1
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`Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, Petitioner - Ex. 1014
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`

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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`CLASS
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`FILING DATE
`“’22’2°°2
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`SERIAL NUMBER
`10/302,105
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`2 §
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`APPLICANTS
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`. %N§m%é{WXfiWK¢}K¢%k?R??RN%9H¢ . .
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`;§Da\/id 8. Breed, Boonton Township, NJ;
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`é §
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`-
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`WiIbur E. Duvall, Kimberling City, MO;
`igwendell C. Johnson. Signal Hill, CA;
`f?
`QQIO tfiiIfiI itIII
`?;This application is a CIP of 10/116,808 04/05/2002
`ifiwhich is a -CIP of 09/925,043 08/08/2001 PAT 6,507,779
`Ewhich is a CIP of 09/765,559 01/19/2001 PAT 6,553,296
`E and is a CIP of 09/389,947 09/03/1999 PAT 6,393,13
`;This application 10/302,105
`_
`'
`iis a CIP of 09/838.919 04/20/2001 PAT 6,442,465
`Ewhich is a CIP of 09/765,559 01/19/2001 PAT 6,553,296
`which is a CIP of 09/476,255 12/30/1999 PAT 6,324,453
`which claims benefit of 60/114,507 12/31/1998
`';;and is a CIP of 09/389,947 09/03/1999 PAT 6,393,133
`Ewhich is a CIP of 09/200.614 11/30/1998 PAT 6,141,432
`gwhich is a CON of 08/474,786 06/07/1995 PAT 5,845,000
`- gand said 09/389,947 09/03/1999
`gclaims benefit of 60/114,507 12/31/1998
`3:I
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`EETITLE
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`Evehicular monitoring systems using image processing
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`FILING FEE §FEES: Authority has been given in Paper
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`§§No.
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`RECENED §No. _________ for following:
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`INITIALS 1&3
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`mi
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`I CONTENTS .
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`(12) United States Patent
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`Breed et al.
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`VEHICUIAR MONITORING SYSTEMS
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`USING IMAGE PROCESSING
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`Inventors: David S. Breed, Boonton Township,
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`Morris County, NJ (US); Wilbur E.
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`DuVall, Kimberling City, MO (US);
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`Wendell C. Johnson, Signal Hill, CA
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`(US)
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`US006772057B2
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`US 6,772,057 B2
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`(10) Patent No.:
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`(45) Date of Patent:
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`(56)
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`References Cited
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`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`4,495,222 A
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`1/1985 Shah ...................... .. 3592/300
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`Agsignee: Automotive Technologies
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`International, Inc., Denville, NJ (US)
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`Notice:
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`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
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`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
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`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
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`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`0885782
`12/1998
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`(List continued on next page.)
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`‘OTHER PUBLICATIONS
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`Filed:
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`Appl. No.: 10/302,105
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`Nov. 22, 2002
`Prior Publication l)ata
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`US 2003/0125855 Al Jul. 3, 2003
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`“Analysis of Hidden Units in a Layered Network Trained to
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`Classify Sonar Targets”, R. Paul Gorman, et al., Neural
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`Networks, vol. 1, pp. 75-89, 1988.
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`Related U.S. Application Data
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`Continuation—in—part of application No. 10/116,808, filed on
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`Apr. 5, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of application
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`No. 09/925,043,
`filed on Aug. 8, 2001, now Pat. No.
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`6,507,779, which is a t_'onlinuation~in—part ofapplication No.
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`09/765,559, filed on Jan. 19, 2001, now Pat. No. 6,553,296,
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`and a continuation—in—part of application No. 09/389,947,
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`filed on Sep. 3, 1999, now Pat. No. 6,393,133, and a
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`continuation—in—part of application No. 09/838,919, filed on
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`Apr. 20, 2001, now Pat. No. 6,442,465, which is a continu-
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`ation—in—part of application No. 09/765,559, which is a
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`continuation-in-part of application No. 09/476,255, filed on
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`Dec. 30, 1999, now Pat. No. 6,324,453, and a continuation-
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`in—part of application No. 09/389,947, which is a continua-
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`tion-in-part of application No. 09/200,614, filed on Nov. 30,
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`1998, now Pat. No. 6,141,432, which is a continuation of
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`application No. 08/474,786, filed on Jun. 7, 1995, now Pat.
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`No. 5,845,000.
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`Provisional application No. 60/114,507, filed on Dec. 31,
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`1998.
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`Int. Cl.7 .............................................. .. B60R 21/32
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`U.S. Cl.
