ADAPTIVE MULTI-FORCE SAFETY SYSTEM (ADMUS)

Abstract

An adaptive safety on-board vehicle multi-force restraint system provides mitigation of negative consequences of imminent crash of contemporary, self-driving, or autonomous vehicle. The adaptive safety multi-force restraint system applies different forces to the driver and passenger bodies of different weight categories by employing an occupant's original weight, accurately measured by innovative weighing KEF method and technology at the beginning of a trip by the TRIBS method. The occupant's original weight is eventually modified during the trip according to the current values of the morphological and driving factors. The present invention provides an accurate timing adjustment of different parts of the safety system to prevent occupants of the self-driving or autonomous vehicle from fatalities and injuries in case of collision on the road by extending a current Passenger Classification System, creating a Driver Classification System, and more accurately controlling the force applied to lighter weighing people and youngsters. During a trip, a controlling unit continuously adjusts the needed access in case of crash for the part of gas to move from restraint source by the modified signal of original weight of the occupant and current morphological and the car trip situation parameters. A structure of a mixed safety restraint ADMUS-M system with a low risk for small children and a method of people accurate weight in a vehicle monitoring in case of the metabolism problems and kidney disorders without their hospitalization are provided.

Claims

1. An on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system comprising: an Electronic Computing and Control Unit (ECU) connected to vehicle internal sensors and to a vehicle main computer, which in turn is connected to crash sensing related sensors and vehicle driving sensors, and the ECU is also operatively connected to an occupant weighing devices of the ADMUS-M system connected to seats of passengers which are operatively connected to inflators through controllers which are connected to ECU by using a KEF method of occupant weighing, and wherein a restraint power line of an air bag of a child seat is connected to a low pressure air bag source which is connected to and controlled by the ECU.

2. The on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system as in claim 1, wherein the ADMUS-M system provides an occupant weighing KEF method based on a horwest (horizontal weighing stability) effect by providing a force in a horizontal direction of a predetermined value to a vertical surface of the vehicle and simultaneously, lifting feet of the occupant above a floor of the vehicle and keeping them up during weight measurement of the occupant.

3. The on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system as in claim 1, wherein variable WELF (WEight Loss by Feet) of the occupant equals to a ratio (measured in %) of weight measurement of the occupant prior to the occupant being fastened to their seat by a seat belt, to the occupant's original weight measured by the KEF method.

4. An on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system as in claim 3, wherein the Electronic Computing and Control Unit (ECU) is connected to a seat of a driver of the vehicle, and a restraint power line of the air bag is controlled by ECU, wherein variable WELF of the driver depends on the position of his/her feet and equals to a ratio (measured in %) of weight measurement of the driver prior to the driver being fastened to their seat by a seat belt, to the driver's original weight measured by the KEF method.

5. A method for mitigation of negative consequences in an imminent vehicle crash and enhancing safety of vehicle occupants, comprising: weighing and memorizing weight of passengers and a driver by of a vehicle employing the on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system of claim 1 at the start of an engine of the vehicle by pushing a button; employing data processed and analyzed by a main computer of the vehicle collected from internal and outside sensors, radar, cameras and other pre-crash sensitivity equipment to get a warning that there is a potential collision; monitoring trip data to receive data from the main computer about coordinates and time of the potential collision; starting to preset the slow parts of the restraints; presetting a children restraint gas container; wherein if a child is seated in a child car seat fixed on a vehicle seat facing backwards, then a back of the child seat must recline on the car seat completely to the end with a speed calculated by the main computer or ECU before the potential collision; wherein if the child is seated in the child car seat facing forward, then both the back of the car seat on which the child seat is fixed together with a seat back of the child seat must recline completely to an end with a speed calculated by the main computer or ECU before the potential collision; modifying weight of occupants of the vehicle by the ECU depending on a change of both morphological factors and factors of a trip of the vehicle and their combinations to control the force applied to bodies of the occupants before the collision according to an Occupant Classification System; wherein if a current modification of the Adaptive Multi-Force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system provides a low risk deployment of a child restraint, allowing in a corresponding following step deployment of the child restraint with a low risk, wherein if a current modification of the Adaptive Multi-Force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system does not provide a low risk deployment of the child restraint there is a suppression of a deployment of the child restraint; deploying the child restraint with a low risk at a penultimate BSM (Basic Safety Message) message before the potential crash predicted by main computer; turning on a slow part of an adult restraint; turning on a fast part of an adult restraint and activating an inflator; and sending a message to a black box about a last condition of the child restraint and the adult restraint.

6. The method as in the claim 5, wherein in a time interval T.sub.start after the engine of the vehicle has been started, a timer disconnects the button from a driver weighing line, and the button begins to work only for an engine line.

7. The method as in claim 5, wherein the weighing further comprises: A. providing by the passenger a physical force to move their body in their seat by: pushing horizontally on a vertical stationary part of the vehicle; and moving up their feet from a floor or/and pedals of the vehicle. B. providing a signal to the main computer to measure and memorize a weight of the passenger, who is sitting in their car seat with their feet moved up from the floor or/and pedals, by: sending a signal to the main computer while pushing horizontally a pushbutton or switch fixed on another stationary part of the vehicle by the passenger or; sending a voice command to the main computer to start to measure and memorize the weight of the passenger sitting in their car seat simultaneously during step A; and monitoring a weight of the passenger before, during, and after the step A to determine if a calculated eight of the passenger is more than 15% of a predicted weight; C. determining an accurate occupant weight measurement after steps A and B.

8. A method as in claim 5, wherein pushing the button by an occupant in the driver's seat of the vehicle provides the following steps: 1) starting the engine of the vehicle by sending a signal to the Electronic Computing and Control Unit (ECU); 2) weighing an occupant who is in a driver's seat by the KEF method; 3) protecting the vehicle if a child is trying to drive it by sending a signal to the vehicle main computer to start the driver seat occupant's weight measurement and if the occupant in the driver's seat has a weight less than which satisfies the weight of 5th-percentile adult female in the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208: Occupant crash protection, the vehicle main computer suppresses an ignition of the engine of the vehicle and sends a warning message to a control panel or if the weight of the occupant in the driver's seat is equal or higher than weight of 5th-percentile adult female in the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208: Occupant crash protection, the vehicle main computer completes starting the engine of the vehicle and saves in its memory the weight of the driver of the vehicle.

