Printed Strain Gauge for Vehicle Seats
First Claim
1. An apparatus for detecting both a weight and a position of an object in a vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
- a seat member providing structural support of at least a portion of the vehicle seat, said seat member being subject to stress and strain when the object is on the vehicle seat;
an insulated coating on a selected area of said seat member; and
a plurality of strain gauges affixed to said insulated coating on said seat member, each of said plurality of strain gauges being positioned in a location on said selected area of said seat member subject to said strain, each of said plurality of strain gauges including four traces of a thin-film conductive material in contact with said insulated coating, each of said four traces having a selected resistance, each of said four traces interconnected to form a Wheatstone bridge circuit, each of said plurality of strain gauges including a plurality of pads for making electrical connection to said strain gauge;
whereby each of said plurality of strain gauges is sensitive to a strain in said seat member proximate said strain gauge, and whereby said plurality of strain gauges cooperate to indicate both a weight and a position of the object on the vehicle seat.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for a printed strain gauge affixed to a structural member of a seat for detecting and measuring the weight and position of an occupant or object on the seat. In various embodiments, a strain gauge is printed directly on a member of the seat that is subject to a bending force or other stress when an object is placed in the seat. The strain gauge includes at least one resister of thin-film conductive material printed on a stress bearing member. In one embodiment, the strain gauge is a resistor sensitive to the stress of said member. In another embodiment, the strain gauge is a group of resistors forming a Wheatstone bridge sensitive to the stress.
-
Citations
36 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for detecting both a weight and a position of an object in a vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
-
a seat member providing structural support of at least a portion of the vehicle seat, said seat member being subject to stress and strain when the object is on the vehicle seat;
an insulated coating on a selected area of said seat member; and
a plurality of strain gauges affixed to said insulated coating on said seat member, each of said plurality of strain gauges being positioned in a location on said selected area of said seat member subject to said strain, each of said plurality of strain gauges including four traces of a thin-film conductive material in contact with said insulated coating, each of said four traces having a selected resistance, each of said four traces interconnected to form a Wheatstone bridge circuit, each of said plurality of strain gauges including a plurality of pads for making electrical connection to said strain gauge;
whereby each of said plurality of strain gauges is sensitive to a strain in said seat member proximate said strain gauge, and whereby said plurality of strain gauges cooperate to indicate both a weight and a position of the object on the vehicle seat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. An apparatus for detecting a weight and a position of an object in a vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
-
a member subject to stress and strain when the object is on the vehicle seat;
a first strain gauge affixed to said member, said first strain gauge being reactive to said strain of said member, said first strain gauge including at least one trace of a thin-film conductive material applied directly to said member, each of said at least one trace having a selected resistance, said first strain gauge including a plurality of pads for making electrical connection to said strain gauge; and
a second strain gauge electrically connected to said first strain gauge by at least one printed trace having a low resistance;
whereby said first and second strain gauges cooperate to detect said strain of said member, thereby sensing the weight of the object on the vehicle seat. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. An apparatus for detecting a weight and a position of an object in a vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
-
a member subject to stress and strain when the object is on the vehicle seat; and
a plurality of circuit means for directly measuring said strain on said member;
whereby said plurality of circuit means cooperate to indicate a weight and a position of the object.
-
-
25. An apparatus for detecting a weight and position of an object in a vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
-
a member subject to stress and strain when the object is on the vehicle seat; and
a plurality of strain gauges affixed to said member, each said strain gauge being reactive to said strain of said member, each said strain gauge including four traces of a thin-film conductive material applied to said member, each of said four traces having a selected resistance, each of said four traces interconnected to form a Wheatstone bridge circuit, each said strain gauge including a plurality of pads for making electrical connection to said strain gauge;
whereby each said strain gauge detects said strain of said member, thereby sensing the weight of the object on the vehicle seat, and whereby said plurality of strain gauges cooperate to indicate both a weight and a position of the object on the vehicle seat. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
-
-
34. An apparatus for detecting a weight and position of an object in a vehicle seat, said apparatus comprising:
-
a member subject to stress and strain when the object is on the vehicle seat, said member being a seat pan; and
a first strain gauge, a second strain gauge and a third strain gauge, each of said first, second, and third strain gauges being affixed to said member substantially along an axis oriented front to rear of the vehicle seat and being insulated from said member, each of said first, second, and third strain gauges each being subject to said stress of said member;
whereby said first, second, and third strain gauge cooperate to detect said stress of said member, thereby sensing the weight of the object on the vehicle seat, and whereby said first, second, and third strain gauges provide information in which a position of the object on the vehicle seat is determined. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36)
-
Specification