William Joshua Fultz, 51Ash Township, MI

6766271, Jul 20, 2004

Apr 28, 2003

10/424374

Dennis P. Griffin - Noblesville IN, 46060
William W. Fultz - Carmel IN, 46033

G01B 1100

702150, 702152, 702159, 702172, 701 45, 701 46, 280735, 356622

An improved infrared occupant detection system that provides accurate and reliable occupant intrusion information at a speed sufficient to timely inhibit or otherwise control deployment of occupant restraints. An array of infrared emitters is selectively activated to emit a predetermined pattern of IR beams in an area between the passenger seat and the point of deployment of the restraint, and the reflected IR energy is detected by a photo-sensitive receiver and analyzed to determine whether an occupant is out of position for deployment of the restraint. In the preferred embodiment, the intensity of the received beam energy and the position of the respective beam are used to construct a table of individual intrusion factors, and a composite intrusion factor based on the individual intrusion factors is categorized by magnitude to form an indication of occupant intrusion level, which in turn, is used to determine whether, or how forcefully, to deploy the restraint in the event of a serious crash.

6828559, Dec 7, 2004

Nov 14, 2002

10/294492

Dennis P. Griffin - Noblesville IN
William W. Fultz - Carmel IN

Delphi Technologies, Inc - Troy MI

G01B 703

250349, 356446

A sensor including at least two active areas for receiving light energy and a resistive layer disposed on each of the at least two active areas for providing a pair of current signals corresponding to a position of light energy of a predetermined wavelength striking the active area. The two or more active areas are electrically isolated from each other and operate independent of each other. Preferably, the two or more active areas are electrically isolated with silicon dioxide.

6927678, Aug 9, 2005

Aug 18, 2003

10/643044

William W. Fultz - Carmel IN, US
Dennis P. Griffin - Noblesville IN, US
Mark A. Koors - Kokomo IN, US

Delphi Technologies, Inc. - Troy MI

B60Q001/00

340438, 340667, 3405454, 701 45, 280734

A fluid-filled seat bladder assembly includes multiple capacitive sensing elements for detecting variation in bladder deformation due to occupant weight. The bladder is defined by upper and lower elastomeric sheets that are peripherally sealed by welding, and the capacitive sensors are defined by metalized films adjoining the upper and lower elastomeric sheets. The bladder fluid separating the upper and lower metalized films acts as a dielectric material, and the capacitance or electric field coupling of each sensor increases when the separation between the respective upper and lower films decreases due occupant seat weight. The cumulative change in capacitance or electric field coupling reflects the total seated weight, and the individual capacitance or electric field coupling changes provide a profile of the pressure distribution across the seat for improved occupant classification. The metalized films may be located exterior of the bladder, or may be are formed on interior surfaces of the upper and lower elastomeric bladder sheets.

6932769, Aug 23, 2005

May 28, 2003

10/447306

Dennis P. Griffin - Noblesville IN, US
William W. Fultz - Carmel IN, US

Delphi Technologies, Inc. - Troy MI

A61B008/00

600437, 701 47

An ultrasonic occupant detection and classification system transmits an ultrasonic signal and receives a composite signal containing interference created between the transmitted ultrasonic signal and a reflection of that signal from a moving occupant. A signal component of the received, composite signal is extracted by amplitude demodulation and bandpass filtered to derive a frequency characteristic that is compared to stored frequency data; and the derived and stored data are compared to identify frequencies characteristic of respiration and/or other movements characteristic of living beings.

6999301, Feb 14, 2006

Feb 8, 2005

11/053522

Henry M. Sanftleben - Carmel IN, US
William W. Fultz - Carmel IN, US
Eric M Berg - Russiaville IN, US
Morgan D. Murphy - Kokomo IN, US
Dennis P. Griffin - Noblesville IN, US

Delphi Technologies, Inc. - Troy MI

H01G 4/20

361312, 361311, 361313, 73718, 340438

A capacitive load cell apparatus includes upper and lower capacitor plates and an intermediate dielectric in the form of a synthetic knit spacer material having upper and lower fabric layers interconnected by an array of deflectable synthetic fibers. When occupant weight is applied to the seat, the synthetic fibers deflect to locally reduce the separation between the upper and lower capacitor plates, and the consequent change in capacitance is detected as a measure of the applied weight. The load cell or just the dielectric may be encased in a polymeric sheath to prevent intrusion of foreign matter, and a fluid such as silicone may be dispersed in woven dielectric.

7106206, Sep 12, 2006

Jun 6, 2005

11/145707

Phillip B. Sprecher - Noblesville IN, US
William W. Fultz - Carmel IN, US

Delphi Technologies, Inc. - Troy MI

G08B 21/00

340667, 3405454, 340562, 200 85 A

A capacitive occupant sensor for a seat has a dielectric in the form of a fluid-filled elastomeric bladder, and the sensor includes a primary region that is subjected to occupant force and a secondary region that is shielded from occupant force. The secondary region includes an appendage of the bladder that is disposed beneath a back cushion of the seat, either in a cavity of the seat cushion or below a frame element that supports the seat cushion. A spring clamp normally biases fluid out of the appendage, but occupant-related force applied over a broad area of the seat produces a flow of bladder fluid into the appendage against the bias force of the spring clamp. A pair of auxiliary conductor plates is oppositely disposed about the bladder appendage, and the capacitance between the auxiliary conductor plates is measured as an indication of fluid pressure in the bladder.

7190277, Mar 13, 2007

Jan 27, 2005

11/044802

William W. Fultz - Carmel IN, US
Morgan D. Murphy - Kokomo IN, US

Delphi Technologies, Inc. - Troy MI

G08B 21/00
B60R 22/00

340667, 701 45

An occupant presence detection apparatus detects a change in capacitance between upper and lower conductor plates disposed on or near upper and lower surfaces of a fluid-filled elastomeric seat bladder, and a semi-rigid mat disposed between the seat cushion and the bladder includes a peripheral cavity at least partially surrounding the upper conductor plate. When occupant weight applied to the seat cushion is transmitted to the bladder, it distends into the peripheral cavity of the semi-rigid mat, producing a significant reduction in the separation between the upper and lower conductor plates, and a corresponding significant increase in the detected capacitance. Once the bladder has fully distended into the cavity, additional loading due to increased occupant weight produces only a minimal further increase of the measured capacitance.

7194346, Mar 20, 2007

Aug 12, 2003

10/639793

Dennis P. Griffin - Noblesville IN, US
William W. Fultz - Carmel IN, US

Delphi Technologies, Inc. - Troy MI

G06F 17/00

701 45

A universal, compartment-wide system identifies the presence and position of occupants of a multi-place vehicle by utilizing the occupants to conduct and radiate place-specific radio frequency signals that are received at various locations in the passenger compartment. The place-specific radio frequency signals are developed by low power transmitters disposed in the various seat/place locations, and a receiver disposed at a central location that is remote from the transmitters receives and decodes the signals radiated by the occupants to determine the number and location of the occupants. Additional receivers may be installed in specified regions to detect occupant intrusion into such regions, and in various control panels to assess driver distraction and to tailor the functional content and capability depending on whether a driver or non-driver is interacting with the control panel.