Vehicle
First Claim
1. A vehicle having a body defining a passenger compartment with at least one passenger door, a passenger seating means, and a door securing system, the door securing system comprising a control means which is arranged in use to receive and send signals, an occupancy sensing means to make a finding regarding a weight of a passenger who may be seated upon said seating means and to send a signal indicative of that finding to said control means, an internal door release means associated with said door, a latch means for said door to selectively secure said door in a closed position and being operable to release said door from said closed position when said internal door release means is operated, wherein, when said occupancy sensing means makes a finding that said weight is below a predetermined weight limit, said control means is arranged to disable said internal door release means in such a manner that said door cannot be released from said closed position by operation of said internal door release means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle 10 is disclosed having an automatic child lock function that is controlled by an electronic control unit 4. The electronic control unit 4 receives signals from weight sensors 23a, 23b, 23c in the base portion of each of the passenger seats 22. The findings from the sensors 23a, 23b, 23c are used to determine both the occupancy of the vehicle 10 and to produce a signal indicative of the weight of each of the passengers of the vehicle 10. The electronic control unit 4 is programmed to operate such that if the signal “W” received from a particular sensor 23a, 23b, 23c indicates that the passenger is below a predetermined weight “WC”, which indicates that the passenger is probably a child, the associated door 14, 16, 17 is prevented from being opened from a closed position even when an interior door handle 14b, 16b, 17b is operated by the passenger.
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Citations
10 Claims
- 1. A vehicle having a body defining a passenger compartment with at least one passenger door, a passenger seating means, and a door securing system, the door securing system comprising a control means which is arranged in use to receive and send signals, an occupancy sensing means to make a finding regarding a weight of a passenger who may be seated upon said seating means and to send a signal indicative of that finding to said control means, an internal door release means associated with said door, a latch means for said door to selectively secure said door in a closed position and being operable to release said door from said closed position when said internal door release means is operated, wherein, when said occupancy sensing means makes a finding that said weight is below a predetermined weight limit, said control means is arranged to disable said internal door release means in such a manner that said door cannot be released from said closed position by operation of said internal door release means.
Specification