Patent ID: 11919462
Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A vehicle occupant monitoring apparatus comprising:
a first imaging device configured to capture a first image of a first area in a vehicle at a first timing, the first area including an occupant of the vehicle, the first timing being repeated in a first cycle;
a second imaging device configured to capture a second image of a second area in the vehicle at a second timing, the second area being narrower than the first area and including the occupant, the second timing being repeated in the first cycle;
a first light-emitting device configured to emit light to illuminate the first area only at the first timing;
a second light-emitting device configured to emit light to illuminate the second area only at the second timing; and
a controller coupled to the first imaging device, the second imaging device, the first light-emitting device, and the second light-emitting device, and configured to:
determine whether contact of the vehicle with another object is predicted;
in response to determining that the contact of the vehicle is not predicted, (i) set the first cycle to a first predetermined value, (ii) set the second timing so as to not overlap with the first timing, and (iii) monitor a position of the occupant on a basis of the captured first image; and
in response to determining that the contact of the vehicle is predicted, (i) set the first cycle to a second predetermined value smaller than the first predetermined value, (ii) set the seconding timing to a same timing as the first timing, and (iii) monitor the position of the occupant on the basis of the captured first image.