Vehicle occupant position detector and airbag control system

A method for controlling deployment of an air bag, comprising:

• a) providing a plurality of seat weight sensors attached between a vehicle seat and a vehicle floor, the sensors located substantially at an outer perimeter of the seat, the sensor s being strain gage resistors mounted to a cantilevered beam between the seat and a vehicle floor;
• b) providing an airbag controller;
• c) seating an occupant into the seat;
• d) generating a plurality of electrical signals from the seat weight sensors proportional to the weight and location of the seat occupant;
• e) providing the electrical signal to an airbag controller that is connected to the airbag;
• f) calculating a center of gravity and weight of the seat occupant from the electrical signals to locate the position of the occupant in the seat;
• g) determining if the occupant is in a first position within the outer perimeter of the seat where the airbag is allowed to deploy or is in a second position outside the outer perimeter of the seat where the airbag is prevented from deploying;
• and
• h) determining if the occupant weight is above a first magnitude where the airbag is allowed to deploy or is below the first magnitude where the airbag is prevented from deploying.

A control system for controlling an airbag, the control system controlling the airbag in relation to the weight and position of a seat occupant, comprising:

• a) an airbag;
• b) an airbag inflator, connected to the air bag, for inflating an airbag;
• c) a sensor, attached to a seat, for sensing a weight of the seat occupant at a sensor location, the sensor located substantially near an outer perimeter of the seat and providing an electrical output signal representative of the weight applied by the vehicle occupant at the sensor location, the sensor including a plurality of strain gauge resistors mounted to a substantially vertically oriented base;
• d) a processor connected to the sensors and to the airbag inflation means;
• e) software operative on the processor for:
• e1) calculating the weight of the seat occupant;
• e2) determining if the weight of the seat occupant is less than a first magnitude;
• e3) preventing actuation of the airbag inflation means, if the weight of the seat occupant is less than a first magnitude;
• and
• e4) allowing actuation of the airbag inflation means, if the weight of the seat occupant is greater than the first magnitude;
• f) calculating a center of gravity of the seat occupant;
• g) determining if the center of gravity is inside or outside a first area, the first area defined as being substantially within the outer perimeter of the seat;
• h) preventing actuation of the airbag inflation means, if the center of gravity is outside the first area;
• and
• i) allowing actuation of the airbag inflation means, if the center of gravity is inside the first area.