9. The method as in the claim 5, wherein the on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system extends a number of classes (at least by 3) of the current Passenger Classification System by employing the KEF weighing method.

10. The method as in the claim 5, wherein the on-board vehicle ADMUS-M system by employing KEF weighing method provides a Driver class in a weight Classification System for the safety purposes of the person in a driver's seat by an accurate measuring of the weight of a person in a driver's seat in the regular, self-driving, or autonomous vehicle for the driver safety purposes.

11. The method as in the claim 5, wherein the on-board vehicle Mixed Adaptive Multi-force Safety (ADMUS-M) system provides a low power gas pressure of non-pyrotechnical source of restraint for infant or toddler in a safety seat.

12. The method as in the claim 5, wherein the on-board vehicle mixed ADMUS-M system provides a timing presetting an accurate measurement and timing adjustment of different parts of the safety system to prevent occupants of the self-driving/autonomous vehicle from fatalities and injuries in case of collision on the road by following steps: preparing for overcoming an imminent vehicle collision by the KEF method of an occupant accurate weighing; presetting of a slow part of the restraint unit if pre-crash sensitivity equipment places detects a potential collision by putting the slow part of the restraint unit in a middle position of its moving range; and putting seat backs of children in a lower substantial horizontal position at a corresponding speed by unfolding the seat backs of the younger children to the end with an according speed if the pre-crash sensitivity equipment places any object on the road in the collision list.

13. The method as in the claim 12 wherein, in case of the vehicle main vehicle computer detecting a potential collision during pre-crash scanning and if there is any infant or toddler on-board, the Mixed Adaptive Multi-force safety (ADMUS-M) system executes the following steps: changing a position of a child seat back from a vertical to a substantially horizontal before the imminent crash; calculating a required speed of seat back movement according to s distance to an object corresponding to the potential collision; and changing the position of the child seat back from a vertical to a substantially horizontal position.

14. The method as in the claim 1, wherein the ADMUS-M system prevents malfunction (suppression) of the air bag safety system for 5th-percentile adult female and adult light male by the following steps: determining before a beginning of a trip an original weight of the occupant by the KEF method; determining before the beginning of the trip a measured weight of the occupant when he/she is sitting not yet fastened in a car and their feet are resting on a floor or pedals of the car; determining if a calculated value of a WELF of the occupant is more than 20% and a last measured weight overlaps with a child's weight range in a Passenger Classification System, if so, the vehicle main computer eliminates a possible suppression of a 5th-percentile woman's air bag before the imminent crash during a trip and sends a message to the driver.

15. The system as in the claim 2, wherein the value of a WELF of a vehicle owner or family member who may be a potential victim of the vehicle crash is registered in a dealership at the time of buying the vehicle, and a note is made in sales documents.

16. The method as in the claim 5, wherein the algorithm of an air bag deployment (suppression) of the 5th-percentile woman sitting in the contemporary, self-driving/autonomous vehicle is prepared on a base of an Artificial Intellect (AI) by employing claim 6 and data including statistics of weather temperature, clothes and shoes weight, time of year, occupant's weight history.

17. The on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety system as in the claim 5, wherein to improve people's health, the KEF and a TRIBS method are provided that help predict, prevent and treat at least such illnesses as metabolism problems, kidney disorders, obesity, etc., and during the whole period of treatment a patient may be weighed multiple times per day in the vehicle to gain accurate weight measurements without hospitalization.

18. An on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety system, comprising: an Electronic Computing and Control Unit (ECU) connected to internal sensors and a main computer of the vehicle, the main computer is connected to crash sensing related sensors and to driving sensors of the vehicle, and wherein the ECU uses a KEF method of occupant weighing and a TRIple Button Start (TRIBS) feature is operatively connected to occupant weighing devices of the system which are connected to seats of occupants of the vehicle and inflators are connected to air bags of the inflators through controllers that are connected to the ECU, and a restraint power line of the air bags of each occupant is connected to a pyrotechnical source which is connected to and controlled by the ECU and suppressed by the ECU if a child is in a seat, wherein a variable WELF of a vehicle occupant depends on a position of their feet and equals to a ratio (measured in %) of a weight measurement of the vehicle occupant's body, who is not yet fastened sitting in the vehicle, to an original weight of the occupant measured by the KEF method.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0101] The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:

[0102] FIGS. 1a and 1b shows overlapping of 50th-percentile 10-year-old child class of an air bag system by the 5th-percentile adult female in the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208: Occupant crash protection;

[0103] FIG. 2 shows the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208: Occupant crash protection with 3 additional weighing classes;

[0104] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a structure of Adaptive multi-force safety system (ADMUS) of the present invention; and

[0105] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an algorithm of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0106] As we could see, all proposed and realized self-driving and autonomous vehicles use the same basic qualities and characteristics for sensing the road and any objects on it to predict the future behavior of other road users in 360 degrees around. The parameters used are: own parameters of a vehicle such as Position (P) (Longitude & Latitude), Speed (S), Heading (H), Acceleration (A), Frequency of Pre-Crash Sensing (F) signals, Path Prediction (Pp) and calculated Position (P.sub.O), and also Speed (S.sub.O), Heading (H.sub.O), Acceleration (A.sub.O), Path Prediction (Pp.sub.O), Size (Z.sub.O) of any object on the road, and time interval (To) and a distance (D.sub.O) left to the position of the point of the imminent crash with any other object on the road, and the number (N.sub.O) of the Pre-Crash Sensing attempts left before the imminent crash. If calculation of a Position of the vehicle was made through the Reference Points, the correction by a part of the car's length is needed for calculation of a distance from bumper to bumper.

