WO1998022920A1 - Seat occupant sensing system - Google Patents

Seat occupant sensing system Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO1998022920A1
WO1998022920A1 PCT/US1997/017345 US9717345W WO9822920A1 WO 1998022920 A1 WO1998022920 A1 WO 1998022920A1 US 9717345 W US9717345 W US 9717345W WO 9822920 A1 WO9822920 A1 WO 9822920A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
seat
sensor
rigid
sensing system
occupant sensing
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1997/017345
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Geoffrey Lawrence Mahon
Original Assignee
Breed Automotive Technology, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Breed Automotive Technology, Inc. filed Critical Breed Automotive Technology, Inc.
Publication of WO1998022920A1 publication Critical patent/WO1998022920A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
    • B60R21/015—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting the presence or position of passengers, passenger seats or child seats, and the related safety parameters therefor, e.g. speed or timing of airbag inflation in relation to occupant position or seat belt use
    • B60R21/01512—Passenger detection systems
    • B60R21/01516—Passenger detection systems using force or pressure sensing means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
    • B60N2/002—Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
    • B60R21/015—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting the presence or position of passengers, passenger seats or child seats, and the related safety parameters therefor, e.g. speed or timing of airbag inflation in relation to occupant position or seat belt use
    • B60R21/01512—Passenger detection systems
    • B60R21/01516—Passenger detection systems using force or pressure sensing means
    • B60R21/0152—Passenger detection systems using force or pressure sensing means using strain gauges

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an apparatus for sensing the presence and weight of an occupant of a vehicle seat.
  • a seat is unoccupied or is occupied by a person of a particular size, it may not be necessary to activate a safety device associated with that seat. Furthermore, if a seat is occupied by a person of a particular size the manner in which a safety device is employed may be varied accordingly.
  • One indicator of the size of a seat occupant is his or her weight. In the case of an infant, the combined weight of the infant and an infant safety seat is useful as an indicator of occupant size.
  • Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention
  • Fig. 2 is a front elevation view of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention
  • Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention
  • Fig. 4 is a top view of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention
  • Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a sensor located between rigid components of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
  • Fig. 6 is a schematic view of an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
  • Figs. 1 through 4 there are shown exploded, front elevation, side elevation and top view, respectively, of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
  • a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
  • the design of various structural components of a vehicle seat can vary from one make and model of vehicle to another, with the vehicle seat shown being merely exemplary of a vehicle seat that may be employed in the practice of the present invention.
  • the present invention does, however, apply to seats in general and may be employed not only with vehicle seats but also any seat where it is desired to ascertain whether or not the seat is occupied and the weight of a seat occupant.
  • a vehicle seat has a seat cushion 10 and a seat back 12.
  • the seat back may have a head rest 13 associated therewith.
  • the seat back may be pivotally attached to the remainder of the seat, as best seen in Fig. 3.
  • the seat cushion 10 and seat back 12 are normally padded, for example with foam rubber, and may contain springs to provide comfort for a seat occupant.
  • the seat has legs 14 which extend between the floor of the vehicle and a rigid seat support member 16, sometimes referred to as the seat frame.
  • the rigid seat support member may be unitary, as shown in Fig. 1, with a cross member extending between two side rails, or the side rails may be only be joined to one another by the seat back and maintained parallel to one another by fastening the seat legs to the floor of the vehicle.
  • a rigid seat pan member 18 supports the seat cushion 10, which is adapted to be secured thereto by having bottom side that is contoured to be complementary to the rigid seat pan member.
  • the rigid seat pan member has a generally rectangular shape which may be adapted to the design of a particular seat cushion and seat frame. As shown in Fig. 1 the rigid seat pan member is substantially a flat frame, however, in some seat designs the perimeter of the rigid seat pan member may be bent to form peripheral walls which may, or may not, have a second horizontal portion associated therewith.
  • the rigid seat support member 16 and the rigid seat pan member 18 are fastened to one another in a spaced apart, vertically juxtaposed relationship, as best shown in Fig. 5.
  • the means for fastening the rigid seat support member and the rigid seat pan member to one another are a plurality of shoulder bolts 24 and nuts 26.
  • the shoulder bolts extend through openings 25 in the rigid seat support member 16 and openings 27 in the rigid seat pan member 18.
  • At least one sensor 20 is interposed between the rigid seat support member 16 and the rigid seat pan member 18 such that all of the force transferred from the rigid seat pan member to the rigid seat support member in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the rigid seat support member which is proximal to the rigid seat pan member is transferred via said at least one sensor.
  • a sensor is located in the vicinity of each corner of the generally rectangular rigid seat pan member.
  • the sensor 20 senses the magnitude of the force transferred therethrough and may be for example a strain gauge, a load cell or a variable resistance pressure sensor.
  • a working prototype of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention employed as four sensors 20 which were Model 14 compression only subminiature load cells purchased from Sensotec, Inc.
  • Each sensor 20 has a plurality of electrical leads 21,22 extending therefrom for communicating with a device which processes the signal from each sensor to determine the weight that the rigid seat pan is bearing.
  • Fig. 5 there is shown a schematic view of an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
  • a signal from at least one sensor is passed through an amplifier to a device, such as a microprocessor which processes the signal, or signals, to determine the weight that the rigid seat pan member is bearing.
  • Algorithms to translate a signal to a weight are well known and are used for example in electronic bathroom scales.
  • the algorithm must take into account the weight of the seat cushion and the rigid seat pan member in determining the weight of the seat occupant. Of course if the weight of the seat occupant is determined to be zero, the seat is unoccupied.
  • inflatable vehicle occupant restraints such as airbags, to determine if the occupant of the front passenger seat of a motor vehicle equipped with a front passenger side airbag is an infant in an infant seat or a small child weighing less than a preselected amount.
  • the device such as a microprocessor which determines the weight that the rigid seat pan is bearing is preferably a controller which controls the activation of at least one safety device for an occupant of the seat based upon said weight.
  • the controller controls, for example, the activation of an inflatable vehicle occupant restraint or a seat belt pretensioner. Additionally the controller may control the manner in which an activated safety device operates, for example controlling the speed at which an airbag is inflated or the amount of seat belt slack which is to be taken up by a pretensioner.
  • the seat occupant sensing system disclosed herein may determine the presence or absence of an object or person on a seat cushion, and the weight of the person or object on a seat cushion and based upon those determinations may activate one or more safety devices, and/or the manner in which an activated safety device should operate.

