U.S. patent application number 12/385480 was filed with the patent office on 2009-10-22 for seat with seat sensor.
This patent application is currently assigned to BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Yutaka Hirata.
Application Number | 20090261639 12/385480 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 16390712 |
Filed Date | 2009-10-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090261639 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hirata; Yutaka |
October 22, 2009 |
Seat with seat sensor
Abstract
A seat with a seat sensor includes a soft pad having a cavity
extending upwardly from a bottom surface thereof, a pressure
sensitive sheet sensor for sensing a person sitting on the pad, and
a soft material disposed in the cavity such that the soft material
is prevented from coming off from the cavity. The sheet sensor is
disposed on an upper portion of the soft material.
Inventors: |
Hirata; Yutaka;
(Yokohama-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KANESAKA BERNER & PARTNERS
Suite 310, 1700 Diagonal Road
Alexandria
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
16390712 |
Appl. No.: |
12/385480 |
Filed: |
April 9, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10795810 |
Mar 9, 2004 |
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12385480 |
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09116906 |
Jul 17, 1998 |
6428095 |
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10795810 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
297/217.3 ;
297/452.48 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 31/126 20130101;
B60R 21/01516 20141001; B60N 2/002 20130101; B60N 2/7017
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/217.3 ;
297/452.48 |
International
Class: |
A47C 31/00 20060101
A47C031/00; B60N 2/44 20060101 B60N002/44; A47C 7/02 20060101
A47C007/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 24, 1997 |
JP |
H09-198413 |
Claims
1-2. (canceled)
3. A seat with a seat sensor, comprising: a soft pad having a
cavity extending upwardly from a bottom surface thereof, a pressure
sensitive sheet sensor for sensing a person sitting on the pad, and
a soft material disposed in the cavity such that the soft material
is prevented from coming off from the cavity, said sheet sensor
being disposed on an upper portion of the soft material.
4. A seat with a seat sensor according to claim 3, wherein said
cavity has a lower portion narrower than an upper portion so that
the soft material is held in the cavity.
5. A seat with a seat sensor according to claim 3, wherein a
protrusion is formed around the cavity so that the soft material is
prevented from coming off from the cavity.
6. A seat with a seat sensor according to claim 5, wherein the
protrusion is formed around an opening of the cavity.
7. A seat with a seat sensor according to claim 3, wherein said
soft material is held in the cavity such that the soft material is
elastically pressed, to thereby prevent the soft material from
coming off from the cavity.
8. A soft pad for a seat with a seat sensor to which a pressure
sensitive sheet sensor for sensing a person sitting on the pad is
installed, said soft pad having a slit for inserting the sheet
sensor, said slit extending from a side surface of the pad to a
center of the pad.
9. A soft pad for a seat with a seat sensor to which a pressure
sensitive sheet sensor for sensing a person sitting on the pad is
installed, said soft pad having a cavity extending upwardly from a
bottom surface of the pad for inserting the sheet sensor, and a
soft material inserted into the cavity such that the soft material
is prevented from coming off from the cavity and the seat sensor is
disposed on the soft material.
10. A soft pad according to claim 9, wherein said cavity has a
lower portion narrower than an upper portion so that the soft
material is prevented from coming off from the cavity.
11. A soft pad according to claim 9, wherein a protrusion is formed
around the cavity so that the soft material is prevented from
coming off from the cavity.
12. A soft pad according to claim 11, wherein the protrusion is
formed around an opening of the cavity.
13. A soft pad according to claim 11, wherein said soft material is
held in the cavity such that the soft material is elastically
pressed, to thereby prevent the soft material from coming off from
the cavity.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a seat with a sheet-like
sensor which detects whether an occupant is seated in the seat.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
[0002] A sensor for preventing malfunction of a passenger air bag
is known, which is provided on the upper surface of a vehicle seat
cushion. FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views showing conventional
examples each of which comprises a pad 1' and a sensor 2' bonded on
the pad 1'. For eliminating bad touch due to the presence of the
sensor, a slab 3 of about 5 mm in thickness is bonded to cover the
sensor 2' as shown in FIG. 5 or a frame laminate 4 of 5 mm in
thickness is provided as shown in FIG. 6.
[0003] Such a conventional seat in which the sensor 2' is bonded
and the slab 3 or the frame laminate 4 is provided to cover the
sensor 2' has disadvantages in that many laminating steps are
required and cost is increased due to the laminating.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to solve the above
disadvantages and to provide a seat with a seat sensor which allows
easy manufacture and substantially completely eliminates the bad
touch due to the presence of the sensor.
[0005] A seat with a seat sensor of the present invention comprises
a soft pad and a pressure sensitive sheet-like sensor for detecting
a human body seated on the pad wherein the sensor is disposed
inside the pad.
