part of the body reacts and is
`pressed, by a heavy force, against the loWer part of the seat
`back, thereafter the upper part of the body trunk is pressed
`back, and ?nally the back of the head and the head is throWn
`back against the upper part of the seat back .
`.
`. ” (Col. 2 lines
`47—53). Actually this does not appear to be What occurs.
`Instead, the vehicle, and thus the seat that is attached to it,
`begins to decelerate While the occupant continues at its
`pre-crash velocity. Those parts of the occupant that are in
`contact With the seat experience a force from the seat and
`begin to sloW doWn While other parts, the head for example
`continue moving at the pre crash velocity. In other Words, all
`parts of the body are “throWn back” at the same time. That
`is, they all have the same relative velocity relative to the seat
`until acted on by the seat itself. Although there Will be some
`mechanical advantage due to the fact that the area in contact
`With the occupant’s back Will generally be greater than the
`area needed to support his or her head, there generally Will
`not be suf?cient motion of the back to pump sufficient gas
`into the airbag to cause it to be projected in betWeen the head
`that is not rapidly moving toWard the headrest. In some
`cases, the occupant’s head is very close to the headrest and
`in others it is far aWay. For all cases except When the
`occupant’s head is very far aWay, there is insuf?cient time
`for motion of the occupant’s back to pump air and in?ate the
`airbag and position it betWeen the head and the headrest.
`Thus, not only Will the occupant impact the headrest and
`receive Whiplash injuries, but it Will also receive an addi
`tional impact from the deploying airbag.
`LenZ also suggests that for those cases Where additional
`deployment speed is required, that the output from a crash
`sensor could be used in conjunction With a pyrotechnic
`element. Since he does not mention anticipatory crash
`sensor, Which Were not believed to be available at the time
`of the ?ling of the LenZ patent application, it must be
`assumed that a conventional crash sensor is contemplated.
`As discussed herein, this is either too sloW or unreliable
`since if it is set so sensitive that it Will Work for loW speed
`impacts Where many Whiplash injuries occur, there Will be
`many deployments and the resulting high repair costs. For
`higher speed crashes, the deployment time Will be too sloW
`based on the close position of the occupant to the airbag
`Thus, if a crash sensor is used, it must be an anticipatory
`crash sensor as disclosed herein.
`
`OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE
`INVENTION
`It is an object of the present invention to provide neW and
`improved headrests for seats in a vehicle Which offer pro
`tection for an occupant in the event of a crash involving the
`vehicle.
`
`17
`
`

`

`US 6,746,078 B2
`
`3
`It is another object of the present invention to provide neW
`and improved seats for vehicles Which offer protection for an
`occupant in the event of a crash involving the vehicle.
`It is still another object of the present invention to provide
`neW and improved cushioning arrangements for vehicles and
`protection systems including cushioning arrangements
`Which provide protection for occupants in the event of a
`crash involving the vehicle.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`neW and improved cushioning arrangements for vehicles and
`protection systems including cushioning arrangements
`Which provide protection for occupants in the event of a
`collision into the rear of the vehicle, i.e., a rear impact.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`neW and improved vehicular systems Which reduce Whiplash
`injuries from rear impacts of a vehicle by causing the
`headrest to be automatically positioned proximate to the
`occupant’s head.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`neW and improved vehicular systems to position a headrest
`proximate to the head of a vehicle occupant prior to a
`pending impact into the rear of a vehicle.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`a simple anticipatory sensor system for use With an adjust
`able headrest to predict a rear impact.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`a method and arrangement for protecting an occupant in a
`vehicle during a crash involving the vehicle using an antici
`patory sensor system and a cushioning arrangement includ
`ing a ?uid-containing bag Which is brought closer toWard the
`occupant or ideally in contact With the occupant prior to or
`coincident With the crash. The bag Would then conform to
`the portion of the occupant With Which it is in contact.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`an automatically adjusting system Which conforms to the
`head and neck geometry of an occupant regardless of the
`occupant’s particular morphology to properly support both
`the head and neck.
`Other objects and advantages of this invention Will
`become apparent from the disclosure Which folloWs.
`In order to achieve at least one of the foregoing objects,
`a vehicle in accordance With the invention comprises a seat
`including a movable headrest against Which an occupant can
`rest his or her head, an anticipatory crash sensor arranged to
`detect an impending crash involving the vehicle based on
`data obtained prior to the crash, and a movement mechanism
`coupled to the crash sensor and the headrest and arranged to
`move the headrest upon detection of an impending crash
`involving the vehicle by the crash sensor.