[0107] Let us find out how the present invention relates to the methods and apparatuses providing mitigation results of an imminent vehicle collision on the road by preventing fatalities as well as injuries that may be caused by extra force applied to the occupant's body by air bag and accurate on-time preparation to and controlling the applied force in the event of collision. For this purpose, the V2V vehicle communication system, well described by NHTSA [2], will be used. This vehicle communication system uses in total the same main driving parameters and characteristics as all other described previously vehicle communication systems and is chosen as example for analyzing the methods and devices proposed in this application for preventing fatalities and mitigating injuries may be caused by extra force applied by air bag to the occupant's body in a contemporary or self-driving/autonomous vehicle in the event of collision.

[0108] An example of a simplified calculation of a time interval (To) that is left for a vehicle to reach the position of the point of the imminent crash with any other object on the road and the number (No) of the Pre-Crash Sensing attempts left before the imminent crash happens are given in the Table 2 depending on the Pre-Crash speed of the vehicle V and the initial distance D.sub.O between the vehicle and another object.

[0109] We assume that the distance (Do) between the vehicle and the point of the imminent crash with any other object on the road is sensed, calculated, and predicted by a pre-crash sensing system of the vehicle. The calculations of the T.sub.O and N.sub.O are made for Basic Safety Message (BSM) Communication Frequency (Pre-Crash scan mode) F=10 times per second. The predicted distance D.sub.O between the vehicle and another object on the road is assumed linear at all time during each calculation up to the collision, and the pre-crashed speed V of the vehicle is assumed constant at all this time. More complicated example of such calculation may be found in [2].

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 V V kmph 25 40 55 Statistical % 41 14 2 of crashes D.sub.O Distance m 100 50 10 100 50 10 100 50 10 T.sub.O Time needed s 14.4 7.200 1.440 9.000 4.500 0.900 6.545 3.273 0.654 N.sub.O The projected 143 = 71 + 14 + 89 + 44 + 8 + 65 + 32 + 6 + number of BSMs 128 + 100 ms 40 ms 100 ms 100 ms 100 ms 45 ms 73 ms 54 ms before the 15 + imminent crash 100 ms
Assume that an object on the road with a relatively high speed was captured and placed in an object list during the Pre-Crash scanning. According to the Table 2, the vehicle will have the imminent crash with this object on the road in 7.2 seconds if the pre-crash speed V of the vehicle was 25 kmph, the initial distance Do between the vehicle and another object was 50 meters, and that crash will happen in 100 milliseconds after the 71 times BSM messages or after 71 times Pre-Crash scanning repeated with frequency F=10 times per second. In case the vehicle's pre-crash speed V was 55 kmph and the initial distance Do between the vehicle and another object was the same 50 meters, that crash will happen in 73 milliseconds after the 32 times BSM messages or after 32 times Pre-Crash scanning. To mitigate the results of the imminent crash, the computer monitors a distance and accurately predicted timing of the imminent crash. By continuously and accurately monitoring the timing of the imminent crash, the ADMUS system provides higher protection of the different weight occupant bodies from the extra force applied to them in case of accident by more extensive preparations for overcoming an imminent vehicle collision on the road and preventing fatal accidents as well as injuries of the occupants that may be caused by an unsafe force applied to their bodies by the restraint system in the event of a collision.

[0110] The number of fatalities and injuries in the vehicles with the V2V technology and also in the regular vehicles that will be eventually finalized by aftermarket repairing may be substantially decreased by employing an accurate weighing the occupants of a vehicle.

[0111] As noted in [17,18], the measured weight of an occupant is not the entire original weight of the occupant since some of the occupant's weight will be supported by his or her feet which are resting on the floor or pedals. Contribution of the WEight Lost of the Feet (WELF further in the text) part of the body to a total original weight of a person may be evaluated very easily, and it is about 15-30% or more of the whole body weight. In [17] this loss of the occupant's weight was given as 20%. Some data for WELF were received in this invention in experiments and shown in Tables 3,4, and 5. The whole picture of the weight lost by a vehicle occupant during measuring his/her weight while one is sitting in the car seat and the feet are resting on the floor or pedals and supporting the body, may be clear after receiving a statistical data. The WELF is a problem that does not allow to accurately weigh a vehicle occupant in on-board vehicle safety restraint system to provide the possibility of an accurate control of the air bag inflation force depending on the real original value of the occupant's weight (mass) and eliminate extra force applied to the occupant's body at the time of collision by improving the Passenger Classification System and providing an improved accuracy of the safety system for differentiating occupants by weight, especially children from the light women.

[0112] As we may see from Table 3, the value of an error of measuring weight of an occupant sitting in a seat of the contemporary on-board vehicle SRS air bag safety system may reach around 30% of original occupant's weight. For example, in the Table 3 in the range from 144 to 221 Lb of the original weights of occupants, the value of the mistake of occupant weight measurement WELF reaches 29.1%. This means that some two classes in the Occupant Classification System SRS may be overlapped.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Weight (Lb)* Horizontal distance D Feet position Percentage of (cm) from feet on the (torso on the scale) the occupant's Original floor to the torso on Hands are on the Hands down in Hands on the weight measured No. Date weight the scale groins the air knees loss (WELF) 1 Mar. 29, 2018 151 70 max 128 126 115 15.2-23.8% Man, 55 mid 121 114 112 19.9-25.8% 82 40 min 114 109 107 24.5-29.1% 2 Mar. 30, 2018 182 60 max 155 154 150 14.8-17.6% Woman, 50 mid 150 149 147 17.6-19.2% 77 40 min 143 140 138 21.4-24.2% 3 Mar. 29, 2013 148 D min 112 109 25.8-26.4% Man, 77 4 Jul. 25, 2014 151 D min 110 27.2% Man, 78 5 Sep. 24, 2016 144 D min 120 16.7% Man, 80 6 Jul. 14, 2018 221 D max 197 193 188 10.9-14.9% Man, D mid 189 178 173 14.5-19.5% 45 D min 173 166 160 21.7-27.6% 7 Nov. 10, 2018 134 F D min 93 30.6% 15 8 Nov. 10, 2018 91 F D min 65 28.6% 11

