Vehicle occupant weight estimation apparatus
First Claim
1. A system for detecting the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat comprising:
- at least one load sensor coupled to a seat having a seat bottom and a seat back;
a position sensor determining the position of the occupant in the seat independently of a position of the seat back; and
a controller determining the weight of the occupant based upon signals from the at least one load sensor and the position sensor, wherein the controller determines the body angle of the occupant based upon the signal from the position sensor and uses the body angle to bias measurements from the at least one load sensor in order to determine the weight of the occupant.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention describes an occupant size and weight detection device consisting of a combination of force/load sensors (1), a head position sensor (2, 3), a multidirectional acceleration sensor (5), and a seat position sensor (4) used to determine the weight of an occupant based on weight distribution, body angle and foot position. The goal of the invention is to determine the weight of an occupant who is sitting in the front seat of a vehicle that is subjected to the dynamic forces resulting from the vehicle moving. This technology can be used in applications such as automotive occupant weight and position sensing for use with safety devices such as airbags.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for detecting the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat comprising:
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at least one load sensor coupled to a seat having a seat bottom and a seat back;
a position sensor determining the position of the occupant in the seat independently of a position of the seat back; and
a controller determining the weight of the occupant based upon signals from the at least one load sensor and the position sensor, wherein the controller determines the body angle of the occupant based upon the signal from the position sensor and uses the body angle to bias measurements from the at least one load sensor in order to determine the weight of the occupant. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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2. A system for detecting the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat comprising:
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at least one load sensor coupled to a seat having a seat bottom and a seat back, wherein the at least one load sensor provides an indication of the load distribution on the vehicle seat;
a position sensor determining the position of the occupant in the seat independently of a position of the seat back; and
a controller determining the weight of the occupant based upon signals from the at least one load sensor and the position sensor. - View Dependent Claims (3)
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4. A system for detecting the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat comprising:
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at least one load sensor coupled to a seat having a seat bottom and a seat back;
a position sensor determining the positon of the occupant in the seat independently of a position of the seat back;
at least one acceleration transducer measuring acceleration and a controller determining the weight of the occupant based upon signals from the at least one load sensor and the position sensor and said controller determining the weight of the occupant based upon an acceleration signal from the acceleration transducer. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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6. A system for detecting the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat comprising:
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at least one load sensor coupled to a seat having a seat bottom and a seat back;
a position sensor determining the position of the occupant in the seat independently of a position of the seat back;
a vehicle seatback angle sensor; and
a controller determining the weight of the occupant based upon signals from the at least one load sensor and the position sensor and said controller determining the weight of the occupant based upon a signal from the vehicle seatback angle sensor.
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10. A method for determining the weight of an occupant in the vehicle seat including the steps of:
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(a) measuring a load on the seating surface;
(b) determining an angle of the occupant in the seat by determining a position of a head of the occupant; and
(c) determining the weight of the occupant based upon the angle and the load. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 21)
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16. A method for determining the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat including the steps of:
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(a) measuring load upon a seating surface;
(b) measuring acceleration; and
(c) determining the weight of the occupant based upon the measured acceleration and the measured load. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification