VEHICLE SEAT

• US 20150061347A1
• Filed: 04/18/2013
• Published: 03/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Josho Gakuen Educational Foundation, Nihon University Educational Association, TS Tech Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Josho Gakuen Educational Foundation, Nihon University Educational Association, TS Tech Company Limited
• Inventors: Sugiyama, Shinji, Nakano, Toyokazu, Ohsuga, Mieko, Kageyama, Ichiro, Kuriyagawa, Yukiyo, Iida, Shu
• Granted Patent: US 9,877,678 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 297/452.48
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0261 Strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0053 by applying pressure, e.g. compression, indentation, palpation, grasping, gauging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6893 Cars
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7278 Artificial waveform generation or derivation, e.g. synthesising signals from measured signals A61B5/327 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266

Abstract

A respiration signal of a seated person is detected with high accuracy by using a vehicle seat that includes a seat cushion; and a sensor detecting a pressure signal from a load applied from a seated person. The sensor is provided to be along an edge of a contact portion between the seat cushion and buttocks of the seated person. The sensor transmits the detected pressure signal to an arithmetic operation device of the seated person. In a respiration measuring device, the arithmetic operation device computes the detected pressure signal detected by the sensor to obtain a respiration signal of the seated person.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat comprising:

a seat cushion; and

a measuring device comprising;

at least one sensor that is provided in the seat cushion and that detects a pressure signal from a load applied from a seated person; and

an arithmetic operation device that computes the detected pressure signal to obtain a respiration signal of the seated person, the measuring device that measures respiration of the seated person,

wherein;

the sensor is provided to be along an edge of a contact portion at a top portion of the seat cushion in a seated person buttocks region, and has a transmitter that transmits the detected pressure signal to the arithmetic operation device.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the sensor has a detection surface, a lengthwise length of the detection surface being different from a crosswise length, the detection surface being arranged so that a lengthwise direction of the sensor is along the edge.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is provided on a back side of the edge if a vehicle forward direction is a front direction.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein at least two sensors are provided on a front side and a back side, respectively, if a vehicle forward direction is a front direction.

5. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein at least a pair of sensors are arranged to spread to one side in a front-to-back direction if a vehicle forward direction is a front direction.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the sensor has a curved shape.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is provided so that at least a part of the sensor is located backward of a region where a maximum load is applied to the seat cushion from the buttocks in a state in which the seated person is seated.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 4, wherein:

the sensor comprises a first sensor provided on the back side and a second sensor provided on the front side; and

the first sensor is arranged outward of the second sensor in a seat width direction.

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of sensors are provided as the sensor; and

the measuring device measures the respiration of the seated person by selecting data that reflects the respiration from among data detected by the plurality of sensors.