Patent ID: 6027138
Filing Date: 2000-02-22
Classification: B60N,B60R,G01C,G06K

Abstract:
A control method for inflating an air bag for an automobile, said control method comprising:providing at least one pair of linear photosensor arrays each consisting of a plurality of photosensor elements for forming an image of an occupant, so as to measure distance distribution of the image of the occupant located in at least one linear field of view; anddetecting the presence and posture of the occupant, wherein the inflation of the air bag is controlled based on a result of detection of the presence and posture of the occupant;wherein at least two pairs of said photosensor arrays are provided, and at least one of said at least two pairs of the photosensor arrays defines a field of view at a predetermined position in a horizontal direction, and wherein a warning is given when the image of the occupant is detected at a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction as measured from said at least one pair of the photosensor arrays.