Scanned laser-line sensing apparatus for a vehicle occupant

摘要

An occupant sensing apparatus for a vehicle passenger compartment includes a laser line scanning unit. A line of IR light produced by a laser line generator is mechanically scanned over a region including a vehicle seat and a restraint deployment location. The reflected IR light is received by a solid-state imager, and a digital signal processor constructs a 3-D profile of the scanned region. The 3-D profile is used to detect and characterize a seat occupant or other object in the viewing region and to determine the proximity of an object to an inflatable restraint.