[0113] In the FIG. 1a is given the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208: Occupant crash protection. There are 5 classes of occupants in the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208 showed as 5 black bars 3 in FIG. 1a: 50th-percentile 6-year-old child (47.3 Lb), 50th-percentile 10-year-old child (82.1 Lb), 5th-percentile adult female (102 Lb), 50th-percentile adult male (164 Lb), and 95th-percentile adult male (215 Lb). As we see from Table 3, in case of the 95th-percentile adult male whose original weight 221 Lb (that is in the range 215 Lb) and its maximum variable WELF.sub.max value is 27.6%, 50th-percentile adult male class will be overlapped by the measured weight of the 95th-percentile adult male class, and the SRS air bag safety system will not recognize whom it is necessary to treat: 50th-percentile or 95th-percentile adult male, although the force applied to the bodies of these two different weight occupants should be different.

[0114] For now it seems the worst case of overlapping is on the border of 50th-percentile 10-year-old child and 5th-percentile adult female. As in the previous example, in case of the 5th-percentile adult female whose original weight around 102 Lb (according to the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208) and if its maximum variable WELF.sub.max value is only more than 20%, the 50th-percentile 10-year-old child class will be overlapped by the measured weight of the 5th-percentile adult female class. In this case, the air bag safety system will malfunction. It will suppress the air bag when it should be deployed because the 5th-percentile adult female is in the seat.

[0115] Another such malfunction case was found in Table 4 when a group of adult people was checked for their value of WELF. The weight measurement of this group of six adult women was provided by ResCare Adult Day Care Community Center, Hamden, Conn. As we may see from Table 4, women ##5 and 6 may be related to the 5th-percentile adult females. Woman #5 has original weight of 113 Lb, and her measured weight in the simulator of the vehicle seat while her feet are on the floor, is 84 Lb. Her calculated WELF is 25.7%. In case of the vehicle collision, the air bag system will recognize her as adult (84 Lb>82.1 Lb) and her air bag will be deployed.

[0116] Woman #6 has original weight of 108 Lb, and her measured weight in the simulator of the vehicle seat while her feet on the floor, is 78 Lb. Her calculated WELF is 27.8%. In case of her vehicle collision, the air bag system will malfunction by recognizing her as the 50th-percentile 10-year-old child (78 Lb<82.1 Lb), and her air bag will not be deployed.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 The third such malfunction case was found in Table 5 when a group of older children was checked for their value of WELF. Weight (Lb) Percentage of Hands the occupant's Original on the weight measured No. Date Name age sex weight knees Difference loss (WELF) 1 Oct. 30, 2018 Maya 82 F 154 110 44 28.6% 2 Oct. 30, 2018 Galina 79 F 148 101 47 31.8% 3 Oct. 30, 2018 Bella 81 F 135 103 32 23.7% 4 Oct. 30, 2018 Sophia 81 F 140 109 31 22.1% 5 Oct. 30, 2018 Angela 95 F 113 84 29 25.7% 6 Oct. 30, 2018 Inness 85 F 108 78 30 27.8% The weight measurements in the Table 5 were provided by children's music studio in the city of Woodbridge, CT. National Music Teachers Association (New Haven Chapter).

[0117] As we may see from Table 5, ##7 and 9 may be related by weight to the 5th-percentile adult females. Woman #7 has original weight of 105 Lb, and her measured weight in the simulator of the vehicle seat while her feet are on the floor, is 74 Lb. Her calculated WELF is 29.5%. In case of her vehicle collision, the air bag system will malfunction by recognizing her as the 50th-percentile 10-year-old child (74 Lb<82.1 Lb) and her air bag will not be deployed.

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Weight (Lb) Percentage of Hands the occupant's Original on the weight measured No. Date Name age sex weight knees Difference loss (WELF) 1 Oct. 22, 2018 Libby 12 F 77 54 23 29.8% 2 Oct. 22, 2018 Nell 13 F 83 59 24 28.9% 3 Oct. 22, 2018 Sieanna 15 F 138 98 40 28.98% 4 Oct. 22, 2018 Mei 16 F 118 97 21 17.8% 5 Oct. 23, 2018 Sofia 15 F 158 108 50 31.6% 6 Oct. 24, 2018 Veronica 16 F 149 111 38 25.5% 7 Oct. 24, 2018 Sophia 13 F 105 74 31 29.5% 8 Oct. 24, 2018 Leela 14 F 158 105 53 33.54% 9 Oct. 25, 2018 Devin 12 F 102 74 28 27.45% 10 Oct. 26, 2018 Sophia 13 F 80 55 25 31.25%

[0118] Woman #9 in Table 5 has original weight of 102 Lb, and her measured weight in the simulator of the vehicle seat with her feet on the floor, is 74 Lb. Her calculated WELF is 27.45%. In case of her vehicle's collision, the air bag system will malfunction by recognizing her as 50th-percentile 10-year-old child (74 Lb<82.1 Lb), and her air bag will not be deployed.

[0119] The variable WELF may be used to predict malfunction of an air bag safety system (especially for 5th-percentile adult females and old light males) in a contemporary, self-driving, and autonomous vehicle where an accurate weight measuring technology of an occupant is not used.

[0120] As we may see from FIG. 11a, and Tables 3-5, to mitigate the negative consequences of a crash on a road for a 5th-percentile woman or light man sitting in the contemporary, self-driving, or autonomous vehicle where an accurate weight measuring technology of an occupant is not available, it is necessary to find out at the beginning of the trip the original weight of this occupant and her/his measured weight when she/he is sitting in the seat. This last weight will be less than original weight because the feet are resting on the floor or pedals. If this weight overlaps a closest child weight range, it is necessary to eliminate the possible suppression of the air bag of the 5th-percentile woman or light man before the vehicle's imminent crash during a trip.

