Apparatus for sensing vehicle seat position
First Claim
1. An apparatus for sensing the position of a vehicle seat movable between a forward position and a rearward position, said apparatus comprising:
- a Hall effect device;
a magnet producing a magnetic field that acts on said Hall effect device, said magnetic field having a flux path; and
a member constructed of a ferromagnetic material, said member having a portion positioned adjacent said magnet, said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet having a size that is unique for every different position of the vehicle seat between said forward and rearward positions;
said portion of said member altering the flux path of said magnetic field which varies the portion of said magnetic field acting on said Hall effect device, the degree to which said portion alters said flux path depending on the size of said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet, said Hall effect device providing a signal functionally related to the magnitude of the magnetic field acting on said Hall effect device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (10) for sensing the position of a vehicle seat (12) movable between a forward position and a rearward position includes a Hall effect device (80) and a magnet (82) that produces a magnetic field that acts on the Hall effect device. A member (100) is constructed of a ferromagnetic material and has a portion (110) positioned adjacent the magnet (82). The portion (110) has a size that is unique for every different position of the vehicle seat (12) between the forward and rearward positions. The portion (110) of the member (100) alters the flux path of the magnetic field which varies the portion of the magnetic field acting on the Hall effect device (80) to a degree that depends on the size of the portion. The Hall effect device (80) provides a signal functionally related to the magnitude of the magnetic field acting on the Hall effect device.
-
Citations
15 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for sensing the position of a vehicle seat movable between a forward position and a rearward position, said apparatus comprising:
-
a Hall effect device;
a magnet producing a magnetic field that acts on said Hall effect device, said magnetic field having a flux path; and
a member constructed of a ferromagnetic material, said member having a portion positioned adjacent said magnet, said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet having a size that is unique for every different position of the vehicle seat between said forward and rearward positions;
said portion of said member altering the flux path of said magnetic field which varies the portion of said magnetic field acting on said Hall effect device, the degree to which said portion alters said flux path depending on the size of said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet, said Hall effect device providing a signal functionally related to the magnitude of the magnetic field acting on said Hall effect device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. Apparatus comprising:
-
an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device inflatable between a vehicle occupant and a part of the vehicle;
a controller for actuating said inflatable vehicle occupant protection device based at least in part as a function of a signal indicative of a sensed vehicle seat position; and
a sensor for providing said signal indicative of said sensed vehicle seat position to said controller, said sensor comprising;
a Hall effect device;
a magnet producing a magnetic field that acts on said Hall effect device; and
a member constructed of a ferromagnetic material and having a tapered width, said member being movable with the vehicle seat along a path extending adjacent said magnet, said member having a portion positioned adjacent said magnet that attracts a portion of said magnetic field away from said Hall effect device, said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet having a size that varies depending on the position of the vehicle seat, said portion of said magnetic field attracted by said portion of said member varying in proportion to the size of said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet;
said Hall effect device providing said signal indicative of said sensed vehicle seat position to said controller, said signal being functionally related to the magnitude of the magnetic field acting on said Hall effect device.
-
-
14. An apparatus for sensing the position of a vehicle seat movable between a forward position and a rearward position, said apparatus comprising:
-
a Hall effect device;
a magnet producing a magnetic field that acts on said Hall effect device; and
a tapered member movable with the vehicle seat, said member attracting a portion of said magnetic field away from said Hall effect device, said portion of said magnetic field being proportional to the size of a portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet, said Hall effect device being operative to provide a signal functionally related to the magnitude of the magnetic field acting on said Hall effect device.
-
-
15. An apparatus for sensing the position of a vehicle seat movable between a forward position and a rearward position, said apparatus comprising:
-
a Hall effect device;
a magnet producing a magnetic field that acts on said Hall effect device; and
a tapered member movable with the vehicle seat, said member having a portion positioned adjacent said magnet, said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet having a unique size associated with each vehicle seat position, said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet attracting a portion of said magnetic field away from said Hall effect device, said portion being proportional to the size of said portion of said member positioned adjacent said magnet, said Hall effect device being operative to provide a signal functionally related to the magnitude of the magnetic field acting on said Hall effect device.
-
Specification