Automatic head restraint adjustment system for a vehicle seat
First Claim
1. A seat assembly comprising:
- a seat portion adapted to be adjustably mounted within a vehicle;
a plurality of sensors mounted along the seat portion and spaced apart from each other in the lateral direction along the seat portion, wherein the sensors measures capacitance at a plurality of points along the seat portion and provide an output signal indicative of a passenger without requiring contact by the passenger with the seat portion;
a controller in communication with the sensors for receiving the output signal of the sensors and generating a control signal to position the seat portion based on the output signal; and
an actuator operatively connected to the seat portion for positioning the seat portion based on the control signal received from the controller.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A seat assembly having an automatically adjustable head restraint is provided. A seat back is mounted within a vehicle and a head restraint assembly is adjustably mounted to the vehicle and disposed adjacent the seat back. The seat back includes a sensor mounted adjacent an upper portion of the seat back for detecting the presence and position of a passenger relative to the head restraint. A controller is in communication with the sensor and receives the output signal of the sensor. The controller then generates a control signal in order to position the head restraint based on the output signals of the sensor. An actuator is connected to the head restraint for positioning the head restraint based on a control signal received from the control module.
20 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A seat assembly comprising:
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a seat portion adapted to be adjustably mounted within a vehicle; a plurality of sensors mounted along the seat portion and spaced apart from each other in the lateral direction along the seat portion, wherein the sensors measures capacitance at a plurality of points along the seat portion and provide an output signal indicative of a passenger without requiring contact by the passenger with the seat portion; a controller in communication with the sensors for receiving the output signal of the sensors and generating a control signal to position the seat portion based on the output signal; and an actuator operatively connected to the seat portion for positioning the seat portion based on the control signal received from the controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A controller implemented method for automatically adjusting the position of a vehicle seat, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of sensors positioned on a first portion of the vehicle seat, wherein each of the plurality of sensors is adapted for providing a sensor signal indicative of an occupant based on a capacitance value that does not require contact by the occupant with the portion of the vehicle seat; receiving the plurality of sensor signals provided by the sensors; comparing, by the controller, the plurality of sensor signals to determine a signal pattern; determining, by the controller, a size range of the occupant based on the signal pattern; and positioning a second seat portion of the vehicle seat based upon the signal pattern. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 20)
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16. A controller implemented method for automatically adjusting the position of a vehicle seat, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of sensors positioned on a first portion of the vehicle seat, wherein each of the plurality of sensors is adapted for providing a sensor signal indicative of an occupant based on a capacitance value that does not require contact with the portion of the vehicle seat occupant; determining, by the controller, if any of the sensors are activated based on the sensor signal from each of the plurality of sensors; moving a second portion of the vehicle seat to a first position if none of the sensors are activated; and moving the second portion of the vehicle seat to a second position if at least one of the plurality of sensors are activated. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification