The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 04, 2001
Filed:
Nov. 23, 1999
David S. Breed, Morris County, NJ (US);
Wendell Johnson, San Diego, CA (US);
Wilbur E. Duvall, Kimberling City, MO (US);
Automotive Technologies International Inc., Denville, NJ (US);
Abstract
Arrangements and method for determining the position of an occupant of a vehicle situated on a seat in the vehicle in which the position of the seat or a part thereof, e.g., the seat portion or back portion, is determined relative to a fixed point of reference to thereby enable an approximation of the position of the occupant to be obtained. The payout of a seatbelt from a seatbelt retractor can be measured and used to better provide the actual position of the occupant. An additional approximation of the position of the occupant can be obtained by receiving waves from the space above the seat in order to improve the determination of the likely, actual position of the occupant. Once the position of the occupant is determined, it can be used in the control of a deployable occupant restraint device such as an airbag.