Patent ID: 8284041
Filing Date: 2012-10-09
Classification: B60N,B60Q,G08B

Abstract:
1. A system for alerting a responsible party to the presence of an occupant in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, the system comprising: at least one vibration sensor disposed in the passenger compartment and configured to detect movement of an occupant and to output signals related to the sensed movement; at least one microphone disposed within the passenger compartment and configured to detect sound made by the occupant and to output signals related to the sensed sound; at least one door sensor configured to monitor an open/closed status of at least one door of the vehicle and output signals related to the open/closed status; at least one powertrain sensor configured to monitor a condition of a vehicle powertrain and to output signals related to the powertrain condition; a processor configured to receive the signals output from the vibration sensor and the microphone and to use a combination of the vibration sensor signals and the microphone signals to determine whether the occupant is present, and the processor further configured to receive the signals output from the door sensor and the powertrain sensor and to use a combination of the door sensor signals and the powertrain sensor signals to determine whether the vehicle is in a parked condition; and an alerting device configured to provide an alert to the responsible party if the processor determines that the occupant is present and that the vehicle is in the parked condition.