WEIGHT BASED VEHICLE SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION DEVICE WITH COMPENSATION FOR SEAT ORIENTATION ANGLE
First Claim
1. A weight based occupant detection device comprising:
- a weight sensing means installed in a vehicle seat in a manner effective to sense weight on the seating surface, said weight sensing means configured to output a weight signal indicative of an occupant weight of a seat occupant residing on the vehicle seat; and
a seat orientation angle sensing means configured to output an orientation angle signal indicative of a seat orientation angle, wherein the orientation angle signal is used to compensate the weight signal to estimate an occupant weight value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A weight based occupant detection device that includes a weight sensing device installed in a vehicle seat in a manner effective to sense weight on a seating surface. The weight sensing device is configured to output a weight signal indicative of an occupant weight of a seat occupant residing on the vehicle seat. The occupant detection device also includes a seat orientation angle sensing device that is configured to output an orientation angle signal indicative of a seat orientation angle. The occupant detection device may also include an accelerometer for sensing vertical acceleration of the vehicle seat, and a seat backrest angle device for measuring the angle of the seat backrest. The occupant detection device compensates a signal from the weight sensing device for errors caused by seat orientation, seat vertical acceleration and seat backrest angle.
9 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A weight based occupant detection device comprising:
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a weight sensing means installed in a vehicle seat in a manner effective to sense weight on the seating surface, said weight sensing means configured to output a weight signal indicative of an occupant weight of a seat occupant residing on the vehicle seat; and a seat orientation angle sensing means configured to output an orientation angle signal indicative of a seat orientation angle, wherein the orientation angle signal is used to compensate the weight signal to estimate an occupant weight value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A vehicle seat comprising:
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a seat cushion configured to define a seating surface; a weight sensing means installed in the vehicle seat in a manner effective to sense weight on the seating surface, said weight sensing means configured to output a weight signal indicative of an occupant weight of a seat occupant residing on the vehicle seat; and a seat orientation angle sensing means configured to output an orientation angle signal indicative of a seat orientation angle, wherein the orientation angle signal is used to compensate the weight signal to estimate an occupant weight value. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of operating a weight based occupant detection device comprising the steps of:
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receiving an indication of an occupant weight from a weight sensing means installed in a vehicle seat; receiving an indication of a seat orientation angle of the vehicle seat; and estimating an occupant weight of an occupant residing on the vehicle seat based on the indication of occupant weight and the indication of a seat orientation angle. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification