JP2002172962A - Occupant weight detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a simple occupant weight detection device that pays attention to the configuration of a seat rail usually assembled below a seat cushion in an automobile seat. An occupant weight detection device that solves the above-mentioned problems includes a seat pan, a seat cushion bracket, and a fixed rail on which a movable rail is slidably fitted between a lower portion of a seat cushion and a vehicle body floor. In the interposed automobile seat, the vertical wall portions between any one of the members are fixed to each other by horizontal joining by a joining rod having a strain sensor, and the weight of the occupant seated on the seat cushion acts. The deflection of the connecting rod caused by the vertical wall on the load side at the connecting point in the path of each member to be performed is detected by a strain sensor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an occupant weight detection apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for detecting the weight of an occupant sitting on an automobile seat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The prior art for detecting the weight of an occupant sitting on an automobile seat is disclosed in the following publication. (1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-297334 In a seat slide device having a lower rail fixed in the front-rear direction of a vehicle and an upper rail slidably fitted on the lower rail, the upper rail vertical wall portion and the seat cushion are provided with a seat cushion. The front lever and the rear lever are pivotally supported back and forth between the vertical walls of the seat cushion frame to be mounted, and these levers swing by a seated load, and each of the swing ends is located at the center of the lower position of the seat cushion. The body weight of the seated occupant is measured based on the detected value of the sum of the loads at the front and rear positions of the seat cushion by abutting on the disposed load sensor. (2) Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-351952 A load sensor for detecting a load due to the weight of a seated occupant between a seat rail disposed on a lower surface of a seat cushion and a seat fixing portion fixed to a vehicle body floor, and amplifying the load sensor. A displacement restricting mechanism for overloading the load sensor when an abnormal load is applied by a sheet holding mechanism with a flexible member, a restricting bar connected to the lower surface of the seat rail, and a restricting block formed on the seat fixing portion. (A load limiting mechanism), which is provided with a weight measuring device that prevents an excessive load from being applied to the sensor by the displacement limiting mechanism.

[0003]

An automobile is equipped with a seatbelt or an airbag device for ensuring the safety of the occupant. The tension of the seatbelt, the amount of gas discharged from the airbag and the inflation speed are determined in advance. If the pressure is set to be constant, the airbag may inflate the airbag to apply excessive pressure to the occupant in the case of a lightweight seated occupant.
Therefore, means for appropriately adjusting these according to the body weight of the seat occupant have been considered. For this purpose, a load sensor is disposed between the seat cushion and the vehicle body floor as in the above-mentioned prior arts (1) and (2). Means for measuring the body weight of the occupant based on the detected value is adopted. However, as described above, the detection means using the load sensor in the prior art has a complicated structure including a large number of parts in both (1) and (2), and it is practical to incorporate these mechanisms in a limited space below the seat cushion. It is difficult from the viewpoint of workability and cost.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple detecting means which pays attention to the configuration of a seat rail which is usually assembled below a seat cushion in consideration of the above-mentioned prior art.

[0005]

An occupant weight detecting apparatus which achieves the above object has a fixed structure in which a seat pan, a seat cushion bracket, and a movable rail are slidably fitted between a lower portion of a seat cushion and a vehicle body floor. In an automobile seat in which each member of the rail is interposed, the vertical wall portions between any of the members are fixed to each other by horizontal joining with a joining rod having a strain sensor, and the seat is seated on the seat cushion. The deflection sensor detects a deflection of a connecting rod caused by a vertical wall portion on a load side at a connecting point in a path of each member on which a weight of an occupant acts.

[0006]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an occupant weight detecting apparatus according to the present invention, which will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an automobile seat as a vehicle seat, which comprises a rail 1 provided on the floor of a vehicle body, a seat 2 comprising a seat back 3 as a backrest and a seat cushion 4 as a seat. In this embodiment, the rail 1 is fixed to the left and right sides of the vehicle body floor F along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and each of the lower rails 5 (fixed-side rails) is substantially U-shaped in end view.
The upper rail 6 (movable side rail) in the shape of a letter is the rolling medium 7
A seat slide adjusting device is provided between the lower rail 5 and the upper rail 6 by a lock mechanism (not shown) for restricting the movement of the upper rail 6.

