Vehicle occupant presence and position sensing system

Abstract

The invention characterizes a seat occupant. The position of a seat occupant relative to the seat is determined and the position of the seat relative to the vehicle determines the location of the seat occupant relative to the vehicle. The position and other characteristics of the seat occupant are determined from the magnitude and Q of capacitance between electrodes in the seat, thereby distinguishing between a seat occupied by a normally seated person and certain other circumstances wherein deployment of airbags is not desired. The position of the occupant relative to the seat, the weight of the seat occupant, whether the seat belt is latched, the track position and recline angle of the vehicle seat and vehicle deceleration during a crash are used to estimate the position of the occupant relative to a deploying airbag as the occupant moves toward the airbag during the crash.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.