Denso Corporation

Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.

Satoshi Goshima

Shingo Wanami

Masami Handa

Hideyuki Karasawa

Takatoshi Tanabe

Akinori Jitsui

Morihiro Ichisugi

Toshiaki Sunaga

The present invention provides a seat apparatus having: a seat back; a forward tilt device that allows at least a portion of the seat back to tilt forward; a securing device that secures the seat back at a vehicle body side; and a release strap that is used for releasing a securing condition of the securing device and has a grip portion. The release strap has a first condition in which the grip portion is positioned at a rear side of the seat back and a second condition in which the grip portion is positioned at a portion so as to be accessible from a front side of the seat back, and one of the first condition and the second condition of the release strap can be selected.

Seat apparatus and vehicle

An occupant sensing ECU determines an occupant state on a seat by comparing occupant determination threshold values with a corresponding sensed load data value, which is originated from load sensors. The ECU stores an adjustment value, which is used to adjust a predetermined design value of each of the occupant determination threshold values. The adjustment value is a difference between an empty-state 0 point load value and a predetermined design value of the empty-state 0 point load value.

Occupant sensing system and adjustment method thereof

A seat occupant identifying apparatus for automotive occupant restraint system is provided which works to identify whether a seat occupant is an adult passenger or a child passenger. When a total output value of a plurality of seat load sensors is greater than a given adult identifying threshold value, it is determined that the seat occupant is an adult. Afterwards, when the total output value decreases below the adult identifying threshold value due to, for example, a lateral G-force acting on the seat occupant during cornering of the vehicle, and an output of either of the right and left seat load sensors is lowered below a preselected cornering threshold value, while the other output is higher than it, the latest determination that the seat occupant is an adult is kept as it is. This provides for high accuracy seat occupant identification during cornering of the vehicle.

Seat occupant identifying apparatus designed to establish high accuracy occupant identification

A passenger detection device for a vehicle is provided with multiple load sensors, each of which detects a load on a seat of the vehicle within a predetermined detection range of the load sensor, and an ECU that determines passenger information of the seat. The ECU has at least one calculation range, each of which limits the detection range of each corresponding one of the multiple load sensors. The ECU determines the passenger information based on a detection data value of each load sensor, which is outputted from the load sensor and falls within the corresponding calculation range of the load sensor.

Passenger detection device

Each front sensor senses a load, which is applied to a front part of a seat, and each rear sensor senses a load, which is applied to a rear part of the seat. A size of an entire load sensing range of each front sensor is smaller than a size of an entire load sensing range of each rear sensor.

Load sensing system for seat

A passenger detector detects a passenger occupying a seat based on his/her weight. Output signals of the passenger detector are fed to, e.g., an airbag controller so that a degree of inflation of the airbag is controlled according to the output signals of the passenger detector. The passenger detector is composed of an ECU and load sensors for detecting a load imposed on the seat. The ECU includes a ROM in which an original design-target threshold load for detecting a passenger is stored and a rewritable memory such as EEPROM in which a load for adjusting the design-target threshold load according to an actual operation of the load sensors is stored. The adjusting load stored in the rewritable memory is easily renewed by communication with an outside adjusting tool.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Satoshi Goshima