The seat 2 is supported pivotally by a reclining device 8 in which a seat back 3 and a seat cushion 4 are provided with a lock mechanism (not shown) for regulating a rotation angle. The seat back 3 is provided so that the tilt angle can be adjusted. A seat pan 4a is attached to a lower surface portion of the seat cushion 4, and a seat cushion bracket 9 for supporting the seat pan 4a is fixed to left and right sides of the seat pan 4a. The vertical wall portion 9a of the seat cushion bracket 9 and the vertical wall portion 6a of the upper rail 6, which is a movable side rail of the rail 1, are overlapped in the horizontal direction, and rivets or bolts, nuts, etc. It is joined and fixed by the joining means 10. As a result, the tilt angle of the seat back 3 with respect to the seat cushion 4 can be adjusted by the reclining device 8 and the seat cushion 4 (seat 2) can be moved and adjusted in the front-rear direction of the vehicle by the seat slide adjusting device. Has become.

Further, there are provided four rivets or four connecting rods such as bolts for fixing the vertical wall 6a of the upper rail 6, which is a movable rail of the rail 1, to the vertical wall 9a of the seat cushion bracket 9. Detecting means is provided at the joining means 10 site. The joining means 10 in this embodiment includes a bolt rod 11 and a nut 12.
The axis S extends from the lower neck portion to the distal end portion of the rod portion 11a.
A gap 11b whose center is slit is formed in parallel with the above, and a through-hole 11C is formed in the head portion following the gap 11b, and a wall surface parallel to the axis S of the gap 11b is a mounting plane. 11d, the strain sensor 13 is adhered thereto, and its lead wire 13a is led out through the lid 14 inserted into the through hole 11c. The bolt rod 11 attaches its mounting plane 11d to horizontal holes 6b and 9b formed in the vertical wall 6a of the upper rail 6 and the vertical wall 9a of the seat cushion bracket 9, which are superposed in the horizontal direction. The lead wire 13a is inserted and fixed by a nut 12 via a washer 15 in a state of a horizontal surface, and the lead wire 13a is connected to a calculating means for obtaining a body weight (load value) of the occupant from the detected value of the strain sensor 13. Is what it is.

As a result, the bolt rod 11 is connected to the seat cushion bracket 9 on the seat 2 side (load side) and the rail 1.
The rod-shaped portion 11 is disposed horizontally with respect to both vertical wall portions 6a, 9a perpendicular to the upper rail 6 which is the side (fixed side).
The mounting plane 11d of the gap portion 11b parallel to the axis S formed in FIG. a is a horizontal plane (FIG. 4), and even when the bolt rod 11 is viewed from the end face, the mounting plane 11d has a vertical diameter (vertical load direction A). And a perpendicular plane (FIG. 5).
Means that the body weight of the occupant sitting on the seat cushion 4 passes through the vertical wall portion 9a of the seat cushion bracket 9 to which the seat cushion 4 (seat pan 4a) is attached, and This detects the deformation (deflection) of the bolt rod 11 due to the load applied to the bolt rod 11 that joins the vertical wall portion 6a. The load value is obtained from the load, and the seat belt tension for each seated person's weight, the amount of gas ejected from the airbag, the expansion speed, and the like are controlled based on the load value.

The connecting rod having the strain sensor 13 in the connecting means 10 is not limited to a screw rod like the bolt rod 11 in this embodiment, but can be a rivet. The mounting plane 11d for providing the strain sensor 13 by the formed gap portion 11b is parallel to the axis of the connecting rod that horizontally connects the vertical walls on the fixed side and the load side as described above, and Vertical load A (vertical diameter line) received by this connecting rod
It is sufficient if it is a plane perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 6. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a mounting plane 110d formed by partially cutting the rod 110a of the connecting rod 110 may be used. A mounting plane 110d is also conceivable.

