Lear Corporation

Karl Kennedy

John F Nathan

H Winston Maue

Christopher Ricard

Santosh Karumathil

Mark R Keyser

Samuel R Hanlon

David Anthony Hein

Oliver J Young

Thomas J Fowler

Christopher Spielman

Arti Rohit Mujumdar

Gregory F Breakey

Sandhya Singh

Shridhar Malayappan

Haptic alert waveform generation method and system for use with haptic actuators that impart haptic sensations according to a waveform of an input signal used to control the haptic actuator. The shape and/or amplitude of the waveform may be controlled according to information collected from various vehicle systems, allowing virtually any type of waveform to generate and used to impart virtually any type of haptic sensations.

Haptic alert waveform generation method and system

A haptic seating system for use in imparting a haptic sensation to a seat. The seating system being suitable for use in a vehicle or other environment having multiple network nodes with capabilities sufficient to issue instructions suitable to instructing a haptic element used to impart the haptic sensation. The system may include the network nodes issuing the instructions through signals carried over the network.

Haptic seating system

A vehicle seat assembly includes a seating surface, wherein the seating surface defines a plurality of temperature controlled zones. At least one electrically actuated heating/cooling source provides one of heating and cooling to the plurality of zones. A controller individually controls electrical power supplied from the source to each zone and is operative to reduce power consumption in one zone relative to another zone in accordance with a predetermined profile designed to limit the overall power consumption of the assembly.

Reduced power heat mat

Supervised and unsupervised seat folding of the type wherein supervised or unsupervised seating folding is permitted as function of whether a user is within a particular proximity to a seat being folded. The proximity being determined according to any number of parameters, such as but not limited whether the user is able to view the folding seat.

Supervised and unsupervised seat folding

An electronic trigger assembly for triggering an actuator, the electronic trigger assembly having a trigger member capable of connection to the actuator. The trigger member may be configured for rotation between a first position and a second position and the trigger member may be able to trigger the actuator as the trigger member rotates between the first position and the second position. The trigger member may also include a guide. A shape memory alloy member may be connected to the trigger member and may be received by the guide such that a substantial portion of the shape memory alloy member is disposed in a curvilinear arrangement. The shape memory alloy member may contract when electrified. The shape memory alloy member may be confined by the guide to contract along a path such that the shape memory alloy member exerts torque on the trigger member and causes the trigger member to rotate from the first position to the second position.

Smartfold electronic actuation

A vehicle seat assembly includes a seat back that is pivotally connected to a seat bottom, a lock mechanism that is configured to inhibit the seat back from pivoting when locked and to permit the seat back to pivot when unlocked, and a release and drive mechanism. The release and drive mechanism includes a mounting member, a drive gear that is rotatable with respect to the mounting member and that is connected to the lock mechanism, and a motor that is connected to the drive gear. The drive gear is rotationally limited to a defined angular range. The motor rotates the drive gear through the defined angular range which moves the lock mechanism to an unlocked state and thereafter causes the seat back to pivot.

Vehicle seat having a recliner mechanism

An instrument panel system. The instrument panel system provides an aesthetically appealing instrument panel by including a number of concealed switches. The switches are concealed such that an area proximate the switch on the surface of the instrument panel appears to be uninterrupted by the switch. In operation, the position of the switches is revealed by illuminating a switch display.

Instrument panel system having concealed switches

A linear motion actuator is disclosed in which an actuator shaft is held in a ready position by a latching ring. A spring is attached to the actuator shaft to exert a biasing force on the actuator shaft biasing it toward its actuated position. The latching ring receives one end of the actuator shaft and has locking elements that hold the actuator shaft in the ready position. A latching ring is rotated to selectively release the locking element. A shape memory alloy link extends partially around the latching ring and is secured to the latching ring. The link is shortened when current is applied to the link causing the link to rotate and release the locking element.

Shape memory alloy wire latch actuator

A shape memory alloy (SMA) system suitable for use in any number of environments, including but not limited to latching and unlatching vehicle seat tracks. The system including any number of configurations to support any number of operations, including but not limited to push-push, pull-pull, push-pull, and pull-push operations.

Shape memory alloy (SMA) system

A method for discriminating input to a sensing algorithm used with an occupancy classification system includes generating a series of sensor signals from a sensor array. The method further includes generating a sensor signal from a belt tension sensor and generating a pattern recognition algorithm as a function of: the series of sensor signals from the sensor array and the sensor signal from the belt tension sensor.

Discriminate input system for decision algorithm

A method of determining an equivalent output value for a failed sensor in a vehicle seat having an occupancy sensing system. The method includes the steps of sensing the output of each sensor in an array of sensors that detect a physical presence in the seat. If the output of the sensor falls below a predetermined value, exceeds a predetermined value, or remains fixed the sensor is classified as inoperative. The method then calculates an equivalent sensor output value for any sensor classified as inoperative and applies the sensor array output values for each operable sensor in the array and the calculated equivalent output value for any inoperative sensor to a neural net. Then, the applied sensor output values are recognizing as falling within one of a group of predetermined classification patterns that represent a physical presence in the seat defined by size, weight, and physical orientation.

Method of determining an equivalent value for a failed sensor in a vehicle seat having an occupancy sensing system

A method of recognizing and classifying the occupancy in a vehicle seat having an occupancy sensing system, including the steps of sensing the output of an array of sensors that detect a physical presence in a seat and applying the sensor array output as a vector representation to a neural net that was trained using a learning vector quantization algorithm. The method also includes the step of recognizing the sensor array output as falling within one of a group of predetermined classification patterns that represent a physical presence in the seat defined by size, weight, and physical orientation.

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Fraser, MI, United States of America

Karl Kennedy