Vehicle occupant detection apparatus providing status information concerning occupant of vehicle seat

• US 20040068357A1
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kiribayashi, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,039,503 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0152 using strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01532 using electric or capacitive field sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/33 Arrangements for non-electric triggering of inflation electrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements B60R21/01

Abstract

A vehicle occupant detection apparatus having a plurality of load sensors located to produce analog signals indicative of the presence/absence of a seat occupant and the type of seat occupant (adult or child), in which the analog signals are supplied to an occupant detection ECU to be converted to digital form and judged, and in which the occupant detection ECU and load sensors are powered by the same power supply, so that the accuracy of A/D conversion is unaffected by variations in supply voltage, and moreover only a single stream of encoded digital data, conveying seat status information, is supplied to an air bag control apparatus.

Claims

1. A vehicle occupant detection apparatus comprising a control apparatus, and at least one load sensor for generating load data concerning a vehicle seat, said control apparatus comprising

a processing section for judging vehicle occupant status based upon said load data,

a power supply section for supplying electrical power to said processing section, and

a communication section for transmitting results of said judgement of vehicle occupant status by said processing section to a vehicle occupant protection apparatus;

wherein said load sensor is supplied with electrical power from said power supply section of said control apparatus.

2. A vehicle occupant detection apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said load sensor produces said load data in the form of an analog voltage signal, and said control apparatus comprises analog-to-digital converter means for converting said analog voltage signal to digital data.

3. A vehicle occupant detection apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing section of said control apparatus performs encoding of said results of said judgement of vehicle occupant status, and wherein resultant encoded data are transmitted by said communication section to said vehicle occupant protection apparatus.