Further, the detecting means includes a seat cushion 4.
The body weight of the occupant seated on the vehicle (vertical load) is in the path to the vehicle body floor F via the seat pan 4a, the seat cushion bracket 9, the upper rail 6, and the lower rail 5 disposed below the seat cushion 4. Since the vertical wall serving as the load side and the vertical wall serving as the fixed side between these members are joined in the horizontal direction by a joining rod having the strain sensor 13, as shown in FIG. The vertical wall portion 4b of the seat pan 4a and the vertical wall portion 9a of the seat cushion bracket 9 (or a bracket for mounting the seat pan 4a) may be joined and fixed by a bolt rod 11 having a strain sensor 13 and a nut. There is no problem, and the possibility exists between other members.

Incidentally, a connecting rod such as a bolt rod 11 or a rivet in which the strain sensor 13 is provided is used as a means for connecting two (plural) plate materials which are overlapped. If it is convenient to detect the deformation (deflection) of the connecting rod due to the tensile or compressive stress received by the connecting rod due to the load in the direction in which the plate members pass each other, the detection of the weight of the occupant body according to the present invention is considered. For example, a slide plate slidably fitted on an elevating guide rail in an elevating opening / closing device for a vehicle window (known) and a carrier plate supporting glass are joined by a joining rod having a strain sensor. If you take the means to fix,
Detects the load caused by a foreign object caught between the window frame and the moving glass during the opening and closing operation of the window by detecting the deformation of the connecting rod. It can be used for various purposes because it has a simple configuration and can be inexpensively used for detecting deflection, such as an automatic opening / closing door in a building.

The occupant weight detection device in the above embodiment is provided at a joining means portion between members focusing on the configuration of a seat rail member and the like provided between a portion below a seat cushion of an automobile seat and a vehicle body floor. Since the detecting means is provided on the connecting rod such as a bolt rod, a special member (parts) for detection is not required, the configuration is simple with a small number of parts, and a special structure for installation is provided. Since there is no need for room, workability and economic benefits are also obtained. In addition, the connecting rod having the strain sensor provided therein for the detecting means can be connected to a load by appropriately setting the width and size of the sensor installation portion (mounting plane) and the depth with respect to the rod diameter. Since the amount of deformation of the rod can be regulated, it is possible to cope with the magnitude of the load and the usage.

[0015]

The occupant weight detecting apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the vertical wall portions between the members focusing on the structure of the seat rail member and the like interposed between the lower part of the seat cushion of the vehicle seat and the vehicle body floor are provided. Since the detecting means is provided on a connecting rod such as a bolt rod provided to the connecting means, a special structure (parts) for detection is not required, and the configuration is simple with a small number of parts. In addition, since no special room is required for installation, workability and economy are also improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of an automobile seat.

FIG. 2 is a simplified plan view of an automobile seat.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line xx of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a joining portion.

FIG. 5 is a left side view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view of another example of a connecting rod.

FIG. 7 is a side view of another example of a connecting rod.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a joining portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rail 2 Seat 3 Seat back 4 Seat cushion 4a Seat pan 4b Vertical wall part 5 Lower rail 6 Upper rail 6a Vertical wall part 9 Seat cushion bracket 9a Vertical wall part 10 Joining means 11 Bolt rod 110 Joint rod 11a, 110a Rod part 11b Void 11c Through-hole 11d, 110d Mounting plane 13 Strain sensor A Vertical load F Body floor S Axis

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automobile seat in which each member of a seat pan, a seat cushion bracket, and a fixed rail on which a movable rail is slidably fitted is interposed between a lower portion of the seat cushion and a vehicle body floor. The vertical wall portions between the members are fixed to each other by horizontal joining by a joining rod having a strain sensor, and the weight of the occupant seated on the seat cushion acts on the path of each of the members. An occupant weight detecting apparatus, wherein a deflection of a connecting rod caused by a vertical wall portion on a load side at the connecting portion is detected by a distortion sensor.