[0121] The time interval for regular WELF measuring has to be established for contemporary, self-driving, and autonomous vehicles where the KEF weight measuring technology of an occupant is not available.

[0122] Due to the of existence of the described above problem of overlapping and WELF.sub.max high value up to 30%, the number of properly functioning weight classes in the contemporary vehicles for adults in the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208 may really not be more than 3 classes that drastically decreases the accuracy of weighing occupants of a vehicle and their safety. This means it is necessary to provide a safety system for protection of the different weight occupants of the contemporary and self-driving or autonomous vehicles by applying different forces to their bodies that are more accurately controlled at the moment of an accident.

[0123] The error of a vehicle occupant weight measurement may be drastically decreased by employing the occupant weighing innovative KEF method [20,21] and using this weighing method to eliminate the WELF error at all. In this case, the energy generated by the occupant's body at the time of collision may be accurately measured before the collision and used for safety purposes in the vehicle air bag system.

[0124] Using the KEF method is important to provide effectiveness and accuracy for occupant weighing. It is based on a horwest (horizontal weighing stability) effect that states: the value of a weight measurement of an object located in a closed system on a weighing unit doesn't change while this object provides a bi-directional force in a horizontal direction of a predetermined value to a vertical surface of another object, which is a predetermined distance away [19]. The horwest effect can be used to implement the simplified weighing apparatus for accurately weighing the vehicle occupant. Applications of KEF vehicle occupant weighing technology based on horwest effect are also provided in [22,23].

[0125] Moreover, the innovative KEF method can provide a simplified and accurate occupant's weight measurement in a car or a motor vehicle, especially a passenger vehicle such as an automobile, a van, a self-driving car, a corporate vehicle, a limousine, or a truck equipped with an occupant safety device such as air bag Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) by employing a weighing unit (weight sensors) connected to the seat of the vehicle occupant, whose output is connected to the computing and control unit of the SRS, by pushing horizontally a switch of the weighing moderator, located above the waist of the occupant on a substantially vertical surface of the vehicle (for example, on a steering wheel, an instrument panel, or a dash board) at the beginning of the trip, and simultaneously, conveniently lifting feet above the floor and keeping them up during the weight measurement, measuring occupant's weight by the weighing unit. Subsequent processing of the collected weight of the vehicle's occupant by the computing and control unit while receiving the signal from the switch of the weighing moderator, modifying this original weight measurement of the vehicle occupant by the current values of the morphological data and factors of the car trip situation and transmitting this processed value of the vehicle occupant's weight to the air bag control unit to apply, in case of a collision, an appropriate force to the occupant's body, whose value will be calculated according to the modified and accurately measured occupant's original weight. The accuracy of weighing a vehicle's occupant and, accordingly, providing an accurate value of the force applied to the different weights of the occupants' bodies may be improved up to 20-30% by employing KEF method.

[0126] The results of measuring WELF value of the vehicle occupants in different positions in a seat showed that WELF.sub.min is around 15%. The value of variable WELF.sub.min may be used to predict, find, and eliminate by KEF method a malfunction of an air bag safety system (especially for 5th-percentile adult females) in a contemporary, self-driving, and autonomous vehicle where an accurate weight measuring KEF technology of an occupant will be employed.

[0127] The following is an instruction for the owner of the vehicle which equipment includes a feature of an on-board vehicle Adaptive Multi-force Safety Mixed (ADMUS-M) system for negative consequences mitigation of an imminent vehicle crash and for enhancing safety of occupants of the vehicle.

Dear buyer of a vehicle:

[0128] Your vehicle may be a contemporary, self-driving, or autonomous vehicle. It is equipped by several innovative patented systems and devices. One of them is the ADaptive MUlti-force Safety (ADMUS) system that provides higher protection to occupant bodies in case of accident, especially for 5th-percentile women and light men. This problem was addressed by NHTSA (National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration) in Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. DOT of transportation NHTSA. 49 CFR Part 571 [Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0126] RIN 2127-AL55 NHTSA 2016.

[0129] The other patented systems, depending on modification of your vehicle, may be: a system for younger child air bag low risk deployment, innovative accurate KEF method and device of passenger and driver weighing, safety variable WELF (Weight loss by feet) measurement, TRIple Button Start (TRIBS) system for protecting a vehicle if a small child is trying to drive it, a safety system of reclining a child's seat back [recline] before an imminent collision, a system of expanding the number of classes of the current Passenger Classification System, including a Driver class in the Classification System,

Dear buyer of the vehicle, please do not miss any required check ups of the mentioned above devices and systems to provide the best environment for advanced safety features of your vehicle.

[0130] To mitigate the negative consequences of a crash on a road for a 5th-percentile woman sitting in the contemporary, self-driving, or autonomous vehicle, it is necessary to know in advance or measure it at the beginning of the trip by KEF method an accurate original weight of this occupant and her measured weight when she/he is sitting in the seat. This last weight will be less than original weight because the feet are resting on the floor or pedals. If this weight overlaps a closest child weight range, it is necessary to eliminate the possible suppression of the air bag of the 5th-percentile woman before the vehicle's imminent crash during a trip. The value of WELFmin=15% and higher may be provided as minimal value of base value WELF to start to solve a problem of suppressing the deployment of air bag of the 5th-percentile woman sitting in the contemporary, self-driving, or autonomous vehicle because it depends also on morphological structure of this person's body. The air bag of the 5th-percentile woman has to be deployed if there is an overlapping of a closest child weight class of the Passenger Classification System.

[0131] The algorithm of an air bag deployment suppression of the 5th-percentile woman sitting in the contemporary, self-driving, or autonomous vehicle may be prepared on a base of an Artificial Intellect (AI) by employing data including statistics of weather temperature, clothes and shoes weight, time of year, occupant's weight history, etc.

[0132] The value of WELF of owners and family members potential victims is registered in dealership at the time of buying a vehicle. A note made in the documents.

