Patent ID: 7386372

Claim:
A vehicle, comprising: a plurality of parts or components defining an interior space in which one or more objects can be situated, said parts or components including a first substructure and a second substructure arranged opposite at least a part of said first substructure such that the interior space is defined in part by said first and second substructures; and an arrangement for determining whether an object is present in the interior space, arrangement comprising: at least one ultrasonic transducer arranged on said second substructure and to transmit ultrasonic waves toward said first substructure and receive any waves reflected by objects in the interior space; a processor coupled to said at least one ultrasonic transducer and arranged to determine whether an object is present in the interior space based on any reception of waves by said at least one ultrasonic transducer; determining means for determining at least one property of an atmosphere in the interior space which affects the propagation of ultrasonic waves; and ultrasonic transducer control means coupled to said determining means and to at least one of said at least one transducer and said processor for modifying transmission of the ultrasonic waves via said at least one ultrasound transducer or processing of the received ultrasonic waves via said processor based on the property of the atmosphere in the interior space determined by said determining means.