Sensor assembly for measuring weight applied to a vehicle seat
First Claim
1. A system for measuring a weight on a vehicle seat comprising:
- a seat having a seat bottom;
a seat element for mounting said seat to a vehicle structure;
a seat support member for supporting said seat bottom relative to said seat element;
a sensor assembly mounted between said seat element and said seat support member and having a bending beam with a central body portion for supporting at least one strain gage for measuring strain resulting from a weight force applied to said seat bottom, said central body portion having a narrowing neck section to concentrate strain in said central body portion.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Weight sensor assemblies for measuring weight on a vehicle seat are mounted at the connecting points between a seat bottom frame and a seat mounting member. The weight sensor assemblies each include a beam member having a bendable center body portion for supporting a stain gage. The strain gage and associated traces are screen printed on the surface of the beam. The beam acts similar to a dual constrained cantilever beam, concentrating the bending at a reduced neck section that narrows in the middle of the center body portion. The strain gage measures strain resulting from bending in the center body portion caused by a weight force being applied against the seat.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A system for measuring a weight on a vehicle seat comprising:
-
a seat having a seat bottom;
a seat element for mounting said seat to a vehicle structure;
a seat support member for supporting said seat bottom relative to said seat element;
a sensor assembly mounted between said seat element and said seat support member and having a bending beam with a central body portion for supporting at least one strain gage for measuring strain resulting from a weight force applied to said seat bottom, said central body portion having a narrowing neck section to concentrate strain in said central body portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A weight sensor assembly for measuring a weight on a vehicle seat comprising:
-
a bending beam having a first connection portion engageable with an upper seat structure and a second connection portion engageable with a lower seat structure;
a bendable central body portion extending between said first and second connection portions and having a narrowing neck portion to concentrate strain in said central body portion; and
a strain gage assembly mounted on said neck portion for measuring the strain at said central body portion resulting from a weight force being exerted against the upper seat structure. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
15. A system for measuring a weight on a vehicle seat comprising:
-
a seat assembly having a seat bottom;
a seat element for mounting said seat assembly to a vehicle structure;
a seat support member for supporting said seat bottom relative to said seat element;
a plurality of weight sensor assemblies each including a beam member having a first portion mounted to said seat support member, a second portion mounted to said seat element, a deflectable central body portion extending between said first and second portions, said central body portion including a narrowing neck portion to concentrate strain in said central body portion, and a strain gage assembly mounted on said beam at said neck portion for measuring the strain at said central body portion resulting from a weight force being applied to said seat bottom and wherein each of said weight sensor assemblies generates a weight signal in response to measuring the stain at said neck portion;
a processing unit for receiving said weight signals and determining the weight on said seat assembly; and
at least one safety device control module in communication with said processing unit wherein deployment of at least one safety device is controlled by said safety device control module based on the weight applied to said seat assembly.
-
Specification