`...................... .. 701/45; 340/573.1; 348/77;
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`180/271; 280/735; 382/181
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`Field of Search .......................... .. 701/45, 36, 301;
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`340/461, 435, 436, 438, 815.4, 573.1; 348/148,
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`Primary Examiner——Thornas G. Black
`Assistant Examiner—Tuan C To
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`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Brian Rofle
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`(57)
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`ABSTRACT
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`Vehicular monitoring arrangement for monitoring an envi-
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`ronment of the vehicle including at least one active pixel
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`camera for obtaining images of the environment of the
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`vehicle and a processor coupled to the active pixel camera(s)
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`for determining at least one characteristic of an object in the
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`environment based on the images obtained by the active
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`pixel eamera(s). 'l'he active pixel camera can be arranged in
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`a headliner, roof or ceiling of the vehicle to obtain images of
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`an interior environment of the vehicle,
`in an A-pillar or
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`B-pillar of the vehicle to obtain images of an interior
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`environment of the vehicle, or in a roof, ceiling, B—pil1ar or
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`C—pillar of the vehicle to obtain images of an interior
`environment ofthe vehicle behind a front seat of the Vehicle.
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`The determined characteristic can be used to enable optimal
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`control of a reactive component, system or subsystem
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`coupled to the processor. When the reactive component is an
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`airbag assembly including at least one airbag, the processor
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`can be designed to Control at least one deployment param-
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`cter of the airbag(s).
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`86 Claims, 19 Drawing Sheets
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`5
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`US 6,772,057 B2
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`Schweizer
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`6,029,105
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`A
`Deline et al.
`7/2000
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`6,087,953
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`Atick ct al.
`8/2000
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`6,111,517 AA
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`Mizutani et al.
`9/2000
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`6,113,137
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`A
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`9/2000
`6,115,552
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`2002/0154379 A1 * 10/2002 Tonaretal.
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`Gioutsos el al
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`Corrado et al.
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`Pastrick et al.
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`
`Kamei et al.
`Semchena et al.
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`Poelstra
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`.... ..
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`Varga et al.
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`Griggs, III et al.
`O’Farrell et al.
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`
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`
`Krumm
`
`Farmer et al.
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`Stanley ........... ..
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`
`US. PATENT
`
`
`DOCUMENTS
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`
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`4,625,329
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`4,648,052
`4,720,189
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`4,768,088
`
`
`4,836,670
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`4,966,388
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`5,003,166
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`5,026,153
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`5,060,278
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`5,062,696
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`5,064,274
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`5,071,160
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`5,118,134
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`5,162,861
`5,181,254
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`5,185,667
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`5,193,124
`5,214,744
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`5,227,784
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`5,235,339
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`5,249,027
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`5,249,157
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`5,298,732
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`5,305,012
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`5,309,137
`5,329,206
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`5,330,226
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`5,339,075
`5,355,1 18
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`5 ,390,1 36
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`5,441,052
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`5,463,384
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`5,497,305
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`5,528,698
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`5,531,472
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`5,550,677
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`5,563,650
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`5,653,462
`5,706,144
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`5,785,347
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`5,821,633
`5,829,782
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`5,835,613
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`5,845,000
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`5,848,802
`5,877,897
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`5,943,295
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`5,949,331
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`5,954,360
`5,959,367
`5,983,147
`6,005,958
`6,007,095
`6,020,812
`6,027,138
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`11/1986
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`Sheet 6 of 19
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`U.S. Patent
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`24
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`
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`Sheet 19 of 19
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`US 6,772,057 B2
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`Optional transmitter
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`730
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`drive circuitry, signal processing circuitry-
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`neural computer) 740,742,744,745
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`Display to driver/Airbag
`
`control/headlight dimmer
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`
`
`control/Other system control
`
`748
`
`
`
`25
`
`

`
`
`1
`
`
`VEHICULAR MONITORING SYSTEMS
`USING IMAGE PROCESSING
`
`
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`
`
`
`APPLICATIONS
`
`
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`This application is a continuation-in-part of US. patent
`
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`
`
`
`application Ser. No. 10/116,808 filed Apr. 5, 2002 which is:
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`
`
`1) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.
`
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`
`
`No. 09/925,043 filed Aug. 8, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.
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`6,507,779, which is:
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`
`
`a) a continuation-in-part of US. patent application Ser.
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`
`
`No. 09/765,559 filed Jan. 19, 2001, now U.S. Pat.
`
`
`
`No. 6,553,296; and
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`
`b) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.
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`
`
`No. 09/389,947 filed Sep.3,1999, now U.S. Pat. No.