Abstract

A seat occupant sensing system has at least one sensor (20) interposed between a rigid seat support member (16) and a rigid seat pan member (18) such that the weight supported by the seat pan member is transferred from the seat pan member to the seat support member via said at least one sensor which senses the magnitude of the weight transferred therethrough. A device, such as a microprocessor, processes a signal from the sensor(s) to determine the weight that the rigid seat pan member is bearing. The signal processing device may control the activation and operation of a safety device such as an airbag or seat belt pretensioner as a function of the presence of and weight of a seat occupant.

Description

SEAT OCCUPANT SENSING SYSTEM
The present invention relates to an apparatus for sensing the presence and weight of an occupant of a vehicle seat.
Many vehicles are equipped with safety devices such as airbags, seat belt pretensioners and so forth to protect persons occupying various seats in the vehicle. If a seat is unoccupied or is occupied by a person of a particular size, it may not be necessary to activate a safety device associated with that seat. Furthermore, if a seat is occupied by a person of a particular size the manner in which a safety device is employed may be varied accordingly. One indicator of the size of a seat occupant is his or her weight. In the case of an infant, the combined weight of the infant and an infant safety seat is useful as an indicator of occupant size.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail in this description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:
Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a front elevation view of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a top view of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a sensor located between rigid components of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention; and
Fig. 6 is a schematic view of an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 2B) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring first to Figs. 1 through 4 there are shown exploded, front elevation, side elevation and top view, respectively, of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention. Of course it is understood that the design of various structural components of a vehicle seat can vary from one make and model of vehicle to another, with the vehicle seat shown being merely exemplary of a vehicle seat that may be employed in the practice of the present invention. The present invention does, however, apply to seats in general and may be employed not only with vehicle seats but also any seat where it is desired to ascertain whether or not the seat is occupied and the weight of a seat occupant.
A vehicle seat has a seat cushion 10 and a seat back 12. The seat back may have a head rest 13 associated therewith. The seat back may be pivotally attached to the remainder of the seat, as best seen in Fig. 3. The seat cushion 10 and seat back 12 are normally padded, for example with foam rubber, and may contain springs to provide comfort for a seat occupant. The seat has legs 14 which extend between the floor of the vehicle and a rigid seat support member 16, sometimes referred to as the seat frame. The rigid seat support member may be unitary, as shown in Fig. 1, with a cross member extending between two side rails, or the side rails may be only be joined to one another by the seat back and maintained parallel to one another by fastening the seat legs to the floor of the vehicle.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 2Θ) A rigid seat pan member 18 supports the seat cushion 10, which is adapted to be secured thereto by having bottom side that is contoured to be complementary to the rigid seat pan member. The rigid seat pan member has a generally rectangular shape which may be adapted to the design of a particular seat cushion and seat frame. As shown in Fig. 1 the rigid seat pan member is substantially a flat frame, however, in some seat designs the perimeter of the rigid seat pan member may be bent to form peripheral walls which may, or may not, have a second horizontal portion associated therewith.
The rigid seat support member 16 and the rigid seat pan member 18 are fastened to one another in a spaced apart, vertically juxtaposed relationship, as best shown in Fig. 5. In this example the means for fastening the rigid seat support member and the rigid seat pan member to one another are a plurality of shoulder bolts 24 and nuts 26. The shoulder bolts extend through openings 25 in the rigid seat support member 16 and openings 27 in the rigid seat pan member 18.
