Vehicle seat

• US 10,029,585 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2015
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Faurecia Automotive Seating, LLC (Forvia SE)
• Original Assignee: Faurecia Interieur Industrie (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Frye, Dale J., Bonk, Jeffery T., Moulton, Timothy L., Judson, Jared A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Tyler J
• Application Number:
  US15/127,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20170166089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 701 49
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0025 by using weight measurement
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/003 characterised by the sensor mounting location in or on the seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/02246 Electric motors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/02253 characterised by the transmission between the electric motor and the seat or seat parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0228 Hand-activated mechanical switches B60N2/0229 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0239 using movement detection or gesture recognition
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0244 with logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0248 with memory of positions
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0252 with relations between different adjustments, e.g. height of headrest following longitudinal position of seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0256 Arrangements for facilitating the occupant to get in or out of the vehicle, e.g. stowing a seat forward
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0268 using sensors or detectors for adapting the seat or seat part, e.g. to the position of an occupant
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0296 Central command actuator to selectively switch on or engage one of several special purpose circuits or mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/067 by linear actuators, e.g. linear screw mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/08 characterised by the locking device
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/123 and provided with memory locks
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/16 height-adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42 the seat constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats for protecting children B60N2/26; arm-rests B60N2/75; head-rests B60N2/888
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/24 Cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/40 Force or pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2220/10 : using a database
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2220/20 : using a deterministic algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/10 : Wired data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/20 : Wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/30 : Signal processing of sensor data

Abstract

A vehicle seat includes a seat bottom adapted to slide along a floor, a seat back coupled to the seat bottom, and powered means for rearranging the vehicle seat by sliding the seat bottom along the floor and/or pivoting the seat back relative to the seat bottom.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat comprising

a seat bottom adapted to be bracketed to a floor to slide along the floor,

a seat back coupled to the seat bottom, and

a seat motion system including a slide mover configured to move the seat bottom relative to the floor, a sensor unit, and a controller coupled to the slide mover and to the sensor unit, the controller configured to activate the slide mover in response to inputs received from the sensor unit, and the seat motion system configured to drive movement of the seat bottom relative to the floor in a direction of movement in response to a user applying a force in the direction of movement onto the seat back or onto the seat bottom.

2. The vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to receive signals indicative of forces applied to front and back sides of the seat back from the sensor unit and is configured to activate the slide mover in response.

3. The vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to receive signals indicative of forces applied to the seat bottom and indicative of a passenger seated in the vehicle seat and is further configured to activate the slide mover in response.

4. The vehicle seat of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to receive a signal associated with non-engagement of a vehicle drive and the controller is further configured to activate the slide mover in response to receipt of signals indicative of forces applied to the seat bottom only after receipt of the signal associated with non-engagement of a vehicle drive.

5. The vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to receive signals indicative of forces applied to front and back sides of the seat back from the sensor unit, the controller is configured to receive signals indicative of forces applied to the seat bottom, and is configured to activate the slide mover in response to the signals received.

6. The vehicle seat of claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to multiply the signals by different coefficients to apply gain to the signals, the coefficients depending on (i) whether the vehicle seat is pushed forward or pulled backward, (ii) whether the force signals are associated with a force applied to the seat bottom or the seat back, or (iii) the location of the vehicle seat relative to the floor and the controller is configured to operate the slide mover based on the signals after gain is applied.

7. The vehicle seat of claim 4, wherein the powered means for moving the vehicle seat includes an enablement unit coupled to the controller, the controller is configured to receive a user input associated with release of the vehicle seat to slide along the floor from the enablement unit, and the controller is further configured to activate the slide mover in response to receipt of signals indicative of forces applied to the seat bottom only after receipt of the user input associated with release of the vehicle seat.

8. The vehicle seat of claim 7, wherein the seat bottom and the seat back are free of electronic user input buttons, switches, and levers associated with movement of the seat bottom along the floor.

26. The vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the seat motion system is configured to drive movement of the seat bottom relative to the floor in a forward direction in response to the user applying the force onto the seat back or the seat bottom in the forward direction and the seat motion system is configured to drive movement of the seat bottom relative to the floor in a rearward direction in response to the user applying the force onto the seat back or the seat bottom in the rearward direction.