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`6,393,133; and
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`
`2) a continuation—in—part of U.S. patent application Ser.
`
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`
`
`No. 09/838,919 filed Apr. 20, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.
`
`
`
`6,442,465, which is:
`
`
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`
`
`
`a) a continuation—in—part of U.S. patent application Ser.
`
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`
`
`No. 09/765,559 filed Jan. 19, 2001 which is a
`
`
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`
`
`continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.
`
`
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`
`
`
`
`No. 09/476,255 filed Dec. 30, 1999, now US. Pat.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`No. 6,324,453, which claims priority under 35
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`
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`
`
`U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application
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`
`
`Ser. No. 60/114,507 filed Dec. 31, 1998; and
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`b) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.
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`No. 09/389,947 filed Sep. 3, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.
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`6,393,133, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
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`patent application Ser. No. 09/200,614, filed Nov. 30,
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`1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,432, which is a
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`continuation of U5. patent application Ser. No.
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`08/474,786 filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No.
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`5,845,000, all ofwhieh are incorporated by reference
`herein.
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`This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)
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`of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/114,507
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`filed Dec. 31, 1998 through the parent applications.
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
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`The present invention relates to apparatus and methods
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`for monitoring environments in and outside of a vehicle
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`using image processing.
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`The present invention also relates to arrangements for
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`detecting the presence, type and/or position of occupants in
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`vehicles and objects exterior of vehicles, e.g., in a driver’s
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`blind spot, primarily using optics.
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`The present invention also relates to apparatus and meth-
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`ods for determining a distance between objects in an envi-
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`ronment in and outside of a vehicle by image processing
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`techniques.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`1. Prior Art on Out of Position Occupants and Rear Facing
`Child Seats
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`Whereas thousands of lives have been saved by airbags,
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`a large number of people have also been injured, some
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`seriously, by the deploying airbag, and over 100 people have
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`now been killed. Thus, significant improvements need to be
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`made to airbag systems. As discussed in detail in U.S. Pat.
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`No. 5,653,462 referenced above, for a variety of reasons
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`vehicle occupants may he too close to the airbag before it
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`deploys and can be seriously injured or killed as a result of
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`the deployment thereof. Also, a child in a rear facing child
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`seat that
`is placed on the right front passenger seat
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`danger of being seriously injured if the passenger airbag
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`US 6,772,057 B2
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`deploys. For these reasons and, as first publicly disclosed in
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`Breed, D. S. “How Airbags Work” presented at the Interna-
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`tional Conference on Seatbelts and Airbags in 1993,
`in
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`Canada, occupant position sensing and rear facing child seat
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`detection systems are required.
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`Initially,
`these systems will solve the out-of-position
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`occupant and the rear facing child seat problems related to
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`current airbag systems and prevent unneeded airbag deploy-
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`ments when a front seat is unoccupied. However, airbags are
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`now under development to protect rear seat occupants in
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`vehicle crashes and all occupants in side impacts. A system
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`will therefore be needed to detect the presence ofoccupants,
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`determine if they are out-of-position and to identify the
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`presence of a rear facing child seat in the rear seat. Future
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`automobiles are expected to have eight or more airbags as
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`protection is sought for rear seat occupants and from side
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`In addition to eliminating the disturbance and
`impacts.
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`possible harm of unnecessary airbag deployments, the cost
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`of replacing these airbags will be excessive if they all deploy
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`in an accident needlessly.
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`lnllators now exist which will adjust the amount of gas
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`flowing to the ‘airbag to account for the size and position of
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`the occupant and for the severity of the accident. The vehicle
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`identification and monitoring system (VIMS) discussed in
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`U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,782 will control such inllators based on
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`the presence and position of vehicle occupants or of a rear
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`facing child seat. As discussed more fully below, the instant
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`invention is an improvement on that VIMS system and uses
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`an advanced optical system comprising one or more CCD
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`(charge coupled device) or CMOS arrays and particularly
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`active pixel arrays plus a source of illumination preferably
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`combined with a trained neural network pattern recognition
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`system.
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`Others have observed the need for an occupant out—of—
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`position sensor and several methods have been disclosed in
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`U.S. patents for determining the position of an occupant of
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`a motor vehicle. Each of these systems, however, has
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`significant
`limitations. For example,
`in White et al. (US.
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`Pat. No. 5,071,160), a single acoustic sensor and detector is
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`described and, as illustrated,
`is mounted lower than the
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`steering wheel. White et al. correctly perceive that such a
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`sensor could be defeated, and the airbag falsely deployed, by
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`an occupant adjusting the control knobs on the radio and
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`thus they suggest the use of a plurality of such sensors.
