Patent ID: 11938878
Assignee: ZOOX, INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. An occupant constraint system, comprising:
belts, including a first belt and a second belt, each belt including a first belt end and a second belt end;
belt connectors that connect the first belt ends to a vehicle at first mounting positions relative to seats in the vehicle;
buckle assemblies, each comprising a belt portion and a vehicle portion, the vehicle portions fixed to the vehicle at second mounting positions relative to the seats;
shoulder rings connected to the vehicle at third mounting positions, each of the shoulder rings including a slot through which a respective belt of the first belt and second belt passes;
belt reels connected to the vehicle at fourth mounting positions and connected to the second belt ends to wind and unwind portions of the first belt and the second belt adjacent to the second belt ends,
wherein each belt includes a lap portion between the first belt end and the belt portion of the buckle assembly for extending across the waist of a passenger, and includes a sash portion between the belt portion of the buckle assembly and the shoulder ring for extending across a torso of the passenger;
a sash marker on the sash portion of each belt and a lap marker on the lap portion of each belt, wherein the sash marker and the lap marker are each one of a series of belt markers on the seat belt that begin at an end of the seat belt that is connected to the vehicle, wherein a first one of the series of belt markers is offset by an offset distance from the end of the seat belt, and each of the belt markers includes a unique identifier that is indicative of a distance from the end of the seat belt;
a camera system having a fish-eye lens camera with a field of view that includes a view of the sash marker of each belt and a view of the lap marker of each belt, when passengers are seated between the sash portions and the seats, and wherein the camera system produces marker position data indicative of positions of the sash marker and the lap marker of each belt and including data related to one of the unique identifiers;
a physical characteristic estimator that is communicatively coupled to the camera system, wherein the physical characteristic estimator is configured to receive the marker position data from the camera system and to produce, based at least in part on the marker position data including the distance of the marker from the end of the seat belt and the offset distance, physical characteristic estimates of physical characteristics of seated passengers, the physical characteristic estimate generated using a ratio of the positions of the sash marker and the lap marker; and
a passenger related system having a passenger function, the passenger related system controlling the passenger function based at least in part on the physical characteristic estimates.