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Method and arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle including at least one sensor for obtaining data from the passenger compartment. Information about the occupancy is generated based on the data and transmitted, e.g., through a cell

Method and arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle including at least one sensor for obtaining data from the passenger compartment. Information about the occupancy is generated based on the data and transmitted, e.g., through a cellular phone system, to emergency response personnel to enable them to respond accordingly. The information about the occupancy may be generated by a processor applying pattern recognition techniques so that any occupants of the seat may be classified and such classification transmitted to the emergency response personnel. The data may also be used to determine the number of occupants in the vehicle and/or whether the occupants are moving after a crash. The sensors may be a variety of sensors such as an ultrasonic sensor, an electromagnetic wave sensor, an electric field sensor, a chemical sensor, a weight sensor, a motion sensor, a microphone, a heartbeat sensor, a vibration sensor, an acceleration sensor and a capacitance sensor.

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1. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising:at least one sensor for obtaining data on occupying items in the passenger compartment; generating means coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about

1. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising:at least one sensor for obtaining data on occupying items in the passenger compartment; generating means coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor; communications means coupled to said generating means and arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means to be transmitted to the remote facility; and at least one memory unit coupled to said generating means for storing the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment, said communications means being coupled to said at least one memory unit and interrogating said at least one memory unit upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. 2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors each selected from a group consisting of an ultrasonic sensor, an electromagnetic wave sensor, an electric field sensor, a chemical sensor, a weight sensor, a motion sensor, a microphone, a heartbeat sensor, a vibration sensor, an acceleration sensor and a capacitance sensor.3. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor is capable of receiving waves, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment such that said at least one sensor receives waves transmitted from said transmitter and modified by passing into and at least partially through the passenger compartment.4. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor generates a signal representative of the data obtained thereby, said generating means comprising a processor for receiving and analyzing the signal from said at least one sensor in order to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment.5. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said generating means are structured and arranged such that the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means includes the number of occupants in the passenger compartment.6. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor is a micropower impulse radar sensor adapted to detect motion of an occupant whereby the motion of the occupant or absence of motion of the occupant is indicative of whether the occupant is breathing, the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means being an indication of whether the occupant is breathing.7. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor is a wave-receiving sensor arranged to generate a signal representative of waves received thereby, said generating means being structured and arranged to receive the signal representative of the waves received by said wave-receiving sensor over time and determine whether any occupants in the passenger compartment are moving such that the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means includes the number of moving and non-moving occupants in the passenger compartment.8. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising:at least one sensor for obtaining data on occupying items in the passenger compartment; generating means coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor; communications means coupled to said generating means and arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means to be transmitted to the remote facility; and means for determining the health state of any occupants, said communications means being coupled to said health state determining means and interrogating said health state determining means upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain and transmit the health state of the occupants. 9. The arrangement of claim 8, wherein said health state determining means comprise a heartbeat sensor.10. The arrangement of claim 8, wherein said health state determining means comprise means for detecting motion of the occupants.11. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein said means for detecting motion of the occupants comprises a micropower impulse radar sensor.12. The arrangement of claim 10, wherein said means for detecting motion of the occupants comprises an arrangement for detecting changes in the weight distribution of the occupants.13. The arrangement of claim 8, wherein said health state determining means comprise a motion sensor for determining whether the occupants are breathing.14. The arrangement of claim 8, wherein said health state determining means comprise a chemical sensor for analyzing the amount of carbon dioxide in the passenger compartment or around the occupants.15. The arrangement of claim 8, wherein said health state determining means comprise a chemical sensor for detecting the presence of blood in the passenger compartment.16. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising:at least one sensor for obtaining data on occupying items in the passenger compartment, said at least one sensor generating a signal representative of the data obtained thereby; generating means coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor, said generating means comprising a processor for receiving and analyzing the signal from said at least one sensor in order to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment; and communications means coupled to said generating means and arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means to be transmitted to the remote facility, said processor comprising pattern recognition means adapted to classify an occupant of the seat and the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment includes the classification of the occupant obtained by said pattern recognition means. 17. The arrangement of claim 16, wherein said pattern recognition means comprise a trained neural network trained to output the classification of the occupant upon receiving as input the signal from said at least one sensor.18. A method for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:obtaining data about occupying items in the passenger compartment, generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the obtained data, establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility, storing the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment in at least one memory unit, and interrogating the at least one memory unit upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of obtaining data about occupying items comprises the step of arranging at least one wave-receiving sensor in the vehicle whereby the waves received by the at least one wave-receiving sensor provide data on the occupying items.20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of:transmitting waves into the passenger compartment whereby the transmitted waves are modified by passing into and at least partially through the passenger compartment and then received by the at least one wave-receiving sensor. 21. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:generating a signal representative of the obtained data, and providing a processor for receiving the signal representative of the data and analyzing the signal representative of the data in order to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. 22. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:determining from the obtained data the number of occupants in the passenger compartment, and incorporating the number of occupants into the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. 23. A method for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:obtaining data about occupying items in the passenger compartment, generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the obtained data, establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility, generating a signal representative of the obtained data, and providing a processor for receiving the signal representative of the data and analyzing the signal representative of the data in order to generate the information about the state of health of at least one occupant of the passenger compartment. 24. A method for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:obtaining data about occupying items in the passenger compartment, generating a signal representative of the obtained data, generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the obtained data by providing a processor for receiving the signal representative of the data and analyzing the signal representative of the data in order to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment, the step of analyzing the signal representative of the data comprising the step of applying a pattern recognition technique to recognize and identify any occupants of the passenger compartment, incorporating the identification of the occupants of the passenger compartment into the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment, and establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the pattern recognition technique is a trained neural network trained to output an identification of the occupants upon receiving as input the signal representative of the data.26. A method for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:obtaining data about occupying items in the passenger compartment, generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the obtained data, establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility, determining whether any occupants in the passenger compartment are moving after a crash, and incorporating an indication of the number of moving and non-moving occupants in the passenger compartment in the information about occupancy of the passenger compartment. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of determining whether any occupants in the passenger compartment are moving after the crash comprises the step of monitoring the weight distribution of the occupants.28. A method for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:obtaining data about occupying items in the passenger compartment, generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the obtained data, establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility, the step of obtaining data comprising the step of arranging at least one wave-receiving sensor to receive waves from a plurality of seat locations in the passenger compartment. 29. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprisingat least one sensor for obtaining data from the passenger compartment, a processor coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor, a communications unit coupled to said processor arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility, and at least one memory unit coupled to or incorporated with said processor for storing the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment, said communications unit being coupled to said at least one memory unit and interrogating said at least one memory unit upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. 30. The arrangement of claim 29, wherein said at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors each selected from a group consisting of an ultrasonic sensor, an electromagnetic wave sensor, an electric field sensor, a chemical sensor, a weight sensor, a motion sensor, a microphone, a heartbeat sensor, a vibration sensor, an acceleration sensor and a capacitance sensor.31. The arrangement of claim 30, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment such that said at least one sensor receives waves transmitted from said transmitter and modified by passing into and at least partially through the passenger compartment.32. The arrangement of claim 29, wherein said at least one sensor generates a signal representative of the data obtained thereby, said processor receiving and analyzing the signal from said at least one sensor in order to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment.33. The arrangement of claim 29, wherein said processor is structured and arranged such that the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said processor includes the number of occupants in the passenger compartment.34. The arrangement of claim 29, wherein said at least one sensor is a wave-receiving sensor arranged to generate a signal representative of the waves received thereby, said processor being structured and arranged to receive the signal representative of the waves received by said at least one wave-receiving sensor over time and determine whether any parts of any occupants in the passenger compartment are moving such that the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said processor includes the number of moving and non-moving occupants in the passenger compartment.35. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprisingat least one sensor for obtaining data from the passenger compartment, a processor coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor, and a communications unit coupled to said processor arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility, said at least one sensor being a sensor adapted to receive waves providing information about the health state of the at least one occupant such that said communications unit upon a crash of the vehicle transmits information about the state of health of the at least one occupant. 36. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprisingat least one sensor for obtaining data from the passenger compartment, said at least one sensor generating a signal representative of the data obtained thereby, a processor coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor, said processor receiving and analyzing the signal from said at least one sensor in order to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment, and a communications unit coupled to said processor arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility, said processor comprising pattern recognition means adapted to classify any occupants of the seat and the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment includes the classification of the occupants obtained by said pattern recognition means. 37. The arrangement of claim 36, wherein said pattern recognition means comprise a trained neural network trained to output the classification of the occupants upon receiving as input the signal representative of the data obtained by said at least one sensor.38. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising:at least one sensor for obtaining data on occupying items in the passenger compartment; generating means coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor; and communications means coupled to said generating means and arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means to be transmitted to the remote facility, said at least one sensor being a micropower impulse radar sensor adapted to detect motion of an occupant whereby the motion of the occupant or absence of motion of the occupant is indicative of whether the occupant is breathing, the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means being an indication of whether the occupant is breathing. 39. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising:at least one sensor for obtaining data on occupying items in the passenger compartment, said at least one sensor is a wave-receiving sensor arranged to generate a signal representative of waves received thereby; generating means coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor, said generating means being structured and arranged to receive the signal representative of the waves received by said wave-receiving sensor over time and determine whether any occupants in the passenger compartment are moving such that the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means includes the number of moving and non-moving occupants in the passenger compartment; and communications means coupled to said generating means and arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said generating means to be transmitted to the remote facility. 40. An arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprisingat least one sensor for obtaining data from the passenger compartment, said at least one sensor being a wave-receiving sensor arranged to generate a signal representative of the waves received thereby; a processor coupled to said at least one sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the data obtained by said at least one sensor, said processor being structured and arranged to receive the signal representative of the waves received by said at least one wave-receiving sensor over time and determine whether any parts of any occupants in the passenger compartment are moving such that the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by said processor includes the number of moving and non-moving occupants in the passenger compartment; and a communications unit coupled to said processor arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment to be transmitted to the remote facility.