Abstract: Vehicle seat structure including a seat defining a surface contacting an occupying item, slide mechanisms coupled to the seat for enabling movement of the seat and support members for supporting the seat on the slide mechanisms such that weight of the occupying item passes through the support members. At least one support member has a region with a stiffness lower than the stiffness of a remaining region thereof. A strain gage measurement system generates a signal indicative of the weight of the occupying item and includes at least one strain gage transducer arranged in the lower stiffness region of the support member to measure strain thereof. The lower stiffness region can have a smaller outer circumference than a circumference of the remaining region of the support member and/or at least one aperture extends partially across the circumference of the support member to thereby define the lower stiffness region.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 4, 2001
Date of Patent:
November 25, 2003
Assignee:
Automotive Technologies
Inventors:
David S. Breed, Wilbur E. DuVall, Wendell C. Johnson