At least one sensor 20 is interposed between the rigid seat support member 16 and the rigid seat pan member 18 such that all of the force transferred from the rigid seat pan member to the rigid seat support member in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the rigid seat support member which is proximal to the rigid seat pan member is transferred via said at least one sensor. Preferably a sensor is located in the vicinity of each corner of the generally rectangular rigid seat pan member. The sensor 20 senses the magnitude of the force transferred therethrough and may be for example a strain gauge, a load cell or a variable resistance pressure sensor. A working prototype of a vehicle seat equipped with an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention employed as four sensors 20 which were Model 14 compression only subminiature load cells purchased from Sensotec, Inc. of 1200 Chesapeke Avenue, Columbus, Ohio U.S.A. These sensors had a range of either 45.4 kilograms (100 pounds) or 113.5 kilograms (250 pounds) and a seat could be equipped with only one size sensor or a combination of sizes. For example, 113.5 kilogram sensors could be used towards the front of the seat and 45.4 kilogram sensors could be used towards the rear of the seat. The height of these sensors is 3.8 millimeters (0.15 inch) . If the surface of the rigid seat pan member which is proximal to the sensor is not substantially flat, it is desirable with these commercially available sensors to place a shim of some sort between the sensor and the rigid seat pan member to improve the transfer of forces from the rigid seat pan member to the sensor. Each sensor 20 has a plurality of electrical leads 21,22 extending therefrom for communicating with a device which processes the signal from each sensor to determine the weight that the rigid seat pan is bearing.
As best shown in Fig. 5 the nuts 26 are spaced apart from the rigid seat pan member a small distance D such that the means for fastening does not impart any preloading to the at least one sensor. In a preferred embodiment the only preloading on the a sensor is imparted thereon by the rigid seat pan member 18 and the seat cushion 10. However, in some seat designs the seat back 12 may also impart some preloading on the at least one sensor. Referring next to Fig. 6 there is shown a schematic view of an occupant sensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention. A signal from at least one sensor is passed through an amplifier to a device, such as a microprocessor which processes the signal, or signals, to determine the weight that the rigid seat pan member is bearing. Algorithms to translate a signal to a weight are well known and are used for example in electronic bathroom scales. The algorithm must take into account the weight of the seat cushion and the rigid seat pan member in determining the weight of the seat occupant. Of course if the weight of the seat occupant is determined to be zero, the seat is unoccupied. There is a need in the field of inflatable vehicle occupant restraints, such as airbags, to determine if the occupant of the front passenger seat of a motor vehicle equipped with a front passenger side airbag is an infant in an infant seat or a small child weighing less than a preselected amount. The device, such as a microprocessor which determines the weight that the rigid seat pan is bearing is preferably a controller which controls the activation of at least one safety device for an occupant of the seat based upon said weight. The controller controls, for example, the activation of an inflatable vehicle occupant restraint or a seat belt pretensioner. Additionally the controller may control the manner in which an activated safety device operates, for example controlling the speed at which an airbag is inflated or the amount of seat belt slack which is to be taken up by a pretensioner. Thus, the seat occupant sensing system disclosed herein may determine the presence or absence of an object or person on a seat cushion, and the weight of the person or object on a seat cushion and based upon those determinations may activate one or more safety devices, and/or the manner in which an activated safety device should operate.

