Abstract: Vehicle including a seat in which an occupant sits during use of the vehicle and a monitoring system for monitoring the occupant in the seat. The monitoring system includes sets of electric field antennas, each including at least one antenna, a control unit connected to the antenna sets and including selectors coupled to the antennas. The selectors are controlled by the control unit to obtain signals from one or more antennas serving as receiving antennas and one or more antennas serving as sending antennas. The control unit determines which combination of sending antenna(s) and receiving antenna(s) provides a strongest signal in an expected heartbeat range and/or expected respiration range of the occupant and then monitors this combination for changes and/or deviations from a normal range of heartbeats and/or respiration.

Abstract: Airbag inflator system includes an inflatable airbag, e.g., a side curtain airbag, a housing, a gas generating system arranged apart from the housing for generating gas, and a conduit leading from the gas generating system to the housing to provide gas to the housing, e.g., to a lateral end of the housing. A filter may be arranged between the gas generating system and the housing, possibly in the conduit. A nozzle may be arranged between the gas generating system and an interior of the airbag, which nozzle is varied as a function of temperature. The housing may be movably arranged relative to a fixed base and mounted to vary its relation to the base as a function of temperature, e.g., via elastic or deformable supports which support the housing on the base.

Abstract: Method and system for monitoring a driver during movement of the vehicle includes an information obtaining system that obtains information about a driver who traveled the same road at a previous time, and a processor that analyzes the obtained information and vehicle movement to determine whether the driver has lost the ability to continue to control the vehicle. The loss of ability to continue to control the vehicle arises from the driver falling asleep or otherwise being incapable of controlling the vehicle after initially having been awake or otherwise capable of controlling the vehicle. A reactive component is affected by the processor's determination that the driver has lost the ability to continue to control the vehicle, and preferably requires action by the driver to indicate regaining of the ability to operate the vehicle or exerting control over the vehicle to slow the vehicle and bring it to a stop.

Abstract: Optimized visual information presentation system and method for a vehicular occupant includes a heads-up display system for generating a virtual display in a field of view of an occupant of the vehicle when facing outward of the vehicle, an occupant sensing system for determining the location of the eyes of the occupant, and a control system coupled to the heads-up display system and the occupant sensing system. The control system controls the location of content of the virtual display being generated by the heads-up display system based on the determined location of the eyes of the occupant by the occupant sensing system.

Abstract: Vehicle control system and method in which restrictions on travel of the vehicle are determined based on an indication of the visibility of a driver and information about objects moving in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the vehicle are considered. The travel restrictions include preventing a passing maneuver on a two-lane road when an oncoming vehicle precludes safely initiating or completing an already-initiated passing maneuver. A warning system is provided to warn a driver about the travel restrictions so that the driver will, hopefully, not attempt an unsafe maneuver.

Abstract: Method and arrangement for setting a speed limit for vehicle travelling on a road includes monitoring conditions of the road, determining a speed limit for travel of vehicles on the road based on the monitored conditions, and transmitting the determined speed limit to the vehicles to thereby notify operators of the vehicles of the determined speed limit. Monitoring conditions of the road may entail monitoring weather conditions around the road, monitoring visibility for operators of the vehicles on the roads, monitoring traffic on the road, monitoring accidents on the road or emergency situations of vehicles on the road and/or monitoring the speed of vehicles travelling on the road and a distance between adjacent vehicles.

Abstract: Method and system for monitoring a vehicle driver includes an optical imaging system that obtains images of the driver, and a processor coupled to the optical imaging system and arranged to analyze the images obtained by the optical imaging system to locate a head of the driver in the images and monitor the driver's head or a part thereof over time. The processor also determines, based on the monitoring of the driver's head or part thereof, whether the driver has lost the ability to operate the vehicle. A reactive component is affected by the processor's determination that the driver has lost the ability to operate the vehicle, and requires action by the driver to indicate regaining of the ability to operate the vehicle or exerting control over the vehicle to slow the vehicle and bring it to a stop.

Abstract: Vehicle control system and method in which restrictions on travel of the vehicle are determined based on an indication of the visibility of a driver and information about objects moving in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the vehicle are considered. The travel restrictions include preventing a passing maneuver on a two-lane road when an oncoming vehicle precludes safely initiating or completing an already-initiated passing maneuver. A warning system is provided to warn a driver about the travel restrictions so that the driver will, hopefully, not attempt an unsafe maneuver.

Abstract: Vehicle control system and method in which restrictions on travel of the vehicle are determined based on an indication of the visibility of a driver and information about objects moving in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the vehicle are considered. The travel restrictions include preventing a passing maneuver on a two-lane road when an oncoming vehicle precludes safely initiating or completing an already-initiated passing maneuver. A warning system is provided to warn a driver about the travel restrictions so that the driver will, hopefully, not attempt an unsafe maneuver.

Abstract: Control system and method for automatically controlling headlights of a vehicle includes an optical system for imaging external sources of light within a predetermined field of view and an image processing system for processing images from the optical system and providing a control signal for controlling the headlights as a function of the processed images. Processing the images may entail identifying a source of radiation in the images, the control signal being provided to dim the headlights when a source of radiation in the images is identified as a headlight or taillight of another vehicle. To this end, the image processing system may include a trained pattern recognition system for processing the images to identify the source of radiation, e.g., a pattern recognition algorithm generated from data of possible sources of radiation including headlights and taillights of vehicles and patterns of received radiation from the possible sources.

Abstract: Externally deployed airbag system for a vehicle including one or more inflatable airbags deployable outside of the vehicle, an anticipatory sensor system for assessing the probable severity of an impact involving the vehicle based on data obtained prior to the impact and initiating inflation of the airbag(s) in the event an impact above a threshold severity is assessed, and an inflator coupled to the anticipatory sensor system and the airbag for inflating the airbag when initiated by the anticipatory sensor system. The airbag may be housed in a module mounted along a side of the vehicle, in a side door of the vehicle (both for side impact protection), at a front of the vehicle (for frontal impact protection) or at a rear of the vehicle (for rear impact protection). Also, the externally deployed airbag can be deployed to cushion a pedestrian's impact against the vehicle.

Abstract: Vehicle with an occupant safety system includes an occupant safety system designed to reduce injury to an occupant during an accident involving the vehicle and a processor coupled to the safety system and that receives at least one inertial property of the vehicle and information about a portion of a road ahead of the vehicle in its travel direction. If the processor determines, based on the at least one inertial property and the information, that the vehicle is unlikely to safely travel that portion of the road, the processor initiates action to ensure safe travel of the vehicle or safety of the occupant. The inertial property of the vehicle may be provided by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that measures acceleration in three orthogonal directions and angular velocity about three orthogonal axes, all at a substantially common location. The occupant safety system may include one or more inflatable airbags.

Abstract: Method for transmitting information to a vehicle in which, at a location separate and apart from the vehicle, a determination is made by a processor whether a condition relating to transmission of information to the vehicle is satisfied and only when the condition is determined to be satisfied, the information is transmitted to the vehicle using a transmitter. The condition may be a weather pattern, for example, snow in which case, the information being transmitted may be road icing information.

Abstract: In or for a vehicle, an arrangement for measuring weight of an occupant of a seat connected to a floor of the vehicle via a slide mechanism, the floor, in part, defining a passenger compartment of the vehicle. A support structure extends between the slide mechanism and the seat. A force sensing device is coupled to the support structure and configured for measuring force in the support structure indicative of weight applied by the occupant to the seat. The weight may be used for component control.

Abstract: Control system for controlling at least one part of a vehicle includes a plurality of sensor systems mounted at different locations on the vehicle, each sensor system providing a measurement related to a state thereof system or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location. A processor is coupled to the sensor systems and diagnoses the state of the vehicle itself and optionally its dynamic motion based on the measurements of the sensor systems. The processor controls each part based at least in part on the diagnosed state of the vehicle.

Abstract: Method and arrangement for providing map information to an operator of a vehicle includes forming a map database to reside on the vehicle, e.g., after installation on the vehicle, and which includes for example, data about lanes that the vehicle can travel on locations of a boundary or edges of the travel lanes, data about traffic control devices in the database, data about guard rails along travel lanes and/or data about inanimate objects such as poles and trees alongside the travel lanes. The database is managed to ensure that it has current information about a travel lane on which the vehicle is currently situated. This may entail establishing wireless communications to the vehicle to enable data to be provided to the database, e.g., from other vehicles and/or from infrastructure.