[0133] The time interval for regular weighing error measuring has to be established for contemporary, self-driving, and autonomous vehicles where the KEF weight measuring technology of an occupant is available.

[0134] It is further noted that the aforementioned patents and patent applications incorporated by reference herein, namely U.S. Pat. No. 9,566,877 issued on Feb. 14, 2017, U.S. Pat. No. 10,245,973 issued on Apr. 2, 2019, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/956,059 filed on May 30, 2013, can provide a more detailed description of the novel horwest effect and KEF method.

[0135] FIG. 1b shows additional occupant's weight classes of one of proposed a Passenger Classification System in this invention Admus adaptive safety SRS system employing the accurate KEF occupant weighing technology. In the FIG. 1b eight weight classes proposed referred to Admus safety SRS system. Among these classes, there are all 5 classes (including children) that exist in the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208: Occupant crash protection.

[0136] The accuracy of KEF method and elimination of the WELF error, protects weight classes of Admus system from an overlapping that in turn provides room for at least 3 additional weight classes (bars 5 in the FIG. 1b). These additional classes help to solve a problem of applying different forces to the bodies of different weight occupants at the moment of an accident that are controlled through the control signals depending on occupants' weights that are modified depending on the morphological data and factors of the car trip in the current situation that influence the force applied to the occupant's body. For example, (see FIG. 2 and bars 5) the first additional class may be used to gently control a force applied to the 50th-percentile 3-year-old child (for example of 32 Lb weight).

[0137] Two other additional classes may be used for the same purposes of applying different forces to the bodies of different (for example 125 and 190 Lb) weight occupants at the moment of an accident that are controlled through the control signals depending on their accurately measured weights and factors of the car trip in the current situation.

[0138] Everything shown above in FIG. 2 proposed Passenger Classification System based on accurate occupant's weight measuring KEF method and based in turn on this method the KEF technology provide more accurate differentiation of different weight occupants and a safer restraint system.

[0139] In another embodiment of the present invention, a structure of Adaptive multi-force safety system (ADMUS) of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3.

[0140] ADMUS consists of younger children, including infants and toddler, safety seat 40 with weighing unit, older children seat 41 with weighing unit, passenger seat 42 with weighing unit, a driver seat 43 with a weighing unit. The employment of a weighing unit in the smart seat of younger children is provided because of publication results of casualties in crashes of the passenger vehicles in 2016 [19].

[0141] In Table 2 of [19], is provided by age groups and restraint devices use, the number of passenger vehicles occupants that have been killed in crashes in 2016. The ratio of the number of restrained passengers to the number of unrestrained passengers killed in the younger age groups such as <4 years old and 4-7 years old, and in the older aged groups 65-74 and 75+ years old passengers, is 2-3 times higher than in other age groups. Besides that, the percentage of known restrained was higher than the percentage of known unrestrained people killed in 2016. One the problems may be the lack of force and energy of young children and old passengers to overcome the consequences of a vehicle crash or by a negative influence of a restraint device on a weak body.

[0142] So, it seems that the younger children group needs a gentle restraint support during a possible crash. To provide this feature, the modification ADMUS-M of the ADMUS system is proposed that consists of younger children safety seat 40 with a low gas pressure source 48 and weighing unit. The electronic computing and control unit ECU 23 analyzes several critical levels of evaluating young children's weight: when the seat is empty, weight of the child before final accommodation of a child in the seat, and when the measured weight on the seat is more than allowed weight for a child in this weight category. The electronic computing and control unit 23 will send a warning to a driver in the last case. The structure of the seat 41 for older children is analogical to the seat 40. Passengers and children of 41 and 42 whose feet touch the floor of a vehicle when they are seating in the car, use the KEF method and technology of measuring their weights.

[0143] In another embodiment of the present invention, the ADMUS system provides the Button Start 44 for starting the vehicle engine and weighing the driver by the Triple Button Start (TRIBS) method at the start of the vehicle.

[0144] In another embodiment of the present invention, the Admus safety system provides safety protection of the different weight occupants by extracting a part of the gas generated by the inflator in case of collision to outside air. There are several methods to do it. In FIG. 3 are shown two of these possibilities: by a mini-throttle 20 (shown by solid lines) or by controlled openings 21 (shown by dashed lines). In FIG. 3 the ADMUS system employs the main vehicle computer 22 and their memory, electronic computing and control unit 23 that monitors and controls an on-board vehicle occupant restraint air bag system 30, consisting inflator 25 with diffuser 26, which connects inflator with the air bag 24 (shown only one air bag for older children or adult).

[0145] In one embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 3, a throttle-type control unit is employed to remove a part of the gas moving from inflator to the air bag to atmosphere. This device is analogous to a regular automobile throttle, but works in the opposite direction, and is called a mini-throttle 20. The input substance of the mini-throttle is a hot gas generated in the inflator that goes through the mini-throttle to the outside atmosphere. The mini-throttle moves part of the gas from the inflator to the outside atmosphere and may be rotated up to a 90 angle by a servomechanism or servo (not shown in FIG. 3) having a metal gear. The servomechanism or servo is controlled by the output signal of a supplemental controller 27 depending on the type of the servomechanism and the original weight of the vehicle occupant modified by other related signals of the trip at the time of an accident. The appropriate servo may be found in the servo data base ServoDatabase.com.

[0146] In another embodiment of the present invention FIG. 3, a certain part of the gas generated by the inflator of the proposed system in case of collision is extracted to outside air not by the mini-throttle 20, but by the openings 21 located in the diffuser that connects the inflator and air bag and is controlled by the controller unit 27. For the heaviest occupant and the severest crash and the worst morphological position of the occupant and driving factors of the car trip situation, none of the openings will be open, and the whole volume of the gas produced by the inflator will apply the maximum force to the body of the occupant through the air bag.

[0147] In another embodiment of the present invention FIG. 3, other sensors such as crash sensor, positioning sensor, seat belt lock sensor, that are used in the Supplemental Restraint Systems of the contemporary and self-driving or autonomous vehicles, are shown as 45.

