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:
Feb. 13, 2018
Filed:
Mar. 06, 2015
Ford Global Technologies, Llc, Dearborn, MI (US);
Richard Edward Ruthinowski, Taylor, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
A thermistor-based system and method for distinguishing between adult and child passengers and, of the child passengers, between those seated in a child restraint system and those seated in a child booster is provided. The disclosed inventive concept includes at least one classification thermistor/temperature sensing device, at least one reference thermistor, an algorithm to compute and classify conditions, and related wiring and hardware. The classification thermistor/temperature sensing device is located in a seat cushion assembly and a seat back. The temperature sensors are used to detect heat transfer between an object in contact with the cushion through the seat trim and, if applicable, some amount of seat comfort base material. The reference thermistor may be provided to enhance robustness of classification determination. The algorithm computes and classifies conditions based on at least the magnitude and/or the rate of temperature change between the classification sensor and the reference sensor.