Apparatus and method for measuring weight of an occupying item of a seat

A seat for a vehicle, comprising

• a cushion assembly defining a contact surface adapted to be in contact with an occupying item,
• slide mechanisms for supporting said cushion assembly on a substrate,
• bolts for mounting said cushion assembly to said slide mechanisms,
• at least one pressure sensor arranged underneath said cushion assembly and between one of said slide mechanisms and said cushion assembly for measuring pressure exerted on said cushion assembly, each of said at least one pressure sensor comprising first and second washers and a compressible material arranged between said first and second washers to thereby form a sandwich of said first and second washers and said compressible material, each of said at least one pressure sensor further comprising an electrode on each side of said compressible material, said electrodes being spaced from one another by at least a thickness of said compressible material such that upon compression of said compressible material, the spacing between said electrodes is decreased and capacitance of said sandwich changes, and
• a control system coupled to said electrodes for determining the weight of the occupying item of said cushion assembly based on the change in the capacitance of said sandwich.

A seat for a vehicle, comprising

• a cushion assembly defining a contact surface adapted to be in contact with an occupying item of the seat,
• a support structure arranged underneath said cushion assembly and adapted to support said cushion assembly on a substrate in the vehicle,
• a load cell connected to said support structure and adapted to be mounted to the substrate, said load cell including a member and a strain gage arranged on said member in such a position to measure strain in said member caused by weight of an occupying item of the seat, said strain gage including at least first and second strain sensing elements, said first strain sensing element being arranged in a longitudinal direction of said member and said second strain sensing element being arranged in a transverse direction of said member, and
• a control system coupled to said load cell for determining the weight of the occupying item of the seat based on the strain in said member measured by said strain gage.

An occupant position sensing arrangement for determining the location of an occupying item of a vehicle, comprising

• a cushion defining a contact surface adapted to be in contact with an occupying item,
• a force sensing arrangement at least partially interposed between said cushion and the substrate for measuring the force transferred from said cushion to the substrate at a plurality of locations,
• at least one additional sensor system for measuring a characteristic of the occupying item or the seat, and
• a processor coupled to said at least one additional sensor system and to said force sensing arrangement for determining the weight applied by the occupying item onto said cushion based on the force being transferred from said cushion to the substrate measured by said force sensing arrangement and the distribution of weight of the occupying item, said processor providing an indication of the location of the occupying item based at least in part on the distribution of weight of the occupying item and the measured characteristic of the occupying item.

A seat for a vehicle, comprising

• a cushion assembly defining a supporting surface for an occupying item of the seat,
• a transverse support member extending between opposed lateral sides of said cushion assembly and below said cushion assembly,
• at least one strain gage transducer arranged on said transverse support member to provide a measurement of the strain of said transverse support member at the location at which said at least one strain gage transducer is mounted, and
• a control system coupled to said at least one strain gage transducer for determining the weight of the occupying item of the seat based on the strain of said transverse support member measured by said at least one strain gage transducer.