Passenger detector and method of adjusting the same
First Claim
1. A passenger detector for detecting a passenger occupying a seat of an automotive vehicle, the passenger detector comprising:
- a load sensor for detecting a load imposed on the seat;
a memory for storing at least one threshold load, the memory including a rewritable non-volatile memory; and
means for determining occupancy or unoccupancy of the seat by comparing the load detected by the load sensor with the memorized threshold load, wherein;
the memory further includes a read-only-memory;
the read-only-memory stores design-target threshold loads and the rewritable non-volatile memory stores adjustment loads for adjusting the design-target threshold loads; and
the adjusted threshold loads, which are obtained by adjusting the design-target threshold loads with the adjustment loads, are used for determining occupancy or unoccupancy of the seat.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A passenger detector detects a passenger occupying a seat based on his/her weight. Output signals of the passenger detector are fed to, e.g., an airbag controller so that a degree of inflation of the airbag is controlled according to the output signals of the passenger detector. The passenger detector is composed of an ECU and load sensors for detecting a load imposed on the seat. The ECU includes a ROM in which an original design-target threshold load for detecting a passenger is stored and a rewritable memory such as EEPROM in which a load for adjusting the design-target threshold load according to an actual operation of the load sensors is stored. The adjusting load stored in the rewritable memory is easily renewed by communication with an outside adjusting tool.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A passenger detector for detecting a passenger occupying a seat of an automotive vehicle, the passenger detector comprising:
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a load sensor for detecting a load imposed on the seat;
a memory for storing at least one threshold load, the memory including a rewritable non-volatile memory; and
means for determining occupancy or unoccupancy of the seat by comparing the load detected by the load sensor with the memorized threshold load, wherein;
the memory further includes a read-only-memory;
the read-only-memory stores design-target threshold loads and the rewritable non-volatile memory stores adjustment loads for adjusting the design-target threshold loads; and
the adjusted threshold loads, which are obtained by adjusting the design-target threshold loads with the adjustment loads, are used for determining occupancy or unoccupancy of the seat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A passenger detector, for detecting a passenger occupying a seat of an automotive vehicle, the passenger detector comprising:
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a load sensor for detecting a load imposed on the seat;
a memory for storing at least one threshold load, the memory including read-only-memory for storing design-target threshold loads and a rewritable non-volatile memory for storing adjustment loads for adjusting the design-target threshold loads; and
means for determining occupancy or unoccupancy of the seat by comparing the load detected by the load sensor with the memorized threshold load, wherein;
the rewritable non-volatile memory further stores a flag indicating that the adjustment loads have been stored or rewritten. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of adjusting a passenger detector for detecting a passenger occupying a seat of an automotive vehicle, the passenger detector including a load sensor for detecting a load imposed on the seat and a memory for storing a threshold load for determining occupancy of unoccupancy of the seat by comparing the load detected by the load sensor with the threshold load stored in the memory, the method comprising steps to be carried out in the following order:
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installing the passenger detector in the seat;
placing a known load on the seat;
measuring the known load by the load sensor to thereby obtain a detected load; and
adjusting the threshold load stored in the memory using the detected load. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification