Apparatus for providing a digital representation of the weight of an object

摘要

Apparatus for sensing the weight of an object and providing a digital representation of a weight range within which the sensed weight falls, and apparatus for controlling the deployment of a vehicular air bag in accordance with the weight of a passenger seated in a vehicle seat adjacent the air bag. A number of two-position switches 28 normally assume a first position and are responsive to a force of at least a predetermined amount to assume a second position. The first position represents a first weight range, and the second position represents a second weight range. A support surface 58, 60 overlies the switches to support an object to be weighed. A decoding circuit 30 monitors the positions of each of the two-position switches and provides a digital representation of the weight range within which the weight of the object falls. In the vehicular air bag system, a number of groups of the two-position switches 28 are mounted in a passenger seat 52 adjacent the air bag. Each group includes switches which assume their second position in response to a force of at least a predetermined amount that is associated with such group. The decoding circuit 30 provides a digital representation of the weight range within which the weight of a passenger seated in the passenger seat falls. A controller is responsive to the decoding circuit to control the air bag deployment system to control deployment of the air bag 48 in accordance with the represented weight range.