Seat occupant sensing system
First Claim
1. A seat occupant sensing system comprising:
- (a) a seat pan;
(b) a rigid member disposed vertically above the seat pan in a spaced apart vertically juxtaposed relationship with the seat pan, the rigid member underlying a portion of a seat cushion; and
(c) at least two sensors interposed between the rigid member and the seat pan such that all of the force transferred from the rigid member to the seat pan is transferred via the sensors which sense the magnitude of the force transferred therethrough and send signals to a device which processes the signals to determine the weight that the portion of the seat cushion is bearing.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An occupant weight sensing system has a seat pan which is rigidly mounted to a seat frame which attaches to a vehicle body. A seat cushion on which the occupant sits is positioned over the seat pan. A rigid frame is positioned above the seat pan and receives and supports the weight of the occupant. The rigid frame is supported on four sensors which in turn are mounted on the seat pan. The sensors collectively measure the weight supported by the rigid frame and thus determine the weight of the seat occupant. The sensors used to measure the weight of the seat occupant can be of two basic types. The first type is a load cell which experiences very little displacement and directly measures the imposed load. The second type of sensor employs a spring, the spring constant of which controls the amount of displacement for a given load. A Magnetoresistive Effect (GMR) displacement sensor measures the amount the spring is compressed.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A seat occupant sensing system comprising:
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(a) a seat pan; (b) a rigid member disposed vertically above the seat pan in a spaced apart vertically juxtaposed relationship with the seat pan, the rigid member underlying a portion of a seat cushion; and (c) at least two sensors interposed between the rigid member and the seat pan such that all of the force transferred from the rigid member to the seat pan is transferred via the sensors which sense the magnitude of the force transferred therethrough and send signals to a device which processes the signals to determine the weight that the portion of the seat cushion is bearing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A seat occupant sensing system comprising:
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(a) a seat having a seat support member and a seat pan member fastened to one another; (b) a frame disposed vertically above the seat pan in a spaced apart vertically juxtaposed relationship with the seat pan, the frame underlying a portion of a seat cushion; and (c) at least two sensors interposed between the frame and the seat pan such that all of the force transferred from the frame to the seat pan is transferred via the sensors which sense the magnitude of the force transferred therethrough and send signals to a device which processes the signals to determine the weight that the portion of the seat cushion is bearing. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A seat occupant sensing system comprising:
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(a) a seat having a seat support member and a seat pan member fastened to one another; (b) a frame disposed vertically above the seat pan in a spaced apart vertically juxtaposed relationship with the seat pan, the frame underlying a portion of a seat cushion, the portion of the seat cushion being spaced apart from a rear edge of the seat cushion; and (c) at least two sensors interposed between the frame and the seat pan such that all of the force transferred from the frame to the seat pan is transferred via the sensors which sense the magnitude of the force transferred therethrough and send signals to a device which processes the signals to determine the weight that the portion of the seat cushion is bearing. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A seat occupant sensing system comprising:
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(a) a seat having a seat support member and a seat pan member fastened to one another; (b) a frame disposed vertically above the seat pan in a spaced apart vertically juxtaposed relationship with the seat pan, the frame underlying a portion of a seat cushion, the frame and the seat pan being at least partially retained in the vertically juxtaposed relationship by a tension member; (c) at least two sensors interposed between the frame and the seat pan such that all of the force transferred from the frame to the seat pan is transferred via the sensors which sense the magnitude of the force transferred therethrough and send signals to a device which processes the signals to determine the weight that the portion of the seat cushion is bearing; and (d) a controller which processes a signal from the weight determining device to control the activation of at least one safety device for an occupant of the seat based upon the weight. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 40)
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35. A kit for retrofitting a vehicle seat with a seat occupant sensor system comprising:
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a frame having a plurality of sensors mounted thereon in locations which correspond to a vertically uppermost surface of a vehicle seat pan; and a device which processes signals from the sensors to determine the weight that is located above and resting upon the frame.
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36. A seat occupant weight measuring system and air bag deployment logic comprising:
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a car seat; a rigid member incorporated in the seat and positioned to support the weight of an occupant of the car seat; a seat pan supported on the vehicle floor and positioned beneath the rigid member in spaced relation; a plurality of load measuring sensors positioned between the seat pan and the rigid member; and a means for determining whether an air bag should be deployed, wherein each sensor has a signal conducting means connecting each sensor to the means for determining whether an air bag should be deployed. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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Specification