The present disclosure is directed to a system of a vehicle for improving occupant safety. The system may include a camera configured to capture an image of an interior of the vehicle and responsively generate a signal, and a controller in communication with the camera. The controller may be configured to receive the signal from the camera, determine that the vehicle is occupied based on the signal, and generate and send an alert to a communication device based on the vehicle being occupied.

Improvements in an abandoned baby, infant, child or animal alter system is disclosed. When a child or animal is being transported with a driver in the vehicle, the driver will generally maintain a comfortable temperature in the interior of the vehicle. The temperature and temperature changes are monitored to determine that a child or animal is unattended. The monitor is coupled with a connection in the car, a seat belt of a baby seat or integrated into the baby seat. Integrating the sensor with a seat belt or buckle provides a switch for operation of the sensor. The signaling system can be integrated with the light, horn or alarm or can be connected to a cellular network, Wi-Fi or other radio communications system to send a notification that a baby, infant, child or animal has been left and secured in a vehicle and needs attention.

There is provided a system for detecting presence or absence of a heat emitting object, comprising a platform for receiving the object, and the platform defining an area in which a temperature gradient with the object may exist, a thermoelectric device for generating an electrical voltage indicative of the presence or absence of temperature gradient and/or the magnitude of the temperature gradient, and an indicator for indication of the presence or absence of the object to be detected.

Systems and methods are provided for determining, by processing circuitry, a vehicle occupant has left a seat of a vehicle (or the seat is unoccupied), and in response to determining the vehicle occupant has left the seat (or the seat is unoccupied), causing a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the vehicle to thermally store energy in the seat.

A system for determining an identification of an occupant within a vehicle can include a processor, a communications interface, and a memory. The memory can store an information reception module, an identification prediction module, and an actuation module. The information reception module can cause the processor to receive, via the communications interface, from at least one sensor, and at a time when a source of a propulsion force for the vehicle is in an off state, at least one signal having information about at least one detectable characteristic associated with the occupant within the vehicle. The identification prediction module can cause the processor to produce, based on the information, a prediction of the identification of the occupant. The actuation module can cause the processor to cause, in response to a production of the prediction, a setting of a component of the vehicle to have a specific value.

A method of controlling occupant thermal comfort includes the steps of driving a temperature in a seating zone to a temperature set point (54), holding the temperature set point in the seating zone for a predetermined time (56), and regulating the temperature in the seating zone to a corrected temperature set point based upon an equivalent homogenous temperature relating to vehicle cabin conditions and occupant gender (58).

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a storage device, for monitoring a vehicle are disclosed. A vehicle monitoring system for monitoring a vehicle includes one or more processors and one or more computer storage media storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to cause the one or more processors to perform operations. The operations include: receiving, from a vehicle occupancy monitor and by the vehicle monitoring system, vehicle occupancy data that indicates presence of a vehicle occupant; receiving, by the vehicle monitoring system and from a sensor, sensor data that indicates an attribute of the vehicle; analyzing, by the vehicle monitoring system, the vehicle occupancy data and the sensor data; and based on analyzing the vehicle occupancy data and the sensor data, performing a vehicle monitoring system action.

Provided is a vehicle seat with a structure enabling a rockable moving piece to be disposed in a seat face in a well-fitting manner. A vehicle seat in which a rocking means having a drive mechanism and a moving piece for conveying rocking movement of the drive mechanism to a seated person is disposed in a through hole obtained by hollowing out a portion of a seat face of a seat cushion, wherein: a recess which is recessed in the thickness direction so as to surround the through hole is disposed in the seat face of the seat cushion; and the moving piece is shaped so that the bottom surface side follows the recess.

A method for operating an identification device of a seat of a motor vehicle, in which an identification of a child car seat or an adult on the seat is carried out by an electronic computing device, and in which, depending on the identification, an airbag apparatus of the seat is activated, and in which a relative variance is determined from a ratio of a pressure variance of a pressure on the seat and an acceleration variance of an acceleration of the motor vehicle during a movement of the motor vehicle and, depending on the relative variance, the identification is carried out and the airbag apparatus is activated. The method further includes determining a speed variance of a speed of the motor vehicle by the electronic computing device and, depending on the determined speed variance, deciding whether the identification is carried out during the movement of the motor vehicle.

A wire harness connected to a sensor is positioned on a back surface of a pad of a vehicle seat supported by a panel. The vehicle seat includes a panel; a pad supported by the panel; a skin material covering a front surface of the pad; and a sensor provided between the front surface of the pad and the skin material for acquiring information on a seat occupant, wherein the pad is provided with a through hole passed from the front surface of the pad to a back surface of the pad, and a recess formed in the back surface of the pad and connected to the through hole, the wire harness connected to the sensor extending in the through hole and the recess.