[0148] In another embodiment of the present invention, an additional safety feature for the infants, toddlers, and younger children is used. Despite the standard recommendations of putting younger children in a rear-facing back seat, there are a lot of injures of younger children during imminent crashes. To make imminent crash consequences less dangerous for them, a mixed structure of the Adaptive multi-force safety systemADMUS-M is proposed for contemporary, self-driving, and autonomous vehicles. In ADMUS-M restraint safety system, the addition to the children's smart seat a source of the gas restraint energy in a separate container 48 for the infants and younger children is employed. This is not a pyrotechnical gas like those for older children and adult occupants, but a lower pressure neutral gas in a small container.

[0149] The gas container and restraint are located in the seat back of the car seat in front of a car seat on which the infant's or small child's smart seat is assembled. This child seat has to have some space to move in case of crash, and a calculation of its restraint may be made by using an accurate weight of the child made at the beginning of a trip and measured speed of a vehicle at the moment of crash.

[0150] It makes the restraint system for infants and younger children safer than a pyrotechnical restraint system and provides a low risk deployment of a child restraint. It is shown in Table 6, the groups of infants and 3-years-old children may be divided by 3 weight classification categories each. The values of the weight of these 6 empty categories for the infants and 3-years-old children may be provided. The air bags for younger children up to 4 years old (before the boosters will be used), especially for infants and toddlers, must be special forms and need time for experiments to avoid casualties. The gas controller in the mixed ADMUS-M for infants and younger children satisfies the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208: Occupant crash protection.

[0151] The smart infant's and toddler's car seats may be connected to the vehicle through a frontal spring. The gas from the restraint container may press both the smart child car seat and child's body (Double ActionDA), The gas can only be released from container while the small child seat is fixed properly in the vehicle. A separate microcontroller controls the gas coming to each child's restraint device and that makes the Adaptive multi-force safety systemADMUS-Mmore gentle for infants and younger children, provides deployment of a restraint with a low risk, and may simplify the requirements to position of the younger children seats.

[0152] The sensors for measuring an infant's and younger child's weight in ADMUS-M restraint safety system are located in children's removable attachable seats. In this mixed structure of the present invention, the Adaptive multi-force safety systemADMUS-M, the accurate KEF weight measuring technology of an occupant is used for weighing older children and adult occupants according to the Table S7.1.4 Weights and dimensions of the vehicle occupants referred to in Standard 571.208: Occupant crash protection to eliminate an error in the weight measurement because their feet touch the floor or pedals when these types of occupants are sitting in their seats.

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Classification Low level weight (Lb) High level weight (Lb) No Structure 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. ADMUS-M Empty-seat Infant 3-years - 6-9-years- 10-years- 5- 50- 95- Weighing old old old percentile percentile percentile technology women male male 47.3 82.1 102 164 215 Short Long legs legs Contemporary KEF 2. ADMUS-M1 0-5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 50 82.1 102 164 215 Weighing Contemporary Linear controller KEF technology 3. ADMUS-M2 0-5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 Weighing Contemporary Linear controller KEF linear controller technology

[0153] In another embodiment of the present invention, an on-board vehicle ADMUS-M or ADMUS system provides an accurate occupant weighing by KEF method based on a horwest (horizontal weighing stability) effect to providing predicting, preventing and treatment the illnesses, including the kidney disorders, during which multiple times accurate weight function measurement in a vehicle may be made without a person hospitalization.

[0154] In two other embodiments of the present invention in Table 6, the mixed structures of the Adaptive multi-force safety systemsADMUS-M1 and ADMUS-M2are proposed. The number of calibration points is increased for infants and younger children (in ADMUS-M1) and for both infants and younger children and for older children and adult occupants (in ADMUS-M2) for purposes of improving accuracy of the restraint systems and for more gently applying restraint force to an occupant's body to decrease injuries in case of collision according to its weight.

[0155] The descriptions in the further text are related to all modifications of ADMUS and ADMUS-M if not specified.

[0156] To predict and discover a possible imminent crash situation during a regular trip, the ADMUS systems for self-driving or autonomous vehicles include crash predicting equipment such as, but not restricted by crash sensor, occupant weight sensor, positioning sensor, seat belt lock sensor, and possibly other sensors. The system employs constantly during the trip the data from radar, cameras, lidar, and also other pre-crash sensitivity equipment. The ADMUS system has the following steps of work: regular monitoring of sensors, receiving from computers accurate coordinates and time of predicted imminent collision with another object on the road, size and speed of this object, etc.

[0157] In FIG. 4 is presented the algorithm 50 of mitigation of negative consequences of self-driving or autonomous vehicle crash. The Admus weighs and memorizes weight of passengers to whose car seat a weighing unit is attached by KEF technology at the start of a vehicle trip in 51. The driver may be accurately and conveniently weighed also at the start of a vehicle engine at point 51 by the TRIBS method, and his/her weight will be memorized in ECU. ADMUS employs in 52 main computer that use the sensors, radar, cameras, and other pre-crash sensitivity equipment to find out the existence on the road of any possible object that may be an obstacle and a reason for an imminent collision on the road every Basic Safety Message (BSM) Communication Frequency (Pre-Crash scan mode) with F=10 times per second in our case. The Admus asks the main computer in the 52 if there is an obstacle on the road that may cause an imminent collision. If there is no object placed in the collision list during the Pre-Crash scanning, the ADMUS returns to the point 52 and continues monitoring a possible collision. In case the main computer placed any object in the collision list during the Pre-Crash scanning at point 52, ADMUS requires and receives in 53 the initial information about an obstacle on the road that may cause an imminent collision.

[0158] Assume the restraint for adult of the ADMUS system consists of two parts:

reusable, slow electromechanical part S. This part changes the capacity of the hot gas that comes from inflator to the air bags of older children and adults depending on weight and position of a vehicle occupant and a trip situation or from the gas container for infant and toddler;
fast part F that is a valve or any switchable turn on/off gas connector. The fast part F may be electromechanical and reusable.

