Appeal No. 2002-0418
Application No. 08/872,836
1. A stereoscopic object detection system for sensing and
categorizing objects present on a seat of a motor vehicle, the stereoscopic
object detection system comprising:
a camera assembly for producing first and second images of the seat in
which image features are shifted between the first and second images by an
amount corresponding to distances the image features are from the camera
assembly;
an image analyzer coupled to the camera assembly and processing
the first and second images to determine presence of an object on the
seat, and to determine a size of the object in response to a given amount
that the object is shifted between the first and second images; and
an output device coupled to the image analyzer and producing a
signal in an event that the presence of an object on the seat is detected,
wherein the signal indicates the size of the object on the seat.
21. A method for controlling operation of an air bag in an [sic, a] vehicle,
said method comprising step of:
acquiring an image of a passenger area of the vehicle;
processing the image to determine a size of a person in the passenger
area; and
controlling operation of the air bag in response to the size of the person in
the passenger area.
The prior art of record relied upon by the examiner in rejecting the appealed
claims is as follows:
Tsuchiya et al. (Tsuchiya) 5,530,420 Jun. 25, 1996
Breed et al. (Breed) 5,835,613 Nov. 10, 1998
(Filed Jun. 7, 1995)
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