[0006] Since the sensor is disposed inside the pad, the
aforementioned seat with the seat sensor can substantially
completely eliminate bad touch due to the presence of the sensor
and also eliminate the necessity of providing a slab and a laminate
for covering the sensor, thereby allowing easy manufacture and
reducing the manufacturing cost.
[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the pad is
provided with a slit for the sensor formed from a side (any one of
front, rear, right, and left sides) toward the center of the pad
and the sensor is inserted into the slit.
[0008] In another embodiment of the present invention, the pad is
provided with a cavity formed upward from the bottom of the pad, a
soft member is inserted into the cavity, and the sensor is disposed
between the top surface of the soft member and the ceiling of the
cavity. In this case, the cavity may be formed in such a manner
that the lower end thereof is narrower, thereby preventing the soft
member from coming off.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c are sectional views showing a seat with
a seat sensor according to an embodiment;
[0010] FIGS. 2a and 2b are sectional views each showing a seat with
a seat sensor according to another embodiment;
[0011] FIGS. 3a and 3b are sectional views showing a seat with a
seat sensor according to further different embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a structural view of a seat with a seat sensor
according to still further different embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional
example;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another conventional
example;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a plane view of a seat with a seat sensor
according to another embodiment; and
[0016] FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of
FIG. 7.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be
described with reference to the attached drawings.
[0018] FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c are sectional views showing a seat with
a seat sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1a is a sectional view taken in the back-and-forth direction,
FIG. 1b is a sectional view taken along the line 1b-1b of FIG. 1a,
and FIG. 1c is an exploded structural view.
[0019] In this embodiment, a pad 1 is provided with a cavity 5
which is formed in the bottom to extend upward and in which a
sensor 2 is attached to the ceiling thereof. Filled in the cavity 5
is a slab 6 made of the same soft material as the pad 1 (molded
soft polyurethane foam may be used). The sensor 2 may be bonded
onto the ceiling of the cavity 5 with an adhesive agent or adhesive
tape. Alternatively, the sensor may be bonded on the top of the
slab 6. As shown in FIG. 1c, it is preferable that the sensor 2 is
previously bonded to the ceiling of the cavity 5 and a cable 2a
connected with the sensor 2 is extended to the rear end of the pad
1 in such a manner that a terminal 2b disposed at an end of the
cable projects from the rear end of the pad 1.
[0020] In this embodiment, the cavity 5 is formed in a taper
configuration in such a manner that the lower portion is narrower
so that the slab 6 inserted into the cavity 5 is held in the cavity
5 and is prevented from coming off.
[0021] FIGS. 2a and 2b show other embodiments of the present
invention. In FIG. 2a, the cavity 5 is provided with a protrusion
5a around the opening thereof so that the lower periphery of the
slab 6 is engaged with the protrusion 5a, thereby preventing the
slab 6 from coming off. In FIG. 2b, a used slab 6 is slightly
larger than the cavity 5 so that the slab 6 is pressed into the
cavity 5 in the elastically compressed state, thereby preventing
the slab 6 from coming off.
[0022] Though the sensor 2 has substantially the same size as the
area of the ceiling of the cavity 5 in FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a and 2b,
it should be understood that the size of the sensor 2 may be
smaller than the ceiling of the cavity 5 as shown in FIGS. 7 and
8.
[0023] FIG. 3a is a sectional view of a seat with a seat sensor
according to a further different embodiment of the present
invention and FIG. 3b is an exploded view thereof. In this
embodiment, the pad 1 is provided with a slit 7 extending forward
from the rear end, into which the sensor 2 is inserted. In this
case, the slit 7 is provided in a substantially horizontal
direction so that the sensor 2 never comes off the slit 7 even
without closing the opening of the slit 7. However, a sheet-like
slab may be pressed into the slit 7 to prevent the sensor 2 from
coming off.
[0024] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the pad 1 may be
entirely wrapped with a cover 8 as shown in FIG. 4.
[0025] According to the present invention, examples of material of
the pad 1 include polyurethane foam and thermoplastics resin fibers
(e.g. polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene), just like the
conventional example. Examples of material of the cover 8 shown in
FIG. 4 include leather, polyvinyl chloride, moquette, and the like.
Employed as the sensor 2 may be a pressure sensitive sensor wherein
the electrical resistance is changed by pressure or a strain gage,
just like the conventional example.
[0026] Though the slit 7 is formed to extend forward from the rear
end of the pad 1 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the
slit 7 may be formed to extend from the front end or side toward
the center of the pad 1 in case that the cover 8 wraps the pad 1 as
shown in FIG. 4.
[0027] As mentioned above, in the seat with the seat sensor
according to the present invention, the sensor is disposed inside
the pad so that the occupant never feel bad touch even when the
occupant sits down on the pad above the sensor. This structure can
eliminate the necessity of providing a slab or a laminate on the
top of the pad, thereby facilitating the manufacture of the seat
with seat sensor and thus extremely reducing the manufacturing
cost.
* * * * *