`The crash sensor may be arranged to produce an output
`signal When an object external from the vehicle is approach
`ing the vehicle at a velocity above a design threshold
`velocity. The crash sensor may be any type of sensor
`designed to provide an assessment or determination of an
`impending impact prior to the impact, i.e., from data
`obtained prior to the impact. Thus, the crash sensor can be
`an ultrasonic sensor, an electromagnetic Wave sensor, a radar
`sensor, a noise radar sensor and a camera, a scanning laser
`radar and a passive infrared sensor.
`To optimiZe the assessment of an impending crash, the
`crash sensor can be designed to determine the distance from
`the vehicle to an external object Whereby the velocity of the
`external object is calculatable from successive distance
`measurements To this end, the crash sensor can employ
`means for measuring time of ?ight of a pulse, means for
`
`4
`measuring a phase change, means for measuring a Doppler
`radar pulse and means for performing range gating of an
`ultrasonic pulse, an optical pulse or a radar pulse.
`To further optimiZe the assessment, the crash sensor may
`comprise pattern recognition means for recogniZing, iden
`tifying or ascertaining the identity of external objects. The
`pattern recognition means may comprise a neural netWork,
`fuZZy logic, fuZZy system, neural-fuZZy system, sensor
`fusion and other types of pattern recognition systems.
`The movement mechanism may be arranged to move the
`headrest from an initial position to a position more proxi
`mate to the head of the occupant.
`Optionally, a determining system determines the location
`of the head of the occupant in Which case, the movement
`mechanism may move the headrest from an initial position
`to a position more proximate to the determined location of
`the head of the occupant. The determining system can
`include a Wave-receiving sensor arranged to receive Waves
`from a direction of the head of the occupant. More
`particularly, the determining system can comprise a trans
`mitter for transmitting radiation to illuminate different por
`tions of the head of the occupant, a receiver for receiving a
`?rst set of signals representative of radiation re?ected from
`the different portions of the head of the occupant and
`providing a second set of signals representative of the
`distances from the headrest to the nearest illuminated por
`tion the head of the occupant, and a processor comprising
`computational means to determine the headrest vertical
`location corresponding to the nearest part of the head to the
`headrest from the second set of signals from the receiver.
`The transmitter and receiver may be arranged in the head
`rest.
`The head position determining system can be designed to
`use Waves, energy, radiation or other properties or phenom
`ena. Thus, the determining system may include an electric
`?eld sensor, a capacitance sensor, a radar sensor, an optical
`sensor, a camera, a three-dimensional camera, a passive
`infrared sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a stereo sensor, a
`focusing sensor and a scanning system.
`A processor may be coupled to the crash sensor and the
`movement mechanism and determines the motion required
`of the headrest to place the headrest proximate to the head.
`The processor then provides the motion determination to the
`movement mechanism upon detection of an impending crash
`involving the vehicle by the crash sensor. This is particularly
`helpful When a system for determining the location of the
`head of the occupant relative to the headrest is provided in
`Which case, the determining system is coupled to the pro
`cessor to provide the determined head location.
`A method for protecting an occupant of a vehicle during
`a crash in accordance With the invention comprises the steps
`of detecting an impending crash involving the vehicle based
`on data obtained prior to the crash and moving a headrest
`upon detection of an impending crash involving the vehicle
`to a position more proximate to the occupant. Detection of
`the crash may entail determining the velocity of an external
`object approaching the vehicle and producing a crash signal
`When the object is approaching the vehicle at a velocity
`above a design threshold velocity.
