Vehicle seat with integrated sensors

Abstract

A vehicle seat in accordance with the present disclosure includes a seat bottom and a seat back. The seat back is coupled to the seat bottom and arranged to extend in an upward direction away from the seat bottom. The vehicle seat further includes an electronics system.

1 . A vehicle seat sensor system for detecting and processing physiological parameters, comprising
 a vehicle seat, configured to accommodate an occupant,   at least one oxymetry sensor integrated into a first portion of said seat, wherein the oxymetry sensor is configured to switch between, or select from, multiple wavelengths of light for transmission to an occupant area above a surface of the vehicle seat, and   a control system operatively coupled to the oxymetry sensor, wherein the control system processes signals produced by the at least one oxymetry sensor to determine a level of oxygen saturation for the occupant.   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 1 , wherein the level of oxygen saturation is processed to determine at least one of a pulse transit time, blood pressure, respiration, respiration rate and respiration depth of the occupant. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 2 , wherein the oxymetry sensor comprises
 a photodetector stage configured to detect reflected amounts of light from the occupant,   a processing stage, operatively coupled to the photodetector stage, for processing signals detected by the photodetector stage, wherein at least a portion of the processed signals are used to switch or select one or more of the multiple wavelengths of light for transmission, and   a light emission stage, operatively coupled to the processing stage, configured to emit light for transmission to the occupant area.   
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 4 , wherein the light emission stage comprises at least one LED bank operable in the 850 nm to 950 nm light range. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 5 , wherein the light emission stage further comprises at least one LED bank operable in the 600 nm to 1100 nm light range. 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor integrated into a second portion of said seat, wherein the ECG sensor is operatively coupled to the control system. 
     
     
         9 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 8 , wherein the control system processes signals produced by the ECG sensor to determine at least one of a heart rate, heart rate variability, stress level, a pulse-transit time and blood pressure of the occupant. 
     
     
         10 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 9 , wherein the control system is configured to determine heart beats via threshold and peak detection of the signals produced by the ECG sensor. 
     
     
         11 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 10 , wherein the control system is configured to determine the reliability of signals produced by the ECG sensor by performing at least one of
 peak analysis to the outputs,   root mean square of outputs to determine stronger signals, and   signal to noise ratio analysis on the outputs to determine more reliable signals.   
     
     
         12 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 8 , wherein the control system is configured to determine heart-rate variability by transforming signals produced by the ECG sensor to form a heart rate variability spectrum and determining a ratio of high frequencies to lower frequencies in the spectrum. 
     
     
         13 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 12 , wherein the ratio of high frequencies to lower frequencies is expressed by 
       
         
           
             
               
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         14 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 13 , wherein the control system is configured to determine a stress level based on a second ratio of high frequencies to lower frequencies in the spectrum. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 14 , wherein the second ratio of high frequencies to lower frequencies is expressed by 
       
         
           
             
               
                 
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         16 . The vehicle seat sensor system according to  claim 15 , wherein the control system is configured to combine the signals produced by the ECG sensor and oximetry sensor to determine a pulse-transit time and blood pressure. 
     
     
         17 . A method for detecting and processing physiological parameters from a vehicle seat sensor system, said method comprising the steps of
 configuring at least one oxymetry sensor, integrated into a first portion of a vehicle seat to switch between, or select from, multiple wavelengths of light for transmission to an occupant area above a surface of the vehicle seat,   receiving signals from said at least one oxymetry sensor, and   detecting a level of oxygen saturation in a control system for the occupant in the vehicle seat based on the received signals.   
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising the step of processing the detected levels of oxygen saturation in a control system to determine at least one of a pulse transit time, blood pressure, respiration, respiration rate and respiration depth of the occupant. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 18 , further comprising the steps of
 configuring at least one electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor integrated into a second portion of said vehicle seat to receive electrical signals from said occupant and   receiving signals from said at least one ECG sensor.   
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 19 , further comprising the steps of processing the received signals from the ECG sensor in a control system to determine at least one of a heart rate, heart rate variability, stress level, a pulse-transit time and blood pressure of the occupant. 
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . A vehicle seat comprises
 a seat bottom,   a seat back coupled to the seat bottom and arranged to extend in an upward direction away from the seat bottom, and   an electronics system configured to provide means for sensing a physiological attribute of an occupant sitting on the vehicle seat through clothing worn by the occupant so that a predetermined action may be taken in response to the physiological attribute detected by the electronics system.   
     
     
         23 . The vehicle seat of  claim 22 , wherein the electronics system includes an electrocardiogram (ECG) system coupled to the vehicle seat to sense electrical signals in the occupant through the occupant's clothing and covert the electrical signals to a heart rate of the occupant. 
     
     
         24 . The vehicle seat of  claim 23 , wherein the ECG system is coupled to the seat back and configured to sense electrical signals through a torso included in the occupant. 
     
     
         25 . The vehicle seat of  claim 23 , wherein the electronics system further includes an oximetry system coupled to the vehicle seat to sense oxygen in the occupant's blood through the occupant's clothing and convert the sensed oxygen content into a respiration rate. 
     
     
         26 . The vehicles seat of  claim 25 , wherein the oximetry system is coupled to the seat bottom and configured to sense oxygen in the occupant's blood through legs included in the occupant.