Seat position sensor

• US 6,683,544 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2002
• Issued: 01/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tokunaga, Ichiro, Sudo, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): JEANGLAUDE, JEAN BRUNER
• Application Number:
  US10/146,206
• Publication Number:
  US 20020190874A1
• Time in Patent Office: 623 Days
• Field of Search: 280/735, 248/429, 296/65.13, 296/68.1, 296/65.15, 324/207.24, 324/207.26, 341/15
• US Class Current: 341/15
• 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 2/0248 with memory of positions
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0272 using sensors or detectors for detecting the position of seat parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/06 slidable B60N2/12 , B60N2/2209 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01554 Seat position sensors

Abstract

The seat position sensor includes a housing, a magnetoelectric converting element which performs changeover of an output at a given magnetic field intensity, and a magnet which is held by the housing at a position where the magnet faces the magnetoelectric converting element in an opposed manner. A shielding plate is capable of entering into or exiting from a space defined between the magnetoelectric converting element and the magnet. An inverse bias magnet which applies a magnetic field of an inverse direction to the magnet is provided to a side opposite to the magnet side while sandwiching the magnetoelectric converting element therebetween.

Claims

1. A seat position sensor comprising a housing, a magnetoelectric converting element which is held by the housing and performs changeover of an output at a given magnetic field intensity, and a magnet which is held by the housing at a position where the magnet faces the magnetoelectric converting element in an opposed manner, wherein

a shielding plate is capable of entering into or exiting from a space defined between the magnetoelectric converting element and the magnet, and

wherein an inverse bias magnet which applies a magnetic field of an inverse direction to the magnet is provided at a side opposite to the magnet side while sandwiching the magnetoelectric converting element therebetween.

2. A seat position sensor according to claim 1, wherein the housing includes a first side wall, a second side wall which faces the first side wall in an opposed manner, and a connection wall which connects the first with the second side walls and forms the space into a recess, wherein the magnetoelectric converting element and the magnet are respectively mounted on either one of the first and the second side walls, wherein the shielding plate is formed in a planar shape and is allowed to be disposed inside the recess from an opening side of the recess toward the connecting wall, and wherein an end surface of the shielding plate at the connection wall side is positioned closer to the connection wall side than the magnet.

3. The seat position sensor according to claim 2, wherein the housing is arranged such that the open-side of the recess of the space is positioned downwardly.

4. The seat position sensor according to claim 2, wherein the bias magnet is arranged at the first or the second side walls on which the magnetoelectric converting element is arranged and the bias magnet, the magnetoelectric converting element and the magnet are positioned on one straight line.

5. The seat position sensor according to claim 1, wherein the magnetoelectric converting element is constituted of a Hall element and a magnetization surface of the magnet is parallel to the shielding plate.

6. The seat position sensor according to claim 1, wherein the changeover of the output of the magnetoelectric converting element is performed only once with respect to movement in an exiting direction or in an entering direction of the shielding plate which is capable of entering into or exiting from the space.

7. A seat position sensor according to claim 1, wherein the housing is arranged at a movable member side including a seat, the shielding plate is arranged at a fixed member side which holds the movable member in a movable manner, and the housing is slidably moved along with the slide movement of the movable member so as to allow the shielding plate to enter into or exit from the space.