Seating sensor

• US 7,918,144 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2008
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Ito, Hiroyuki, Takahashi, Hiroyuki, Yuasa, Hitoshi, Saitoh, Yukihiro, Semaishi, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Noori; Max
• Application Number:
  US12/290,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20090107258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: 73862041-862046
• US Class Current: 73/862.046
• 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: B60R 21/01508 detecting forces or pressure in bags or modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means

Abstract

A seating sensor reliably senses an adult or a child seated on a vehicle seat, and prevents incorrect sensing of a seated occupant when a piece of luggage is placed on the seat. The seating sensor includes a first sensor cell, a second sensor cell connected in series with the first sensor cell and disposed on the front side of the seat beyond the first sensor cell, and a third sensor cell connected in series with the first sensor cell, connected in parallel with the second sensor cell, and disposed on the rear side of the seat beyond the first sensor cell.

Claims

1. A seating sensor disposed in a bearing surface part of a vehicle seat, the seating sensor, comprising:

a first sensor cell;

a second sensor cell connected in series with the first sensor cell and disposed beyond the first sensor cell in the bearing surface part toward a front side of the vehicle; and

a third sensor cell connected in series with the first sensor cell, the third sensor cell connected in parallel with the second sensor cell, the third sensor cell disposed beyond the first sensor cell in the bearing surface part toward a rear side of the vehicle, wherein;

each of the first sensor cell, the second sensor cell and the third sensor cell including two opposed electrodes abutted against each other, the two opposed electrodes conducting when incurring a load; and

the first sensor cell, the second sensor cell and the third sensor cell are only in linear alignment.

2. The seating sensor according to claim 1, wherein the second and third sensor cells are displaced from the first sensor cell to respective ones of the right and left sides of the vehicle so that all the first, second and third sensor cells are arranged on a straight line inclined from a center line between the right side and the left side of the bearing surface.

3. The seating sensor according to claim 2, wherein the second sensor cell is displaced from the first sensor cell to one of the right and left sides of the vehicle, and the third sensor cell is displaced from the first sensor cell to the other one of the right and left sides of the vehicle only in a rear side of the bearing surface part relative to a center of the bearing surface part.

4. The seating sensor according to claim 1, wherein the second and third sensor cells are displaced from the first sensor cell to one of the right side and the left side of the vehicle only in a rear side of the bearing surface part relative to a center of the bearing surface part.

13. The seating sensor according to claim 1, further comprising:

a conducting member extending in a straight line in both a right-and-left direction and a back-and-forth direction of the bearing seat and connecting the first, second and third sensor cells; and

a connector connected at one end of the conducting member,

wherein the conducting member is provided only in the rear side of the bearing surface relative to the center of the bearing surface.

14. The seating sensor according to claim 1, wherein the second sensor cell is only connected in series with the first sensor cell and only connected in parallel with the third sensor cell.

15. The seating sensor according to claim 14, wherein the third sensor cell is only connected in series with the first sensor cell and only connected in parallel with the second sensor cell.

5. A seating sensor disposed in a bearing surface part of a vehicle seat, the bearing surface part having a bearing surface part center disposed at a centerline of the bearing surface part, the vehicle seat located in one of a rightward direction and a leftward direction with respect to a vehicle center, the seating sensor comprising:

a plurality of linearly aligned sensor cells, each of the plurality of linearly aligned sensor cells having a pair of opposed electrodes abutted against each other the pair conducting when incurring a load; and

a load sensing area established by the plurality of linearly aligned sensor cells in the bearing surface part, wherein;

a center of the load sensing area is spaced apart from the bearing surface part center toward a vehicle center.

6. The seating sensor according to claim 5, further comprising:

a first film; and

a second film formed to have the same shape as the first film, the second film opposed to the first film, wherein;

the plurality of sensor cells are opposed to and separated from one another between the first and second films in a horizontal direction; and

the seating sensor further comprises a conducting member interposed between the first and second films, the conducting member coupled to the plurality of sensor cells and a control unit, the conducting member conducting between the sensor cells and the control unit.

7. The seating sensor according to claim 6, wherein the conducting member extends linearly in the bearing surface part in a direction crossing both the back-and-forth direction of the vehicle and the right-and-left direction thereof.

8. The seating sensor according to claim 6, wherein the conducting member includes a trunk conducting member having a proximal end, the trunk conducting member conducting to the control unit and extending in the back-and-forth direction of the vehicle, the conducting member further including right-and-left conducting members coupled to the trunk conducting member and extending in the right-and-left direction of the vehicle.

9. The seating sensor according to claim 6, wherein the conducting member includes a trunk conducting member having a proximal end and a distal end, the trunk conducting member conducting to the control unit and extending in the back-and-forth direction of the vehicle, the conducting member further including a plurality of branch conducting members branching out from the distal end and extending in the back-and-forth direction of the vehicle.

10. The seating sensor according to claim 5, wherein a number of the plurality of sensor cells is equal to or smaller than ten.

11. The seating sensor according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of sensor cells is disposed in an area on the rear side of the bearing surface part away from the center of the bearing surface part in a back-and-forth direction of the vehicle.

12. The seating sensor according to claim 5, wherein the vehicle seat includes a plurality of bearing surface parts corresponding to a plurality of side by side occupant seating positions, the plurality of linearly aligned sensor cells aligned linearly in the right-and-left direction of the vehicle such that a respective at least two of the plurality of linearly aligned sensor cells establish a load sensing area in each of the plurality of bearing surface parts, wherein a center of the load sensing area is offset from a corresponding center of the each of the plurality of bearing surface parts in at least one of the plurality of bearing surface parts.