9. An in-vehicle system for adjusting a vehicle seat in response to a gesture applied by a user to the vehicle seat, the in-vehicle seat comprising

a sensor configured to detect pressure applied by the user to the vehicle seat and to generate a signal reflecting the pressure applied by the user to the vehicle seat,

means for determining a gesture intended by the user based on characteristics of the generated signal and for mapping the gesture to a corresponding vehicle seat adjustment,

wherein a single-tap gesture applied to a rear surface of the vehicle seat corresponds to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves the vehicle seat longitudinally forward by a fixed distance,

a single-tap gesture applied to a front surface of the vehicle seat corresponds to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves the vehicle seat longitudinally backward by a fixed distance,

a double-tap gesture applied to a rear surface of the vehicle seat corresponds to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves the vehicle seat to a full-forward longitudinal position, and

a double-tap gesture applied to a front surface of the vehicle seat corresponds to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves the vehicle seat to a full-back longitudinal position, and

an actuation unit configured to adjust the vehicle seat in accordance with the vehicle seat adjustment.

10. The in-vehicle system of claim 9, further comprising

a detector coupled to the actuation unit to detect an obstruction located within a movement path of the vehicle seat,

wherein the actuation unit is configured to stop actuation of the vehicle seat in response to detecting of the obstruction.

11. The in-vehicle system of claim 9, further comprising

a detector coupled to the actuation unit for detecting a passenger occupying the vehicle seat and

wherein the actuation unit is configured to stop actuation of the vehicle seat in response to a detection of the passenger.

12. A method for adjusting a vehicle seat in response to a gesture applied by a user, the method comprising the steps of

accepting a gesture-based input from a user on any surface proximal to a sensor disposed within the vehicle seat, the sensor configured to receive gesture-based inputs for adjusting a seat bottom and a seat back included in the vehicle seat,

processing a signal reflecting the gesture-based input,

identifying characteristics of the signal that distinguish the gesture-based input applied by the user from other gesture-based inputs,

determining a gesture intended by the user based on the identified characteristics,

mapping the gesture to a corresponding vehicle seat adjustment, and

adjusting at least one of the seat bottom and the seat back included in the vehicle seat in accordance with the vehicle seat adjustment.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the accepting step comprises the step of accepting user-applied pressure proximal to the sensor disposed within the vehicle seat.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the accepting step further comprises the step of accepting at least one of a single-tap, a double-tap, and a press-and-hold gesture.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the accepting step comprises the step of accepting user-drawn gestures on a touch-sensitive surface disposed on the vehicle seat.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of mapping the user-drawn gesture to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves multiple vehicle seats.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the identifying step includes the step of identifying at least one of a number of load spikes in the signal, heights of load spikes in the signal, and widths of load spikes in the signal.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the adjusting step comprises the steps of

adjusting a longitudinal position of the seat bottom of the vehicle seat and

adjusting a rotational position of the seat back of the vehicle seat.

20. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of

detecting an obstruction located in a movement path of the vehicle seat and

stopping actuation of the vehicle seat in response to detecting the obstruction.

21. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of

detecting a passenger occupying the vehicle seat and

stopping actuation of the vehicle seat in response to detecting the passenger.

22. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of mapping the intended gesture to a predetermined arrangement of all vehicle seats of a vehicle.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of enabling the user to program into a computer-readable memory a sequence of gesture types to correspond with the predetermined arrangement.

24. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of

detecting a vehicle status

selecting a mode of operation based on the vehicle status and

determining which vehicle seat adjustment corresponds to the determined gesture based on the mode of operation.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the selecting step includes the step of selecting at least one of a transit mode, a cargo loading mode, and a passenger entry mode.

15. A method for adjusting a vehicle seat in response to a gesture applied by a user, the method comprising the steps of

accepting a gesture-based input from a user,

processing a signal reflecting the gesture-based input,

identifying characteristics of the signal that distinguish the gesture-based input applied by the user from other gesture-based inputs,

determining a gesture intended by the user based on the identified characteristics,

mapping the gesture to a corresponding vehicle seat adjustment, and

adjusting the vehicle seat in accordance with the vehicle seat adjustment,

wherein the accepting step comprises the step of accepting user-applied pressure proximal to sensors disposed within the vehicle seat,

wherein the accepting step further comprises the step of accepting at least one of a single-tap, a double-tap, and a press-and-hold gesture,

wherein the mapping step comprises the steps of

mapping a single-tap applied to a rear surface of the vehicle seat to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves the vehicle seat longitudinally forward by a fixed distance,

mapping a single-tap gesture applied to a front surface of the vehicle seat to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves the vehicle seat longitudinally backward by a fixed distance,

mapping a double-tap gesture applied to a rear surface of the vehicle seat to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves the vehicle seat to a full-forward longitudinal position, and

mapping a double-tap gesture applied to a front surface of the vehicle seat to a vehicle seat adjustment that moves the vehicle seat to a full-back longitudinal position.