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:
Aug. 16, 2005
Filed:
Jul. 28, 2003
Takayuki Enomoto, Tokyo, JP;
Takashi Takeshita, Kanagawa, JP;
Takuya Nishimoto, Kanagawa, JP;
Naobumi Kuboki, Kanagawa, JP;
Katsutoshi Sasaki, Kanagawa, JP;
Norio Kawashima, Kanagawa, JP;
Hiroaki Nishiguma, Kanagawa, JP;
Atsuo Matsumoto, Kanagawa, JP;
Shinichi Horibata, Kanagawa, JP;
Ko Masuda, Kanagawa, JP;
Yuji Niikura, Kanagawa, JP;
Hiroshi Matsunaga, Kanagawa, JP;
Yuji Tokiwa, Kanagawa, JP;
Takayuki Enomoto, Tokyo, JP;
Takashi Takeshita, Kanagawa, JP;
Takuya Nishimoto, Kanagawa, JP;
Naobumi Kuboki, Kanagawa, JP;
Katsutoshi Sasaki, Kanagawa, JP;
Norio Kawashima, Kanagawa, JP;
Hiroaki Nishiguma, Kanagawa, JP;
Atsuo Matsumoto, Kanagawa, JP;
Shinichi Horibata, Kanagawa, JP;
Ko Masuda, Kanagawa, JP;
Yuji Niikura, Kanagawa, JP;
Hiroshi Matsunaga, Kanagawa, JP;
Yuji Tokiwa, Kanagawa, JP;
NHK Spring Co., Ltd., Kanagawa, JP;
The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
In a vehicle seat, a central support member typically consisting of wire mesh or grid and supports most of the load of the vehicle occupant via spring members, and undergoes a relatively large displacement when the occupant is seated in the seat. Thus, by detecting the displacements of various parts of the central support member, preferably peripheral parts thereof, the magnitude of the total load and distribution of the load can be evaluated both reliably and accurately. Additionally, displacement sensors for measuring such large displacements are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle. Also, such sensors would not interfere with the existing seat designs, and would not be adversely affected by the equipment of the seat such as seat heaters.