Patent ID: 7492923

Claim:
A method for detecting an occupancy state of a seat in a vehicle, comprising: recording a 3D image of the seat using an image recording system; obtaining a 3D pattern of the seat; evaluating the 3D image of the seat with respect to at least one of the occupancy state of the seat and an occupancy type of the seat, wherein the evaluation includes consideration of the 3D pattern of the seat, and wherein if a deviation between the 3D image and the 3D pattern exceeds a predetermined minimum value for the evaluation, a determination of the occupancy state is made indicating that the seat is occupied, and wherein the determination of the occupancy state is regarded as conclusive only if substantially identical evaluation result is obtained over a plurality of sequential time points; and activating a restraint mechanism associated with the seat, as a function of at least one of the occupancy state of the seat and the occupancy type of the seat.