Vehicle seat

• US 9,877,678 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2013
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Josho Gakuen Educational Foundation, Nihon University Educational Association, TS Tech Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Josho Gakuen Educational Foundation, Nihon University Educational Association, TS Tech Company Limited
• Inventors: Sugiyama, Shinji, Nakano, Toyokazu, Ohsuga, Mieko, Kageyama, Ichiro, Kuriyagawa, Yukiyo, Iida, Shu
• Primary Examiner(s): Toatley, Gregory J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kay, Douglas
• Application Number:
  US14/395,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20150061347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,748 Days
• Field of Search: 702127
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0261 Strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0053 by applying pressure, e.g. compression, indentation, palpation, grasping, gauging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6893 Cars
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7278 Artificial waveform generation or derivation, e.g. synthesising signals from measured signals A61B5/327 takes precedence
• 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 2/0022 for sensing anthropometric parameters, e.g. heart rate or body temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0033 mounted on or in the foam cushion
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/40 Force or pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/30 Signal processing of sensor data

Abstract

A respiration signal of a seated person is detected with high accuracy by using a vehicle seat that includes a seat cushion; and a sensor detecting a pressure signal from a load applied from a seated person. The sensor is provided to be along an edge of a contact portion between the seat cushion and buttocks of the seated person. The sensor transmits the detected pressure signal to an arithmetic operation device of the seated person. In a respiration measuring device, the arithmetic operation device computes the detected pressure signal detected by the sensor to obtain a respiration signal of the seated person.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat comprising:

a seat cushion; and

a measuring device comprising;

at least one sensor that is provided in the seat cushion and that detects a pressure signal from a load applied from a seated person; and

an arithmetic operation device that computes the detected pressure signal to obtain a respiration signal of the seated person, the measuring device configured to measure respiration of the seated person, wherein;

the sensor is arranged on a back side of a back edge of a contact portion at a top portion of the seat cushion in a seated person buttocks region if a vehicle forward direction is a front direction and arranged along the back edge of the contact portion, and has a transmitter that transmits the detected pressure signal to the arithmetic operation device.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the sensor has a detection surface, a lengthwise length of the detection surface being different from a crosswise length, the detection surface being arranged so that a lengthwise direction of the sensor is along the back edge.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein at least two sensors are provided on a front side and a back side, respectively, if a vehicle forward direction is a front direction.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein at least a pair of sensors are arranged to be pivoted towards an axis between the pair of sensors in a front-to-back direction if a vehicle forward direction is a front direction.

5. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the sensor has a curved shape.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is provided so that at least a part of the sensor is located backward of a region where a maximum load is applied to the seat cushion from the buttocks in a state in which the seated person is seated.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 3, wherein:

the sensor comprises a first sensor provided on the back side and a second sensor provided on the front side; and

the first sensor is arranged outward of the second sensor in a seat width direction.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of sensors are provided as the sensor; and

the measuring device measures the respiration of the seated person by selecting data that reflects the respiration from among data detected by the plurality of sensors.

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is arranged to cross a centerline extending in a front-to-back direction in a region where a maximum load is applied to the seat cushion from the buttocks in a state in which the seated person is seated in a plan view.