`Optionally, the location of the head of the occupant is
`determined in Which case, the headrest is moved from an
`initial position to the position more proximate to the deter
`mined location of the head of the occupant
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`For a more complete understanding of the present
`invention, reference is made to the folloWing detailed
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`US 6,746,078 B2
`
`5
`description and accompanying drawings. In the drawings,
`like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the
`several vieWs, in Which:
`FIG. 1 is perspective vieW With portions cut aWay of a
`motor vehicle having a movable headrest and an occupant
`sitting on the seat With the headrest adjacent the head of the
`occupant to provide protection in rear impacts;
`FIG. 2 is a perspective vieW of the rear portion of the
`vehicle shoWn in FIG. 1 shoWing a rear crash anticipatory
`sensor connected to an electronic circuit for controlling the
`position of the headrest in the event of a crash;
`FIG. 3 is a perspective vieW of a headrest control mecha
`nism mounted in a vehicle seat and ultrasonic head location
`sensors consisting of one transmitter and one receiver plus
`a head contact sensor, With the seat and headrest shoWn in
`phantom;
`FIG. 4 is a perspective vieW of a female vehicle occupant
`having a large hairdo and also shoWing sWitches for manu
`ally adjusting the position of the headrest;
`FIG. 5 is a perspective vieW of a male vehicle occupant
`Wearing a Winter coat and a large hat;
`FIG. 6 is vieW similar to FIG. 3 shoWing an alternate
`design of a head sensor using one transmitter and three
`receivers for use With a pattern recognition system;
`FIG. 7 is a schematic vieW of an arti?cial neural netWork
`pattern recognition system of the type used to recogniZe an
`occupant’s head;
`FIG. 8 is a perspective vieW of an of automatically
`adjusting head and neck supporting headrest;
`FIG. 8A is a perspective vieW With portions cut aWay and
`removed of the headrest of FIG. 8;
`FIG. 9A is a side vieW of an occupant seated in the driver
`seat of an automobile With the headrest in the normal
`position, and
`FIG. 9B is a vieW as in FIG. 9A With the headrest in the
`head contact position as Would happen in anticipation of a
`rear crash; and
`FIG. 10A is a side vieW of an occupant seated in the driver
`seat of an automobile having an integral seat and headrest
`and an in?atable pressure controlled bladder With the blad
`der in the normal position;
`FIG. 10B is a vieW as in FIG. 10A With the bladder
`expanded in the head contact position as Would happen in
`anticipation of, e.g., a rear crash;
`FIG. 11A is a side vieW of an occupant seated in the driver
`seat of an automobile having an integral seat and a pivotable
`headrest and bladder With the headrest in the normal posi
`tion; and
`FIG. 11B is a vieW as in FIG. 11A With the headrest
`pivoted in the head contact position as Would happen in
`anticipation of, e.g., a rear crash.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`Referring to the accompanying draWings Wherein like
`reference characters refer to the same or similar elements,
`FIG. 1 is perspective vieW With portions cut aWay of a motor
`vehicle, shoWn generally at 100, having tWo movable head
`rests 110 and 111 and an occupant 150 sitting on the seat
`With the headrest 110 adjacent a head 151 of the occupant to
`provide protection in rear impacts.
`In FIG. 2 a perspective vieW of the rear portion of the
`vehicle shoWn in FIG. 1 is shoWn With a rear impact crash
`anticipatory sensor, comprising a transmitter 210 and two
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`receivers 211 and 212, connected by appropriate electrical
`connections, e g., Wire 220, to an electronic circuit or control
`module 250 for controlling the position of the headrest in the
`event of a crash In US. patent application Ser. No. 09/307,
`883 ?led May 10, 1999, an anticipatory sensor system for
`side impacts is disclosed. This sensor system uses sophis
`ticated pattern recognition technology to differentiate dif
`ferent categories of impacting vehicles. A side impact With
`a large truck at 20 mph is more severe than an impact With
`a motorcycle at 40 mph, and, since in that proposed airbag
`system the driver Would no longer be able to control the
`vehicle, the airbag must not be deployed except in life
`threatening situations. Therefore, it is critical in order to
`predict the severity of a side impact, to knoW the type of
`impacting vehicle.
`To improve the assessment of the impending crash, the
`crash sensor Will optimally determine the position and
`velocity of an approaching object. The crash sensor can be
`designed to use differences betWeen the transmitted and
`re?ected Waves to determine the distance betWeen the
`vehicle and the approaching object and from successive
`distance measurements, the velocity of the approaching
`object. In this regard, the difference betWeen the transmitted
`and received Waves or pulses may be re?ected in the time of
`?ight of the pulse, a change in the phase of the pulse and/or
`a Doppler radar pulse, or by range gating an ultrasonic pulse,
`an optical pulse or a radar pulse. As such, the crash sensor
`can comprise a radar sensor, a noise radar sensor, a camera,
`a scanning laser radar and/or a passive infrared sensor.
`The situation is quite different in the case of rear impacts
`and the headrest system described herein. The movement of
`the headrest to the proximity of an occupant’s head is not
`likely to affect his or her ability to control the automobile.
`Also, it is unlikely that anything but another car or truck Will
`be approaching the rear of the vehicle at a velocity relative
`to the vehicle of greater than 8 mph, for example. The one
`exception is a motorcycle and it Would not be serious if the
`headrest adjusted in that situation Thus, a simple ranging
`sensor is all that is necessary. There are, of course, advan
`tages in using a more sophisticated pattern recognition
`system as Will be discussed beloW.
