Vehicular Seats with Fluid-Containing Weight Sensing Sysem
First Claim
1. A system for measuring the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat having a bottom portion and a back portion at an angle to the bottom portion and for controlling a safety restraint system responsive thereto, comprising:
- at least one fluid-containing structure arranged mounted within or beneath an upper surface of the bottom portion of the seat and supported by a base of the seat;
at least one pressure sensor operatively coupled to said at least one fluid-containing structure for generating a signal responsive to pressure of the fluid within said at least one fluid-containing structure caused by pressure applied to the upper surface of the seat; and
a processor coupled to said at least one pressure sensor for providing an indication of the weight of the occupant from said signal and generating a control signal for controlling the safety restraint system based on the weight.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
System and method for measuring the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat and for controlling a safety restraint system responsive thereto includes at least one fluid-containing structure arranged mounted within or beneath an upper surface of a bottom portion of the seat and supported by a base of the seat and at least one pressure sensor operatively coupled to the fluid-containing structure(s) for generating a signal responsive to pressure of the fluid within the fluid-containing structure(s) caused by pressure applied to the upper surface of the seat by the occupant. A processor is coupled to the pressure sensor(s) and provides an indication of the weight of the occupant from the signal and generates a control signal for controlling the safety restraint system based on the weight. The fluid-containing structure may be a bladder arranged in the bottom of the seat and/or include a plurality of interconnected chambers.
115 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for measuring the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat having a bottom portion and a back portion at an angle to the bottom portion and for controlling a safety restraint system responsive thereto, comprising:
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at least one fluid-containing structure arranged mounted within or beneath an upper surface of the bottom portion of the seat and supported by a base of the seat;
at least one pressure sensor operatively coupled to said at least one fluid-containing structure for generating a signal responsive to pressure of the fluid within said at least one fluid-containing structure caused by pressure applied to the upper surface of the seat; and
a processor coupled to said at least one pressure sensor for providing an indication of the weight of the occupant from said signal and generating a control signal for controlling the safety restraint system based on the weight. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for controlling a safety restraint system responsive to the weight of an occupant in a vehicle seat including a bottom portion and a back portion at an angle to the bottom portion, comprising:
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interposing at least one fluid-containing structure between an upper surface of the bottom portion of the seat and a base of the vehicle;
coupling a pressure sensor to each fluid-containing structure;
measuring pressure of the fluid in each fluid-containing structure by means of the pressure sensor;
determining an indication of the weight of the occupant based on the measured pressure; and
controlling the safety restraint system at least partially responsive to the determined indication of the weight of the occupant. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification