Occupant condition determining apparatus

U.S. Patent Number: 5384716

Abstract: The apparatus of the present invention for determining existential conditions of objects on a certain detecting region, includes: a temperature distribution detecting section for obtaining a thermal image including a plurality of elements each having temperature data by detecting the temperature distribution on the detecting region; an element classifying section for classifying the plurality of elements in the thermal image into at least two groups, all elements belonging to one of the groups being in a certain temperature range, the temperature range of the one group being distinct from a temperature range of another one of the groups; a group selecting section for selecting at least one group of a relatively higher temperature range in the thermal image from the at least two groups; an element selecting section for selecting, among elements included in the selected group, elements having temperature data indicative of local temperature peaks in the thermal image; and an output section for outputting the number of the selected elements by the element selecting means as the number of objects on the detecting region.

Inventors: Araki; Shoichi (Osaka, JP), Nomura; Hiroyoshi (Shijonawate, JP), Wakami; Noboru (Hirakata, JP), Imanaka; Takeshi (Katano, JP)

Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Osaka, JP)

Application Number: 08/125,423

Issued: 1995-01-24

Expired: 2007-01-24

Classes: 702/134 ; 374/112; 702/131

Field of search: 364/557 165/11.1 236/47 340/567 374/112

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