[0159] To improve timing and, accordingly, safety of the restraint unit, the Admus provides immediate preset of the part S of the restraint unit if the pre-crash sensitivity equipment places any object on the road in the collision list. In the preset position, part S receives a signal from the controller 27 (FIG. 3) that puts it in the middle position of its rotation range. This method twice decreases the time of a possible needed rotation from one side to the other side of the part S in case of collision.

[0160] The speed of servomechanisms is different and may be in range 0.03 s/60 to 0.5 s/60 depending on the modulation type, size, torque, price, etc. Assume that part S of Admus employs the digital servo of company Multiplex model Profi Speed BB. This model has speed of 0.15 s/60 and rotation range 90.

[0161] Assume that an object on the road was captured and placed in an object list during the trip by the Pre-Crash scanning equipment. According to the Table 2, the vehicle may have the imminent crash with this object on the road in T.sub.O=7.2 seconds if the pre-crash speed V of the vehicle was 25 kmph (see column 1 of Table 2), the initial distance Do between the vehicle and another object was 50 meters, and that crash will happen in 100 milliseconds after the 71 times BSM messages sent or after 71 times Pre-Crash scanning repeated with frequency F=10 times per second.

[0162] Simultaneously, the ECU (At the same time, the ECU begins to preset the slower part S of the restraint system for adults and lower the seat backs of the young children in a substantial horizontal position at a corresponding speed of 54) starts to preset the slow part S of the adult restraint and unfold the seat backs of the young children to the end with an according speed in 54. The ECU will continue to receive and analyze updated values of D.sub.O, V, To, No every such time interval in 55. Other parameters are possible to receive also. The ECU in 56 is modifying original weight of the vehicle occupants depending on the change of the morphological and factors of the car trip situation and their combinations. By receiving regular data about current conditions of the trip, ADMUS in 55,56,57, 58 solves a problem of subsequently suppressing (57, 59) or deploying (57, 61) of a child restraint with a low risk at a penultimate BSM message before the imminent crash (58).

[0163] The preset of part S of AMUS to position 45 will be made by the digital servo of company Multiplex model Profi Speed BB at point 54 of FIG. 4 approximately in 0.113 sec and will be completed in a couple of BSM messages.

[0164] At the same time, the ECU begins to preset the slower part S of the restraint system for adults and lower the seat backs of the young children in a substantial horizontal position at a corresponding speed of 54.

[0165] Assume that the S.sub.pre is a time of preset of part S. For the servo of company Multiplex model Profi Speed BB the preset time is longer than time interval of one BSM message or longer a time interval of one Pre-Crash scanning. S.sub.pre has to be <nB, where B is the time interval of one BSM message or a time interval of one Pre-Crash scanning, and n is a whole number and in case of model Profi Speed BB the value n=2.

[0166] If we may assume that speed of the model Profi Speed BB is the same value in the whole range from 0 to 90 rotation, the same time interval S.sub.on<nB, it is necessary to turn on part S of the servo model Profi Speed BB after it was preset because the maximum possible angle of rotation after preset is 45. It means that part S has to be turned on at least n=2 time intervals of BSM messages earlier than part F of the restraint in case of employing servo model Profi Speed BB.

[0167] In case of using servo Futaba BLS251SB for the part S, the speed is 0.06 s/60 and rotation range 90,

[0168] S.sub.pre=0.045 sec<nB=1*0.1 sec<1 BSM message;

[0169] S.sub.on max=0.045 sec<nB=1*0.1 sec<1 BSM message.

[0170] If in our case according to the Table 2, the vehicle will have the imminent crash with the object on the road in T.sub.O=7.2 seconds, the number of BSM messages at point 58 will turn on the slow part S of the adult restraint at point 60 at least before nB sec the imminent crash will happen. ADMUS checks this situation in 62 and turns on the fast part F of the adult restraint and activates inflator at point 63. Inflator will generate gas after the valve of the fast part F of the adult restraint will be turned on because the turn on time F.sub.on of the fast part F (<0.050 sec) of the adult restraint is less than activation time of the inflator.

[0171] The black box of ADMUS receives in 64 information about the conditions of the children and adult restraint devices.

[0172] As was mentioned above, in Table 2 of [19] is provided by age groups and restraint devices use, the number of passenger vehicles occupants that have been killed in crashes in 2016. The ratio of the number of restrained to the number of unrestrained killed in the younger up to 7 years age old group is 2-3 times higher than in other age group. Besides that, the percentage of restrained in this group was higher than the percentage of unrestrained killed. One the problem may be the lack of force and energy of young children to overcome the consequences of a vehicle crash or by a negative influence of a restraint device on a weak body.

[0173] To help in this case, the position of youngsters in the seat just before the imminent crash in self-driving or autonomous vehicle is better when changed from sitting to substantially horizontal with a speed calculated according to the distance to the object on the road and occupant safety purposes.

[0174] If the child is seated in a child car seat facing backward, then the back of this child car seat must recline completely to the end with an according speed before an imminent collision.

[0175] If the child is seated in a child car seat facing forward, then both the back of the used car seat together with a light child's seat back must recline completely to the end with an according speed before an imminent collision.

[0176] To decrease a pressure on weak children's body at crash, a frontal spring is used between the front part of seat and child's feet. It seems that younger children group needs a gentle restraint support during a possible crash. Also, to provide this feature, the proposed ADMUS consists of young children safety seat 40 with a low gas pressure source 48 and weighing unit.

[0177] So, accurately weighing occupants by employing the KEF method and continuously and accurately monitoring the pre-crash timing of the imminent crash, the ADMUS system provides higher protection of the different weight occupant bodies from the extra force applied to them in case of accident by extensive preparations for overcoming an imminent vehicle collision on the road and preventing fatal accidents as well as injuries of the occupants that may be caused by an unsafe force applied to their bodies by the restraint system in the event of a collision.

[0178] While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the described features.

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