IP Library › Granted Patent US 10,315,620

Granted Patent B1

US 10,315,620 · App. 15/836,678 · Granted Jun 11, 2019

Method, system, and computer program product for detection of securely fastened seat belts

Inventors: Daniele Morgantini (Rome, IT); Stefano Bevini (Maltignano, IT); Giulia Galli (Viareggio, IT); Domenico Biondi (Naples, IT)

Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION

B60R22/48 G06K7/10366 B60R2022/4816

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 10,315,620
App. No.: 15/836,678
Filed: Dec 8, 2017
Granted: Jun 11, 2019
Kind: B1
Examiner: BLOUIN, MARK S
Art Unit: 2687
USPC: 340/10.1

External Links

USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

An electronic tag programmed with an identification in a seat belt assembly is identified by reading the programmed identification via an electronic device embedded in a seat. In response to identifying the electronic tag, a determination is made that an occupant has not fastened a seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat.

Claims (73)

1. A method, comprising:

in response to determining that a tongue of a seat belt assembly of a vehicle has been inserted into a buckle of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle, determining whether a Near-field Communication (NFC) tag installed in a seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a front surface of a backrest of a seat of the vehicle; and

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining that an occupant of the vehicle has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat.

2. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has not been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, determining whether a NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a rear surface of the backrest of the seat; and

determining that the occupant has not fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

3. The method of claim 2 , the method further comprising:

determining that the occupant has fastened the seat belt of the seat belt assembly to secure the occupant in the seat, in response to determining that the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the rear surface of the backrest of the seat.

4. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

5. The method of claim 4 , the method further comprising:

6. A system, comprising:

a Near-field Communication (NFC) tag installed in a seat belt of a seat belt assembly; and

a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a front surface of a backrest of a seat of a vehicle, wherein the system performs operations, the operations comprising:

in response to determining that a tongue of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle has been inserted into a buckle of the seat belt assembly of the vehicle, determining whether the NFC tag installed in the seat belt of the seat belt assembly has been identified by the NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of the front surface of the backrest of the seat of the vehicle; and

7. The system of claim 6 , the operations further comprising:

8. The system of claim 7 , the operations further comprising:

9. The system of claim 6 , the operations further comprising:

10. The system of claim 9 , the operations further comprising:

11. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code configured to perform operations on a processor, the operations comprising:

12. The computer program product of claim 11 , the operations further comprising:

13. The computer program product of claim 12 , the operations further comprising:

14. The computer program product of claim 11 , the operations further comprising:

15. The computer program product of claim 14 , the operations further comprising:

16. A system, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor performs operations, the operations comprising:

17. The system of claim 16 , the operations further comprising:

18. The system of claim 17 , the operations further comprising:

19. The system of claim 16 , the operations further comprising:

20. The system of claim 19 , the operations further comprising:

21. A vehicle, comprising:

a seat;

a seat belt assembly coupled to the seat;

a Near-field Communication (NFC) tag installed in a seat belt of the seat belt assembly; and

a NFC reader embedded within 1 cm of a front surface of a backrest of the seat of a vehicle, wherein a system in the vehicle performs operations, the operations comprising:

22. The vehicle of claim 21 , the operations further comprising:

23. The vehicle of claim 22 , the operations further comprising:

24. The vehicle of claim 21 , the operations further comprising:

25. The vehicle of claim 24 , the operations further comprising:

Assignments (1)

ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 13, 2017

From: BEVINI, STEFANO; BIONDI, DOMENICO; GALLI, GIULIA; MORGANTINI, DANIELE

To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION

Reel/Frame 044390/0726 →

Cited By (1)

US 12,358,451