Apparatus and method for measuring weight of an occupying item of a seat

摘要

An apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat including a support structure for mounting the seat to a substrate. The apparatus includes a strain gage transducer mounted on the support structure and arranged to provide a measurement of the strain of the support structure at the location at which it is mounted. A control system is coupled to the strain gage transducer for determining the weight of the occupying item of the seat based on the strain of the support structure measured by the strain gage transducer. The weight measuring apparatus is used in a seat adjustment apparatus for adjusting a seat in a passenger compartment of a vehicle including wave sensors for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment toward the seat, receiving reflected waves from the passenger compartment and generating an output representative of the reflected waves received by the wave sensors, and a processor for receiving the outputs from the wave sensors and the weight measuring apparatus and evaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon. The processor, e.g., directs a control unit to cause a portion of the seat to move based on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat or to affect the deployment of an airbag.