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`Mattes et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,134) describe a variety
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`of methods of measuring the change in position of an
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`occupant including ultrasonic, active or passive infrared. and
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`microwave radar sensors, and an electric eye. The sensors
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`measure the change in position of an occupant during a crash
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`and use that information to access the severity of the crash
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`and thereby decide whether or not to deploy the airbag. They
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`are thus using the occupant motion as a crash sensor. No
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`mention is made of determining the out-of-position status of
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`the occupant or of any of the other features of occupant
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`monitoring as disclosed in one or more of the above-
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`referenced patents and patent applications. It is interesting to
`note that nowhere does Mattes et al. discuss how to use
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`active or passive infrared to determine the position of the
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`occupant. As pointed out
`in one or more of the above-
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`referenced patents and patent applications, direct occupant
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`position measurement based on passive infrared is probably
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`not possible and, until very recently, was very dillicult and
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`expensive with active infrared requiring the modulation of
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`an expensive GaAs infrared laser. Since there is no mention
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`of these problems,
`the method of use contemplated by
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`Mattes ct all. must be similar to the electric eye concept
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`where position is measured indirectly as the occupant passes
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`by a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart sensors.
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`26
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`US 6,772,057 B2
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`The object of an occupant out-of-position sensor is to
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`determine the location of the head and/or chest of the vehicle
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`occupant relative to the airbag since it is the impact of either
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`the head or chest with the deploying airbag which can result
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`in serious injuries. Both White et al. and Mattes et al.
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`describe only lower mounting locations of their sensors in
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`front of the occupant such as on the dashboard or below the
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`steering wheel. Both such mounting locations are particu-
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`larly prone to detection errors due to positioning of the
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`oecupant’s hands, arms and legs. This would require at least
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`three, and preferably more, such sensors and detectors and
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`an appropriate logic circuitry which ignores readings from
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`some sensors if such readings are inconsistent with others,
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`for the case, for example, where the driver's arms are the
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`closest objects to two of the sensors.
`White et al. also describe the use of error correction
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`circuitry, without defining or illustrating the circuitry,
`to
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`differentiate between the velocity of one of the occupant’s
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`hands as in the case where he/she is adjusting the knob on
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`the radio and the remainder ofthc occupant. Three ultrasonic
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`sensors of the type disclosed by White et al. might, in some
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`cases, accomplish this dilferentiation if two of them indi-
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`cated that the occupant was not moving while the third was
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`indicating that he or she was. Such a combination, however,
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`would not dilferentiate between an occupant with both hands
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`and arms in the path of the ultrasonic transmitter at such a
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`location that they were blocking a substantial view of the
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`occupant‘s head or chest. Since the sizes and driving posi-
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`tions of occupants are extremely varied, it is now believed
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`that pattern recognition systems and preferably trained pat-
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`tern recognition systems, such as neural networks, are
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`required when a clear view of the occupant, unimpeded by
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`his/her extremities, cannot be guaranteed.
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`Fujita et al., in US. Pat. No. 5,074,583, describe another
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`method of determining the position of the occupant but do
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`not use this information to suppress deployment
`if the
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`occupant is out-of-position. In fact, the closer the occupant
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`gets to the airbag, the faster the inllation rate of the airbag
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`is according to the Fujita et al. patent, which thereby
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`increases the possibility ofinjuring the occupant. Fujita et al.
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`do not measure the occupant directly but instead determine
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`his or her position indirectly from measurements of the seat
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`position and the vertical size of the occupant relative to the
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`seat (occupant height). This occupant height is determined
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`using an ultrasonic displacement sensor mounted directly
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`above the occupant’s head.
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`As discussed above, the optical systems described herein
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`are also applicable for many other sensing applications both
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`inside and outside of the vehicle compartment such as for
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`sensing crashes before they occur as described in U.S. Pat.
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`No. 5,829,782, for a smart headlight adjustment system and
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`for a blind spot monitor (also disclosed in U.S. provisional
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`patent application Ser. No. 60/202,424).
`2. Definitions
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`Preferred embodiments of the invention are described
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`below and unless specifically noted,
`is the applicants’
`it
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`intention that the words and phrases in the specification and
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`claims be given the ordinary and accustomed meaning to
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`those of ordinary skill in the applicable art(s). If the appli-
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`cant intends any other meaning, he will specifically state he
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`is applying a special meaning to a word or phrase.
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`Likewise, applicants’ use of the word “function” here is
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`not intended to indicate that the applicants s