`FIG. 2, therefore, illustrates a simple ranging sensor using
`a transmitter 210 and tWo receivers 211 and 212. Transmitter
`210 may be any Wave-generating device such as an ultra
`sonic transmitter While the receivers 211,212 are compatible
`Wave-receiving devices such as ultrasonic receivers. The
`ultrasonic transmitter 210 transmits ultrasonic Waves These
`transducers are connected to the electronic control module
`(ECM) 250 by means of Wire 220, although other possible
`connecting means (Wired or Wireless) may also be used in
`accordance With the invention. Naturally, other con?gura
`tions of the transmitter 210, receivers 211,212 and ECM 250
`might be equally or more advantageous. The sensors deter
`mine the distance of the approaching object and determine
`its velocity by differentiating the distance measurements or
`by use of the Doppler effect or other appropriate method.
`Although an ultrasonic system is illustrated herein, radar,
`electromagnetic, e.g., optical, or other systems could also be
`used as Well as any appropriate number of transmitters and
`receivers.
`Although a system based on ultrasonics is generally
`illustrated and described above and represents one of the
`best mode of practicing this invention, it Will be appreciated
`by those skilled in the art that other technologies employing
`electromagnetic energy such as optical, infrared, radar,
`capacitance etc. could also be used. Also, although the use
`of re?ected energy is disclosed, any modi?cation of the
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`US 6,746,078 B2
`
`7
`energy by an object behind the vehicle is contemplated
`including absorption, phase change, transmission and
`reemission or even the emission or re?ection of natural
`radiation. Such modi?cation can be used to determine the
`presence of an object behind the vehicle and the distance to
`the object.
`Thus, the system for determining the location of the head
`of the occupant can comprise an electric ?eld sensor, a
`capacitance sensor, a radar sensor, an optical sensor, a
`camera, a three-dimensional camera, a passive infrared
`sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a stereo sensor, a focusing
`sensor and a scanning system. One skilled in the art Would
`be able to apply these systems in the invention in vieW of the
`disclosure herein and the knowledge of the operation of such
`systems attributed to one skilled in the art.
`Although pattern recognition systems, such as neural nets,
`might not be required, such a system Would be desirable.
`With pattern recognition, other opportunities become avail
`able such as the determination of the nature of objects
`behind the vehicle. This could be of aid in locating and
`recogniZing objects, such as children, When vehicles are
`backing up and for other purposes. Although some degree of
`pattern recognition can be accomplished With the system
`illustrated in FIG. 2, especially if an optical system is used
`instead of the ultrasonic system illustrated, additional trans
`ducers signi?cantly improve the accuracy of the pattern
`recognition systems if either ultrasonics or radar systems are
`used.
`The Wire 220 shoWn in FIG. 2 leads to the electronic
`control module 250 Which is also shoWn in FIG. 3. FIG. 3
`is a perspective vieW of a headrest actuation mechanism,
`mounted in a vehicle seat 310, and transducers 320,321 plus
`a head contact sensor 350. Transducer 320 may be an
`ultrasonic transmitter and transducer 321 may be an ultra
`sonic receiver. The transducers 320,321 may be based on
`any type of propagating phenomenon such as electromag
`netics (for example capacitive systems), and are not limited
`to use With ultrasonics. The seat 310 and headrest 111 are
`shoWn in phantom. Vertical motion of the headrest 111 is
`accomplished When a signal is sent from control module 250
`to servomotor 360 through Wire 331. Servomotor 360 rotates
`lead screW 362 Which mates With a threaded hole in elongate
`member 364 causing it to move up or doWn depending on
`the direction of rotation of the lead screW 362. Headrest
`support rods 365 and 366 are attached to member 364 and
`cause the headrest 111 to translate up or doWn With member
`364. In this manner, the vertical position of the headrest 111
`can be controlled as depicted by arroW A—A.
`Wire 332 leads from the control module 250 to servomo
`tor 370 Which rotates lead screW 372. Lead screW 372 mates
`With a threaded hole in elongate, substantially cylindrical
`shaft 373 Which is attached to supporting structures Within
`the seat shoWn in phantom. The rotation of lead screW 372
`rotates servo motor support 361 Which in turn rotates
`headrest support rods 365 and 366 in slots 368 and 369 in the
`seat 310. In this manner, the headrest 111 is caused to move
`in the fore and aft direction as depicted by arroW B—B.
`Naturally there are other designs Which accomplish the same
`effect of moving the headrest to Where it is proximate to the
`occupant’s head
`The operation of the system is as folloWs. When an
`occupant is seated on a seat containing the headrest and
`control system described above, the transducer 320 emits
`ultrasonic energy Which re?ects off of the back of the head
`of the occupant and is received by transducer 321. An
`electronic circuit containing a microprocessor determines
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`the dist