Vehicle seat having a seat face element and adjustable backrest element

• US 6,345,840 B1
• Filed: 02/09/2000
• Issued: 02/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: Muller, Manfred, Meyer, Michael, Schink, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson, Paul N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fleming, Faye M.
• Application Number:
  US09/501,551
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 280/734, 280/735, 180/273, 297/250.1, 297/216.1, 297/216.13, 340/666, 340/667
• US Class Current: 280/735
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0021 characterised by the type of sensor or measurement
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/20 the back-rest being tiltable, e.g. to permit easy access B60N2/04, B60N2/22 , B60N2/3002 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/22 the back-rest being adjustable B60N2/2878 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/40 Force or pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/30 Signal processing of sensor data
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0154 in combination with seat heating
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01554 Seat position sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01556 Child-seat detection systems

Abstract

Vehicle seat having a seat face element and adjustable backrest element. A vehicle seat having a seat face element with a pressure-sensitive seat occupation sensor system, and having a backrest element which can be adjusted between a backrest function position and a lowered position resting on the seat face element. A backrest position sensor system is provided which detects whether the backrest element assumes the lowered position, and in this case outputs a lowered position information item.

Claims

1. In a vehicle seat having a seat face element with a pressure-sensitive seat occupation sensor system, and a backrest element which can be adjusted between a backrest function and a lowered position resting on the seat face element, an improvement comprising,

a backrest position sensor system is provided which detects whether the backrest element assumes the lowered position and outputs a lowered position information item.

2. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle seat is assigned a vehicle occupant restraining system which is controlled as a function of an output signal of the seat occupation sensor system, is connected to the backrest position sensor system and is kept deactivated if the lowered position information item from said backrest position sensor system is received.

3. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the backrest position sensor system contains a specifically encoded transponder and a transponder detection unit which is capable of communicating with the transponder within a predefined effective range, one of the transponder and the transponder detection unit being located in the backrest element and the other of the transponder and the transponder detection unit being located in or on the seat face element in such a way that the transponder detection unit detects the transponder from encoding of the transponder when the backrest element is in the lowered position and outputs the lowered position information item.

4. The improvement according to claim 3, wherein components of the backrest position sensor system, are formed by components of a child'"'"'s seat detection sensor system.

5. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the backrest position sensor system contains a specifically encoded transponder and a transponder detection unit which is capable of communicating with the transponder within a predefined effective range, one component of the transponder and the transponder detection unit being located in the backrest element and the other of the transponder and the transponder detection unit being located in or on the seat face element in such a way that the transponder detection unit detects the transponder from its encoding of the transponder precisely when the backrest element is in its lowered position, and in this case outputs the lowered position information item.

6. A vehicle seat, comprising:

a seat face element,

a backrest element which is adjustable between a backrest function position and a lowered position resting on the seat face element, and

a backrest position sensor system which detects the backrest element in the lowered position and outputs a lowered position information signal.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle seat is assigned a vehicle occupant restraining system which is controlled by an output signal of a seat occupation sensor system and is operatively connected to the backrest position sensor system, and wherein the vehicle occupant restraining system remains deactivated when the lowered position information signal is received by the vehicle occupant restraining system.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 6, wherein the backrest position sensor system includes an encoded transponder and a transponder detection unit which operatively communicates with the transponder within a predefined effective range.

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 8, wherein a component of one of the transponder and the transponder detection unit is arranged in the backrest element and a component of the other one of the transponder and the transponder detection unit is arranged in or on the seat face element thereby the transponder detection unit detects the transponder when the backrest element is in the lowered position and the lowered position information signal is outputted.

10. The vehicle seat according to claim 9, wherein at least one component of the backrest position sensor system is formed by at least one component of a child'"'"'s seat detection sensor system.

11. The vehicle seat according to claim 10, wherein the at least one component of the backrest position sensor system includes one of the transponder detection unit and a base station.

12. A method of making a vehicle seat assembly, comprising;

providing a seat face element of a vehicle seat with a pressure-sensitive seat occupation sensor system,

arranging a backrest element in relation to the seat face element so that the backrest element is operatively adjustable between a backrest function position and a lowered position resting on the seat face element, and

arranging a backrest position sensor system to operatively detect the backrest element in the lowered position and output a lowered position information item.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the vehicle seat assembly includes a vehicle occupant restraining system which is controllable by way of an output signal from the seat occupation sensor system and is operatively connected to the backrest position sensor system whereby the vehicle occupant restraining system is kept deactivated by way of the lowered position information item.

14. A method of operating a vehicle occupant restraining system which is assigned to a vehicle seat having a seat face element and a backrest element which is adjustable between a backrest function position and a lowered position resting on the seat face element, comprising;

adjusting the backrest element into the lowered position resting on the seat face element,

detecting the backrest element in the lowered position by way of a backrest position sensor system,

outputting a lowered position information item by way of the backrest position sensor system,

maintaining the vehicle occupant restraining system deactivated upon the vehicle occupant restraining system receiving the lowered position information item.