Claims

CLAIMS :
1. A seat occupant sensing system comprising:
(a) a seat having a rigid seat support member (16) and a rigid seat pan member (18) fastened to one another in a spaced apart, vertically juxtaposed relationship;
(b) at least one sensor (20) interposed between the rigid seat support member and the rigid seat pan member such that all of the force transferred from the rigid seat pan member to the rigid seat support member in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the rigid seat support member which is proximal to the rigid seat pan member is transferred via said at least one sensor which senses the magnitude of the force transferred therethrough; and
( c ) a device which processes a signal from said at least one sensor to determine the weight that the rigid seat pan member is bearing.
2. A seat occupant sensing system according to claim 1 wherein the rigid seat pan member (18) has a generally rectangular shape and a sensor (20) is located in the vicinity of each corner of the rigid seat pan member.
3. A seat occupant sensing system according to claim 1 wherein said at least one sensor (20) is a strain gauge.
4. A seat occupant sensing system according to claim 2 wherein said sensors (20) are strain gauges.
5. A seat occupant sensing system according to claim 1 wherein said at least one sensor (20) is a load cell.
6. A seat occupant sensing system according to claim 2 wherein said sensors (20) are load cells.
7. A seat occupant sensing system according to claim 1 wherein said at least one sensor (20) is a variable resistance pressure sensor.
8. A seat occupant sensing system according to claim 2 wherein said sensors (20) are variable resistance pressure sensors.
9. A seat occupant sensing system according to claim 1 wherein the rigid seat support member (16) and a rigid seat pan member (18) are fastened to one another by a fastening means which does not impart any preloading to the at least one sensor (20) .
PCT/US1997/017345 1996-11-22 1997-09-26 Seat occupant sensing system WO1998022920A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US75527196A 1996-11-22 1996-11-22
US08/755,271 1996-11-22

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1998022920A1 true WO1998022920A1 (en) 1998-05-28

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Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1999035012A1 (en) * 1998-01-12 1999-07-15 Autoliv Development Ab A safety arrangement in a motor vehicle
EP0990565A1 (en) * 1997-06-13 2000-04-05 Takata Corporation Device for detecting seat occupancy and air bag device for a motor vehicle
GB2342720A (en) * 1998-10-15 2000-04-19 Takata Corp Offset compensation for a seat load measuring apparatus
WO2000050856A1 (en) * 1999-02-24 2000-08-31 Siemens Automotive Corporation Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight
WO2000050255A1 (en) * 1999-02-24 2000-08-31 Siemens Automotive Corporation Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight
WO2002043984A2 (en) * 2000-11-28 2002-06-06 Siemens Vdo Automotive Corporation Weight sensor assembly with overload spring
DE10005445C2 (en) * 1999-02-08 2002-08-14 Takata Corp Diagnostic method for a seat load measuring device
US6476514B1 (en) 2000-03-29 2002-11-05 Ford Global Technologies, Inc. Occupant detection sensor assembly for seats
US6988413B1 (en) 1999-02-24 2006-01-24 Siemens Vdo Automotive Corporation Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5502284A (en) * 1994-03-14 1996-03-26 Grammer Ag Seat plate assembly

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5502284A (en) * 1994-03-14 1996-03-26 Grammer Ag Seat plate assembly

Cited By (18)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0990565A1 (en) * 1997-06-13 2000-04-05 Takata Corporation Device for detecting seat occupancy and air bag device for a motor vehicle
WO1999035012A1 (en) * 1998-01-12 1999-07-15 Autoliv Development Ab A safety arrangement in a motor vehicle
US6428039B1 (en) 1998-01-12 2002-08-06 Autoliv Development Ab Safety arrangement in a motor vehicle
GB2342720A (en) * 1998-10-15 2000-04-19 Takata Corp Offset compensation for a seat load measuring apparatus
GB2342720B (en) * 1998-10-15 2001-06-13 Takata Corp A seat load measuring apparatus
DE10005445C2 (en) * 1999-02-08 2002-08-14 Takata Corp Diagnostic method for a seat load measuring device
US6817254B2 (en) 1999-02-08 2004-11-16 Takata Corporation Diagnostic method for a seat load
US6546817B1 (en) 1999-02-08 2003-04-15 Takata Corporation Diagnostic method for a seat load measuring apparatus
WO2000050255A1 (en) * 1999-02-24 2000-08-31 Siemens Automotive Corporation Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight
US6557424B1 (en) 1999-02-24 2003-05-06 Siemens Vdo Automotive Corporation Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight
WO2000050856A1 (en) * 1999-02-24 2000-08-31 Siemens Automotive Corporation Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight
US6988413B1 (en) 1999-02-24 2006-01-24 Siemens Vdo Automotive Corporation Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight
US7578198B2 (en) 1999-02-24 2009-08-25 Continental Automotive Systems Us, Inc. Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight
US7584667B2 (en) 1999-02-24 2009-09-08 Continental Automotive Systems Us, Inc. Method and apparatus for sensing seat occupant weight
US6476514B1 (en) 2000-03-29 2002-11-05 Ford Global Technologies, Inc. Occupant detection sensor assembly for seats
WO2002043984A3 (en) * 2000-11-28 2002-12-19 Siemens Automotive Corp Lp Weight sensor assembly with overload spring
WO2002043984A2 (en) * 2000-11-28 2002-06-06 Siemens Vdo Automotive Corporation Weight sensor assembly with overload spring
US6759603B2 (en) 2000-11-28 2004-07-06 Siemens Vdo Automotive Corporation Weight sensor assembly with overload spring

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